Chapters 14, 15 & 16 Flashcards
What is a sample?
A sample is a special subset of a population that is observed for purposes of making inferences about the nature of the population itself
What is purposive sampling (a.k.a judgmental sampling)?
A type of non-probability sampling method in which the researcher uses his or her own judgment in selecting sample members.
When informants are used, how should they be selected?
In such a fashion as to provide a broad, diverse view of the group under study.
True or false: In general, non-probability sampling methods are regarded as less reliable than probability sampling methods.
True
True or false: non-probability sampling methods are harder and more expensive to use than probability sampling methods
False (they are often easier and cheaper to use)
What is the chief criterion of the quality of a sample?
The degree to which it is representative (the extent to which the characteristics of the sample are the same as those of the population from which it was selected).
True or false: probability sampling methods provide one excellent way to select samples that will be quite representative.
True
What is the chief principle of probability sampling?
Every member of the total population must have the same known, nonzero probability of being selected into the sample.
Can the most carefully selected sample perfectly represent the population from which it was selected?
No, it will almost never be perfectly representative. There will always be some degree of sampling error.
Probability sampling methods allow us to ___ the amount of sampling error that should be expected in a given sample.
estimate
What is a sampling frame?
A sampling frame is a list or quasi-list of the members of a population. It is the resource used in the selection of a sample. A sample’s representativeness depends directly on the extent to which a sampling frame contains all the members of the total population that the sample is intended to represent.
Simple random sampling is ___ the most fundamental technique in probability sampling.
logically
Systematic sampling involves the selection of every ___ member from a sampling frame. This method is functionally equivalent to simple random sampling, with a few exceptions.
kth
___ is the process of grouping the members of a population into relatively homogenous strata before sampling. This practice improves the representativeness of a sample by reducing the degree of sampling error.
Stratification
What is the complex sampling technique that is used in those cases in which a list of all the members of a population does not exist?
multistage cluster sampling
Describe multistage cluster sampling: (3)
- An initial sample of groups of members (clusters) is selected
- All members of the selected cluster are listed, often through direct observation in the field
- The members listed in each selected cluster are subsampled, thereby providing the final sample of members
What is PPS? (hint: it is a special, efficient method for multistage cluster sampling)
Probability proportionate to size
If the members of a population have unequal probabilities of selection into the sample, it is necessary to assign ___ to the different observations made in order to provide a representative picture of the total population.
weights (basically, the weight assigned to a particular sample member should be the inverse of its probability of selection)
In the 1948 Gallup poll that predicted that Thomas Dewey would defeat Harry Truman, in what major way could Gallup have modified his design to avoid the error?
Increased the representativeness of his quota sample (his data was from a pre-WWII census that did not represent rural to urban migration, and that city dwellers were more likely to vote democratic)
___ ___ should be avoided in sampling.
Gender bias
What is survey research?
The administration of questionnaires to a sample of respondents selected from some population.
What is survey research especially appropriate for?
For making descriptive studies of large populations, as well as for explanatory purposes.
In 3 ways can questionnaires be administered?
- Self-administered questionnaires can be completed by the respondents themselves
- Interviewers can administer questionnaires in face-to-face encounters, reading the items to respondents and recording the answers
- Interviewers can conduct telephone surveys
True or false: follow-up mailings should be sent to potential respondents who fail to respond to an initial appeal
True
Properly monitoring questionnaire returns will provide a good guide to determining when a ___-___ mailing is appropriate.
follow-up
What is an essential characteristic of interviewers?
They must be neutral (their presence in the data-collection process must not have any effect on the responses given to questionnaire items)
In what 3 ways must an interviewer be trained?
- Be familiar with the questionnaire
- Follow the question wording and question order exactly
- To record responses exactly as they are given
What is a probe?
A probe is a neutral, non-directive question that is designed to elicit an elaboration on an incomplete or ambiguous response given in an interview to an open-ended question.
(Examples: “Anything else?”, “How is that”, “In what ways?”)
What are the advantages of a self-administered questionnaire over an interview survey? (4)
- Economy
- Speed
- Lack of interviewer bias
- The possibility of anonymity and privacy to encourage more candid responses on sensitive issues
___ conducted over the telephone have become more common and more effective in recent years, and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) techniques are especially promising.
Surveys
What are the advantages of an interview survey over a self-administered questionnaire? (4)
- Fewer incomplete questionnaires
- Fewer misunderstood questions
- Generally higher return rates
- Greater flexibility in terms of sampling and special observations
True or false: Survey research in general has less advantages in terms of economy and the amount of data that can be collected.
False (it has advantages)
The ___ of the data collected represents another special strength of survey research.
standardization
What are the weaknesses of survey research? (3)
- Somewhat artificial
- Potentially superficial
- Not good at fully revealing social processes in their natural settings
True or false: New technologies offer additional opportunities for social researchers. They include various kinds of computer-assisted data collection and analysis as well as the chance to conduct surveys by fax or over the Internet. The latter two methods, however, must be used with caution because respondents may not be representative of the intended population.
True
___ surveys have many of the strengths and weaknesses of ___ surveys. Although they are cheaper to conduct, it can be difficult to ensure that the respondents represent a more general population.
Online; mail
___ measures are ways of studying social behaviour without affecting it in the process.
Unobtrusive
___ analysis is a form of research in which the data collected and processed in one study are reanalyzed in a subsequent study. Often, the subsequent study is conducted by a different researcher, and often for a different purpose. Sometimes, however, a different researcher will reanalyze the data for the same purpose, stemming perhaps from doubts about the conclusions derived from the original analysis in the first study.
Secondary
Some ___ ___ are in the form of aggregated existing statistics in the administrative and public records. When the data are in aggregate forms only, they cannot be reanalyzed using the individual as the unit of analysis. Instead, they can be analyzed only in the form of statistics that apply to the aggregate, such as the prevalence of child abuse in different geographic areas, the proportions of different types of services provided in different agencies, and so on.
data sets
What are common potential advantages of secondary analysis? (10)
- Cost savings
- Benefitting from the work of top-flight professionals
- Analyzing data generated by rigorous sampling approaches with large samples and high response rates
- Having a large number of variables that makes it possible to conduct a sophisticated multivariate statistical analysis
- The likelihood that the original study was methodologically strong in general
- Facilitating IRB approval
- Accessing hard-to-identify populations
- Monitoring trends over time
- Facilitating cross-national comparisons
- Obtaining technical support
What are some common potential limitations of secondary analysis? (4)
- Problems of validity and reliability
- Missing data
- Inadequate documentation
- Unanticipated feasibility issues
A variety of ___ and ___ agencies provide aggregate data for social work research studies.
government and nongovernment
Before investing a great deal of time in planning a ___ ___, you should check the data source to see if the data you need are there at all. If they are there, you should check to see whether large chunks of the data on certain key variables are missing and whether the data contain sufficient variation on your intended variables.
secondary analysis
___ ___ is a social research method that is appropriate for studying human communications. Besides being used to study communication processes, it may be used to study other aspects of social behaviour.
Content analysis
___ ___ sampling techniques are appropriate in content analysis
Standard probability
___ ___ refers to the directly visible, objectively identifiable characteristics of a communication, such as the specific words in a book, the specific colours used in a painting, and so forth. That is one focus for content analysis.
Manifest content
___ ___ refers to the meanings contained within communications. The determination of latent content requires judgments on the part of the researcher.
Latent content
Coding is the process of transforming raw data – either manifest or latent content – into ___ , ___ form.
standardized; quantitative
True or false: Only quantitative techniques are appropriate for interpreting content analysis data.
False (both quantitative and qualitative techniques are appropriate)
What are some advantages of content analysis? (3)
- Economy
- Ease of correcting mistakes
- Ability to study processes occurring over a long time
What are some disadvantages of content analysis? (2)
- Limited to recorded communications
2. Can raise issues of reliability and validity
True or false: Social work researchers also use historical and comparative methods to discover common patterns that recur in different times and places.
True
What are two broad types of source materials for historical research?
Primary and secondary sources
What does a primary source do?
Provides firsthand accounts by someone who was present at an event.
(Example: diaries, letters, organizational bylaws, the minutes of a meeting, the orally reported memory of an eyewitness, etc.)
What does a secondary source do?
Describe past phenomena based on primary sources.
What is a danger in working exclusively with secondary sources?
You may merely repeat the mistakes contained in those sources and fail to give yourself the opportunity provide a new, independent perspective on past events.
But, primary sources can be flawed as well. For example, an eyewitness could have been biased or may experience faulty memory.
When conducting historical research, you should try not to rely on a ___ source, or one type of source.
Single
(Your protection against dangers in using primary and secondary sources lies in corroboration. If several sources point to the same set of “facts”, then your confidence in them might reasonably increase)
___ refers to interpreting social life by mentally taking on the circumstances, views and feelings of the participants.
Hermeneutics
