Exam 3

Question 1

EXAMPLE OF QUESTION TESTING KNOWLEDGE OF KEY CONCEPTS:
Researchers generally agree that debriefing:
A) is an optional procedure whose primary purpose is subject enlightenment.
B) is easier to carry out in field experiments than in laboratory experiments.
C) should be omitted when participants have been deceived because the revelation of deception
may prove embarrassing.
D) may provide important information about how participants reacted to experimental
procedures.

Answer 1

*D) may provide important information about how participants reacted to experimental
procedures.

Question 2

EXAMPLE OF QUESTION TESTING ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE:
Suppose you hypothesize that the more sociology courses a student takes, the more sensitive he
or she becomes to the needs of others. You then ask a random sample of students at your college
how many sociology courses they have taken and also ask them a set of questions measuring
social sensitivity. Finally, you calculate the association between the two variables. This is an
example of a:
A) laboratory experiment.
B) cross-sectional survey.
C) existing data content analysis.

Answer 2

*B) cross-sectional survey

Question 3

What are the features of survey research:

Answer 3

1) A large number of respondents are chosen to represent a population of interest.
2) Structured questionnaire or interview procedures that ask a predetermined set of questions. 3) The quantitative analysis of survey responses.

Question 4

Constructing the questionnaire:

Answer 4

Structured interview, unstructured interview, semi-structured interview P215

Question 5

Types of questions within a survey:

Answer 5

Closed-ended questions

Open-ended questions

Question 6

Problems with survey questions:

Answer 6

Troublesome or indefinite words, using negative words, using technical words or jargon, emotionally loaded words/bias, questions addressing two questions, leading questions.

Question 7

Wording/language, where they are placed in the survey, sensitive questions):

Answer 7

Should start with an interesting question which the respondent would expect, follow with interesting questions, sensitive questions asked after the interview was well underway and trust was established, uninteresting/mundane questions asked last.

Question 8

Types of surveys/Modes of data collection (compare and contrast, pros and cons):

Answer 8

Face to face – most interactive, direct in-person contact, move to Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI).
Cons: Cost
Telephone - computer-assisted, substantial savings of cost and time, completed quickly, CATI. Cons: fewer response options, difficult to establish rapport, questions must be simpler, higher rates of nonresponse, underreporting of sensitive/socially undesirable behavior.
Paper and pencil – hand-delivered to group or person, self-administered, less expensive, no travel or phone expenses, sample size can be large, geographical dispersion is not a problem. Cons: response rate much lower, those with little writing ability or not interested in the question don’t respond, more questions left unanswered, no opportunity to clarify questions.
Mixed-mode: uses more than one mode, weaknesses of one mode may be offset by strengths of another.
Cons: uncertainty as to whether the data from respondents surveyed by different modes are comparable.

Question 9

Variation in survey design (cross-sectional, longitudinal):

Answer 9

Cross-sectional – involves a sample or “cross-section” of respondents chosen to represent a particular target population.
Longitudinal – same questions are asked at two or more points in time [trend study & panel study].

Question 10

Pros and Cons of different types of surveys/interviews/questions:

Answer 10

Closed-ended questions – require respondents to choose a response from those provided. Open-ended questions – require answers in their own words.

Question 11

The process of planning and conducting a survey (the sequence of tasks/events – what comes
first? Second? Etc.):

Answer 11

1) Chose mode of data collection/Choose sampling frame.
2) construct and pretest questionnaire/design and select sample.
3) recruit sample and collect data.
4) Code and edit data.

Question 12

Pros and Cons of survey research:

Answer 12

Pros: most effective means of social description, versatility, topics wide-ranging, efficiency. Cons: cannot determine a causal relationship, rely on self-reports, lack of truthfulness, misunderstanding, forgetfulness of past events, instability of opinions and attitudes.

Question 13

Essential features of true experiments

Answer 13

Hypothesis, Manipulation of Independent Variable, Measurement of Dependent Variable

Question 14

Ethical problems in experiments (laboratory, field):

Answer 14

Informed consent, deception, debriefing

Question 15

Replicating experimental results =

Answer 15

= increased generalizability

Question 16

Testing and confirming hypothesis enhances validity in experiments

Answer 16

True

Question 17

The experimental design used mostly for explanatory or hypothesis testing purposes:

Answer 17

Pretest-Posttest design

Question 18

Logics of experimentation:

Answer 18

Association, Direction of Influence, Nonspuriousness

Question 19

Sampling (different types):

Answer 19

Random/Probability Sampling

Question 20

Experimental Design (how do experimental designs differ?):

Answer 20

Posttest-only design-dependent variable was measured after the manipulation of the independent variable.
Pretest-posttest control group design-dependent variable was measured both before and after the manipulation of the independent variable.
Factorial design-2 or more variables are manipulated.

Question 21

Measuring variables:

Answer 21

Verbal- most common, easy to devise, participants may censor their responses, difference between what they say and what they do.
Observational- less aware or unaware, more precise, better to get a direct measure rather than an indirect measure of behavior.

Question 22

Experimental contexts (how do they vary?)

Answer 22

Unclear

Question 23

The process of conducting an experiment (the first step? Second? Etc.):

Answer 23

Design Experiment ->
Pretest -> Recruit Research Participants ->
Introduce Experiment ( Acquire Informed Consent) ->
Introduce Experiment (
Manipulate Independent Variable ->
Measure Independent Variable (
Debrief

Question 24

Reliability

Answer 24

Validity? Replicability?

Question 25

Internal Validity:

Answer 25

Evidence that rules out the possibility that factors other than the manipulated independent variable are responsible for the measured outcome.

Question 26

External Validity:

Answer 26

The extent to which experimental findings mean outside the context of the particular experiment.

Question 27

Limitations of experiments:

Answer 27

Tend to be low in external validity or generalizability, Subject to reactive measurement effects (subjects want to be helpful, project a favorable image), Restricted in what may be studied.

Question 28

Importance of debriefing –

Answer 28

can provide important information about how participants react to
Experiments.

Question 29

Experiment procedures: What are they designed to do?

(pretesting, cover story, informed consent, manipulation check):

Answer 29

Pretesting is a trial run of an experiment or survey.
Cover Story is an introduction to research participants to obtain cooperation while disguising the hypothesis.
Informed Consent explains procedures, potential risk, harm, and benefits, and informs them that it is voluntary.
The Manipulation check is the procedure to provide evidence that participants interpreted the manipulation of the independent variable the way it was intended.

Question 30

Contrasting laboratory experiments with field experiments:

Answer 30

Find it

Question 31

Examples of sources of existing data:

Answer 31

Public documents, official records, private documents, mass media, physical/nonverbal evidence, data archives

Question 32

valuation/refinement of data is especially important in existing data analysis

Answer 32

valuation/refinement of data is especially important in existing data analysis

Question 33

Examples of private documents that are used as data sources:

Answer 33

Diaries, letters, business personnel records, sales records, inventories, tax reports, hospital patient records, transcripts.

Question 34

What are: Vital statistics, census data, government statistics?

Answer 34

Examples of public documents that are used as data sources: Government archives, vital statistics (births, deaths, marriages, divorces), Census data

Question 35

The process of analyzing existing statistics (the sequence of tasks/events) What is the first step? The second, etc.:

Answer 35

1) Search for and obtain data.
2) measure the variable.
3) evaluate and adjust the data.
4) analyze the data.

Question 36

Measuring variables and evaluating data:

Answer 36

The use of multiple measures of a given variable. Use of several data sources. The most important rule is the researcher must reconstruct the process by which the data were originally assembled (how, when, where, by whom the data were collected).

Question 37

Secondary analysis =

Answer 37

survey data collected by another researcher

Question 38

Content analysis (what it is good/not good for studying?):

Answer 38

?): set of procedures for systematically analyzing the symbolic content of recorded communications.
Good for studying symbolic content of recorded communication, focus on text and images that are most likely to reach the consumer.

Question 39

Comparative/historical research (how is it similar to quantitative social research?):

Answer 39

Involves a comparison of the similarities and differences between cases and between historical periods.
3 distinct features –
1) concerned with developing causal explanations,
2) analyze historical sequences to see how events unfold over an extended period of time,
3) systematically compare a small number of similar and contrasting cases.
Quantitative: primary goal is to explain variation in dependent variables.
Comparative: why particular transformations occur; focuses attention on the outcome.

Question 40

Evaluation and refinement of data (importance):

Answer 40

Evaluation and refinement of data (importance):

Question 41

Strengths and weaknesses of existing data analysis:

Answer 41

Strengths: best and often the only opportunity to study the past, periods before the 20th century necessitates the search for existing data, nonreactive measurement, bypasses the stage of data collection, cost-efficient.
Weaknesses: finding data appropriate to answer a research question, selective survival, selective deposit