Midterm

Question 1

ordinal measure

Answer 1

A level of measurement describing
a variable with attributes we can rank-order
along some dimension

Question 2

validity

Answer 2

A term describing a measure that accurately

reflects the concept it is intended to measure.

Question 3

variables

Answer 3

Logical sets of attributes. The variable gender

is made of up of the attributes male and female

Question 4

conflict paradigm

Answer 4

A paradigm that views human behavior as attempts to dominate others or avoid
being dominated by others.

Question 5

theory

Answer 5

A systematic explanation for the observations
that relate to a particular aspect of life: juvenile
delinquency, for example, or perhaps social
stratification or political revolution.VD8���

Question 6

critical race theory

Answer 6

A paradigm grounded in race awareness and an intention to achieve racial justice.o measure.

Question 7

replication

Answer 7

Repeating a research study to test
and either confirm or question the findings of an
earlier study.ers.

Question 8

critical realism

Answer 8

A paradigm that holds things are

real insofar as they produce effects

Question 9

nomothetic

Answer 9

An approach to explanation in which
we seek to identify a few causal factors that generally
impact a class of conditions or events. Imagine
the two or three key factors that determine which
colleges students choose proximity, reputation,
and so forth.

Question 10

feminist paradigms

Answer 10

Paradigms that (a) view and
understand society through the experiences of
women and/or (b) examine the generally deprived
status of women in society

Question 11

methodology

Answer 11

The science of finding out; procedures

for scientific investigation

Question 12

hypothesis

Answer 12

It is a
statement of something that ought to be observed
in the real world if the theory is correct.

Question 13

induction

Answer 13

The logical model in which general

principles are developed from specific observations.

Question 14

interest convergence

Answer 14

The thesis that majority
group members will only support the interests of
minorities when those actions also support the
interests of the majority group.

Question 15

independent variable

Answer 15

A variable with values
that are not problematic in an analysis but are
taken as simply given

Question 16

macrotheory

Answer 16

A theory aimed at understanding
the �big picture� of institutions, whole societies,
and the interactions among societies

Question 17

idiographic

Answer 17

An approach to explanation in which
we seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a
particular condition or event.eties

Question 18

microtheory

Answer 18

A theory aimed at understanding
social life at the intimate level of individuals
and their interactions

Question 19

epistemology

Answer 19

the science of knowing; systems of

knowledge.

Question 20

null hypothesis

Answer 20

(1) In connection with hypothesis
testing and tests of statistical significance, that hypothesis that suggests there is no relationship
among the variables under stu

Question 21

dependent variable

Answer 21

variable assumed to
depend on or be caused by another (called the
independent variable).iven

Question 22

deduction

Answer 22

The logical model in which specific expectations
of hypotheses are developed on the basis
of general principles

Question 23

operationalization

Answer 23

Operationalization is the process of
developing operational definitions, or specifying
the exact operations involved in measuring
a variable.

Question 24

attributes

Answer 24

Characteristics of people or thinge

Question 25

paradigm

Answer 25

model or frame of reference

through which to observe and understand.

Question 26

agreement reality

Answer 26

Those things we know as part of the culture we share with those around us.

Question 27

positivism

Answer 27

Introduced by August Comte, this
philosophical system is grounded on the rational
proof/disproof of scientifi c assertions; assumes a
knowable, objective reality

Question 28

symbolic interactionism

Answer 28

paradigm that views
human behavior as the creation of meaning through
social interactions, with those meanings conditioning
subsequent interactions.

Question 29

cohort study

Answer 29

study in which some specific subpopulation,
or cohort, is studied over time, although
data may be collected from different members in
each set of observations.ty

Question 30

structural functionalism

Answer 30

paradigm that divides
social phenomena into parts, each of which serves
a function for the operation of the whole.

Question 31

correlation

Answer 31

An empirical relationship between
two variables such that (a) changes in one are associated
with changes in the other or (b) particular
attributes of one variable are associated with
particular attributes of the other.

Question 32

postmodernism

Answer 32

paradigm that questions the assumptions
of positivism and theories describing an
�objective� reality.principle

Question 33

cross-sectional study

Answer 33

study based on observations

representing a single point in time.

Question 34

longitudinal study

Answer 34

study design involving the
collection of data at different points in time, as contrasted
with a cross-sectional study

Question 35

conceptualization

Answer 35

The mental process whereby
fuzzy and imprecise notions (concepts) are made
more specific and precise.principle

Question 36

ecological fallacy

Answer 36

Erroneously drawing conclusions
about individuals solely from the observation of
groups.

Question 37

construct validity

Answer 37

The degree to which a measure
relates to other variables as expected within a
system of theoretical relationship study

Question 38

trend study

Answer 38

A type of longitudinal study in which
a given characteristic of some population is monitored
over time.

Question 39

content validity

Answer 39

The degree to which a measure

covers the range of meanings included within a concepts

Question 40

spurious relationship

Answer 40

A coincidental statistical
correlation between two variables, shown to be
caused by some third variable.nciple

Question 41

criterion-related validity

Answer 41

The degree to which a

measure relates to some external criterion.

Question 42

sociobiology

Answer 42

paradigm based in the view that
social behavior can be explained solely in terms of
genetic characteristics and behavior.

Question 43

dimension

Answer 43

specifiable aspect of a concept. Religion
for example, might be specified in terms of
a belief dimension,

Question 44

social artifact

Answer 44

Any product of social beings or their

behavior. Can be a unit of analysis.

Question 45

face validity

Answer 45

That quality of an indicator that

makes it seem a reasonable measure of some variable

Question 46

reductionism

Answer 46

A fault of some researchers: a
strict limitation (reduction) of the kinds of concepts
to be considered relevant to the phenomenon
under study.

Question 47

indicator

Answer 47

An observation that we choose to consider

as a reflection of a variable we wish to study.

Question 48

panel study

Answer 48

A type of longitudinal study, in which
data are collected from the same set of people (the
sample or panel) at several points in time

Question 49

interval measure

Answer 49

A level of measurement describing
a variable whose attributes are rank-ordered
and have equal distances between adjacent attributes.

Question 50

units of analysis

Answer 50

The what or whom being studied.
In social science research, the most typical units of
analysis are individual people

Question 51

nominal measure

Answer 51

variable whose attributes have only the characteristics of exhaustiveness and
mutual exclusiveness. In other words, a level of
measurement describing a variable that has attributes
that are merely different, as distinguished
from ordinal, interval, or ratio measures.

Question 52

ratio measure

Answer 52

A level of measurement describing a
variable with attributes that have all the qualities
of nominal, ordinal, and interval measures and in
addition are based on a true zero point

Question 53

specification

Answer 53

The process through which

concepts are made more specific

Question 54

specification

Answer 54

The process through which

concepts are made more specific.