Midterm fall of 17

Question 1

good research question

Answer 1

• Narrow and specific
• has more than one answer
• posed in a way that can be answered by observable evidence
• Addresses the decision-making needs of agencies or practical problems in social welfare
• clear significance
• feasible to answer

Question 2

good hypothesis

Answer 2

• be clear and specific
• have more than one possible outcome
• be value free
• testable

Question 3

bad research question

Answer 3

• broad
• only one answer
• unclear
• difficult to answer
• expensive

Question 4

three different method of inquiry

Answer 4

• qualitative (open-ended)
• quantitative( stats, numbers,clos ended)
• Mixed (both)

Question 5

Qualitative research method

Answer 5

Deeper meanings of a particular human experience and generates theoretical richer observations

Question 6

Quantitative research method

Answer 6

Precise and generalizable statistical findings.

Question 7

concept

Answer 7

A mental image that symbolizes an idea, an object, an event, a behavior, a person, etc.

Question 8

attributes

Answer 8

Concepts that make up a broader concept are called attributes, e.g. male/female vs. gender.

Question 9

Variables

Answer 9

Broader concepts that vary (include more than one attribute or level of a concept) and that researchers investigate, e.g. age, gender, level of self-esteem, number of abusive incidents, etc.

Question 10

relationship

Answer 10

Variables that change together in a consistent, predictable fashion, e.g., height and weight

Question 11

Hypothesis

Answer 11

Tentative and testable statement about a presumed relationship between variables

Question 12

Independent Variable

Answer 12

The variable in a hypothesis that is postulated to explain or cause another variable

Question 13

Dependent Variable

Answer 13

The variable in a hypothesis that is thought to be explained or caused by the independent variable

Question 14

3 type of variable relationships

Answer 14

positive , negative and curvilinear

Question 15

Moderating Variable

Answer 15

• Can influence the strength and direction of relationships between independent and dependent variables
• Sometimes called control variables
• When controlled for in a study can show that the relationship between the independent and dependent variables is really spurious

Question 16

positive variable

Answer 16

the variable increases together both go I the same direction

Question 17

negative variable

Answer 17

one variable goes up and one goes down

Question 18

curvilinear

Answer 18

at different points different relationships, up-down-up or down-up-down

Question 19

Mediating Variable

Answer 19

Mechanisms by which independent variables can affect dependent variables

Question 20

Pros of Quantitative

Answer 20

• Precision
• Generalizability
• Testing hypotheses

Question 21

Pros of Qualitative

Answer 21

*Deeper understandings
*Describing contexts
*Generating hypotheses
Discovery

Question 22

Cons of Quantitative

Answer 22

• Deductive
• Larger samples
• Objectivity
• Numbers/statistics
• Less contextual detail
• Close-ended questions
• Less time-consuming
• Easier to replicate

Question 23

Cons of Qualitative

Answer 23

• Inductive
• Smaller samples
• Subjectivity
• Words/patterns
• Rich descriptions
• Open-ended questions
• More time-consuming
• Harder to replicate

Question 24

Nominal Level of Measurement

Answer 24

Describes a variable in terms of the number of cases in each category of that variable.
EX: gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation

Question 25

Ordinal level of measurement

Answer 25

Describes a variable whose categories can be rank-ordered according to how much of that variable they are.
We know only whether one case has more or less of something than another case, but we don’t know precisely how much more.
ex: level of client satisfaction