Module 3: Research Methods

Question 1

Confirmation bias

Answer 1

Question 2

The 7 step research method:

Answer 2

1. Articulate a research question
2. Review existing literature
3. Select a method
4. Obtain ethical approval
5. Collect data
6. Analyze data
7. Circulate data (publish)

Question 3

There are two important reasons to review the existing literature before beginning research:

Answer 3

1. First, most research aims to contribute new knowledge to the discipline. For this reason, sociologists need to know the research that has already taken place to ensure that they are asking a new question or otherwise advancing the field in some way.
2. The second reason to do a literature review before finalizing research plans is that the existing literature helps set the stage for the research question by identifying what we already know about a subject.

Question 4

Qualitative

Answer 4

Question 5

Quantitative

Answer 5

Question 6

Quantitative research is best able to

Answer 6

establish large-scale patterns, doing so through the presentation of numerical data (numbers). Best able to capture patterns that apply to large populations

Question 7

A qualitative research project is oriented toward

Answer 7

achieving a depth of understanding related to the research topic rather than establishing patterns

Question 8

The primary goal of quantitative work is

Answer 8

to test hypotheses about two or more variables

Question 9

The primary goal of qualitative work is to —-. The goal is not to…..

Answer 9

understand and interpret the experiences and perspectives of individuals. The goal is not to reach conclusions about an entire population, but rather to reach in-depth understanding.

Question 10

Mixed methods

Answer 10

involves the researcher using multiple methods to explore a topic

Question 11

triangulation

Answer 11

refers to the applicatthe use of different methods to look at the same object, so that the different findings can be compared.ion and combination of several research methods in the study of the same phenomenon.

Question 12

correlation (2)

describes + we dont know

Answer 12

• describes an association between two variables, such that a change in one variable is associated with a change in the other variable, but one does not cause the change.
• In other words, we don’t know the direction of the relationship, just that a relationship does exist because the variables vary together.

Question 13

causation

Answer 13

Question 14

If a researcher says there is a causal relationship between variables, they mean they are certain — (2)

Answer 14

a change in the independent variable causes a change in the dependent variable. They also mean that they are certain that a change in the independent variable always precedes the change in the dependent variable

Question 15

spurious relationship

Answer 15

Question 16

reliability

Answer 16

Question 17

validity

Answer 17

Question 18

A survey involves

Answer 18

an interviewer asking an interviewee—the research participant—a series of predetermined questions about the topic of interest and recording the answers; those answers become the data.

Question 19

primary data

Answer 19

Question 20

The questions included in surveys and questionnaires are —-.

Answer 20

variables

Question 21

secondary data

Answer 21

Question 22

A limitation of official statistics is that —

Answer 22

the data have already been collected, so the researcher cannot design their own questions meant to specifically target their research topic. Instead, they work with the variables available to them in the dataset.

Question 23

Interviews and focus groups are methods designed to collect data in the form of words; in other words, they are —- approaches

Answer 23

qualitative

Question 24

ethnography

Answer 24

Question 25

Field Research

Answer 25

a qualitative method of data collection that aims to observe, interact and understand people while they are in a natural environment

Question 26

An important strength of experiments is

Answer 26

the ability to identify causation between two variables.

Question 27

social desirability bias

Answer 27

respondents are likely to answer questions in a way that will be viewed positively by others

Question 28

audit study + ex

Answer 28

• a specific type of field experiment primarily used to test for discriminatory behavior when survey and interview questions induce social desirability bias.
• Pettinicchio and Maroto’s study involved sending out hundreds of resumes (from fictitious job candidates) matched in terms of equivalent educational attainment, volunteer experience, and job experience, but half of those applicants indicated a disability. The dependent variable is the outcome of a job application. To measure their dependent variable, Pettinicchio and Maroto tracked the outcomes of the applications; were the job candidates who indicated a disability as likely to receive a call or email for more information or for an interview, or were their applications met with silence?

Question 29

Probability sampling is typically used with — methods and is also called random sampling.

Answer 29

quantitative

Question 30

sampling frame

Answer 30

a list of the items or people forming a population from which a sample is taken.

Question 31

Researchers widely use the non-probability sampling method when they aim at conducting —- research

Answer 31

qualitative

Question 32

research ethics

Answer 32

Question 33

Indigenous research paradigm

Answer 33

• the researcher and research participants are on the same level
• Indigenous research participants are therefore included at each research step and are a part of each research decision.
• Furthermore, research is meant to be for the benefit of all of creation, not for individual gain; this is rooted in the Indigenous emphasis on the relationality aspect of knowledge.

Question 34

Research risk

Answer 34

includes everything from whether the participant is likely to experience harm (psychological, social, emotional, or physical) as a result of agreeing to participate in the study, to how data are stored once collected

Question 35

coding

Answer 35

in quantitative methods, involves converting all data into numerical values

Question 36

the researcher is likely to know when their data collection can end, which is usually when

Answer 36

they are no longer making new observations.

Question 37

peer-reviewed journals

Answer 37

upon receipt of a paper, the journal editor contacts usually three other sociologists familiar with the topic. Those three sociologists review the manuscript and they make a recommendation to the editor about whether to accept or reject the paper or to require the researcher to first make revisions before the item is reconsidered