Term
|
Definition
| One that is highly abstract and makes broad generalizations about the social world. |
|
|
Term
| An inductive theory is one that: |
|
Definition
| Allows theory to emerge out of the data |
|
|
Term
| What is the epistemological position held by a positivist? |
|
Definition
| Scientific research should be based on value-free, empirical observations |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is an ontological question? |
|
Definition
| Do social entities have an objective reality, external to social actors? |
|
|
Term
| The constructionist ontological position suggests that: |
|
Definition
| Social phenomena and their meanings are constantly being accomplished by social actors |
|
|
Term
| The qualitative research strategy places a value on: |
|
Definition
| Generating theories through inductive research about social meanings |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is an example of value-free research? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| An important practical issue to consider when designing a research project is: |
|
Definition
| How much time and money you have to conduct the research |
|
|
Term
| What does an empiricist believe? |
|
Definition
| Knowledge, in the form of 'facts', should be gained through sensory experience |
|
|
Term
| The interpretivist view of the social sciences is that: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is a research design? |
|
Definition
| A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data |
|
|
Term
| If a study is "reliable", this means that: |
|
Definition
| The measures devised for concepts are stable on different occasions |
|
|
Term
| "Internal validity" refers to: |
|
Definition
| Whether or not there is really a causal relationship between two variables |
|
|
Term
| Lincoln & Guba (1985) propose that an alternative criterion for evaluating qualitative research would be: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Naturalism has been defined as: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In an experimental design, the dependent variable is: |
|
Definition
| The one that is not manipulated and in which any changes are observed |
|
|
Term
| What is a cross-sectional design? |
|
Definition
| The collection of data from more than one case at one moment in time |
|
|
Term
| Survey research is cross-sectional and therefore: |
|
Definition
| High in replicability but low in internal validity |
|
|
Term
| Panel and cohort designs differ, in that: |
|
Definition
| A panel study can distinguish between age effects and cohort effects, but a cohort design cannot |
|
|
Term
| Cross cultural studies are an example of: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following requirements for a dissertation may depend on your institution? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The role of a project supervisor is to: |
|
Definition
| Provide intellectual support, guidance and critical feedback |
|
|
Term
| You can manage your time and resources best, by: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What did Marx (1997) mean when he suggested that "intellectual puzzles and contradictions" can be a possible source of research questions? |
|
Definition
| The researcher may feel that there is a contradiction in the literature, presenting a "puzzle" to be solved |
|
|
Term
| How can you tell if your research questions are really good? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following should be included in a research proposal? |
|
Definition
| Your choice of research methods and reasons for choosing them |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following should you think about when preparing your research? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why is it helpful to keep a research diary or log book while you are conducting your project? |
|
Definition
| To keep a record of what you did and what happened throughout the research process |
|
|
Term
| What can you do to ensure your physical safety during your research? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What practical steps can you take before you actually start your research? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why do you need to review the existing literature? |
|
Definition
| To find out what is already known about your area of interest |
|
|
Term
| To read critically means: |
|
Definition
| Evaluating what you read in terms of your own research questions |
|
|
Term
| Which two of the following are legitimate frameworks for setting out a literature review: 1. Constructing inter-textual coherence, 2. Deconstruction of textual coherence, 3. Problematizing the situation, 4. Resolving discovered problems? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A systematic literature review is: |
|
Definition
| A replicable, scientific and transparent process |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A technique of correcting for the errors in individual studies within a survey of a large number of studies, to demonstrate the effect of a particular variable |
|
|
Term
| What is meta-ethnography? |
|
Definition
| A technique for synthesizing interpretations drawn from a number of separate qualitative studies of the same phenomena |
|
|
Term
| What is a narrative literature review? |
|
Definition
| An initial impression of the topic which you will understand more fully as you conduct your research |
|
|
Term
| When accessing the internet, which of these steps is the most essential? |
|
Definition
| They are all equally important |
|
|
Term
| According to the Harvard referencing convention, which is the correct reference? |
|
Definition
| Bryman, A. (2008, 3e) Social Research Methods, Oxford; Oxford University Press |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following statements about plagiarism is most accurate? |
|
Definition
| Any suggestion that we have written what another actually wrote is morally wrong. Anyway, the whole point of a literature review is to show what we have read and what we thought about it. |
|
|
Term
| There is a tendency for debates about ethics in social research to focus on the most extreme cases of ethical transgression. Why might this create a misleading impression? |
|
Definition
| Because this implies that ethical concerns do not pervade all social research |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following ideas is not associated with the stance of situation ethics? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why is it argued that ethical transgression is pervasive in social research? |
|
Definition
| Because researchers rarely provide their participants with all the information they might want to know about a project |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is a form of harm that might be suffered by research participants? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why is it important that personal data about research participants are kept within secure, confidential records? |
|
Definition
| In case individuals, places or organizations can be harmed through identification or disclosure of personal information |
|
|
Term
| Which method is most commonly associated with a lack of informed consent? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why is it "easier said than done" to ensure that the principle of informed consent is adhered to? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Apart from the fact that it is "not a nice thing to do" (p125), what is an important ethical disadvantage of deceiving participants? |
|
Definition
| It can damage the professional reputation of the researcher and their discipline |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following factors does not add a political dimension to the research process? |
|
Definition
| The response rate of a social survey |
|
|
Term
| Whose side did Becker suggest the social researcher should take? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| An operational definition is: |
|
Definition
| A definition of a concept in terms of specific, empirical measures |
|
|
Term
| The importance of measurement in quantitative research is that: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The difference between measures and indicators is that: |
|
Definition
| Measures are unambiguous quantities, whereas indicators are devised from common sense understandings |
|
|
Term
| The split-half method is used as a test of: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a form of measurement validity? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Quantitative social researchers rarely claim to have established causality because |
|
Definition
| They tend to use cross-sectional designs, which produce only correlations |
|
|
Term
| One of the preoccupations of quantitative researchers is with generalization, which is a sign of: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Quantitative research has been criticised because: |
|
Definition
| The measurement process suggests a spurious and artificial sense of accuracy |
|
|
Term
| The term 'reverse operationism' means that: |
|
Definition
| The measurements we devise can sometimes help to develop a theory |
|
|
Term
| Written accounts of quantitative research rarely include the results of reliability and validity tests because: |
|
Definition
| Researchers are more interested in reporting their substantive findings |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A list of all the units in the population from which a sample will be selected |
|
|
Term
| A simple random sample is one in which: |
|
Definition
| Every unit of the population has an equal chance of being selected |
|
|
Term
| It is helpful to use a multi-stage cluster sample when: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The standard error is a statistical measure of: |
|
Definition
| The extent to which a sample mean is likely to differ from the population mean |
|
|
Term
| What effect does increasing the sample size have upon the sampling error? |
|
Definition
| It reduces sampling error |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a type of non-probability sampling? |
|
Definition
| Stratified Random Sampling |
|
|
Term
| Snowball sampling can help the researcher to: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a characteristic of quota sampling? |
|
Definition
| The random selection of units makes it possible to calculate the standard error |
|
|
Term
| The findings from a study of young single mothers at a university can be generalised to the population of: |
|
Definition
| All young single mothers at that university |
|
|
Term
| The term 'data processing error' refers to: |
|
Definition
| Faulty techniques of coding and managing data |
|
|
Term
| Why is it important for structured interviews to follow a standardized procedure? |
|
Definition
| To increase reliability, because all respondents receive the same interview stimulus |
|
|
Term
| Standardizing the interview schedule can reduce interviewer variation in terms of: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Closed ended questions are those that: |
|
Definition
| Have fixed range of possible answers |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a disadvantage of telephone interviewing? |
|
Definition
| Researchers do not have to spend so much time and money on travelling |
|
|
Term
| The acronym "CATI" stands for: |
|
Definition
| Computer-assisted telephone interviewing |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following might you include in an introductory letter to respondents? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A filter question is one that: |
|
Definition
| Helps the interviewer to avoid asking irrelevant questions by directing them elsewhere on the schedule |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not advised when planning the question order of a structured interview? |
|
Definition
| Expect some variation in the order in which questions are asked |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One that prompts respondents to choose from a range of possible answers |
|
|
Term
| The response set of "acquiescence" can be a problem in that: |
|
Definition
| Some people consistently agree or disagree with a set of questions or items |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following statements is correct? |
|
Definition
| Self-completion questionnaires can include postal or email surveys |
|
|
Term
| One of the advantages of self-completion questionnaires over structured interviews is that: |
|
Definition
| They are quicker and cheaper to administer |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a disadvantage of self-completion questionnaires compared to structured interviews? |
|
Definition
| The researcher cannot ask many closed-ended questions |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following steps can be taken to improve response rates to a self-completion questionnaire? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why is it generally better to present fixed choice answers in vertical rather than horizontal form? |
|
Definition
| It makes the layout of the questionnaire more clear and unambiguous |
|
|
Term
| When using a Likert scale with a long list of items, it is usually better to: |
|
Definition
| Arrange the answers horizontally, in abbreviated form |
|
|
Term
| In order to identify response sets in a Likert scale, you could: |
|
Definition
| Reverse the scoring of pre-coded answers |
|
|
Term
| Corti (1993) makes a distinction between two types of researcher-driven diary: |
|
Definition
| Structured and free-text diaries |
|
|
Term
| The 'time-use' diary can provide quantitative data about: |
|
Definition
| The amount of time respondents spend on certain activities every day |
|
|
Term
| One advantage of using diaries in quantitative research is that: |
|
Definition
| There is little danger of attrition, as respondents tend to be highly motivated |
|
|
Term
| An open question is one that: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In order to post-code answers to open questions, it is necessary to: |
|
Definition
| Categorise unstructured material and assign a code number to each category |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not an advantage of using closed questions in a survey? |
|
Definition
| They prevent respondents from giving spontaneous, unexpected answers |
|
|
Term
| Informant factual questions are those that: |
|
Definition
| Ask people about the characteristics of a social setting or entity that they know well |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is a general rule of thumb for designing questions? |
|
Definition
| Always bear in mind your research questions |
|
|
Term
| A question bank is a useful resource for: |
|
Definition
| Studying the way questions have been successfully used in previous surveys |
|
|
Term
| The value of piloting a questionnaire is that it helps you to: |
|
Definition
| Identify and amend any problems in the question wording, order and format |
|
|
Term
| A vignette question is one that asks respondents to think about: |
|
Definition
| A scenario involving imaginary characters in a realistic situation |
|
|
Term
| Leading questions should also be avoided because: |
|
Definition
| They suggest ways of answering and so may bias the results |
|
|
Term
| You should avoid using double-barrelled questions in a survey because: |
|
Definition
| They confuse respondents by asking about two different things |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is a problem associated with survey research? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The key advantage of structured observation over survey research is that: |
|
Definition
| It allows you to observe people's behaviour directly. |
|
|
Term
| What is an observation schedule? |
|
Definition
| A set of explicit rules for assigning behaviour to categories |
|
|
Term
| LaPiere conducted a study of the way restaurant owners granted or refused access to a Chinese couple. This is an example of observing behaviour in terms of: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| It may not be possible to use a probability sample to observe behaviour in public places because: |
|
Definition
| It is not feasible to construct a sampling frame of interactions |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a type of sampling used in structured observation? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Cohen's kappa is a measure of: |
|
Definition
| Inter-observer consistency |
|
|
Term
| What is meant by the term "reactive effect"? |
|
Definition
| If people know they are being observed, they may change their behaviour |
|
|
Term
| What did Salancik mean by "field stimulations"? |
|
Definition
| Researchers can intervene in and manipulate a setting to observe the effects |
|
|
Term
| One of the criticisms often levelled at structured observation is that: |
|
Definition
| It does not allow us to understand the meanings behind behaviour |
|
|
Term
| Quantitative content analysis is an approach that aims to: |
|
Definition
| Objectively and systematically measure the content of a text |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following could be subjected to a textual content analysis? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why did Warde sample food magazines from four different months in the year? |
|
Definition
| To take into account any seasonal variation in the recipes included in the magazines |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not an example of a 'unit of analysis'? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why might a researcher want to count the frequency of certain words in a text? |
|
Definition
| Emotive words can be used excessively to provoke a moral panic |
|
|
Term
| The purpose of a coding manual is to: |
|
Definition
| Provide researchers with instructions about how to code the data |
|
|
Term
| The data from each row in a coding schedule can be entered into a quantitative analysis computer program called: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| One of the potential pitfalls in devising a coding scheme is that: |
|
Definition
| The categories may not be mutually exclusive. |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not an advantage of content analysis? |
|
Definition
| It allows us to observe otherwise inaccessible populations at first hand |
|
|
Term
| If coders differed in their interpretations of the categories in the schedule, this could negatively affect the data's: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The term "secondary analysis" refers to the technique of: |
|
Definition
| Analysing existing data that have been collected by another person or organisation |
|
|
Term
| Why might secondary analysis be a particularly useful method for students? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not an advantage of secondary analysis? |
|
Definition
| It immerses the researcher in the field they are studying |
|
|
Term
| The large samples used in national social surveys enable new researchers to |
|
Definition
| Conduct subgroup analysis |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a disadvantage of using secondary analysis? |
|
Definition
| It is a relatively expensive and time consuming process |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following provides official statistics that could be analysed as secondary data? |
|
Definition
| Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS) |
|
|
Term
| What is one of the advantages that official statistics have over structured interview data? |
|
Definition
| They allow the researcher to identify social trends over time |
|
|
Term
| Studying the official crime rate may provide unreliable data because: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the "ecological fallacy"? |
|
Definition
| The error of making inferences about individual behaviour from aggregate data |
|
|
Term
| Why has the secondary analysis of official statistics been seen as an "unobtrusive" method? |
|
Definition
| The researcher is removed from the social settings that they are investigating |
|
|
Term
| What is the difference between interval/ratio and ordinal variables? |
|
Definition
| The distance between categories is equal across the range of interval/ratio data |
|
|
Term
| What is the difference between a bar chart and a histogram? |
|
Definition
| There are no gaps between the bars on a histogram |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An extreme value at either end of a distribution |
|
|
Term
| What is the function of a contingency table, in the context of bivariate analysis? |
|
Definition
| It summarises the frequencies of two variables so that they can be compared |
|
|
Term
| If there were a perfect positive correlation between two interval/ratio variables, the Pearson's r test would give a correlation coefficient of: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the name of the test that is used to assess the relationship between two ordinal variables? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| When might it be appropriate to conduct a multivariate analysis test? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is meant by a "spurious" relationship between two variables? |
|
Definition
| A relationship that appears to be true because each variable is related to a third one |
|
|
Term
| A test of statistical significance indicates how confident the researcher is about: |
|
Definition
| Generalising their findings from the sample to the population |
|
|
Term
| Setting the p level at 0.01 increases the chances of making a: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the advantage of using SPSS over calculating statistics by hand? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In SPSS, what is the "Data Viewer"? |
|
Definition
| A spreadsheet into which data can be entered |
|
|
Term
| How is a variable name different from a variable label? |
|
Definition
| It is shorter and less detailed |
|
|
Term
| What does the operation "Recode Into Different Variables" do to the data? |
|
Definition
| Redistributes a range of values into a new set of categories and creates a new variable |
|
|
Term
| How would you use the drop-down menus in SPSS to generate a frequency table? |
|
Definition
| Click on: Analyze; Descriptive Statistics; Frequencies |
|
|
Term
| Why might you tell SPSS to represent the "slices" of a pie chart in different patterns? |
|
Definition
| If you do not have a colour printer, it makes the differences between slices clearer |
|
|
Term
| When cross-tabulating two variables, it is conventional to |
|
Definition
| Represent the dependent variable in rows and the independent variable in columns |
|
|
Term
| In which sub-dialog box can the Chi Square test be found? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| To generate a Spearman's rho test, which set of instructions should you give SPSS? |
|
Definition
| Analyze; Correlate; Bivariate; select variables; Spearman; OK |
|
|
Term
| How would you print a bar chart that you have just produced in SPSS? |
|
Definition
| In Output Viewer, click File, Print, select the bar chart and click OK |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is a method that is commonly used in qualitative research? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is meant by the term "grounded theory"? |
|
Definition
| Theoretical ideas and concepts should emerge from the data |
|
|
Term
| A sensitizing concept is one that: |
|
Definition
| Provides general guidance for more flexible research |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a component of Guba & Lincoln's criterion, "trustworthiness"? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Respondent validation is the process by which: |
|
Definition
| Researchers ask their participants to comment on an account of the findings |
|
|
Term
| Why do qualitative researchers like to give detailed descriptions of social settings? |
|
Definition
| To provide a contextual understanding of social behaviour |
|
|
Term
| The flexibility and limited structure of qualitative research designs is an advantage because: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a criticism of qualitative research? |
|
Definition
| The approach is too rigid and inflexible |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not a contrast between quantitative and qualitative research? |
|
Definition
| Interpretivist vs. feminist |
|
|
Term
| Why has qualitative research been seen to have an affinity with feminism |
|
Definition
| It allows women's voices to be heard, rather than objectifying and exploiting them |
|
|
