61. A _____ is a large collection of people, groups, or categories that a researcher studies and about which
generalizations are made.
a. collectivity
b. sample
c. population
d. subject pool
62. A sociologist wants to find out what the attitudes toward drinking are among the students at the university where
she works. What would be considered the population for this study?
a. A subset of the student population who will answer a questionnaire
b. The entire student body at that university
c. All of the university students in the U.S.
d. Everyone on that university campus, including students and non-students
63. What is necessary in order to draw the most accurate conclusions about a population while only studying part of
it?
a. A sample that is at least 10 percent of the population
b. A representative sample
c. A group of people from the population who volunteers for the study
d. A sample that is at least half of the population
64. When Dr. Baker collects census data on farm loss he is using _____ data.
a. primary
b. secondary
c. content
d. historical
65. How do sociologists know if the sample they are using is representative?
a. If the people in the sample freely volunteered to serve as representatives
b. If the sample has an even number, decided by the researcher, of people from several different categories
or backgrounds
c. If the sample has the same mix of people, in the same proportions, as the population being studied
d. If the participants have been interviewed to reveal possible bias
66. The best way to ensure that a sample is representative of the population is to
a. make sure it is large enough.
b. select it oneself based on a review of potential sample members.
c. select it randomly.
d. select people who follow directions well.
67. A _____ gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for a study.
a. random sample
b. stratified sample
c. snowball sample
d. biased sample
68. Akasha creates a survey for her sociology course and gives it to her classmates. When she writes up her findings,
she generalizes to all college students. Her generalization is unwarranted because her sample was
a. not given informed consent.
b. not paid to participate.
c. not randomly selected.
d. coerced.
69. The process by which sociologists review the collected data to discover the patterns and uniformities that the
data reveal is called _____.
a. sampling
b. data analysis
c. hypothesis testing
d. generalization
70. During which step of the research process do sociologists make their research discoveries?
a. Formulation of a hypothesis
b. Collection of data
c. Data analysis
d. Presentation of conclusions
71. Researchers use the term “serendipity” to refer to
a. unexpected grant money.
b. findings that are unexpectedly found while analyzing the data for other findings.
c. any findings from their research that seem conclusive.
d. conclusions that support their hypothesis.
72. A research finding that was not being looked for and is unanticipated is called ______ by researchers.
a. spurious
b. serendipity
c. intervening
d. valid
73. A researcher asks himself whether his results apply only to the people he studied or to the whole world. This
researcher is questioning the _____ of his research.
a. reliability
b. validity
c. generalizability
d. replication
74. The ability to apply the findings from one study to a broader population is called _____.
a. generalization
b. validity
c. reliability
d. proving causality
75. If the research conclusions may be generalized to a broader population, what does that mean?
a. Every member of the population has the same characteristics.
b. The findings match theoretical findings.
c. The research findings have direct application to policy.
d. The findings from the sample can be applied to the population.
76. Which of the following is the most commonly used method in sociological research?
a. Survey
b. Participant observation
c. Analysis of secondary sources
d. Experiments
77. Which of these is not a survey?
a. Questionnaire
b. Interview
c. Telephone or internet poll
d. Experiment
78. The return rate for a survey is
a. the percentage of questionnaires distributed that are completed and returned.
b. what the total costs of conducting the survey are.
c. the amount of good data that the researcher can take from each survey returned.
d. the number of surveys returned but not completed.
79. If a sociologist wants to know how students feel about the cost of living in residence halls, the most appropriate
research method to use would be _____.
a. an experiment
b. a survey
c. observation
d. searching university records
80. When people must respond to a question from a fixed list of possible answers to a question, this
a. makes the findings more valid.
b. increases reliability.
c. is an open-ended question.
d. is a closed-ended question.
81. Which type of survey questions are analyzed qualitatively?
a. Closed-ended questions
b. Survey data
c. Open-ended questions
d. Observational data
82. One advantage of surveys is that
a. they are rigid.
b. they can ask about a large number of topics.
c. they do not need to relate to a hypothesis.
d. they have a very high response rate.
83. Which of the following is not a disadvantage of using surveys to gather data?
a. What people say and what they do may be different.
b. A survey may not be anonymous or confidential enough.
c. Surveys are rigid in their design.
d. Surveys are too subjective in their analyses.
84. If respondents do not answer a survey honestly, the researcher has a problem with _____.
a. validity
b. reliability
c. generalization
d. serendipity
85. Participant observation is sometimes also referred to as _____.
a. survey research
b. field research
c. secondary analysis
d. controlled analysis
86. Compared to survey research, participant observation creates a greater challenge that
a. the research is not measuring what it is designed to.
b. the researcher may be subjective in his or her interpretations.
c. the results will not be easily understood by other researchers.
d. the research process is too analytical.
87. WilliamFooteWhyte’s”StreetCornerSociety”isanexampleofwhichmethod of research?
a. Survey
b. Interview
c. Experiment
d. Participant observation
88. The research method that permits the sociologist to be both a subjective participant and an objective observer at
the same time is called _____.
a. content analysis
b. participant observation
c. research on the web
d. structured interviews
89. If Jeff wants to understand a person’s income and employment status he will use _____.
a. an interview
b. nonparticipant observation
c. an experiment
d. participant observation
90. The benefit of participant observation is that it
a. adds personal experience to objective knowledge from other sources.
b. takes much less time than other research methods.
c. is easier than other methods to generalize to a broader population.
d. clearly establishes cause and effect.
91. Which of these is not one of the disadvantages of using participant observation for sociological study?
a. It may pose serious dangers for the researcher.
b. It is time-consuming.
c. The findings may not be generalizable.
d. It permits the researcher to use their own subjective experience.
92. When a researcher engaged in participant observation loses objectivity by becoming so involved that he or she is
not longer an observer, this is referred to as _____.
a. losing touch with reality
b. going overboard
c. going native
d. losingone’sidentity
93. Controlled experiments are highly focused ways of collecting data and are especially useful for determining
_____.
a. respondent opinions
b. qualitative information
c. cause and effect
d. subjective understandings
94. Experiments sometimes include measuring the variable/concept twice. This technique is known as a _____.
a. sample and population
b. primary test and secondary test
c. pretest and posttest
d. control and experiment
95. In a controlled experiment, the group that is exposed to the variable being studied is called the _____, and the group
not being exposed is called the _____.
a. control group; sample
b. experimental group; control group
c. sample; population
d. population; sample
96. The group exposed to the variable in a controlled experiment is called the _____ group.
a. control
b. experimental
c. participant
d. design
97. What is the disadvantage of doing a controlled experiment?
a. Experiments may be artificial, eliminating any real life effects.
b. Experiments are not able to establish causation.
c. Experiments rely on too many independent variables.
d. Experiments are too expensive for most sociologists to conduct.
98. A(n) ______ analyzes the communications of people in order to paint a picture of society.
a. experiment
b. content analysis
c. questionnaire
d. telephone interview
99. A study of how women are depicted in advertisements is an example of what method?
a. Literature review
b. Content analysis
c. Questionnaire
d. Analysis of secondary data
100. Of the methods listed below, which does not directly study people?
a. Participant observation
b. Survey
c. Content analysis
d. Experiment
101. The research on depictions of Black Americans in children’s books mentioned in the text in order to illustrate
a. how content analysis may be used to measure cultural change.
b. the limitations of doing content analysis.
c. theneedformorestudiesofchildren’sliterature.
d. the racist nature of American society.
102. What research method would be most appropriate for a study of cultural changes over long periods of time?
a. Participant observation
b. Survey
c. Content analysis
d. Experiment