Test Bank for Approaches to Social Research 6e
Singleton Straits
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Multiple Choice
1. Based on your reading of this chapter, what is the best answer to the question, “Why study
research methods?” Studying research methods
a. is a necessity for those who plan to conduct their own research.
b. will enhance the resumes of those who apply to graduate school.
c. will clarify the link between the natural sciences and social sciences.
d. can benefit you as both a consumer and producer of research evidence.*
2. One media report of Karpinski’s study of Facebook use and grades used the following
headline: “Sad but true: Using Facebook can lower your GPA.” This headline is misleading
because the study
a. showed that Facebook use is only a problem for first-year students.
b. merely showed an association between Facebook use and poor grades.*
c. was limited to students on Facebook.
d. found a causal relationship only for humanities and social science students.
3. To study the effect of mood on altruism, investigators manipulated subjects’ moods by giving
some of them cookies, after which all subjects were asked to donate money to a local charity.
This research is an example of
a. an experiment.*
b. a survey.
c. field research.
d. the use of available data.
4. With this approach, researchers observe people’s behavior after they systematically introduce
changes into the environment.
a. experiments*
b. surveys
c. field research
d. use of available data
5. With his approach, researchers focus on what people say as opposed to what they do.
a. experiments
b. surveys*
1
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,2 Chapter 1
c. field research
d. use of available data
6. A study of altruism in which members of a large group of people were questioned about their
charitable acts would characterize
a. experiments.
b. surveys.*
c. field research.
d. use of available data.
7. Deciding which observations to record and when and how to record them are among the most
basic problems of the
a. experimenter.
b. survey researcher.
c. field researcher.*
d. analyst of available data.
8. Assessing the effect of the 9/11 attacks on helping others by using records of the Salvation
Army and United Way to chart donations before and after the attacks is an example of
a. an experiment.
b. a survey.
c. field research.
d. the use of available data.*
9. Which approach is best suited for studying the past and social change?
a. experiments
b. surveys
c. field research
d. use of available data*
10. According to the text’s discussion of the basic approaches to social research,
a. some approaches are more scientific than others.
b. experimentation is the only truly scientific approach to social research.
c. quantitative approaches are superior to qualitative approaches.
d. there are more than two dozen distinctive approaches.
e. each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses.*
11. According to the authors of your textbook,
a. social science findings seldom are reported in the media because few journalists
understand and appreciate the value of social research.
b. most social research is designed to assess the effects of social programs and policies.
c. studying research methods will cultivate your skepticism about research evidence.*
d. studying social research methods mainly benefits students who pursue graduate work in
sociology.
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,4 Chapter 1
True and False
T F* 1. An association between two phenomena (such as Facebook use and grades) implies
that one is the cause of the other.
T* F 2. A knowledge of research methods can benefit you both as a consumer and a producer
of research evidence.
T* F 3. Researchable questions are necessarily narrow and specific.
T F* 4. According to the text, altruism has the same meaning as simply helping others.
T F* 5. The basic approaches to social research are usually equally suitable or feasible to
answer a given research question.
T F* 6. There are two basic approaches to social research: qualitative and quantitative.
T* F 7. In the experiment on social exclusion and helping, students made to feel excluded
were less likely to help others.
T* F 8. Anthropological studies of remote societies in which researchers live among the
inhabitants for long periods typify field research.
T F* 9. A survey researcher would study helping behavior primarily by observing people
engaged in naturally occurring acts of helping.
T* F 10. A major problem encountered by social researchers who want to use available data is
finding data appropriate to address the research question.
Essay
1. Write an essay answering the following question: Why care about research methods? Be sure
to discuss and give examples of how studying research methods can benefit you personally as
both a consumer and producer of research evidence.
2. Briefly describe the four basic approaches to social research.
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, CHAPTER 2
The Nature of Science
Multiple Choice
1. According to the text, when students think of “scientists,” they rarely think of
a. chemistry and physics.
b. white lab coats and test tubes.
c. research activities.
d. the formulation of theory.*
2. According to the authors of your textbook, the natural sciences and social sciences
a. have nothing in common.
b. share common philosophical and logical foundations.*
c. differ primarily in how each defines the concept of “objectivity.”
d. differ insofar as the natural sciences are based on empiricism, whereas the social sciences
are not.
3. The authors of the textbook take the position that
a. social research is fundamentally scientific.*
b. the general scientific method may be applied to some social science topics but not to
others.
c. the social sciences should model themselves after the natural sciences in terms of the
structure of scientific theory but not in terms of the scientific “process.”
d. the social sciences are less scientific than the natural sciences because they cannot be as
objective.
4. The most essential, defining “product” of science is
a. ideas in the form of principles and theories.*
b. technological advances such as telecommunications, laser beams, and computer chips.
c. precise measurement and accurate prediction.
d. discoveries such as new planets, new organisms, and medical cures.
5. Which of the following is an example of a scientific question?
a. To what crimes should capital punishment apply?
b. Should clinical abortions be government funded?
c. Should intelligence tests be used in the schools?
d. Is political corruption a serious problem in the United States?
e. Why do women have abortions?*
6. Which of the following is not a rule about language usage in science?
1
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Singleton Straits
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Multiple Choice
1. Based on your reading of this chapter, what is the best answer to the question, “Why study
research methods?” Studying research methods
a. is a necessity for those who plan to conduct their own research.
b. will enhance the resumes of those who apply to graduate school.
c. will clarify the link between the natural sciences and social sciences.
d. can benefit you as both a consumer and producer of research evidence.*
2. One media report of Karpinski’s study of Facebook use and grades used the following
headline: “Sad but true: Using Facebook can lower your GPA.” This headline is misleading
because the study
a. showed that Facebook use is only a problem for first-year students.
b. merely showed an association between Facebook use and poor grades.*
c. was limited to students on Facebook.
d. found a causal relationship only for humanities and social science students.
3. To study the effect of mood on altruism, investigators manipulated subjects’ moods by giving
some of them cookies, after which all subjects were asked to donate money to a local charity.
This research is an example of
a. an experiment.*
b. a survey.
c. field research.
d. the use of available data.
4. With this approach, researchers observe people’s behavior after they systematically introduce
changes into the environment.
a. experiments*
b. surveys
c. field research
d. use of available data
5. With his approach, researchers focus on what people say as opposed to what they do.
a. experiments
b. surveys*
1
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,2 Chapter 1
c. field research
d. use of available data
6. A study of altruism in which members of a large group of people were questioned about their
charitable acts would characterize
a. experiments.
b. surveys.*
c. field research.
d. use of available data.
7. Deciding which observations to record and when and how to record them are among the most
basic problems of the
a. experimenter.
b. survey researcher.
c. field researcher.*
d. analyst of available data.
8. Assessing the effect of the 9/11 attacks on helping others by using records of the Salvation
Army and United Way to chart donations before and after the attacks is an example of
a. an experiment.
b. a survey.
c. field research.
d. the use of available data.*
9. Which approach is best suited for studying the past and social change?
a. experiments
b. surveys
c. field research
d. use of available data*
10. According to the text’s discussion of the basic approaches to social research,
a. some approaches are more scientific than others.
b. experimentation is the only truly scientific approach to social research.
c. quantitative approaches are superior to qualitative approaches.
d. there are more than two dozen distinctive approaches.
e. each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses.*
11. According to the authors of your textbook,
a. social science findings seldom are reported in the media because few journalists
understand and appreciate the value of social research.
b. most social research is designed to assess the effects of social programs and policies.
c. studying research methods will cultivate your skepticism about research evidence.*
d. studying social research methods mainly benefits students who pursue graduate work in
sociology.
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,4 Chapter 1
True and False
T F* 1. An association between two phenomena (such as Facebook use and grades) implies
that one is the cause of the other.
T* F 2. A knowledge of research methods can benefit you both as a consumer and a producer
of research evidence.
T* F 3. Researchable questions are necessarily narrow and specific.
T F* 4. According to the text, altruism has the same meaning as simply helping others.
T F* 5. The basic approaches to social research are usually equally suitable or feasible to
answer a given research question.
T F* 6. There are two basic approaches to social research: qualitative and quantitative.
T* F 7. In the experiment on social exclusion and helping, students made to feel excluded
were less likely to help others.
T* F 8. Anthropological studies of remote societies in which researchers live among the
inhabitants for long periods typify field research.
T F* 9. A survey researcher would study helping behavior primarily by observing people
engaged in naturally occurring acts of helping.
T* F 10. A major problem encountered by social researchers who want to use available data is
finding data appropriate to address the research question.
Essay
1. Write an essay answering the following question: Why care about research methods? Be sure
to discuss and give examples of how studying research methods can benefit you personally as
both a consumer and producer of research evidence.
2. Briefly describe the four basic approaches to social research.
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, CHAPTER 2
The Nature of Science
Multiple Choice
1. According to the text, when students think of “scientists,” they rarely think of
a. chemistry and physics.
b. white lab coats and test tubes.
c. research activities.
d. the formulation of theory.*
2. According to the authors of your textbook, the natural sciences and social sciences
a. have nothing in common.
b. share common philosophical and logical foundations.*
c. differ primarily in how each defines the concept of “objectivity.”
d. differ insofar as the natural sciences are based on empiricism, whereas the social sciences
are not.
3. The authors of the textbook take the position that
a. social research is fundamentally scientific.*
b. the general scientific method may be applied to some social science topics but not to
others.
c. the social sciences should model themselves after the natural sciences in terms of the
structure of scientific theory but not in terms of the scientific “process.”
d. the social sciences are less scientific than the natural sciences because they cannot be as
objective.
4. The most essential, defining “product” of science is
a. ideas in the form of principles and theories.*
b. technological advances such as telecommunications, laser beams, and computer chips.
c. precise measurement and accurate prediction.
d. discoveries such as new planets, new organisms, and medical cures.
5. Which of the following is an example of a scientific question?
a. To what crimes should capital punishment apply?
b. Should clinical abortions be government funded?
c. Should intelligence tests be used in the schools?
d. Is political corruption a serious problem in the United States?
e. Why do women have abortions?*
6. Which of the following is not a rule about language usage in science?
1
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