Test Bank For The Process of Social Research 2nd Edition By
Jeffrey C. Dixon
What is the best way to know what facts are? - ANSWER: Conduct sound research
What are facts? - ANSWER: Research findings
What do we rely on sound research to know? - ANSWER: Facts
The Stouffer Study; The American Solider - ANSWER: Samuel Stouffer
Very historic study because of its size & influence on the development of theory in
sociology
Social science uses research to understand.. - ANSWER: Human thought and
behavior
Generalizations - ANSWER: General trends regarding social life
Laws - ANSWER: A tendency of something that happens with a very few or no
exceptions
Overgeneralization Definition - ANSWER: Assuming that broad patterns exist based
on very limited observations.
Sociological Ways of Knowing - ANSWER: Informal observation, selective
observation, overgeneralization, authority, and research methods
Informal Observation - ANSWER: Occurs when we make observations without any
systematic process for observing or assessing accuracy of what we observed.
Selective Observation - ANSWER: Occurs when we see only those patterns that we
want to see or when we assume that only the patterns we have experienced directly
exist.
Overgeneralization Observation - ANSWER: Occurs when we assume that broad
patterns exist even when our observations have been limited.
Authority - ANSWER: A socially defined source of knowledge that might shape our
beliefs about what is true and what is not true.
Research Methods - ANSWER: An organized, logical way of learning and knowing
about our social world.
, Sources of Knowledge That Turn Out to be Wrong/Can Cause False Findings: -
ANSWER: 1. Personal experience
2. Common sense
3. The media
4. Politicians
5. Experts
6. Tradition
Personal Experience - ANSWER: Can't generalize from this, but it is a good place to
start. Not enough substantial material.
Examples of Personal Experience - ANSWER: spanking, divorce, people born on leap
year
Common Sense - ANSWER: The trouble with this is that there are things that we say
that are/sound like common sense but are in fact not true.
Examples of Common Sense - ANSWER: "opposites attract, birds of a feather flock
together, too many cooks spoil the broth, two heads are better than one"
The Media - ANSWER: cannot trust the media; there are news that try their hardest
to give accurate knowledge and then there's fake news; can be accurate, but you
need to always be skeptical because they're barely ever 100% correct.
Examples of the Media - ANSWER: A group of teenagers got in trouble and a lot of
them were wearing NY Yankee merch, so the New York Times used a picture of them
to write a front-page article about how Yankee's fans are violent and troublesome.
Politicians - ANSWER: They exaggerate and distort the truth without 'necessarily'
lying to sway things into their favor; lie, exgurate, distort the message with statistics,
etc.
Examples of Politicians - ANSWER: H.w Bush speech on drugs, Specifically coke. The
coke was allegedly bought right across the street from the white house. An
undercover agent bought it at lafayette park. A few weeks later it became known
that the drug problem might actually not be that bad because truthfully the agents
couldn't buy any in lafayette park and it was just a set up as a video to distort the
truth.
Experts - ANSWER: Experts usually gets it right, but sometimes they don't.
Sometimes research is hard to understand and interpret due to the fact that
statistics might be wrong. In addition, sometimes years later, new stats appear and
disturb the old research.
Examples of Experts - ANSWER: 1942 columbus coming to the new world made
people realize the world isn't flat.
Jeffrey C. Dixon
What is the best way to know what facts are? - ANSWER: Conduct sound research
What are facts? - ANSWER: Research findings
What do we rely on sound research to know? - ANSWER: Facts
The Stouffer Study; The American Solider - ANSWER: Samuel Stouffer
Very historic study because of its size & influence on the development of theory in
sociology
Social science uses research to understand.. - ANSWER: Human thought and
behavior
Generalizations - ANSWER: General trends regarding social life
Laws - ANSWER: A tendency of something that happens with a very few or no
exceptions
Overgeneralization Definition - ANSWER: Assuming that broad patterns exist based
on very limited observations.
Sociological Ways of Knowing - ANSWER: Informal observation, selective
observation, overgeneralization, authority, and research methods
Informal Observation - ANSWER: Occurs when we make observations without any
systematic process for observing or assessing accuracy of what we observed.
Selective Observation - ANSWER: Occurs when we see only those patterns that we
want to see or when we assume that only the patterns we have experienced directly
exist.
Overgeneralization Observation - ANSWER: Occurs when we assume that broad
patterns exist even when our observations have been limited.
Authority - ANSWER: A socially defined source of knowledge that might shape our
beliefs about what is true and what is not true.
Research Methods - ANSWER: An organized, logical way of learning and knowing
about our social world.
, Sources of Knowledge That Turn Out to be Wrong/Can Cause False Findings: -
ANSWER: 1. Personal experience
2. Common sense
3. The media
4. Politicians
5. Experts
6. Tradition
Personal Experience - ANSWER: Can't generalize from this, but it is a good place to
start. Not enough substantial material.
Examples of Personal Experience - ANSWER: spanking, divorce, people born on leap
year
Common Sense - ANSWER: The trouble with this is that there are things that we say
that are/sound like common sense but are in fact not true.
Examples of Common Sense - ANSWER: "opposites attract, birds of a feather flock
together, too many cooks spoil the broth, two heads are better than one"
The Media - ANSWER: cannot trust the media; there are news that try their hardest
to give accurate knowledge and then there's fake news; can be accurate, but you
need to always be skeptical because they're barely ever 100% correct.
Examples of the Media - ANSWER: A group of teenagers got in trouble and a lot of
them were wearing NY Yankee merch, so the New York Times used a picture of them
to write a front-page article about how Yankee's fans are violent and troublesome.
Politicians - ANSWER: They exaggerate and distort the truth without 'necessarily'
lying to sway things into their favor; lie, exgurate, distort the message with statistics,
etc.
Examples of Politicians - ANSWER: H.w Bush speech on drugs, Specifically coke. The
coke was allegedly bought right across the street from the white house. An
undercover agent bought it at lafayette park. A few weeks later it became known
that the drug problem might actually not be that bad because truthfully the agents
couldn't buy any in lafayette park and it was just a set up as a video to distort the
truth.
Experts - ANSWER: Experts usually gets it right, but sometimes they don't.
Sometimes research is hard to understand and interpret due to the fact that
statistics might be wrong. In addition, sometimes years later, new stats appear and
disturb the old research.
Examples of Experts - ANSWER: 1942 columbus coming to the new world made
people realize the world isn't flat.
