Exam 20: Research Methods

Explain why and how social scientists use official statistics.

Which of the following terms would be used to describe research that concludes there is a link between phases of the moon and crime rates?

Donna was studying her research data and said to fellow researcher Carl that she believed she had discovered a causal relationship. What would Carl expect Donna to provide as support for her assertion?

There is an old saying that sailors recite: "Red sky at night, sailors' delight; red sky in the morning, sailors' warning." However, meteorological observations lead to the conclusion that there is no correlation between the appearance of the sky, in either the evening or the morning, and either rough or calm seas. In this case, as Karl Popper has suggested, what can one conclude about observations versus theories?

In what kind of study do researchers attempt to closely control the research environment?

Jason had slept in, and after a hurried shower was rushing out the door to school when his mother stopped him and told him to wear a hat to cover his wet hair. Jason asked why and his mother replied, "It's cold outside and if you don't, you'll catch a cold." What was Jason's mother implying?

In survey research, what is a sampling frame?

When does the Hawthorne effect occur?

Which basic methodological research consideration might a black sociologist studying prejudice and discrimination have to be particularly careful to keep in mind, as a researcher and a member of an ethnic minority?

What kind of research should a social scientist use to clearly establish the causal relationship between two variables?

What kind of research is Statistics Canada's national census?

Erving Goffman's work on the insane asylum revealed insights about mental patients. Which method of understanding was that work based on?

According to the text, ethnography contains written results. What are these about?

What is an experiment, and why are they so very rarely conducted by sociologists?

Questioning lies at the heart of research.

Which of the following techniques is often employed by social scientists to eliminate the problem of external validity associated with experiments?