Question 1

What is one method through which researchers can focus their projects on areas of greatest concern?

Accepted Answer

A) developing their research questions in consultation with key stakeholders 
B) basing their questions on well-known academic theories 
C) conducting research in the most densely populated cities 
D) prioritizing the needs of the research projects' funders 
A) developing their research questions in consultation with key stakeholders 
B) basing their questions on well-known academic theories 
C) conducting research in the most densely populated cities 
D) prioritizing the needs of the research projects' funders

Question 2

Sociologists at the University of Pennsylvania wish to conduct an intervention involving providing free breakfast and lunch for all students under 18 and its impacts on educational success.They will randomly assign state school districts to the intervention and will match the treatment and control sample based on population characteristics.What is one reason why this study,like all randomized field experiments,might be difficult to implement?

Accepted Answer

A) Randomized field experiments have low internal validity. 
B) Randomized field experiments are often high cost. 
C) Policy makers will likely want to take their time making a decision on the intervention. 
D) Youth education is not one of the highest priority social problems. 
A) Randomized field experiments have low internal validity. 
B) Randomized field experiments are often high cost. 
C) Policy makers will likely want to take their time making a decision on the intervention. 
D) Youth education is not one of the highest priority social problems.

Question 3

An intervention hopes to reduce teenage texting while driving by introducing an intervention in a local driver's education course.Researchers will measure the young people's self-reported propensity to text and drive before and after the intervention.What is one issue confronting the pre-post design of this study?

Accepted Answer

A) Researchers would achieve more accurate validity with reflexive controls. 
B) Statistical controls might better account for pre- and post-design outcomes. 
C) Young people's awareness of the dangers of texting and driving might increase throughout a driver's education course even without the intervention. 
D) Because of selection bias,young people who were already aware of the dangers of texting and driving may be more likely to enroll in the study. 
A) Researchers would achieve more accurate validity with reflexive controls. 
B) Statistical controls might better account for pre- and post-design outcomes. 
C) Young people's awareness of the dangers of texting and driving might increase throughout a driver's education course even without the intervention. 
D) Because of selection bias,young people who were already aware of the dangers of texting and driving may be more likely to enroll in the study.

Question 4

Why might it be unreasonable to ask whether an urban housing program would eliminate all homelessness?

Accepted Answer

A) Homelessness is too politically charged to involve in an intervention study. 
B) Evaluation projects should focus broadly on what makes a program successful. 
C) The issue of homelessness impacts rural communities,not simply urban ones. 
D) Most interventions are designed to produce important but modest effects. 
A) Homelessness is too politically charged to involve in an intervention study. 
B) Evaluation projects should focus broadly on what makes a program successful. 
C) The issue of homelessness impacts rural communities,not simply urban ones. 
D) Most interventions are designed to produce important but modest effects.

Question 5

Food studies scholars are attempting to measure the interventions of access to farmers' markets in neighborhoods that qualify as "food deserts" (areas with little access to grocery stores with fresh produce).Researchers plan to look at quantitative outcomes regarding health and well-being,but what advantages might qualitative data also provide? Explain your answer in 2-3 sentences.

Accepted Answer

Answers will vary but may include the fo

What is one method through which researchers can focus their projects on areas of greatest concern?

Why might it be unreasonable to ask whether an urban housing program would eliminate all homelessness?

The Art and Science of Social Research: An Introduction

Research Foundations: Linking Sociological Theory to Research

Ethical Issues in Social Science Research

From Concepts to Models: Hypotheses, Operationalization, and Measurement

Evaluating Research: Reliability and Validity

Sampling Strategies

Experimental Research

Ethnography

In-Depth Interviewing

Materials-Based Methods

Social Network Analysis

Univariate and Bivariate Analysis of Quantitative Data

Multivariate and Advanced Quantitative Methods

Analysis of Qualitative Data

Communicating Social Science Research Findings

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Exam 9: Evaluation Research

What is one method through which researchers can focus their projects on areas of greatest concern?

Why might it be unreasonable to ask whether an urban housing program would eliminate all homelessness?

The Art and Science of Social Research: An Introduction

Research Foundations: Linking Sociological Theory to Research

Ethical Issues in Social Science Research

From Concepts to Models: Hypotheses, Operationalization, and Measurement

Evaluating Research: Reliability and Validity

Sampling Strategies

Experimental Research

Ethnography

In-Depth Interviewing

Materials-Based Methods

Social Network Analysis

Univariate and Bivariate Analysis of Quantitative Data

Multivariate and Advanced Quantitative Methods

Analysis of Qualitative Data

Communicating Social Science Research Findings

Filters