Exam 3: Doing Sociological research

A student's grades are not an accurate reflection of the student's intelligence.Therefore a student's grades lack In a study of intelligence.

Being completely objective while conducting research is impossible.Therefore,most sociologists

Explain what content analysis is,and what types of questions it is most appropriate for.Describe the limitations of content analysis.

Quantitative research is based on direct observation.

Define independent and dependent variables; give a brief example of a research question and identify the independent and dependent variables within it.

A low return rate for a survey is likely to result in findings that are not generalizable to the entire population.

The benefit of participant observation is that it

A sociological study explores whether there is any truth to the stereotype that women are bad drivers.This study is based on which type of reasoning?

Developing a research question is thestep in the research process.

What is necessary in order to draw the most accurate conclusions about a population while only studying part of it?

Research to learn what educational practices work best so as to improve how public schools are run would be an example of.

You eat everyday in the same cafeteria on campus and notice that everyone seems to sit with the same group of people whenever they come to eat.You notice that people seem to be sitting with others who share traits such as race or gender,and you decide to explore if this is the case.What kind of reasoning does this involve?

Explain the difficulties involved in achieving completely "value­free" sociology.How might a researcher potentially bias the outcomes of the research? How do most sociologists resolve the issue of objectivity in research?

Explain what a concept is,and describe the relationship between concepts and indicator variables.

How are most hypotheses stated or formulated?

Covert participatory observation allows researchers to avoid the Hawthorne effect.

Participant observation is sometimes also referred to as.

Serendipity is unimportant to empirical research

Compared to survey research,participant observation creates a greater risk that

To study the difference in academic achievement between male and female athletes,one might look at rates of graduation among university students involved in sports.This is an example ofresearch.