COMM 305 Midterm Exam | Questions with complete solutions

COMM 305 Midterm Exam | Questions with Complete Solutions Methodology differs from epistemology in that methodology is: a. the science of knowing. b. the science of finding out. c. the discovery of reality through agr ...

COMM 305 Midterm Exam | Questions with Complete Solutions Methodology differs from epistemology in that methodology is: a. the science of knowing. b. the science of finding out. c. the discovery of reality through agreement. d. only found through tradition. e. the logical aspect of science. Epistemology is best described as a. the science of knowing. b. the discovery of reality through experimentation. c. the discovery of reality through agreement. d. tradition. e. authority. Professor Rodgers found that the average level of happiness reported by people under 65 years of age declined from 1957 to 1970. However, for this same group, the average level of happiness increased slightly from 1970 to 1978. Rodgers also found that the average level of happiness reported by people age 65 and older increased from 1957 to 1978. A(The) independent variable(s) in this study is(are): a. people. b. level of happiness. c. age. d. gender. e. marital status. Assume that Professor Rodgers from the previous question had studied only three people aged 65 or older. Suppose he concluded that the average level of happiness increased for people aged 65 and older. Rodgers would be committing a. error of overgeneralization. b. error of inaccurate observation. c. error of illogical reasoning. d. error of selective observation. e. no error. Attempts to learn about the world people live in come from a. direct experience. b. tradition. c. direct, personal inquiry. d. authority. e. direct experience; tradition, direct,; personal inquiry; and authority. Social science theory addresses a. what should be. b. what is. c. what is not. d. beliefs. e. philosophy. Which of the following would a sociologist be LEAST likely to study? a. Crime rates increasing in rural areas b. The incidence of child abuse in middle-income families c. Mr. Smith quitting his job d. The incidence of unemployment among white collar workers e. Difference in unemployment rates between Black teens and White teens One of your friends scored in the 90s on her last ten exams. Although she has been studying for this exam and feels prepared, she told you, "I know I'm going to flunk this exam. I've been doing too well on exams." Your friend is committing the error of a. illogical reasoning. b. theory. c. inaccurate observation. d. selective observation. e. overgeneralization. Researchers analyzed the effects of race on sexual activity among adolescent women."" The dependent variable is a. race. b. sexual activity. c. adolescence. d. women. e. age. In comparison to nonscientific inquiry, scientific inquiry a. takes special precaution to avoid error. b. is a semiconscious activity. c. is an activity where we are less concerned about making mistakes. d. guards against all errors. e. creates bias. An independent variable is a a. theoretical concept. b. variable influencing other variables. c. variable influenced by other variables. d. set of attributes. e. either a variable influencing other variables or a variable influenced by others. Which of the following is(are) a probabilistic statement(s)? a. When serving as jurors, women always vote for acquittal. b. When serving as jurors, women never vote for acquittal. c. When serving as jurors, women tend to vote for acquittal. d. When serving as jurors, women do not vote for acquittal. e. When serving as jurors, women always generally vote for acquittal. Which of the following is most likely to be a list of variables? a. Female, Jewish, educational level b. Plumber, professor, dentist c. Occupation, political party preference, birthrate d. 21, violent, social class e. Dishonest, conservative, farmer Steve had a hunch that female students were more punctual than males in the classes that he taught. So, he began to keep track for a week in each class of how many male and female students came in after the class was scheduled to begin. His results supported his hypothesis. Steve is using a. inductive reasoning. b. qualitative analysis. c. deductive reasoning. d. ordinary human inquiry. e. statistical analysis. The development and implementation of simple and complex measurement devices is a safeguard against a. overgeneralization. b. abuse of authority. c. inaccurate observation. d. illogical reasoning. e. tradition. Which of the following is FALSE concerning the use of tradition in inquiry? a. It helps avoid the task of starting from scratch in our search for regularities. b. It demonstrates that knowledge is cumulative. c. The jumping-off part for the development of knowledge is often the inherited body of information. d. It enables us to seek a different understanding of what we all know to be true. e. It increases our bias. The analysis of deviant cases—cases that do not fit the general pattern—helps guard against a. illogical reasoning. b. inaccurate observation. c. the misuse of authority. d. selective observation. True or false: Patterns of cause and effect are probabilistic in nature. True True or false: The variable age has the attribute of 18 to 24. True True or false: Social science theories try to explain why aggregated patterns of behavior are so regular, even when the individuals participating in them may change over time. True True or false: We can predict without understanding. True True of false: The basis of knowledge is agreement. True Jenny decided to read an article published in Law and Society Review. Babbie would urge her to begin reading the article by: a. reading the summary and conclusions b. skimming the article noting the section headings c. reading the abstract d. skimming the article completely e. just sitting down and carefully reading the article While evaluating a research report, Dr. Childs focused on the issue of research design. Which of the following questions would be the least useful for evaluating the design? a. What was the unit of analysis? b. Is the study cross-sectional or longitudinal? c. What population does the researcher want to draw conclusions about? d. Was the purpose of the study exploration, description, or a combination of these? e. All of the above would be helpful questions for evaluating the design. If a reader asks "Who originally collected the data being reanalyzed?" or "When were the data collected?" that reader is most clearly examining issues that focus on: a. research design. b. survey research. c. theoretical orientation. d. field research. e. analysis of existing statistics. Abstracts a. should give you a good idea as to whether you'll want to read the rest of the article. b. should give you a framework for reading the rest of the article. c. may raise questions in your mind regarding method or conclusions. d. may create an agenda to pursue in reading the article. e. all of these choices are correct. A literature review serves to: a. lay the groundwork for your research. b. answer your research question. c. discuss the sample used. d. provide a list of suggested reading. e. examine problems in your research. A typical report begins with a(n) a. literature review. b. purpose and overview statement. c. analysis and description statement. d. summary statement. e. conclusions statement. A good literature review will make use of a process that is akin to which type of sampling? a. Simple random sampling b. Stratified sampling c. Quota sampling d. Cluster sampling e. Snowball sampling True of false: A good research report should read like a good novel. False True of false: The presentation of data analyses should provide a maximum of detail without being cluttered. True In general, as sample size increases: a. the standard error increases in size. b. the standard error decreases in size. c. the standard error will remain the same regardless of changes in sample size. d. the standard error is a constant. e. the standard error fluctuates in size. You are doing research on hospital personnel—orderlies, technicians, nurses, and doctors. You want to be sure you draw a sample that has cases in each of the personnel categories. You want to use probability sampling. An appropriate strategy would be a. simple random sampling. b. quota sampling. c. cluster sampling. d. stratified sampling. e. accidental sampling. The chief aim of probability sampling is to be able to select: a. a sample whose parameters are representative of an unknown population parameter. b. a sample whose statistics will accurately portray an unknown population parameter. c. a sample whose parameters will accurately portray an unknown population statistic. d. a sample whose statistics will accurately portray a known population parameter. e. a sample whose unknown statistics will accurately portray a known parameter. Drawing a judgmental sample: a. allows researchers to use their prior knowledge about the population. b. enlists the aid of uninformed respondents. c. results in a sample that has no researcher bias. d. ensures a representative sample. e. requires the development of a quota matrix. A sampling interval of 5 was used to select a sample from a population of 1000. How many elements are to be in the sample? a. 5 b. 50 c. 100 d. 200 e. 1000 Probability samples are advantageous to the researcher because: a. the method by which they are selected limits conscious and unconscious sampling bias. b. the accuracy or representativeness of the sample can be estimated. c. they are perfectly representative of the population from which they are drawn. d. all of these choices indicate the advantages of probability sampling. e. the method by which they are selected limits conscious and unconscious sampling bias and the accuracy or representativeness of the sample can be estimated. Dr. Chang is conducting a research study of undergraduate students at her college. She wants to ensure an equal number of students from each grade level, so she uses the list of all students provided by the registrar's office. From each list, she randomly selects 50 students from each group. What strategy of sampling is Dr. Chang using? a. Simple random sampling b. Quota sampling c. Cluster sampling d. Stratified sampling e. Accidental sampling You want to examine the relationship between family size and family cohesion. You use as your sample all the students in your research methods class. What kind of sampling design are you using? a. Simple random sampling b. Quota sampling c. Cluster sampling d. Stratified sampling e. Reliance on available subjects ______ is the general term for samples selected in accord with probability theory. a. Probability sampling b. Nonprobability sampling c. Correlation d. Theory e. Snowball sampling Every kth element in a list is chosen for inclusion in the sample in a. simple random sampling. b. systematic sampling. c. disproportionate sampling. d. cluster sampling. e. stratified sampling. If a field researcher wanted to learn a political organization's pattern of recruitment over time, the researcher might begin by interviewing a fairly recent recruit and ask who introduced that person to the organization. Then the researcher might interview the person named and ask who introduced that person to the political organization. This would be an example of: a. snowball sampling. b. systematic sampling. c. deviant cases sampling. d. accidental sampling. e. quota sampling. Professor Hall was planning to do a field study of hitchhikers. Hall wanted to be sure that persons representing all different age, racial, and sex categories were included in the sample of hitchhikers. What kind of sampling scheme would you recommend? a. Deviant cases b. Quota sampling c. Stratified sampling d. Snowball sampling e. Cluster sampling True or False: Snowball sampling would be an effective strategy for a researcher to use if a researcher was interested in studying a population of gang members. True True or false: Sampling error is reduced through an increase in the sample size and an increased homogeneity of the elements being sampled. True Professor Smith gave an exam on Monday. On Wednesday Smith gave the same class the same exam. Professor Smith was clearly interested in assessing the exam's: a. reliability. b. validity. c. face validity. d. conceptualization. e. precision. Reliability is: a. a matter of whether a particular technique, applied repeatedly to the same object, would yield the same results each time b. a matter of ensuring accuracy alone c. a matter of ensuring that the measure measures what one thinks it should measure d. a matter of ensuring precision alone e. a matter of ensuring both accuracy and precision Professor Spence decided to define socioeconomic status as a combination of income and education. Spence then determined the questions to be asked in a survey and the categories of responses. Spence was assigning socioeconomic status: a. a nominal definition only. b. an operational and a real definition. c. a real definition only. d. a nominal and a real definition. e. a nominal and an operational definition. A level of measurement describing a variable whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes are _____ measures. a. ratio b. interval c. ordinal d. nominal e. theoretical A nominal definition: a. is a statement of the essential nature of some entity. b. is a statement detailing what will be involved in measuring some entity. c. is a statement that allows us to observe some entity. d. is a statement that assigns a definition to a concept. A survey question asking voters which political party they are affiliated with (Democrat, Republican, Independent) would be considered: a. mutually exclusive. b. exhaustive. c. interchangeable. d. a ratio scale. e. an ordinal scale Shipley developed a NEW test to measure IQ. Using his test, someone with an IQ of 180 would be considered twice as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 90 and someone with an IQ of 90 was three times as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 30. Shipley's test treats IQ as a(n): a. nominal variable. b. interval variable. c. ratio variable. d. ordinal variable. e. none of these choices. Classifying someone as employed or not employed treats employment as: a. a ratio variable. b. an interval variable. c. an ordinal variable. d. a nominal variable. e. a dependent variable. Professor Tilton measured the variable "feelings toward drafting women" with the categories strongly agree, agree, indifferent, disagree, and strongly disagree. Professor Tilton was using the _____ level of measurement. a. nominal b. interval c. ratio d. ordinal e. not enough information to decide What is the lowest level of measurement in which there is an exact difference between attribute values? a. Nominal b. Interval c. Ratio d. Ordinal e. All of these choices Jeremy can't decide whether he should ask people whether they "very strongly agree," "agree," "disagree," "very strongly disagree" or whether they simply "agree" or "disagree" with statements about the war in Iraq. Jeremy is dealing with the problem of: a. whether to use single or multiple indicators of a concept. b. the range of variation. c. whether to use a ratio or ordinal measurement. d. whether to use a ratio or interval measurement. e. whether to use single or multiple dimensions True or false: Validity refers to the extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the real meaning of the concept under consideration. True