PG48-52 Strengths and Limitations of Quantitative Research Methods Quiz

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What are the two basic types of questions in questionnaires?

Quantitative and qualitative
Structured and unstructured
Multiple-choice and true/false
Closed-ended and open-ended (correct)

In what type of questionnaire do respondents provide answers verbally in the presence of the researcher?

Postal questionnaires
Structured interviews (correct)
Email questionnaires
Web-based questionnaires

What is a defining characteristic of closed-ended questions in questionnaires?

They require detailed explanations
They allow respondents to answer in their own words
They provide unlimited response options
They limit respondent responses to predetermined choices (correct)

Which type of question does not provide predetermined answer choices?

Open-ended questions (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between postal questionnaires and researcher-administered questionnaires?

Presence of the researcher during completion (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main characteristic of the questions in structured interviews?

Predefined set of questions provided to all respondents (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the researcher effect in sociological research?

When the relationship between researcher and respondent biases responses (D) Signup and view all the answers

In a sociological study, what could be a consequence of an aggressive interviewer?

Decreased willingness of respondents to participate (C) Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes correlations from causation in sociological research?

Causation implies a direct cause and effect relationship, whereas correlations do not (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary concern when conducting laboratory experiments in sociology?

Controlling all independent variables (B) Signup and view all the answers

How do field experiments in sociology differ from laboratory experiments?

Field experiments allow for uncontrolled variables, unlike laboratory experiments (C) Signup and view all the answers

Why are laboratory experiments considered unusual in sociology?

They involve controlling all variables in a closed environment (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of experiment is more likely to establish correlations rather than causation?

Field experiments (B) Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes causality from correlation in sociological research?

Causality requires a causal link between variables, while correlations do not. (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the key difference between structured interviews and postal questionnaires in research?

Postal questionnaires have fixed response options, while structured interviews allow for open-ended responses. (B) Signup and view all the answers

What type of study did Rosenthal and Jacobson conduct to manipulate the teachers' beliefs and influence students' IQ scores?

Laboratory experiment (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a major strength of laboratory experiments compared to field experiments?

Higher level of reliability (D) Signup and view all the answers

What term is used to describe changes in people's behavior due to the awareness of being studied?

Hawthorne effect (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is one significant limitation of laboratory experiments mentioned in the text?

Introduction of uncontrolled independent variables (A) Signup and view all the answers

What does content analysis primarily involve the study of?

Texts such as television and written documents (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which researcher used content analysis to identify and analyze stereotypical roles played by female characters in soap operas?

Meehan (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is a key strength of content analysis according to the text?

'Concept mapping' underlying patterns (A) Signup and view all the answers

'Reliability may be limited' in content analysis due to what factor according to the text?

'Subjective judgements' made by researchers (D) Signup and view all the answers

'Content analysis does not tell us very much about how or why audiences receive, understand, accept or ignore themes and patterns'. What does this limitation suggest about content analysis?

'Limited generalizability' (B) Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes quantitative content analysis from qualitative content analysis?

Use of statistical techniques vs. categorization of themes (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of a questionnaire?

To quantify responses on a specific topic (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a strength of pre-coded questions in a questionnaire?

They make it easier to quantify data due to limited and known options (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential limitation of questionnaires?

The researcher has no way to clarify questions with respondents (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a strength of questionnaires?

Respondents do the time-consuming work of completing the questionnaire (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential problem with unintentional biased questions in a questionnaire?

Respondents may define options differently, leading to inconsistent responses (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is a strength of structured interviews compared to questionnaires?

The researcher can clarify questions if respondents misunderstand (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a limitation of structured interviews?

Respondents may provide biased answers due to lack of anonymity (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential issue with questionnaires that can be avoided through pilot studies?

The presence of unintentional biased questions (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a strength of questionnaires mentioned in the text?

They can result in highly reliable data due to everyone answering the same questions (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential limitation of structured interviews mentioned in the text?

They involve assumptions about people's behavior (A) Signup and view all the answers