Chapter 1:
Human Inquiry
Human Inquiry
A student asks four friends about campus parking and concludes that all students hate it. What error has the student made?
Overgeneralization. Four friends are not sufficient evidence about all students.
A researcher starts with a theory, writes a hypothesis, and tests it using survey data. What type of reasoning is this?
Deductive reasoning.
Students are told they must complete a professor's study to receive a passing grade. What ethical principle is threatened?
Voluntary participation. Students may feel coerced because their grades depend on participation.
A study describes the percentage of students who work while attending college. Is its main purpose exploration, description, or explanation?
Description. The study characterizes a population rather than explaining why a relationship exists.
A researcher says 'success means being successful.' What is missing from this conceptual definition?
Clear, specific meaning of the concept. The definition is circular and does not clarify what success includes.
A researcher only notices examples that support the belief that teenagers are irresponsible. What error is occurring?
Selective observation. The researcher ignores contradictory evidence.
A researcher interviews students, notices recurring themes, and develops an explanation from those observations. What type of reasoning is this?
Inductive reasoning.
A researcher stores names with survey answers but promises not to disclose identities. Is this anonymity or confidentiality?
Confidentiality. The researcher can identify participants but promises to protect that information.
A researcher surveys the same 100 students each semester for four years. What type of longitudinal design is this?
Panel study. The same individuals are observed repeatedly.
Students report satisfaction as very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied, or very satisfied. What level of measurement is this?
What is ordinal? Responses have a meaningful order, but equal spacing between categories is not established.
A researcher studies whether weekly exercise affects stress. Identify the independent and dependent variables.
Weekly exercise (independent variable) and stress level (dependent variable)
One researcher studies how unequal wealth shapes college access; another studies how students interpret the meaning of a college degree. Identify both perspectives.
Conflict theory (unequal wealth and power) and symbolic interactionism (meanings created through interaction).
A study asks students about traumatic experiences without warning them or offering a way to stop. Identify two ethical concerns.
Informed consent and protection from harm. Participants should understand foreseeable risks and be able to withdraw.
A study finds that ice cream sales and drowning incidents both increase in summer. Identify a possible third variable.
Hot weather or season. It may help explain the apparent relationship without ice cream causing drowning.
A survey asks, 'How many hours did you work last week?' What level of measurement is the response, and why?
Ratio. Hours have equal units and a meaningful zero.
A student says, 'My professor believes this, so it must be true.' Why is that not sufficient scientific evidence?
Reliance on authority. An expert's opinion is not a substitute for systematic observation and evidence.
A study examines how national education policy shapes inequality across society. Is this primarily micro- or macro-level theory? Defend your choice.
Macro-level theory. It focuses on large-scale social structures and patterns.
An investigator tells participants a study is about memory when it is actually about obedience. What ethical issue arises, and what should follow participation?
Deception and debriefing. Deception requires strong ethical justification, and debriefing should explain the study when appropriate.
A researcher finds that neighborhoods with higher average incomes have higher college graduation rates and concludes every wealthy resident graduates. What error is this?
Ecological fallacy. A group-level relationship cannot automatically be applied to individuals.
A bathroom scale gives the same reading every time but consistently adds five pounds. Is it reliable, valid, both, or neither?
Reliable but not valid for accurate weight measurement. It is consistent but systematically incorrect.
A survey finds that students with strong social networks often report lower anxiety. Does this mean every student with strong social networks has low anxiety? Explain.
No. Social science often identifies probabilistic patterns, not relationships that hold for every individual.
Two researchers examine the same protest. One emphasizes social inequality; the other emphasizes how participants construct shared meanings. Why might their interpretations differ?
What are different paradigms? Their theoretical frameworks focus on different aspects of the same event.
A researcher discovers findings that contradict the original hypothesis and considers leaving them out of the report. What should the researcher do and why?
Report the findings accurately, including unexpected results and limitations. Ethical research requires honest reporting.
A survey finds that students who sleep less have lower GPAs. Name the three criteria for nomothetic causality and explain which cannot be established from this finding alone.
Correlation, temporal order, and nonspuriousness. The association alone does not establish which came first or rule out third variables.
A researcher defines social support as 'help a person believes is available' but measures only the number of social media followers. What is the major problem, and how could it be improved?
Validity problem. Follower count may not capture perceived support. Ask about available emotional, practical, or informational support using suitable indicators.