Understanding research

What type of research is this?

100

A researcher evaluates the efficacy of a rehousing intervention, finding that rehousing led to improvements in participants' mental and physical health and was cost-effective for the city. What kind of research is this?

Evaluation research

200

I'm interested in how witnessing IPV as a child may impact romantic relationships in adulthood, but there's not much research on this topic. I do a small study interviewing adults with child IPV exposure about their current relationships. What type of research is this?

Exploratory research

300

A school counselor is interested in how many students qualify for receiving free or reduced lunch in their district. They find that 37% of the children in their district qualify. What type of research is this?

Descriptive research

400

A social worker does a study to determine whether income inequality predicts social and institutional trust in the U.S. What type of research is this?

Explanatory research

Definitions

100

What is a "systematic set of interrelated statements intended to explain some aspect of social life"?

Theory

200

I use social support theory to develop a hypothesis that social isolation will be predictive of worse health outcomes among aging individuals. I then collect data to see if my hypothesis is supported. Which approach is this?

Deductive reasoning

300

True or False? Positivism focuses on objectivity, empirical knowledge, and deductive logic.

True

400

True or False? Postmodernism suggests that truth is always objectively knowable.

False

Research Ethics

100

What does informed consent involve?

Providing participants a a full understanding of the research project and its possible risks and benefits in order for the participant to make an informed decision if they want to willingly participate or not

200

According to federal IRB guidelines, what are three examples of "vulnerable populations"?

1. Individuals with diminshed mental capacity 

2. Incarcerated individuals 

3. Children 

300

True or False? Study participants are required to provide researchers with a good reason in order to withdraw from a study.

False

400

Which of the following was NOT a influential study leading to the creation of modern ethical research standards?

1. The Stanford Prison Experiment 

2. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study 

3. Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiments 

4. The Belmont Study 

Study Design

100

What is a variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable?

Independent variable

200

Which research paradigm is most concerned about generalizing its findings?

Quantitative research

300

What are the criteria necessary to determine a causal relationship?

1. Covariance - the variable X should have a patterned effect on the variable Y

2. Temporality - If X causes Y, X has to precede Y in time 

3. Plausibility - The claim that X causes Y has to make sense theoretically

4. Nonspuriousness - The relationship between X and Y cannot be due to a third, unknown variable

400

You are surveying adults who have adopted children to find out information about the children's birth parents. If the birth parents are your units of analysis, the adults who have adopted children are your:

Units of observation