RACE & ETHNICITY MIDTERM EXAM REVIEW STUDY GUIDE | COMPLETE
SOCIOLOGY EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
sociological imagination - correct answer ✔✔a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the
relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces
distinguishes between a "trouble" (private matter; individual felt to be threatened) and an "issue" (public
matter; the public feels to be threatened)
(C. Wright Mills)
W.E.B. Du Bois - correct answer ✔✔1868-1963
pioneer in the study of race relations
examined the color line (the division of black society and white society into two different and unequal
worlds)
wrote "The Souls of Black Folk" in 1903
developed the concept of double-consciousness (a term for the divided identity experienced by black
people in the United States)
color line - correct answer ✔✔the division of black society and white society into two different and
unequal parts
ethnography - correct answer ✔✔a naturalistic method based on studying people in their own
environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities; also the written work
that results from the study
(ethnographic research is conducted through participant observation- a methodology associated with
ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting)
ethnography - advantages - correct answer ✔✔excels at telling richly detailed stories
challenges our previous notions about groups
may provide policy implications
ethnography - disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔often suffers from lack of replicability
may lack representativeness
researchers may have personal bias
, interviews - correct answer ✔✔person-to-person conversations for the purpose of gathering information
by means of questions posed to respondents
(researchers must:
identify a target population-the entire group from which a researcher would like to generalize;
obtain a sample-the members of the target population who will actually be studied;
compose good questions
transcribe interviews and identify themes)
interviews - advantages - correct answer ✔✔allow respondents to speak their own words
help the researcher discover new issues
interviews - disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔respondents are not always truthful
may lack representativeness
surveys - correct answer ✔✔a research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a
sample of respondents selected from a target population
often macro and quantitative in nature
requires a good questionnaire and wise sample selection
ex: The General Social Survey
surveys - advantages - correct answer ✔✔allow for large sample sizes
relatively quick and economical
have strong reliability
usually will not suffer from interviewer bias
surveys - disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔don't allow respondents to provide a full range of
expression
respondents may not be honest
there are often limitations because of the sampling process
survey research can be used to make a claim rather than a scientific discovery
existing sources - correct answer ✔✔materials that have been produced for some other reason but that
can be used as data for social research
(ex: these materials may include marriage licenses, building permits, books, magazines, TV shows,
movies, albums, and websites)
SOCIOLOGY EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
sociological imagination - correct answer ✔✔a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the
relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces
distinguishes between a "trouble" (private matter; individual felt to be threatened) and an "issue" (public
matter; the public feels to be threatened)
(C. Wright Mills)
W.E.B. Du Bois - correct answer ✔✔1868-1963
pioneer in the study of race relations
examined the color line (the division of black society and white society into two different and unequal
worlds)
wrote "The Souls of Black Folk" in 1903
developed the concept of double-consciousness (a term for the divided identity experienced by black
people in the United States)
color line - correct answer ✔✔the division of black society and white society into two different and
unequal parts
ethnography - correct answer ✔✔a naturalistic method based on studying people in their own
environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities; also the written work
that results from the study
(ethnographic research is conducted through participant observation- a methodology associated with
ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting)
ethnography - advantages - correct answer ✔✔excels at telling richly detailed stories
challenges our previous notions about groups
may provide policy implications
ethnography - disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔often suffers from lack of replicability
may lack representativeness
researchers may have personal bias
, interviews - correct answer ✔✔person-to-person conversations for the purpose of gathering information
by means of questions posed to respondents
(researchers must:
identify a target population-the entire group from which a researcher would like to generalize;
obtain a sample-the members of the target population who will actually be studied;
compose good questions
transcribe interviews and identify themes)
interviews - advantages - correct answer ✔✔allow respondents to speak their own words
help the researcher discover new issues
interviews - disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔respondents are not always truthful
may lack representativeness
surveys - correct answer ✔✔a research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a
sample of respondents selected from a target population
often macro and quantitative in nature
requires a good questionnaire and wise sample selection
ex: The General Social Survey
surveys - advantages - correct answer ✔✔allow for large sample sizes
relatively quick and economical
have strong reliability
usually will not suffer from interviewer bias
surveys - disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔don't allow respondents to provide a full range of
expression
respondents may not be honest
there are often limitations because of the sampling process
survey research can be used to make a claim rather than a scientific discovery
existing sources - correct answer ✔✔materials that have been produced for some other reason but that
can be used as data for social research
(ex: these materials may include marriage licenses, building permits, books, magazines, TV shows,
movies, albums, and websites)
