,Test Bank For The Practice of Social Research 15th Edition
Chapter 1. Human Inquiry and Science.
1. A form of human interference in which what we learn about society can change
reality so what we learned is not true is known as being
a. trivial.
b. exceptional.
*c. recursive.
d. dismissive.
e. evolutionary.
2. After examining divorce court records, Jenny concludes that mothers are more
likely than fathers to obtain custody of their children. This type of statement is
a. nomothetic and deterministic.
b. idiographic and deterministic.
c. deductive and deterministic.
*d. nomothetic and probabilistic.
e. idiographic and probabilistic.
3. An independent variable is a
a. theoretical concept.
*b. variable influencing other variables.
c. variable influenced by other variables.
d. set of attributes.
e. variable influencing other variables or a variable influenced
by others.
4. As students we learn that studying hard causes good grades. Such cause and
effect are _____ in nature.
a. Theoretical
b. Idiographic
*c. Probabilistic
d. Independent
e. Qualitative
5. Discuss how scientific inquiry tries to avoid the common pitfalls that produce
error in nonscientific inquiry.
Correct Answer(s):
6. 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.
,Test Bank For The Practice of Social Research 15th Edition
Chapter 1. Human Inquiry and Science.
e. authority.
7. Every observation is quantitative at the outset.
a. True
*b. False
8. Female, ages 18 to 25, brown hair, and teacher are examples of
a. variables.
b. social regularities.
c. aggregates.
*d. attributes.
e. nomothetic analyses.
9. Fred's biology teacher told him about the "birds and the bees." By relying on his
biology teacher's explanation, Fred relies on _____ as a way of knowing.
a. experience
b. tradition
*c. authority
d. the misuse of authority
e. theory
10. Idiographic explanations are inductive and nomothetic explanations
are deductive.
a. True
*b. False
11. If an exception is found to a sociological pattern, the pattern is
invalid.
a. True
*b. False
12. 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.
, Test Bank For The Practice of Social Research 15th Edition
Chapter 1. Human Inquiry and Science.
13. 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.
14. Name five sociological variables and their attributes.
Correct Answer(s):
15. Nomothetic reasoning is more useful than idiographic reasoning.
a. True
*b. False
16. 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.
17. Patterns of cause and effect are probabilistic in nature.
*a. True
b. False
18. Pregnant at age 15, Tammy decided to have her baby. Her parents were upset
with her decision and threatened to "cut her off" if she did not complete high school.
A difficult pregnancy and embarrassment resulted in Tammy dropping out of school.
After the baby was born, her parents said that they would raise the baby but that she
would have to leave the house. At age 16, Tammy was on her own and without any
money or job market skills. She began to work as a prostitute. This explanation of
Tammy's prostitution is
*a. idiographic.
b. nomothetic.
c. probabilistic.
d. quantitative.
e. based on agreements.
Chapter 1. Human Inquiry and Science.
1. A form of human interference in which what we learn about society can change
reality so what we learned is not true is known as being
a. trivial.
b. exceptional.
*c. recursive.
d. dismissive.
e. evolutionary.
2. After examining divorce court records, Jenny concludes that mothers are more
likely than fathers to obtain custody of their children. This type of statement is
a. nomothetic and deterministic.
b. idiographic and deterministic.
c. deductive and deterministic.
*d. nomothetic and probabilistic.
e. idiographic and probabilistic.
3. An independent variable is a
a. theoretical concept.
*b. variable influencing other variables.
c. variable influenced by other variables.
d. set of attributes.
e. variable influencing other variables or a variable influenced
by others.
4. As students we learn that studying hard causes good grades. Such cause and
effect are _____ in nature.
a. Theoretical
b. Idiographic
*c. Probabilistic
d. Independent
e. Qualitative
5. Discuss how scientific inquiry tries to avoid the common pitfalls that produce
error in nonscientific inquiry.
Correct Answer(s):
6. 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.
,Test Bank For The Practice of Social Research 15th Edition
Chapter 1. Human Inquiry and Science.
e. authority.
7. Every observation is quantitative at the outset.
a. True
*b. False
8. Female, ages 18 to 25, brown hair, and teacher are examples of
a. variables.
b. social regularities.
c. aggregates.
*d. attributes.
e. nomothetic analyses.
9. Fred's biology teacher told him about the "birds and the bees." By relying on his
biology teacher's explanation, Fred relies on _____ as a way of knowing.
a. experience
b. tradition
*c. authority
d. the misuse of authority
e. theory
10. Idiographic explanations are inductive and nomothetic explanations
are deductive.
a. True
*b. False
11. If an exception is found to a sociological pattern, the pattern is
invalid.
a. True
*b. False
12. 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.
, Test Bank For The Practice of Social Research 15th Edition
Chapter 1. Human Inquiry and Science.
13. 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.
14. Name five sociological variables and their attributes.
Correct Answer(s):
15. Nomothetic reasoning is more useful than idiographic reasoning.
a. True
*b. False
16. 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.
17. Patterns of cause and effect are probabilistic in nature.
*a. True
b. False
18. Pregnant at age 15, Tammy decided to have her baby. Her parents were upset
with her decision and threatened to "cut her off" if she did not complete high school.
A difficult pregnancy and embarrassment resulted in Tammy dropping out of school.
After the baby was born, her parents said that they would raise the baby but that she
would have to leave the house. At age 16, Tammy was on her own and without any
money or job market skills. She began to work as a prostitute. This explanation of
Tammy's prostitution is
*a. idiographic.
b. nomothetic.
c. probabilistic.
d. quantitative.
e. based on agreements.
