Sociology 5313 - Research Methods and Design » Fall 2021 » Quiz 4

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Question #1
When social scientists conduct interviews, it is required by the ethics of the field that the social scientist receives “informed consent.” What is “informed consent”?
A.   when funding agencies give the “go ahead” to begin the research that is being funded
B.   getting permission to talk to respondents about their sexual behaviors 
C.   getting permission from other researchers to use non-random sampling
D.   getting permission to conduct the interview after having given the respondent some information about research/interview
Question #2
The primary thing that keeps most social scientific research within ethical-moral boundaries is
A.   fear of lawsuits against researchers by subjects.
B.   the strict laws and regulations outlined by the federal government.
C.   a researcher’s personal moral code and the norms of the scientific community.
D.   the ethics enforcement committee that strictly monitors the research of social scientists.
Question #3
What is the purpose of an Institutional Review Board?
A.   It ensures that research is methodologically sound and scientific.
B.   It ensures that researchers do not misuse money given to them for research.
C.   It lobbies for more research money from government and private agencies. 
D.   It makes sure that research involving humans is carried out ethically.
Question #4
Which of the following ethical issues was NOT raised by the famous “Tearoom Trade” study by Laud Humphries on homosexuals?
A.   protecting the privacy of respondents and confidentiality of data
B.   protecting the research subjects from legal jeopardy
C.   covert observation without informed consent
D.   all of the above were involved 
Question #5
What is the general ethical principle regarding deception in social research?
A.   Deception is completely unacceptable and is considered taboo amongst social scientists.
B.   Deception is fully acceptable and is not considered unethical. 
C.   Deception can be ethically used if the researcher can guarantee that subjects will never have knowledge that they had been part of a study.
D.   Deception can be ethically used only if it is essential to the research, where other methods of data collection would yield tainted unusable data.
Question #6
A researcher asks a group of teenagers who had previously been convicted of shoplifting to shoplift from a drugstore so he can observe the social dynamics of these skilled thieves. This researcher may be violating the ethical principle, which states
A.   do not cause physical harm.
B.   avoid causing psychological abuse or stress.
C.   do not create new inequalities.
D.   do not place subjects in legal jeopardy.
Question #7
The original source for the principles of codes of ethics for research on human subjects was developed out of
A.   the 1964 Civil Rights Act. 
B.   the League of Nations Charter of 1919.
C.   the Amnesty International Code of 1975.
D.   the Nuremberg Trial of Nazi war crimes in 1946-47.
Question #8
The principle of voluntary consent in social research means that
A.   researchers, when possible, must notify subjects that their participation is voluntary and that they can refuse to participate without penalty.
B.   researchers studying public settings (malls, stores, street corners, etc.) do not need to d. notify subjects that they are being studied, because there is no expectation of privacy in public settings.
C.   researchers need to get permission from respondents to conduct an interview with a member of the opposite sex.
D.   a researcher uses deception in order to study a social phenomenon.
Question #9
Which of the following type of publications provides the best quality of research?
A.   peer reviewed scholarly journals
B.   newsmagazines
C.   newspapers
D.   popular magazines
Question #10
Often social scientists are employed outside of the academic or university setting. When working for a sponsor that has a keen interest in your research findings, which of the following scenarios is considered ethical?
A.   A medical sociologist working for a drug company refuses to conduct a satisfaction study on patients taking an experimental drug selected by the drug companya. .
B.   A community sociologist hired by a large corporation agrees NOT to publish an article that shows the corporation has had a negative impact on the local economy.
C.   A social scientist working for a local school district does NOT report findings that show a decrease in student language comprehension after the school district implements a new language comprehension program.
D.   An environmental sociologist agrees to include questionaire items on a survey that will shed a “positive” light on an environmental organization in exchange for access to study the members of the organization.

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