Study Tips for Preparing for Quiz & Asking Questions

Study Tips for Preparing for Quiz & Asking Questions Quiz covers all lecture material (except sampling) in first five classes focusing on Chapters 1-3, 5-6. Literature Reviews have been covered in Assignment 2. Sampling will be covered in Quiz 2.

Research Process Babbie (1995: 101)

Sample Questions: Notion of Empirical Research Which one of the following statements best describes empirical research: a. involves direct or indirect observation b. never has any relation to theory c. only refers to research that involves asking people questions

Another question Which of the following could be considered an example of empirical research? a. listening to a radio station and analyzing the content of the lyrics of the songs played b. sending a survey to the participants at a Liberal Party fundraising event c. looking at the garbage thrown out by the University residences to determine the drinking habits of students d. all of the above

“Dimensions” of Research Neuman (2000: 37)

Sample Question A study is made of how seniors, single parents on limited incomes and other concerned groups would be affected by shutting down a community service that provides free internet access. Which term best describes this type of research? (Choose only one) a. action research b. a social impact assessment c. formative evaluation d. community service e. conflict theory

Another question about dimensions of research Professor Wong conducts a study of the attitudes of all the participants in a community outreach program for substance abusers in 2000. Five years later Dr.Wong’s team returns to the same outreach center and questions all the participants in the center at this second point in time (in 2005) about their attitudes. Which term best describes the treatment of time in this research project? a. a panel study b. a social impact assessment c. time series research d. basic research e. cross-sectional research

Review: • Conceptualization • conceptual (or theoretical) definition - a careful, systemic definition of a construct that is explicitly written to clarify one’s thinking • Operationalization • linking a conceptual definition to specific measurement technique(s) or procedure(s) • operational definition - the definition of a variable in terms of the specific activities to measure or indicate it in the empirical world

Rules forCreating Measures Measures must be: mutually exclusive possible observations (or responses) must only fit in one category No overlap in coding or response categories exhaustive categories must cover all possibilities

Sample Possible Quiz question For each of the following variables indicate whether the list of categories is exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Then indicate, where necessary, the changes or additions to the categories that would have to be made to meet these two requirements: 1. Marital status: single (never married), married -Is this list exhaustive ? -mutually exclusive? -If not, give a corrected list of categories 2. Age: under 17 years, 18-65 years, 65 years and older -Is this list exhaustive? -mutually exclusive? -If not, give a corrected list of categories

Levels of Measurement • 4 Levels of Measurement • Nominal: • different categories (names, labels, images) • not ranked • Ordinal • different categories • rank-ordered • attributes indicate relatively more or less of that variable • distance between the attributes of a variable is imprecise

More levels of Measurement • Interval Measures • different categories • ranked in order • can also tell amount of difference between categories • Ratio Measures • different categories • ranked in order • amount of difference between categories • also possible to state proportion (have a true zero) • Relations between levels --can collapse from higher into lower, not vice versa

Sample Possible Quiz Question Indicate the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio) of each of the following variables as measured. Explain your reasoning briefly by stating the features of the level of measurement your select. • Prize winners: measured by ranking winners in three separate categories (Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal winners--from the best to the worst). b. Mother’s Birthplace: measured by having respondents check one of these categories in response to a question about where their mother was born: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Elsewhere (Other place) .

Another possible question Which of the following is an example of something measured at the nominal level? a. distance of place of residence from Harbour Centre (measured in kilometers) b. Nationality (using the name of the country at the time of the interview) c. date of birth (using day, month and year) d. number of students registered at SFU as of September 30th. e. level of education (measured by years of schooling)

Reliability & Validity Reliability dependability is the indicator consistent? same result every time? Validity measurement validity - how well the conceptual and operational definitions mesh with each other does measurement tool measure what we think ?

Sample possible quiz question Dr. Nassar refused to use mobile phone ownership as a measure of access to communications technology because mobile phone ownership does not capture the meaning of Dr. Rouge’s conceptual definition of access to communications technology. When a proposed measure does not capture the meaning of an abstract construct, it can be said to lack a. standards b. stability c. realism d. reliability e. validity

Another type of question Discuss briefly the meaning of validity and reliability in social science research. Then discuss the relationship between validity and reliability. a. Meaning of validity b. Meaning of reliability c. Discussion of the relationship between reliability and validity.

Recall: Relationship between Measurement Reliability and Validity reliability necessary for validity but does not guarantee it (“necessary but not sufficient”) measure can be reliable but invalid Source: Neuman (2000: 171)

Studying Relationships between variables (identifying hypotheses, independent & dependent variables) A team of researchers studied whether there is discrimination against students by landlords in Vancouver. The hypothesis being tested was that landlords who owned many rental properties would discriminate less because they would want to protect their large investments by obeying human rights laws (as a way of avoiding expensive court cases and bad publicity). The researchers posed as students looking for rental accommodation and tried to rent accommodation from landlords.

Question (Continued) They divided landlords into three categories: A: landlords with more than ten rental units B: landlords with 2-10 rental units C: landlords with only one place to rent in their home The researchers found that landlords in Categories A and C a often refused to rent to students. Landlords in category B (with 2-10 rentals) seemed to discriminate less against students than either of the other two groups of landlords. What is the dependent variable in the study? What the construct ("abstract" idea) is being measured? Using specific information in the description to support your points, explain briefly whether the hypothesis was confirmed, partly confirmed or not confirmed on the basis of this data? Did the measure adequately the concepts in the hypothesis? Why or why not?

Recall: Causal diagrams Direct relationship (positive correlation) X Y X Y Indirect relationship (negative correlation)

Causal Diagram Sample Question Sketch the causal relationship described in the following statement. Be sure to indicate the direction of the relationship and whether the correlation is positive or negative: Statement: “ Young people spend more time on social networking sites than older people." i) Give names to the variables and letters used for each: ii) Type of Relationship: iii) Diagram:

Other types of questions • True or False • Matching terminology to definitions

Study Tips for Preparing for Quiz & Asking Questions