Deck 1: Introduction

Question 1

"Ninety percent of dorm residents approved a proposed ban on smoking". This statement is an example of the use of

A) inferential statistics
B) univariate descriptive statistics
C) multivariate descriptive statistics
D) inductive statistics

Answer 1

univariate descriptive statistics

Question 2

Data is the same thing as

A) information collected in numerical form
B) information collected in any form
C) statistics
D) proof

Answer 2

information collected in numerical form

Question 3

In social research the purpose of statistics is to

A) prove that the research theory is correct
B) validate the research project design
C) manipulate and analyze data
D) ensure acceptance by the scientific community

Answer 3

manipulate and analyze data

Question 4

In terms of the "Wheel of Science", statistics are central to the research process

A) only between the theory phase and the hypothesis phase
B) only between the hypothesis phase and the observation phase
C) only between the observation phase and the empirical generalization phase
D) only between the empirical generalization phase and the theory phase

Question 5

If people who habitually drive over the speed limit have more fatal accidents, then speed is

A) an independent variable
B) the dependent variable
C) an effect or result variable
D) none of the above

Question 6

In the language of science, a variable that is thought to be causal is called

A) an independent variable
B) a hypothetical variable
C) a primary variable
D) a dependent variable

Question 7

As we move up the left-hand side of the "Wheel of Science" we become more

A) specific
B) general
C) empirical
D) quantitative

Question 8

In terms of the Wheel of Science, an hypothesis is derived from _________ and leads to ___________.

A) statistics, observation
B) theory, generalizations
C) observation, generalizations
D) theory, observation

Question 9

An hypothesis differs from a theory in that

A) it is "testable"
B) it is true
C) it is more speculative
D) it is more abstract

Question 10

Without statistics, _____________ research would be impossible.

A) meaningful
B) important
C) qualitative
D) quantitative

Question 11

A theory differs from an hypothesis in that it is more

A) testable
B) specific
C) general
D) concrete

Question 12

An hypothesis states, in part, that "income increases as education increases". In this statement, education is

A) the dependent variable
B) the independent variable
C) the hypothetical variable
D) the secondary variable

Question 13

In the research process, the role of statistics is limited because

A) numbers don't prove anything
B) of possible flaws in research design or method
C) the researcher may not be a mathematician
D) people lie when answering questionnaires

Question 14

If people who eat at fast food restaurants become obese, obesity is

A) an independent variable
B) a causal variable
C) a dependent variable
D) none of the above

Question 15

An hypothesis states, in part, that "income increases as education increases". In this statement, income is

A) the dependent variable
B) the independent variable
C) the hypothetical variable
D) the secondary variable

Question 16

According to the "Wheel of Science," research projects begin

A) with theory
B) with data
C) with an hypothesis
D) at any stage on the Wheel

Question 17

In time, the ____________ variable precedes the _____________ variable.

A) hypothetical, theoretical
B) empirical, quantitative
C) independent, dependent
D) dependent, independent

Question 18

As we move down the right-hand side of the "Wheel of Science" we become more

A) general
B) abstract
C) dependent
D) specific

Question 19

The data reduction process of descriptive statistics

A) allows a few meaningful numbers to summarize a large amount of data
B) eliminates incorrect data
C) simply lists all available information in order
D) is rarely used

Question 20

In the research process, theory

A) is unnecessary
B) is always fully developed before any data is gathered
C) is developed only after the data have been completely analyzed
D) is an attempt to explain the relationship between phenomenon

Question 21

A survey administered to a random sample drawn from a local community finds that a person's political party affiliation is related to whether or not they favor an increase in local sales tax (the headline of a newspaper story based on this poll reads: "Republicans support proposed tax increase"). This is an example of the use of

A) univariate descriptive statistics
B) inferential statistics
C) multivariate descriptive statistics
D) reductionist statistics

Question 22

When using interval-ratio data, the distance between the scores is

A) always two units
B) unequal
C) exactly defined
D) not always clear

Question 23

Which of the following can be treated as an interval-ratio variable?

A) social security number
B) zip code
C) age
D) hair color

Question 24

If a researcher summarizes the age of 1,000 people by calculating the average age, she is using

A) a qualitative technique
B) an incorrect hypothesis
C) data reduction
D) non-empirical reasoning

Question 25

A researcher wants to know if there is a relationship between region of birth and political party affiliation. She should calculate a

A) univariate descriptive statistic like the mean
B) qualitative measure of influence
C) measure of association
D) statistic that measures the non-relational differentiation between the two variables

Question 26

Categories of nominal level variables should be

A) mutually exclusive to avoid ambiguity in classifying cases
B) exhaustive so that every case fits into a category
C) relevant to the research goals
D) all of the above

Question 27

You ask a sample of 27 students in a particular dorm on campus about their religious beliefs and use this information to make generalizations about all students in the dorm. In this research situation

A) The 27 students questioned are a population
B) The dorm is a sample
C) This is an example of descriptive statistics
D) The sample is the 27 students who were questioned

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a nominal level variable?

A) level of education
B) zip code
C) occupation
D) make of automobile

Question 29

The poll mentioned in the text suggests that Americans are

A) Solidly in support of gay marriage
B) Almost unanimously opposed to gay marriage
C) Split or polarized on the issue of gay marriage
D) Indifferent to the issue of gay marriage

Question 30

If a researcher concludes that "Use of the Internet decreases as social class standing decreases," he is using

A) univariate descriptive statistics
B) bivariate descriptive statistics
C) hypothetical statistics
D) non-empirical inferential statistics

Question 31

The variable socioeconomic status ranges from upper class to lower class and is an example of the

A) nominal level of measurement
B) ordinal level of measurement
C) interval-ratio level of measurement
D) ratio level of measurement

Question 32

A public opinion poll that gauges the popularity of the President of the United States is an example of

A) descriptive statistics
B) inferential statistics
C) analytical statistics
D) reductionist statistics

Question 33

Measures of association are a type of descriptive statistics that allow us to

A) investigate the causal influence of some variables on others
B) predict the score on one variable from the score on another
C) know the strength and direction of a relationship between two or more variables
D) all of the above

Question 34

The number of years that a couple has been happily married is an example of

A) nominal level data
B) ordinal level data
C) interval-ratio level data
D) ordinary level data

Question 35

Variables measured at the ordinal level are limited to which of the following mathematical operations?

A) addition and subtraction
B) multiplication
C) ranking cases as higher or lower, more or less
D) counting the number of cases per category

Question 36

In addition to saying that one case is different from another, the ordinal level of measurement allows us to

A) order categories from high to low
B) measure the distance between high and low
C) say that one case is more or less than another
D) both a and c

Question 37

Prejudice, when measured on a scale ranging from 'most prejudiced' to 'least prejudiced,' is an example of which level of measurement?

A) actual
B) ordinal
C) nominal
D) interval-ratio

Question 38

A nominal-level variable like marital status or gender is always

A) independent
B) qualitative
C) ordinal
D) dependent

Question 39

Choose the nominal level variable below:

A) size of family unit
B) eye color of students in statistics class
C) speed of travel of a jet plane
D) your weight

Question 40

Inferential statistics are necessary in social research because

A) it may be impossible to find all members of a certain population
B) social scientists don't have the time or money to test an entire population
C) some of the population might not cooperate
D) samples are sometimes accurate representations of the population but can't always be used to generalize

Question 41

A researcher has numbered all 50 states from 1 to 50 and has calculated a mean of 17.43 for the variable "state of birth."

A) Since the variable is nominal, the mean makes no sense
B) Since the variable is ordinal, we should treat the value of the mean with great caution
C) The variable is interval-ratio and the mean is an appropriate and useful statistic in this case
D) Since this variable is non-empirical, the mean should not be computed

Question 42

Addition and subtraction are completely justified only when variables are

A) empirical
B) inferential
C) ordinal
D) interval-ratio

Question 43

A researcher has calculated the mean for a variable that is ordinal in level of measurement.

A) This operation is a violation of level of measurement criterion and the results should be disregarded
B) This violation of level of measurement criterion is common and results should be treated with caution
C) No violation has occurred, this is a perfectly acceptable application of statistics
D) This is a mistake: means should never be calculated for ordinal variables

Question 44

On a test, the numbers used to identify the questions would be __________ in level of measurement while the number of correct responses would be _____________.

A) nominal, interval-ratio
B) interval-ratio, nominal
C) interval-ratio, ordinal
D) ordinal, nominal

Question 45

Computation of a mean (or average) is completely justified when a variable is measured at which level?

A) interval-ratio
B) ordinal
C) nominal
D) empirical

Question 46

Select the variable(s) that can be measured at the interval-ratio level

A) different types of crimes
B) number of children in a family
C) attractiveness of a person
D) emotional stability

Question 47

Which of the following mathematical operations are permitted with interval-ratio level variables?

A) addition
B) subtraction
C) division
D) all of the above