Question 1

What is an advantage of recording age in actual years rather than categories of years in an information system?

Accepted Answer

Recording age in actual years allows for more precise calculations, such as the mean age, which cannot be accurately determined when age is grouped into categories.

Question 2

What are the purposes of social work research, according to the text?

Accepted Answer

The purposes of social work research include being descriptive (describing phenomena), explanatory (explaining why phenomena occur), evaluative (assessing the effectiveness of programs or interventions), and exploratory (investigating new areas or phenomena). These categories cover the broad goals of research in the field, aiming to understand, explain, and improve social conditions and interventions.

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true about types of research?

Accepted Answer

Evaluative research focuses on assessing the effectiveness of programs, policies, or interventions, determining their success in achieving intended outcomes or objectives. This type of research is crucial in fields like social work to ensure that services provided meet their goals and benefit the target population.

Question 4

Which research question represents descriptive research?

Accepted Answer

Descriptive research aims to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. Option A is a clear example of descriptive research as it seeks to describe the characteristics (age, gender, race, family structure) of clients, without attempting to infer relationships or causes.

Question 5

Which research question poses the greatest difficulty in defining the variable to measure and developing a tool for measuring that variable?

Accepted Answer

The difficulty in defining and measuring variables in option D stems from the subjective nature of political orientation. Unlike gender, grades, or dropout rates, which have clear, objective criteria or data points, political conservatism and liberalism are subjective and can vary widely in interpretation among individuals. Developing a tool to accurately measure political orientation involves complex considerations of personal beliefs, values, and the spectrum of political ideologies, making it a challenging variable to quantify.

Question 6

When you have measured your study variables in a qualitative manner, you will see ______

Accepted Answer

Qualitative data is typically represented by words or descriptions rather than numbers.

Question 7

What type of study is more likely to use qualitative measurement?

Accepted Answer

Exploratory studies often use qualitative measurement to gain a deeper understanding of a phenomenon, especially when little is known about it.

Question 8

What types of studies are more likely to be designed to test a hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

Explanatory and evaluative studies are specifically designed to test hypotheses. Explanatory studies aim to explain relationships between variables, while evaluative studies assess the effectiveness of interventions or programs, both of which typically involve hypothesis testing.

Question 9

Which one of these questions is the least clear in regard to identifying what needs to be measured in a study?

Accepted Answer

Question A is the least clear because it does not specify what aspect of "knowing about the full moon" needs to be measured, such as beliefs, myths, scientific knowledge, etc., making it vague compared to the other options which are more specific in their measurement criteria.

Question 10

The study methods phase of research for the descriptive study will include information on the ______.

Accepted Answer

Descriptive studies focus on describing the characteristics of a sample, the variables of interest, and the methods used to measure these variables. This includes information on the study sample, what is being measured, and how it is being measured, rather than focusing on hypotheses or statistical analysis of data to support a hypothesis.

Question 11

The credibility of your measurement tool (e.g., the Beck Depression Inventory) is determined by the extent it has ______.

Accepted Answer

The credibility of a measurement tool is determined by its reliability (the extent to which it consistently measures what it is supposed to measure) and its validity (the extent to which it accurately measures what it is intended to measure).

Question 12

Reliability in measurement refers to ______.

Accepted Answer

Reliability in measurement refers to the consistency of a set of measurements or measuring instrument, such as how consistently a test measures whatever it is measuring.

Question 13

In descriptive research, your sample is comprised of the ______.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In descriptive research, your sample is comprised...

Question 14

When you say you can generalize your findings, either on a logical basis or a scientific basis, you are saying that ______.

Accepted Answer

Generalizing findings means that the researcher expects similar results if the study were repeated with another sample from the same population, indicating that the findings are not unique to the specific sample used in the study.

Question 15

You can generalize the study findings from your sample to your population on a scientific basis if you have a ______ sample.

Accepted Answer

A random sample allows for the generalization of study findings to the larger population because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included, minimizing selection bias and ensuring representativeness.

Question 16

If you use a question from a questionnaire that identifies a person as either male or female, you have a variable that is measured at what level?

Accepted Answer

The variable that identifies a person as either male or female is measured at the nominal level because it categorizes individuals into groups without any inherent order.

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of a descriptive statistic?

Accepted Answer

Descriptive statistics summarize or describe the characteristics of a data set. The proportion of people who are female (C) is an example of a descriptive statistic because it describes a characteristic of the data without making inferences about a larger population. Choices A, B, and D involve inferential statistics, which are used to make predictions or inferences about a population based on a sample of data.

Question 18

You can compute the mean for a variable measured at what level?

Accepted Answer

The mean can be computed for variables measured at the interval level because this level of measurement assumes equal distances between measurements, allowing for the calculation of an average. Nominal and qualitative data represent categories without a meaningful order or interval, making mean calculation inappropriate. Ordinal data, while ordered, does not assume equal intervals between ranks.

Question 19

In descriptive research, conclusions are drawn from the ______.

Accepted Answer

In descriptive research, conclusions are drawn from the data that were analyzed. This type of research focuses on describing characteristics of a population or phenomenon, relying on the systematic collection and analysis of data.

Question 20

Suppose you measured the concept of sex-role stereotype about management by asking a group of people to select 8 items that best described the good manager from a list of 16 items. One half of these 16 items had been found to represent the male stereotype and one half had been found to represent the female stereotype. You measured the variable of sex-role stereotype by summing the male-stereotyped items selected by the respondent. At what level have you measured the variable of sex-role stereotype?

Accepted Answer

Interval level of measurement is used when the data is continuous and the intervals between the values are meaningful. In this case, the variable of sex-role stereotype is measured by summing the male-stereotyped items selected by the respondent, which is a continuous variable. The intervals between the values are meaningful, as each additional male-stereotyped item selected represents a higher level of sex-role stereotype.

Quiz 6: Conducting Research That Describes People: What Are the Traits That Describe the Good Manager