Chapter 2

Question 1

Hypothesis

Answer 1

carefully formulated statement that may be either verified or discarded on the bassis of the examination of relevant data

Question 2

Variables

Answer 2

are attitudes, behaviors, or conditions that can vary

Question 3

Independent variable

Answer 3

One that affects another variable. A change in the independent variable causes the other variable to change

Question 4

dependent variable

Answer 4

A variable in which change is caused by an independent variable

Question 5

Research methods

Answer 5

The research tools used by sociologists, such as surveys, that help to generate new knowledge

Question 6

Experimental group

Answer 6

In research, a group of subjects that receives special treatment designed by the researcher so that the effects of that treatment may be studied (compare with control group)

Question 7

control group

Answer 7

In research, a group of subjects that does not receive special treatment designed for an experimental group. The control group serves as a baseline of comparison for the experimental group

Question 8

bias

Answer 8

Unwanted influences that can produce research results that are invalid or without foundation

Question 9

sample

Answer 9

A set of subjects that is representative of the total population of subjects

Question 10

random

Answer 10

A system of sample selection in which every individual in the total population has an equal chance of being selected

Question 11

open-ended research questions

Answer 11

In research, exploratory questions that leave the sociologist flexibility in deciding what should be considered relevant data.

Question 12

experimental research

Answer 12

Research conducted to determine how a particular organism or object is affected by different types of treatment selected by the researcher (compare with weld research and historical research)

Question 13

field research

Answer 13

Research conducted at the place where the subjects are located so that the researcher may gain information through first-hand observation.

Question 14

passive observation

Answer 14

A type of field research in which the researcher observes the group and records the events for later analysis and interpretation

Question 15

participant observation

Answer 15

A type of field research in which the researcher plays an active role in the group to the point where he or she becomes an active participant

Question 16

survey

Answer 16

A type of research in which the participants fill out a questionnaire or answers questions in person or over the phone

Question 17

tracking

Answer 17

A policy in many schools wherein students are grouped for instruction on the basis of the presumption that their past classroom performance

Question 18

gatekeepers

Answer 18

Schools that open different doors of opportunity for different student populations through such policies as tracking, thus depriving students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds of knowledge and schools credentials that could facilitate their future upward mobility

Question 19

historical research

Answer 19

A type of research that is concerned with establishing facts about the past

Question 20

primary sources

Answer 20

Sources of information used in historical research that have not been interpreted, evaluated, or analyzed by others, for example, original records, diaries, official documents, eyewitness accounts, and oral histories

Question 21

secondary sources

Answer 21

Sources of information used in historical research that have been interpreted, evaluated, or analyzed by others, for example, publications of scholars

Question 22

secondary data analysis

Answer 22

The analysis of data that have already been gathered by others, often for totally different purposes.