Fall 2004                    Comprehensive Examination in Sociology               Methodology

 

Remember, not all parts of every question should take the same length of time to answer – some are brief and some require significant detail. Take some time to think things through and plan your “answer-strategy” before beginning.  Read the questions carefully and pay attention to your choices of what to answer. Good Luck.

 

Section I.  General, Overall Methodological Considerations

Answer questions A. and B. Use concrete examples and be specific. Avoid vagueness.

 

A.        Different methods have different strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate uses.

Pick  3 methods from the bulleted list below and answer all 4 questions for each of the 3 methods you selected.

 

1.      Briefly describe this method.

2.      What are the strengths of this method? (Be sure your answer includes a discussion of relevant reliability and validity issues).

3.      What are the weaknesses of this method? (Be sure your answer includes a discussion of relevant reliability and validity issues).

4.      Describe a situation in which this method would provide the best approach to collecting data, and explain why.

 

·        Face-to-face, one-on-one interviews with open-ended questions

·        Case Studies

·        Comparative Historical

·        Surveys with multiple choice responses, ratings or scales

·        Experimental Method

·        Focus Groups

·        Content Analysis

·        Participant Observation (PO) WITH the researcher identified

·        Participant Observation (PO) with the researcher NOT identified

 

 

B.        Pick one of the bulleted passages below and (1) identify and briefly describe a    relationship that might be researched;  (2) write an appropriate formal, testable

hypothesis about that relationship (be certain you identify which is the dependent          variable and which is the independent variable).  Be specific and avoid vagueness.

 

·        You suspect there might be a relationship between illicit drug use and the role of prescription drugs in a given society.

 

 

·        It has been suggested that the relatively lower salaries women are paid in the workplace are the result of choices that these women have made – you suspect this to be untrue.

 

Section II. Methodological Design Issues

Research designs and methods are shaped by the type of research question one is asking or the phenomenon one is investigating. Choose ONE of the bulleted statements below. Imagine that you will be piloting a research project to investigate the statement that you have chosen. Answer all five of the questions about the statement you have selected. Answer all parts of the question. Use concrete examples and be specific. Avoid vagueness

 

·        The emotion of love is socially and psychologically constructed; definitions of love are  differentiated by child and adolescent experiences that cut across race, ethnic, and cultural groups.

 

·        The emotion of love is socially constructed and is differentiated by race, ethnicity, and cultural background; those sharing race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds will define love in similar ways

 

·        The emotion of love is an example of social learning and socialization. Definitions of love are modeled after family experiences, observations of others in love relationships, interactions with friends, and internalization of media images. 

 

1.      What will be your primary method for collecting data? Fully describe your proposed method.

 

2.      Carefully justify why you believe this to be the most appropriate method for your purposes.

 

3.       What validity and reliability issues will you need to address if you use this method?

 

4.       What type of sampling process would you use?

 

5.      Explain and justify this sampling plan.

 

 

 

 

Continue on to the next section
Section III. Measurement Issues in Methodology

 

 

A.  John contended that urban people are more sociable than rural people. He used the data in Table 1 to support his contention. Jane disagreed and argued that the urban-rural difference in his data is spurious and that marital status is the real factor. She reanalyzed John’s data (Table 2). (1) Who is correct?  (2) What other factors appear to be responsible for the differences in the frequency of socializing in the two tables? (3) Explain and justify your answer both statistically and in your own words.

 

 

Table 1                                                                        Urban               Rural

                                                                                    Residents          Residents

                        Frequency of Socializing

                       

                        More than once a week                        32%                 15%

                        Once a week to once a month               23%                 20%

                        Less than once a month             45%                 65%

                                                                    Total (n): 815                   937

                        Chi-square: p=.001

                        Cramer’s V: .21

 

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Table 2

Urban               Rural

Residents          Residents

                        Frequency of Socializing

 

Married            More than once a week                        15%                 13%

                        Once a week to once a month               22%                 21%

                        Less than once a month             63%                 66%

                                                                    Total (n): 346                   556

                        Chi-square: p=.25

                        Cramer’s V: .05

 

 

 

Single               More than once a week                        44%                 20%

                        Once a week to once a month               27%                 26%

                        Less than once a month             29%                 54%

                                                                    Total (n): 355                   180

                        Chi-square: p=.0001

                        Cramer’s V: .20