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Tentamen 21 December 2018, vragen

Methodologie van sociaal-wetenschappelijk onderzoek (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

StudeerSnel wordt niet gesponsord of ondersteund door een hogeschool of universiteit

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Tentamen – Premaster Methodologie van sociaal-wetenschappelijk onderzoek

(S_PM_MTSWO)

Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Cursus 2018-2019, eerste gelegenheid

Vrijdag 21 december 2018 (tijd: 8:45 -11:30)

VERSIE A
Instructie:

1. The exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions. All questions count equally.
2. Read the multiple choice questions carefully and calmly and always choose the BEST alternative.
There is only one correct answer.
3. You must provide your answers on the answer form.
4. Do you want to put your student card on the table for you at the start?
5. There is no point in asking invigilators to request clarification of exam questions.
6. You have a maximum of 2 hours and 45 minutes to answer the questions.
7. The use of aids is NOT allowed. Mobile phones must be switched off (not on silent, but off!) And
stored in a bag. Bags must be closed and may not be opened during the exam. If it is found that you
violate this rule, this will lead to immediate exclusion from the exam.
8. You must hand in these exam assignments at the end of the exam. Provide this exam with your name,
student number and signature. You may take notes on these statements.
9. If the result of the exam is known, there will also be a possibility to inspect it. The date, time and
location for this inspection will be announced via Canvas.
Studentnummer:

Naam:

Handtekening:

VEEL SUCCES!!!

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Read this text and answer the questions

D Diversity: "Twelve percent talk show guests colored, women lag behind"

Twelve percent of the guests in talk shows on Dutch TV have a migration background. This
corresponds to the population percentage. The group is therefore not under-represented, as is often
thought. Female guests, on the other hand, are under-represented: 30 percent.

This is evident from an "exploratory study" that market researcher Motivaction held for The Great
Gala of the Media, which was held on Monday evening in Amsterdam. Motivaction investigated De
Wereld Draait Door, Pauw, Jinek, RTL Late Night and Nieuwsuur. The latter is not a talk show but a
current affairs section. Only the guests in the studio were counted here, not those interviewed in the
reports.

Motivaction did not measure an entire year or season, but took a "sample" of 41 days in 2016,
excluding the holiday months. The researchers, 28 students of journalistic programs, watched 164
broadcasts, with 936 guests. The most frequent guests were comedian Marc-Marie Huijbregts
(actually not a guest, but a "table gentleman" in De Wereld Draait Door) and D66 leader Alexander
Pechtold.

The census also showed that the elderly and young people are underrepresented in the talk shows
studied on Dutch television.

The public broadcaster has long wanted to make television a better reflection of Dutch society. Shula
Rijxman, chairman of the umbrella organization of the Dutch Public Broadcasting (NPO), initially
referred to minorities and women, but later extended it to all Dutch people who did not feel heard.

Earlier figures from the NPO showed that 10 percent of people on TV had a migration background;
35 percent were female.
Bron: NRC.NEXT, 07 Maart 2017

QUESTION 1. Enter the correct text: in this study, "having or not having a migration background" is a
[- Text 1--]. The measurement level of this is [- Text 2--].

a. - Text 1--: variable. - Text 2--: dichotomous.

b. - Text 1--: variable. - Text 2--: ordinal.
c. - Text 1--: measuring instrument. - Text 2--: dichotomous.
d. - Text 1--: measuring instrument. - Text 2--: ordinal.

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QUESTION 2. Based on the conclusion, what are the units of analysis in this study?

a. The talk show guests.

b. The television programs examined (the talk shows and current affairs section).
c. The 28 students of journalistic programs.
d. All Dutch women and all Dutch people with a migration background.

QUESTION 3. Suppose we want to know the degree of intercoder reliability (intercoder reliability) of
determining the percentage of talk show guests with a migration background. What should we do then?

a. Compare all five different programs (such as Pauw, Nieuwsuur, and De Wereld Draait Door) with
each other and check to what extent the percentages match.
b. The 28 students of journalism courses all show the same talk show guests and check to what extent
the same people are referred to as "talk show guests with a migration background".
c. Take a new sample of 41 other random days in 2016 (except the holiday months) and check to what
extent the percentage of talk show guests with a migration background corresponds to twelve percent.
d. A representative sample of Dutch people asked to estimate how many guests in talk shows on Dutch
TV had a migration background and to what extent this percentage corresponded to twelve percent.

QUESTION 4. In the research discussed in the article, [WEL / NO] is concerned about reactivity,
because […….].

a. Well, the talk show guests are not anonymous: their identities are known by the researchers and a few
guests are even explicitly mentioned by name in the article.
b. Well, because the makers of the talk shows sometimes receive critical reactions in the public debate
because the talk show guests do not properly reflect Dutch society.
c. None, because the makers of the talk shows obviously have no influence on the actual population
percentages.
d. None, because the makers of the talk shows were not aware that these broadcasts would be analyzed
later by researchers and cannot adjust them afterwards.
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Read the (shortened) article below from the Financieele Dagblad (20 March 2008).

Giving makes you happy

Does money make you happy? Sometimes, all kinds of research shows. Poor people who get rich start to see life
in a more sunny way. But for someone who earns enough to provide for their basic needs, an income increase
only leads to a temporary growth in happiness. After a year, nothing is left of it.

And indeed: although the standard of living in Western countries has increased enormously in recent decades,
people are no happier there than in the good old days. That's because people spend all that money on themselves,
Elizabeth Dunn, Lara Aknin and Michael Norton argue in Science this week. The first two are psychologists from
Vancouver, Canada. Norton works at the Marketing Department at Harvard Business School in Boston, USA.
They did a series of investigations to determine whether giving away money provides more happiness.

The first test was a representative sample of the American population. In it, 632 people were asked, among other
things, to rate their happiness between 1 and 5. They also had to indicate what their annual income was and how
much money they had spent in an average month on four categories of expenses: ordinary bills and such, gifts for
themselves, gifts for others and charities. The first two were added to "personal expenses" and the last two to
"prosocial expenses," or expenses to others.

The researchers found no connection between the amount that someone spent on themselves and their sense of
happiness. What was relevant was the money that benefited others. The feeling of happiness increased with those
expenses. There was also a correlation between the level of income and the feeling of happiness - the more
money, the more happiness. That effect was independent of the giveaway effect.

This was followed by a practical test in which 46 students had to indicate in the morning how happy they felt and
then received an envelope. It contained five or twenty dollars and an assignment. One half had to spend the
money on themselves, the other half on a gift for someone else or a charity. Another "happiness measurement"
followed at five in the afternoon. Giving away money also emerged as the best way to increase your own
happiness.

“Our work shows that it is just as important [for their sense of happiness] how people spend their money, as how
much money they earn,” write Dunn and her colleagues in Science. In short: giving makes you happy. Simple, but
it does not fit with human intuition. The researchers showed this in a final test.

They asked students what they would like to be most happy about: five or twenty euros, to keep or give away. Of
the 109 students, 69 thought that their sense of happiness would increase the most if they were allowed to keep
the money, and then of course prefer the high than the low amount. Completely wrong, because giving away five
dollars made it considerably happier.

People overlook a simple way to become happier, the researchers said. It might be useful to point them out there,
they say. In this way, increases in gross national product can be converted into an increase in gross national
happiness.

“Nice. Although this is of course not entirely unexpected, "responds Neerlands" happiness professor "Ruut
Veenhoven (Erasmus University) to the publication. Veenhoven: “It was already known that happy people are
more generous and kind than unhappy ones. But the opposite, that making you happy, was not yet demonstrated.
So that's new. How strong this effect is and whether it works for everyone, will probably be further explored in
the coming years. "
4

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QUESTION 5. In the first study, respondents had to indicate how much money they had spent in an
average month on four categories of expenses: ordinary bills and the like, presents for themselves,
presents for others and charities. The last two categories were added to "prosocial spending", or
spending on others.

Suppose respondents tend to systematically overestimate their monthly spending on gifts for others and
charities.

What influence does this have on the measurement of prosocial spending?

a. On the reliability of the measurement, and therefore also on the measurement validity.
b. On the reliability of the measurement, but not on the measurement validity.
c. On the measurement validity, so also on the reliability of the measurement.
d. On the measurement validity, but not on the reliability of the measurement.

QUESTION 6. “Then a practical test followed, in which 46 students had to indicate in the morning how
happy they felt and then received an envelope.” Did all the conditions of a “classical experiment” be met
in this second study described?

a. Yes.
b. No, because it is an within-subjects design, not between subjects
(test subjects) design.
c. No, because there is no pre-measurement of the dependent variable.
d. No, because in this case the researchers could not influence the manipulation themselves.

QUESTION 7. Which of the first two studies mentioned has the highest external validity? And why?

a. The first test, because this is a representative sample of the American population.
b. The first test, because this measurement is about their own money that people give away, not about
giving away money they have received from a researcher.
c. The practical test, because it was determined much more precisely what amount people actually gave
away than when people in a survey had to give an estimate of a monthly amount themselves.
d. The practical test, because with this research there is also a control group of people who were
instructed to spend the money on themselves.

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QUESTION 8. Veenhoven: “It was already known that happy people are more generous and kind than
unhappy ones. But the opposite, that making you happy, has not yet been demonstrated. "

Which of the three studies mentioned in the article can prove this causality (which also appears in the
title of the article: giving makes happy) the most convincing? And why?

a. The first test, because this is a representative sample of the American population.
b. The first test, because this is a cross-sectional design where the largest number of units (632 people) is
compared.
c. The practical test, because this is an experimental design.
d. The final test, because only in this case were the respondents questioned about their own expectations.

QUESTION 9. During the final test, students were asked where they themselves would be most happy
about. Students 'ideas about this (keeping money) differ from the researchers' conclusion based on the
experiment, namely that giving money away makes people happier.

This distinction between the vision of the respondents and observation of the researchers comes down to
the distinction between ...

a. The emic and etic perspective

b. A concept and an indicator
c. An ontological and epistemological approach
d. An inductive and deductive approach
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QUESTION 10. What does Karl Popper's concept of "falsification" mean and to what does it refer?

a. It means "criticize". Falsification criticizes positivist epistemology.

b. It means "to criticize". Falsification criticizes the formulation of empirical generalizations.
c. It means "refutation." A hypothesis is refuted with falsification.
d. It means "refutation." With falsification, an empirical finding is refuted.

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QUESTION 11. The distinction of Max Weber between Verstehen (understanding) and Erklären
(explaining) amounts to the difference between ...

a. An epistemological and ontological approach.

b. A theoretical and empirical approach.
c. An inductive and deductive approach.
d. An interpretative and positivist approach.

QUESTION 12. Suppose a researcher conducts research on behalf of the Ministry of Education among
students from secondary schools. The research is about factors that influence the school career of
students. The research also covers sensitive topics. Who asks for permission in a declaration of consent
(informed consent) to whom, and why?

a. A student requests permission from the government to participate so that the government can register
which students want to remain anonymous.
b. The government requests permission from the researcher so that they can influence the conduct of the
research and the interpretation of the results.
c. The researcher requests permission from the government, so that the name and identity of the
researcher can be treated confidentially.
d. The researcher asks permission from the student, so that the students participate voluntarily and know
the purpose and purpose of the research.

QUESTION 13. The use of official police statistics to determine the level of crime is not without
problems. A bias (bias) of the data can arise for several reasons. What is clearly not the cause of the
crime figures being skewed?

a. People sometimes do not make a declaration; not all crimes experienced by citizens are reported to the
police.
b. Police officers are sometimes selective in their investigation behavior; they are focused on certain
crimes.
c. Sometimes people commit crimes that are not noticed by anyone at all, not by the police or by
citizens.
d. Some people never commit crimes at all, these people do not end up in the police statistics.

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QUESTION 14. In the chapter on ethical principles in conducting research, Bryman states that deception
occurs regularly in social science research. According to him, it is often not possible or desirable to tell
everything fairly. The goal sometimes justifies the means in this case. What is not included?

a. We lie to respondents about the real purpose of our research, and come up with a fictional different
purpose.
b. We do not tell respondents at all what the purpose of our research is, because we perform a secret
(covert) observation.
c. We deliberately omit certain descriptions from the letter with which we approach respondents to
participate in a study.
d. We deliberately omit certain research results from a research report because they refute our
hypotheses.

QUESTION 15. In the chapter on sampling in quantitative research, Bryman explains that the estimated
variability (heterogeneity) of the population is important in determining the sample size. What does
variability mean and what influence does this have on the desired sample size?

a. Variability means that the size of the population can vary greatly. The higher the variability, the
greater the desired sample size.
b. Variability means that the characteristics of the units within a population can vary greatly. The higher
the variability, the greater the desired sample size.
c. Variability means that the size of the population can vary greatly. The smaller the variability, the
greater the desired sample size.
d. Variability means that the characteristics of the units within a population can vary greatly. The
smaller the variability, the greater the desired sample size.

QUESTION 16. In the debate about the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research, Alan
Bryman is clearly in favor of the so-called "technical version", which states that a research method is
"free-floating" or "autonomous". What does that position mean?

a. Participants must always have the opportunity during an interview to submit topics themselves and to
submit research questions.
b. There is no strict distinction between scientific statements and normative statements (value
judgments).
c. The method of data collection is independent of epistemological principles.
d. When collecting data, we must strive for value freedom.

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QUESTION 17. It is sometimes claimed by some that the distinction between quantitative and
qualitative research is based on investigating behavior versus the social meaning of behavior (giving
meaning).

What argument can we raise against this? Quantitative researchers also investigate the meaning of
behavior, because they ...

a. often use an ontological approach, instead of an epistemological approach.

b. often use surveys, with which they examine attitudes and opinions.
c. often use a positivistic approach, where it is important to correctly interpret the data.
d. often formulate several hypotheses, so that they do not provide a single explanation, but rather
different statements.

QUESTION 18. Suppose we are conducting a covert observation (hidden observation) study on the
campus of the Free University into the flirtation behavior of students. What is the advantage of this
method compared to conducting a survey?

a. We can use both an inductive and deductive approach.

b. We do not have to carry out operationalization.
c. The ecological validity of the research is higher.
d. It is easier to apply random sampling.

QUESTION 19. What does the term "secondary analysis" refer to?

a. The researcher performs two different types of analysis, namely both a quantitative and qualitative
analysis.
b. The researcher analyzes data that he / she has not collected himself, but that has been collected by
another researcher or organization.
c. The researcher uses a constructivist approach, rather than an objectivist approach, to analyze social
reality.
d. The researcher analyzes his / her data both from the perspective of the researcher and from the
perspective of the respondents.

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