A Social Research Methods Class Wants to Study Smoking

question 29

Multiple Choice

A social research methods class wants to study smoking. First the professor asks how many people in the class are smokers. Two people say yes. Then she asks how many people have smoked a cigarette in the past week, and ten people say yes. From this the class decides that, for the purposes of its survey, a smoker will be anyone who has had a cigarette in the past week and currently owns a pack of cigarettes. This is a(n) :

• A) operational definition.
• B) ethnography.
• C) hypothesis.
• D) spurious correlation.
• E) ethical challenge.

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Definitions:

Variables

Elements, factors, or conditions that can change and affect the outcome of experiments or studies.

Experimental Method

The experimental method is a scientific approach to research in which variables are controlled and manipulated to observe their effect on other variables, allowing for cause-and-effect conclusions.

Laboratory

A controlled setting designed for scientific experiments, research, or testing, equipped with specific tools and equipment.

Descriptive/Correlational Methods

Research strategies that involve observing, recording, and analyzing relationships between variables without imposing a change in the situation.