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RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences
RSC2601 - Research in the Social Sciences
1
EXAM PREPARATION
This document is a compilation of past UNISA exam Questions and Answers, Assignment
Questions and Answers, as well as Test Yourself Questions and Answers from Studyguide.
Answers are motivated by a combination of:
• Page references to the UNISA Study Guide:
• Short summaries regarding the relevant topic(s) in question.
Past exams covered are:
• May/Jun 2011
• Oct/Nov 2011
• May/Jun 2012
• Oct/Nov 2012
• May/Jun 2013
• Oct/Nov 2013
• May/Jun 2014
• Oct/Nov 2014
• May/Jun 2015
• Oct/Nov 2015
• May/Jun 2016
• Oct/Nov 2016
• May/June 2017
All duplicated questions in the above papers are consolidated, in order to remove
unneccesary clutter. Note that this only applies in instances where questions were
duplicated verbatim.
The suffix after each question number refers to one of the question papers where this
question was asked, e.g. 1-16 denotes May/June 2016 and 2-13 denotes
Oct/November 2013.
Assignments covered are:
• Previous Assignment 1
• Previous Assignment 2
• Previous Assignment 3
• Previous Assignment 4
• Semester 1 Assignment 1 (2017)
• Semester 1 Assignment 2 (2017)
• Semester 2 Assignment 1 (2017)
• Semester 2 Assignment 2 (2017)
Please note: This document is an additional tool for exam preparation. The Stuvia-user that
compiled and uploaded this document takes no responsibility for incorrect answers. Students
must ensure that they study the prescribed material and understand the content.
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RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences
EXAM QUESTIONS
2
QUESTION 1 (1-11)
A person of high academic standing is given the task by the local government to investigate
the best ways of ensuring participation of people living in a small town in an agricultural
development project. Being of her high status, she speaks with authority.
The research results obtained by this person must be:
1) accepted unquestioningly because of the high academic standing of the researcher
2) rejected because authority is not a valid way to gain knowledge
3) rejected because participation is a form of common sense knowledge
4) accepted if it withstands critical scrutiny
The correct answer is (4) SG p5
But the problem with relying on authority is that we can overestimate the expertise of
persons in authority: in other words, experts can be wrong. When we do not know how the
experts arrived at their knowledge, we should be careful in accepting their conclusions.
Therefore 1) is incorrect.
A person in a position of authority is likely to have earned that authority by his or her
experience and may therefore be able to offer us reliable knowledge. In other words, that
person has spent time and effort learning something and others can benefit from this.
Therefore 2) and 3) is incorrect.
QUESTION 2 (1-11)
The different accounts of people having witnessed a car accident can be ascribed to:
1) overgeneralisation
2) selective observation
3) ego involvement
4) stress
The correct answer is (2) SG p9
Overgeneralisation may lead to selective observation. Once the decision is made that events
are following a particular pattern, and you think you know why, you will tend to pay attention
mainly to future situations that correspond with that pattern. You will also tend to overlook
the situations that conflict with the pattern.
QUESTION 3 (1-11)
People's dependence on media presentations for understanding the impact of, for example,
sophisticated communication technology on their daily lives, is an example of ___.
1) media myths.
2) authonty
3) mythical Interpretation of technology.
4) scepticism towards technology.
The correct answer is (1) SG p8
Media Myths: The mass media, including television, films, newspapers and magazines and,
most recently, the Internet, have a powerful influence on knowledge. Most people learn
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RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences
about the world and develop their concept of social reality according to what they see, hear
and read in the media. However, as Neuman (1997) points out, the chief purpose of the 3
media is to entertain, not to present reality accurately. Writers who adapt real life for
television shows and films scripts distort reality, often relying on tradition, authority or
common sense. Writers for newspapers and magazines have deadlines which limit their
information and they cannot be specialists in every topic they write about. Mistakes may be
made from ignorance. Public thinking can be changed by selective emphasis, and this, in
turn, can lead people into error.
QUESTION 4 (1-11)
Identify the epistemological statement:
1) social reality and natural reality can be studied in the same way
2) social reality is inherently meaningful
3) human beings are reflexive
4) patriarchy is common in traditional societies
5) hidden structures mask the true nature of social reality
The correct answer is (1) SG p20
“We shall explain epistemology in the context of the social sciences with reference to the
following epistemological question: “Can social reality (things such as groups, societies,
norms, organisations) be studied in the same way as natural reality (things such as atoms,
bodies, viruses, planets?”
Ontology involves assumptions which refer to what researchers think exists and is real, eg. A
rectangle has 4 sides. Option 2 – 5 refer to ontological statements. Epistemology deals with
how we can know and explain something, i.e. one can calculate the area of a rectangle with
a formula.
QUESTION 5 (1-11)
Research on juvenile delinquency would be regarded and interpretive if it:
1) establishes a crucial relationship between juvenile delinquency and poverty
2) treats juvenile delinquency as a fact
3) provides reasons for juvenile delinquency
4) focuses on causation rather than description
5) treats juvenile delinquency as a construction of meaning
The correct answer is (5) SG p25
“Interpretivists argue that social reality is inherently meaningful. People have the ability to
interpret a situation and decide how to act in response to this situation. By consciously
participating in a situation, they attribute meaning to that situation. Meaning is constructed
through human beings interacting with each other and playing a central role in defining a
situation to make sense of it”
Options 1, 2 and 4 refer to attributes of positivism. Option 3 relates to explanatory research.
QUESTION 6 (1-11)
In the context of positivism, value freedom implies that:
a) values are not important by positivists to research
b) positivists distance themselves in research from their own values
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