RSC2601 - Research in the Social Sciences
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 t...
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.
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RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences
May/Jun 2011
QUESTION 1 2
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
The different accounts of people having witnessed a car accident can be ascribed to:
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
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) authority
3) mythical interpretation of technology
4) skepticism 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
about the world and develop their concept of social reality according to what they see, hear
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RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences
and read in the media. However, as Neuman (1997) points out, the chief purpose of the
media is to entertain, not to present reality accurately. Writers who adapt real life for 3
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
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?””
QUESTION 5
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”
QUESTION 6
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
c) objective findings can be made about social reality
d) the values of the positivist must take precedence in the research process
e) objectivity is pursued by using standardized research procedures
1) a), c), e)
2) a), d), e)
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