RSC2601 Exam Preparation - Questions and answers

RSC2601 Exam Preparation - Questions and answers 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 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. S - The study-notes marketplace Downloaded by: mosa123 | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences 2 EXAM QUESTIONS 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.