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EXAM PACK
EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH SOLUTIONS
2011-2017
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Exam Questions and Solutions (06/11 – 06/17)
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.
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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 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 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, e.g. 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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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)
3) b), c), d)
4) b), c), e)
5) c), d), e)
The correct answer is (4) SG p22, 23
“We start with how positivists see the nature of social reality. Positivists believe that social reality can be discovered.
Positivists claim it is crucial that researchers approach social reality in a neutral, value-free, detached and systematic way.
Methodological tools are developed to collect evidence that is observable and hence measurable. Standardised procedures
are followed to study particular events and learn about their interconnections. value-freedom: researchers’ personal values
do not influence the collection of data (research)”
QUESTION 7 (1-11)
Which of the following statements are true with regard to theories in the social sciences?
a) Theories can describe or explain a phenomenon
b) Theories are broader in scope than approaches
c) The level of abstraction of theories can differ
d) Theories guide research
e) Theories are speculations
1) a), b), c)
2) a), b), d)
3) a), c), d)
4) a), c), e)
5) b), c), d)
The correct answer is (3) SG p50, 55, 56, 58
Here, theory is equated to speculation.
To recap: concepts identify and describe phenomena.
The scope of a theory is linked to the level of abstraction achieved by the concepts in the theory (the building blocks of the
theory). The higher the level of abstraction, the more the theory can be generalised and the wider its applicability. Theory
deductively guides research, while the information obtained through research inductively builds theory. Theory and
research are therefore inseparable (Cohen 1989:22)
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