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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.
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• Short summaries regarding the relevant topic(s) in question.
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unneccesary clutter. Note that this only applies in instances where questions were
duplicated verbatim.
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question was asked, e.g. 1-16 denotes May/June 2016 and 2-13 denotes
Oct/November 2013.
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RSC2601 – Research in Social Sciences
EXAM QUESTIONS
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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:
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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