Chapter 1

The Nature and Tools of Research

The purpose of this chapter is to get students to think critically about what constitutes research.
To further familiarize students with the research literature, try this exercise. It will help them
understand what research is and the many forms it may take.

Ask students to bring copies of one or two research articles they’ve read recently to class. This
will create a pool of articles to work with. Chances are the pool will include review articles,
meta-analyses, theoretical pieces, and empirical studies employing both quantitative and
qualitative methodologies. To the extent that the class includes students from a variety of fields,
the pool will represent these diverse fields. If there are certain types of articles that you
particularly want included in the sample pool, or that you anticipate will be missing from the
pool, you may want to provide these.

Place students into groups of about five. Make these groups diverse by field to the extent
possible. Without providing any opening discussion about the nature of research, ask students to
look through their group’s collection of articles and determine how they are similar to each other
and how they differ. After groups have explored the articles and attempted to classify them on
various criteria, conduct a discussion of the content of Chapter 1. Returning to the pool of
sample articles, assist students in identifying what types of articles are in the sample pool and
which of the articles true research are as described in Chapter 1.

I suggest collecting the articles from class members at the end of the activity to keep on hand for
use throughout the course. I make additional suggestions for their use in conjunction with
subsequent chapters.

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 Chapter 1

The Nature and Tools of Research

Multiple-Choice Questions

*1. To be considered true research, a project must:

a. gather together a body of existing information and communicate it in a clear and
concise way.
b. uncover obscure or esoteric information and bring it to the consideration of the
broader research community.
c. gather and interpret information in a systematic fashion so as to increase
understanding of some phenomenon.
d. produce definitive conclusions regarding the subject of study.

**2. Which of the following examples illustrates research as it is described in your textbook?
a. Sally is writing a paper about the effects of the Harry Potter books on the reading
habits of fourth graders in the United States and United Kingdom. She goes to a
research library to find information to include in her paper.
b. Ian wants to know why the population of songbirds has declined in recent years in
the Sutton Wilderness Area. He carefully collects soil and water samples,
systematically surveys the entire area for predators, and then sits down to make
sense of his findings.
c. Leonard is starting a woodworking business and is not sure how to calculate the
cost of his labor so he can be both profitable and fair to the customers. He asks
several established business owners how they calculate labor changes.
d. Bill is doing a report on the sonnets of Shakespeare. He carefully reads a number
of sonnets and then carefully reads scholarly reviews of those same sonnets
written by various Shakespeare scholars. He synthesizes all of this information in
his report.

*3. Which of the following is defined as an organized body of concepts and principles
intended to explain a particular phenomenon?
a. Theory
b. Inference
c. Hypothesis
d. Interpretation

*4. The purpose of formal research is to:

a. prove or disprove the study hypotheses.
b. support or fail to support the study hypotheses.
c. identify alternative hypotheses.
d. move beyond the need for hypotheses.

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*5. Assumptions come into play:
a. for nearly every research study.
b. in qualitative research but not in quantitative research.
c. when research is not well thought out.
d. rarely, if ever.

*6. Well-designed research manages to minimize or avoid:

a. assumptions.
b. predictions.
c. theory.
d. bias.

*7. Researchers ______ their phenomenon of interest on the basis of data analysis.
a. make inferences about
b. know facts about
c. define
d. identify

*8. A primary function of the methodology is to:

a. guide and control the acquisition of data.
b. extract meaning from the data that have been gathered.
c. both a and b
d. neither a nor b

*9. A well-designed and well-conducted study:

a. answers questions of importance in the field.
b. raises questions of importance to the field.
c. answers some questions and raises other questions.

*10. Reading the professional literature in the field of interest:

a. will enhance an individual’s ability to design and conduct high-quality research.
b. will stifle creativity and constrain the individual to the status quo.
c. will make little difference to the quality and impact of the individual’s work.
d. is necessary only for the leaders in the field.

*11. One indication that a piece of information is of high quality is that the information:
a. is found on the Internet.
b. is found in a juried (or refereed) research report.
c. resulted from a project that received corporate funding.
d. is the firsthand account of a personal experience.

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*12. A ______ is a specific mechanism or strategy the researcher uses to collect,
manipulate, or interpret data.
a. research tool
b. research methodology
c. statistical test
d. theory

*13. Research methodology refers to:

a. the general approach the researcher takes to conducting a research project.
b. a specific device the researcher uses to collect data.
c. the specific theoretical basis of the research project.
d. the statistical tests to be employed in a research project.

**14. Sam wants to find high-quality research reports related to attribution theory that have
been published in professional journals. Sam’s best approach would be to:
a. consult the library catalog.
b. consult an online or electronic database.
c. search the World Wide Web.
d. browse the shelves in the library.

**15. Sonya is a college freshman who has just been assigned her first research paper, and she
doesn’t know how to get started finding information. Sonya should:
a. search the World Wide Web.
b. consult an online or electronic database.
c. consult a reference librarian.
d. browse the shelves in the library.

*16. ______ allows a researcher to receive news in an area of special interest and discuss that
news with others.
a. A search engine
b. E-mail
c. A list server
d. A Web browser

*17. ______ allows researchers to personally correspond practically instantly with other users
around the world.
a. A search engine
b. E-mail
c. A list server
d. A Web browser

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**18. John wants to begin using e-mail. Which of the following steps is NOT necessary for
John to get started as an email user?
a. Request an e-mail account
b. Obtain necessary software from the e-mail provider and load it onto a computer
c. Learn to use a Web browser to explore the Internet
d. Learn how to access and use the e-mail provider’s services

*19. Three of the following statements about measurement in the research setting are accurate.
Which one is NOT accurate?
a. The purpose of measurement is to systematically limit the data in a way that
makes it quantifiable.
b. Measurement is applied by researchers only to insubstantial phenomena.
c. Measurement is a tool that aids researchers in interpreting their observations.
d. Systematic measurement assists researchers in obtaining objectivity in their
researcher.

**20. Kade has spent the past month carefully observing a group of third graders on the
playground during recess, taking note of how the students interact with one another. On
the basis of these observations, Kade is drawing conclusions about the interaction styles
of boys and girls. This is an example of:
a. hypothetical logic.
b. deductive logic.
c. inductive logic.
d. propositional logic.

**21. Kimberly knows that teenagers often do not make good decisions in areas where they
have little knowledge. She also knows that most teens have little knowledge about
human sexuality. Therefore, Kimberly believes that teens are likely to make poor
decisions about sexual activity. This is an example of:
a. inductive logic.
b. propositional logic.
c. transductive logic.
d. deductive logic.

Essay Questions

22. Your chapter states: “Research is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical.”
Explain why “cyclical” is an appropriate description of the research process. Then
explain why “helical” is a better description.

23. Describe an example of the word research being used inappropriately. Be clear about
how your example deviates from the definition of research offered in the chapter.

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24. Graduate professors like to insist that the completion of thesis or dissertation research is
not merely an “academic exercise” or final hurdle to obtaining the desired degree.
Explain at least one personal benefit that the individual derives from completing a high-
quality thesis or dissertation. Then explain at least one societal benefit that follows from
the individual’s completion of a high-quality thesis or dissertation.

25. Near the end of Chapter 1 the authors of your textbook include a relatively lengthy
section on writing the research report. Why is it important that research results are
carefully written up and made available to the scientific community?

26. Do recent technological advances (e.g., the World Wide Web, electronic databases)
assure that future research will be of higher quality, or of greater utility, than past
research? Support your answer.