Lesson 02A.3.3

02A.3.3 Observations: participant, non-participant, covert and overt Quiz: OCR Sociology, Unit 5

20 questions

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Lesson 02A.3.3, Observations: participant, non-participant, covert and overt: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR Sociology (H580), Unit 5: Research methods and researching social inequalities (Section A), written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What type of observation involves the researcher joining in with the daily activities of the group?

    • Structured observation
    • Participant observation
    • Non-participant observation
    • Covert observation

  2. Which observation method keeps the researcher completely separate from the group being studied?

    • Non-participant
    • Participant
    • Covert
    • Overt

  3. What is it called when the group being studied does not know they are being observed?

    • Overt observation
    • Participant observation
    • Structured observation
    • Covert observation

  4. Which term describes an observation where the group is fully aware the researcher is watching them?

    • Covert observation
    • Pilot study
    • Overt observation
    • Participant observation

  5. A sociologist poses as a factory worker to study workplace culture without telling staff. What method is this?

    • Covert participant
    • Overt non-participant
    • Covert non-participant
    • Overt participant

  6. Sitting in the corner of a classroom taking notes without interacting with students is an example of what?

    • Non-participant
    • Participant
    • Covert
    • Longitudinal

  7. What is a major ethical issue specific to conducting covert observations in sociological research?

    • Lack of consent
    • Interviewer bias
    • Hawthorne effect
    • Lack of funding

  8. What psychological effect occurs when people change their behaviour because they know they are being watched?

    • Halo effect
    • Pyramidal effect
    • Glass ceiling
    • Hawthorne effect

  9. Which practical advantage do overt observations have over covert observations regarding data recording?

    • Open note-taking
    • Zero bias
    • Greater validity
    • Instant coding

  10. Which main theoretical perspective strongly favours covert participant observation for achieving high validity?

    • Positivism
    • Interpretivism
    • Functionalism
    • Marxism

  11. Why do positivists generally reject unstructured participant observations in sociological research?

    • Brief duration
    • Lack of consent
    • High cost
    • Low reliability

  12. What is the primary sociological term for achieving deep empathetic understanding of a group's worldview?

    • Falsification
    • Triangulation
    • Operationalisation
    • Verstehen

  13. Which researcher famously used covert participant observation to study a deviant American religious cult?

    • Howard Becker
    • Leon Festinger
    • Emile Durkheim
    • Max Weber

  14. What is a primary danger faced by a sociologist conducting covert participant observation in criminal gangs?

    • Low response rate
    • Sampling error
    • Postal delay
    • Personal danger

  15. Which type of observation generates qualitative data that is difficult to quantify or statistically compare?

    • Participant observation
    • Official statistics
    • Closed questionnaires
    • Structured surveys

  16. What key research hurdle involves gaining the trust of a gatekeeper to access a closed social group?

    • Gaining access
    • Stratified sampling
    • Pilot testing
    • Data saturation

  17. What problem occurs when a participant observer goes native and loses their sociological objectivity?

    • Social desirability
    • Over-identification
    • Attrition rate
    • Interviewer bias

  18. How do covert participant observers typically record their daily field notes while in the field?

    • Audio streaming
    • Video recording
    • From memory
    • Stenographer typing

  19. Which research method is best combined with participant observation to cross-check qualitative findings?

    • Pilot study
    • Triangulation
    • Closed coding
    • Random sampling

  20. What term describes the practical limitation that participant observations usually only study very small groups?

    • Sampling frame
    • Poor validity
    • Low representativeness
    • High reliability

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