Eksamensoppgave i SOS1002 Samfunnsvitenskapelig forskningsmetode Examination paper for SOS1002 Research Methods in the Social Sciences

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1 Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap Department of sociology and political science Eksamensoppgave i SOS1002 Samfunnsvitenskapelig forskningsmetode Examination paper for SOS1002 Research Methods in the Social Sciences Faglig kontakt under eksamen/academic contact during examination: Albert Simkus/Brita Bungum Tlf./Phone: / Eksamensdato/Examination date: Eksamenstid/Examination time: 5 timer/5hours Hjelpemiddelkode/Tillatte hjelpemidler/permitted examination support material: Enkel kalkulator/simple calculator: Casio fx-82es plus, Hewlett Packard HP30S, Citizen SR- 270X,eller Citizen SR-270X College Sensurdato/Grades announced on: Målform/språk/Language: Bokmål/Nynorsk/English Antall sider/number of pages: 5 sider Bokmål/ 5 sider Nynorsk/ 5 pages English Antall sider vedlegg Number of pages enclosed: Ingen/None Merk! Studenter finner sensur i Studentweb. Har du spørsmål om din sensur må du kontakte instituttet ditt. Eksamenskontoret vil ikke kunne svare på slike spørsmål.

2 BOKMÅL Kvalitativ del Oppgave 1 En god besvarelse bør på en enkel måte kunne forklare fire av de seks kvalitative begrepene nedenfor, det er en styrke ved en besvarelse dersom kandidaten klarer å eksemplifisere i tillegg til forklaringen av selve begrepet a. Eksplorerende studier - er undersøkelser innenfor tema som en vet lite om i forkant. Begrepet er forklart, eksemplifisert og brukt i forelesninger i sos1002 og da gjerne i forbindelse med begrepet induktiv og empiridrevet (se også nedenfor) b. Refleksivitet brukes i Tjora (2012) om forskerens evne og vilje til å undersøke eget forskningsarbeid og hvordan personlige interesser og kunnskaper kan ha formet det. Særlig relevant i forhold til å drøfte forskerens rolle i et forskningsarbeid og kan knyttes til kvaliteten på det. Begrepet er introdusert og brukt i høstens forelesninger c. Dokumentstudier- brukes om studier av dokumenter, mest vanlig at disse er produsert for andre formål enn forskning, (selv om det finnes en del eksempler på dokumentstudier som bruker dagbøker, minnehistorier, livshistorier, blogginnlegg etc der et utvalg informanter blir bedt om å skrive spesielt til et forskningsformål) Dokumentstudier kan være casespesifikke, generelle, fra medier, offentlige dokumenter, eller forskningsdokumenter (artikler, rapporter, bøker). Dokumentstudier har vært eget tema for en av forelesningene i høst og det bør kunne forventes at de fleste vil kunne si noe om hva dette er d. Forskersubjektiv- brukes hos Tjora (2012) om den personlige påvirkningen som forskeren har på forskningen. Begrepet er introdusert og brukt i undervisningen blant annet er tabell 1.1. s.25 hos Tjora blitt presentert og drøftet i forelesning e. Induktiv brukes om forskning som er eksplorerende og/eller empiridrevet, vi bruker også induktiv om det å slutte fra et enkelt tilfelle ( eller et begrenset antall tilfeller) til en generell regel f. Interaktiv observasjonsrolle er observasjon hvor observatører og deltakerne er åpne (synlig og tilgjengelige) for hverandre, slik at det vil være en grad av interaksjon mellom dem. Denne interaksjonen kan i ulike grader være aktiv eller passiv, eksplisitt eller subtil. Begrepet er introdusert og drøftet på forelesning om observasjon. Side 2 av 11

3 Oppgave 2 Det som bør være avgjørende for bedømmingen av denne oppgaven er i hvilken grad kandidaten klarer å vise kunnskap om kvalitative metodeopplegg og hvor godt besvarelsen får frem refleksjoner, forståelse og relevante begrunnelser for opplegget a. Du er engasjert i en forskningsgruppe som skal gjennomføre en kvalitativ studie som skal gi kunnskap om hvordan ferske studenter opplever studiemiljøet ved NTNU. For å undersøke dette vil forskningsgruppa gjøre intervju med et utvalg studenter. Gjør kort rede for ulike former for kvalitative intervju og forklar hvorfor nettopp intervju kan være hensiktsmessig i en slik undersøkelse. Her forventes det av en sterk oppgave at kandidaten klarer å redegjøre for ulike former for kvalitative intervju, herunder dybdeintervju, fokuserte intervju (en kortere form) og fokusgruppeintervjuer, samtlige kan være relevante her og er gjennomgått i undervisningen ( kapittel 2 hos Tjora). Gode besvarelser bør kunne forklare valg av intervju her er hensiktsmessig her fordi en er ute etter å fange opp hvordan studenter opplever studiemiljøet Gi i tillegg eksempler på andre kvalitative metodeteknikker som også kunne være relevante å bruke i denne undersøkelsen, og begrunn hvordan disse kan gi økt innsikt i hvordan ferske studenter opplever studiemiljøet ved NTNU. Denne delen av oppgaven åpner opp for ulike løsninger. Det kan eksempelvis være relevant å få et utvalg ferske studenter til å skrive om sine opplevelser. Det kan skje nettbasert gjennom en blogg eller gjennom andre former for skriftlige tilbakemeldinger. For å få økt innsikt kan det også være relevant å bruke debatter på nett og i media om dette tema. Det kan også være aktuelt å kombinere intervju med observasjon, eksempelvis «fotfølge» eller «skygge» ferske studenter for å få bedre kunnskap om denne tilværelsen Gir besvarelsen andre relevante ideer/ forslag til metodeteknikker her, (som ikke er nevnt spesifikt her,) bør dette bare telle positivt b. Tjora (2012) presenterer reliabilitet (pålitelighet), validitet (gyldighet) og generaliserbarhet som tre kriterier for kvalitet i forskning. Redegjør for hva som menes med disse tre kriteriene og drøft kort hvordan de kan ha relevans for undersøkelsen om ferske studenter som det handler om i oppgave a. Relevant pensum for denne oppgaven er kapittel 7. (Tjora). Reliabilitet (pålitelighet) handler om hvorvidt vi oppfatter en klar sammenheng mellom empiri, analyse og resultater i en undersøkelse, at resultatene ikke er styrt av personlige, politiske faktorer eller andre ting som en ikke har gjort rede for. I forhold til besvarelsen i oppgave a er det her relevant å diskutere mulige fallgruver som kan svekke påliteligheten i en slik undersøkelse, eksempelvis egne personlige/politiske preferanser, bekjentskaper etc som kan farge eller være med på Side 3 av 11

4 å forme resultatene. Mulige feilkilder, misforståelser, feiltolkninger slik som kan skje under datagenerering, transkribering og analysearbeid, er også svært relevant å nevne her. Validitet (gyldighet) knyttes til spørsmålet om de svarene en finner i undersøkelsen, i realiteten er svar på de spørsmål en forsøker å stille. Har en eksempelvis faktisk fått svar på hvordan studenter opplever studiekvaliteten, eller er det egentlig noe annet en har fanget opp? Generaliserbarhet dreier seg om undersøkelsens gyldighet utover de tilfeller som har vært utforsket. Det forventes at det kommer frem av besvarelsen at generaliserbarhet i kvalitativ forsking krever en annen tankemåte enn i kvantitative undersøkelser. Dette har blitt belyst i flere forelesninger. Tjora skiller også mellom naturalistisk, moderat og konseptuell generalisering (s ) Det er selvsagt en styrke dersom besvarelsen kan redegjøre for disse og diskutere hvilken form som trolig vil ha mest relevant for undersøkelsesopplegget som er foreslått i oppgave a. c. I arbeidet med analysen av datamaterialet fra undersøkelsen (om ferske studenters opplevelser av studiemiljøet ved NTNU ) vil forskergruppen bruke en skjematisk stegvis-deduktiv induktiv modell (SDI) for kvalitativ forskning, presentert hos Tjora (2012) Forklar hva som er forholdet mellom empiri og teori i denne modellen og redegjør for hvordan SDI modellen kan brukes i analysen av datamaterialet. Her er det først og fremst sentralt at det fremgår av besvarelsen at kandidaten at forstått at dette er en skjematisk modell for kvalitativ forskning hvor grunnprinsippet er en induktiv utvikling fra empiri til konsepter eller teorier med deduktive trinnvise tilbakekoblinger. Av en sterk besvarelse må det forventes at det kommer frem en forståelse av at den induktive utviklingen starter i empirien mens den stegvise deduktive handler om kvalitetssikring. Herunder følger det at målsettingen med modellen er teori(konsept)utvikling og kvalitetssikring (trinnvis deduktivt). (Tjora, s 174->) Når det gjelder hvordan SDI modellen kan brukes i analysen så er dette drøftet på forelesning der vi også har hatt en praktisk øvelse, med modellen som utgangspunkt. Det er en styrke dersom kandidaten i grove trekk kjenner til fremgangsmåten som innebærer tekstnær koding, (som kun kan skje gjennom empirien), kategorisering (samle tekstnærekoder i hovedtema) og til sist utvikling av konsepter Quantitative Side 4 av 11

5 All tasks must be answered and are weighted equally. Task 3. Answer five of the following six questions. Use about ½ page for each of the questions. (Grader s general instructions: Of course, there are a number of ways some of these answers can be stated, and some students may go into greater detail than others. But, I leave it to the grader s discretion whether a specific answer is equivalent to the minimal answers I have indicated below.) 1. What is the difference between an unstandardized regression coefficient (B) and a standardized regression coefficient (beta)? An unstandardized regression coefficient (b) specifies the number of units the dependent variable is expected to change (with all other independent variables held constant), with an increase of one unit in the independent variable IN TERMS OF THE ORIGINAL VALUES OF THE ORIGINAL METRICS (MEASURES) USED. On the other hand, a standardized regression coefficient (or beta / BETA) specifies the number of standard deviations the dependent variable is expected to change with an increase of one standard deviation in the independent variable (with all other independent variables held constant. (While not required, the answer could be answered in terms of Z-scores or standardized scores.) 2. What is the difference between a confidence interval and a test-of-significance? A confidence interval is a range of values within which the true value of some estimated statistic (a mean, a percentage, a regression coefficient, etc.) for a population probably lies, based on a particular probability level). A test-of-significance involves rejecting or failing to reject a null hypothesis that a statistical value (such as a regression coefficient, a correlation coefficient, or difference in means) is zero. Students may, but do not have to, give the formula for an example of a confidence interval. Simply naming one or more tests of significance is not sufficient for answering the question. 3. Name three measures of central tendency and describe the differences among them. The mode the most commonly occurring score or category of scores. The median the middle score, when all scores are ordered from lowest to highest. The mean the sum of all the scores, divided by the number of scores. The term score is equivalent to value of variable for a single case, in a distribution of values for a single variable. Side 5 av 11

6 4. What is the difference between a spurious effect and an indirect effect? (You may use a diagram using variables X, Z, and Y in your explanation.) A spurious effect is a correlation between an independent variable X and a dependent variable Y, which is incorrectly ( spuriously ) believed to be due to a causal effect of X on Y, when in fact, the correlation between X and Y is due to the effects of a third variable, Z, on both X and Y. Z X? Y An indirect effect of an independent variable X on a dependent variable Y, exists when X does not have a direct causal effect on Y, but instead, X has a causal influence on a third variable Z, which then has a direct causal effect on Y. In such a case, Z may be called an intervening variable. Z X? Y 5. The statistics Gamma, Chi-square, Pearson s r, Cramer s V, and t involve two fundamentally different categories of statistics, used for different purposes. Name the two different categories and list which of these five statistics belongs in each category. Chi-square and t are examples of test statistics used in inferential statistics. Gamma, Pearson s r, and Cramer s V are descriptive statistics, specifically, measures of correlation or association. The answer that Chi-square and t are tests-of-significance, whereas Gamma, r, and V, are measures of correlation or association is also acceptable. 6. The regression coefficients for a set of dummy variables express the effect of being in the categories of each dummy variable in comparison to what? The omitted or reference category of the theoretical variable the category not represented by its own dummy variable. Side 6 av 11

7 Task 4. The questions in this section are all based on a representative sample (equivalent to an approximately random sample) of adults in the country of Macedonia in The dependent variable is a scale measuring patriarchy in attitudes towards women s roles outside the home. The scale was based on calculating the mean value for three Likert-format attitude questions, whose answers were coded with values from 1 to 5, depending on whether respondents strongly disagreed, disagreed, neither agreed nor disagreed, agreed, or strongly disagreed (should be agreed). Higher values on this scale indicate that respondents had more traditional or conservative attitudes toward gender roles outside the home. This variable is given the label GENDERTRAD. The following independent variables were included in the survey and analyses: MALE A dummy variable with males coded to a value of 1. AGE The respondent s age in single years, restricted to ages 21 to 80. EDYEARS The number of single years of formal education completed by the respondents. ALBANIAN A dummy variable coded 1 for self-identified ethnic Albanians, nearly all the cases coded 0 identified as ethnic Macedonians. URBAN_RURAL A set of four dummy variables representing five categories of the size of the city or town where the respondents were living: LGCITY - large city; MEDCITY medium city; SMCITY small city; and SMTOWN small town or village. Respondents living in the Skopje, the Capital of the country, are the omitted category. ALBxED A variable computed by multiplying the variable ALBANIAN by the variable EDYEARS. Below is a bivariate correlation matrix for all these variables except ALBxED and the dummy variables for size of place of residence. Correlations GENDERTRAD MALE AGE EDYEARS ALBANIAN GENDERTRAD Pearson Correlation ** **.286 ** Sig. (2-tailed) N MALE Pearson Correlation.098 ** **.042 * Sig. (2-tailed) N AGE Pearson Correlation ** ** Sig. (2-tailed) N EDYEARS Pearson Correlation **.194 ** ** ** Sig. (2-tailed) N ALBANIAN Pearson Correlation.286 **.042 * ** ** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) N **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). (Graders note: The numbers of cases vary greatly between cells of the matrix because the variables used in the scale were only included in a random half of the entire survey, not because of a poor Side 7 av 11

8 response rate. There is an argument for making this table list-wise missing, but that is irrelevant to the questions intended for this exam.) Below is the SPSS output for estimating a series of five models of the effects of the independent variables on the attitude scale GENDERTRAD. Side 8 av 11

9 Answer the following questions: A. What conclusions would you draw from the results of these models? (This should include discussion of which model seems to be the best, and why. Also if a better model might be estimated by eliminating one or more variables, or by trying adding some additional kinds of effects not included in these models, describe exactly what you would suggest (Additional models which could be tested and /or an improvement on the models shown here.) The best model might be considered either model 4 or 2, although model 4 is the best of these and add that it is informative to compare 4 with 2, although still other models should have been tested as well. The argument that model 4 is best is based on the fact that model 4 had the highest adjusted R- square, the addition of the ALBxED interaction led to a statistically significant improvement over model 3, and that adding that effect resulted in interesting changes in the effects of AGE (AGE becoming significant) and ALBANIAN (which became insignificant). The only argument favouring model 2 is that it omits the set of dummy variables for size of place of residence, which is clearly not significant, as shown by the lack of a significant improvement in R-square between models 2 and 3. On the other hand, leaving the dummies for size of place in had negligible effect on the other coefficients, and adding ALBxED revealed an important interaction, so of these models, model 4 is best. What would be the best improvement? First, dropping the non-significant size of place dummies from model 4. Second, trying tests for curvilinear effects of either age or years of education, by at least trying adding AGE-squared and/or EDYEARS-squared. Third, trying out additional interactions, one at a time, such as EDYEARSxMALE, ALBANIANxAGE, or AGExALBANIAN. Which variables have the strongest effects on the dependent variable overall? As seen in the correlation matrix, both being Albanian and years of education have the highest bivariate correlations with gender traditionalism, with the ethnic effect being slightly stronger than the effect of education, but the effects being in opposite directions: Albanians were substantially more traditional than Macedonians, but education had a strongly NEGATIVE effect on being traditional. But, in the multiple regression, we see that the effect of being Albanian in model 1 was reduced when the education was added as a (control) independent variable in model 2, demonstrating that part of the greater traditionalism of Albanians was due to the negative effect of education on traditionalism and the fact that Albanians had lower levels of education (as indicated by the Albanian education negative correlation in the correlation matrix. In pointing out strong effects, we should certainly point out that the interaction effect of being Albanian decreasing the negative effect of education is one of the most important effects in Model 4. Years of education had a strong effect of decreasing traditionalism, but much less so for Albanians than for Macedonians. As might be expected, Males were strongly more traditional than females, a difference which increased when education was added in model 2; yet the gender effect was weaker than the effects of ethnicity or education. The lack of a significant age effect, even in the bi-variate correlation is, I think, surprising, and suggests trying more models with age included interactions. Side 9 av 11

10 Describe the exact effects of AGE, and EDYEARS in Model 2 in terms of the meanings of the regression coefficients, both for the unstandardized and the standardized coefficients. Regarding the effect of age in model 2, for each single year of additional age, the dependent variable decreased by in terms of points on the attitude scale; for each standard deviation of increase in age, the dependent variable decreased by standard deviations. These negative effects of age seem counter-intuitive, BUT, these effects are not statistically significantly different from zero. Regarding the effect of years of education in model 2, for each single year of additional education, the dependent variable decreased by.066 in terms of the scale; for each standard deviation of increase in education, the dependent variable decreased by.270. This effect was statistically significant, as indicated by the probability level for the t-test; and it was substantively important, as indicated by the large (Beta/standardized coefficient). (Graders note: Do not penalize the students very much if they were confused about wording in terms of a (negative) effect of meaning a decrease of.066, etc.) What is the difference between males and females? Males are more traditional than females in all models, in model 2, the difference is.240 scale points, controlling on the other independent variables. (Grader s note: The question was not so specific about the model to be used, so the point difference for gender for any model is OK.) Are any of the relationships statistically insignificant? The effects of the set of dummy variables for size of place of residence are not significant in either of models in which they are included. The effect of age is not significant in models 1 3, but it is in model 4. The effect of being Albanian is significant in models 1 3; it is not in model 4, but this is because of the inclusion of the Albanian by age interaction, and the t-test for that coefficient alone should not be treated as a relevant test (the students are not expected to know this). B. Calculate the predicted value of the attitude scale for individuals with the following sets of characteristics, from the models specified: Using model 2, what is the predicted value for a respondent who is a 50 year-old Albanian man with 6 years of education? Y*= (50 * -.003) + (1 *.240) + (1 *.444) + (6 * -.066) Y*= (-.15) + (.24) + (.444) + (-.396) Y*= Using model 4, what is the predicted value for a respondent is a 50 year-old Macedonian woman, with 6 years of education, who lives in the capital of Skopje? Side 10 av 11

11 Y*= (50 * -.004) + (0 *.224) + (0 * -.076) + (6 * -.083) + (0 *.009) + (0 *.000) + (0 *.012) + (0 *.052) Y*= (50 * -.004) + (6 * -.083) Y*= (.200 ) + (-.498) Y*= (Grader s note: Students do not have to show the intervening steps, but if they do, and make a trivial computation error while getting the general principle right, that can be taken into account in giving them leniency regarding the final result. Also, it seems that some students were confused about the variable age in single years combined with the statement that the sample was restricted to those years old. So some thought 18-year olds were coded 1, 19-year-olds 2, and 50 year olds as 33. Of course, the variable is the actual age of the respondent in years.) Required formulas: Y* = b 0 + bx 1 + bx 2 + bx 3 + bx 4 Side 11 av 11