In which of the following groups are there people who are likely to use or actually conduct research?      

A. Government agencies

B. Community agencies

C. Universities

D. For-profit organizations (e.g. corporations)

E. All of the above

E. All of the above

Which form of knowing is believed to be completely invalid by all people in Western society?

A. Science

B. Tradition

C. Revelation

D. Common sense

E. None of the above

E. None of the above

Epistemology is concerned with the study of:

A. knowledge.

B. disease patterns.

C. planetary motion.

D. media distortions of reality.

E. research techniques.

A. knowledge.

Which question would most likely be asked by someone who studies epistemology?         

A. What is the cause of HIV/AIDS?

B. How is the cosmos organized?

C. How do people distinguish valid claims of knowledge from invalid claims?

D. Which is the best type of research instrument to use in a particular situation?

E. What is the content of humor in a particular society?

C. How do people distinguish valid claims of knowledge from invalid claims?

Doug is studying to become an epistemologist. Given this, which of the following questions would be of most interest to him?

A. What sorts of research strategies should be used to study very large populations?

B. What is the foundation of knowledge?

C. Can a social scientist ethically study people who don't belong to his or her ethnic group?

D. What are the economic consequences of lowered crime rates?

E. Are people in agrarian societies more or less likely to experience divorce than people in industrial societies?

B. What is the foundation of knowledge?     

Science is said to be the privileged way of knowing in Western societies because it:

A. is understood by the average person in those societies.

B. always produces clear-cut results.

C. is accepted by people with power.

D. fits with church doctrine.

 E. all of the above.

C. is accepted by people with power.

The placebo effect occurs when:       

A. a patient displays symptoms for which medical doctors find no cause.

B. a patient finds relief because he or she believes a treatment worked.

C. people believe what scientific authorities tell them.

D. a claim to know something meshes with the ways in which people make sense of the world.

E. a patient is cured of their disease.

B. a patient finds relief because he or she believes a treatment worked.

Dr. Allen, a prominent biologist, publishes an article on nutrition and health in Biology Today. One of the points she makes is that people who eat a lot of starchy foods (e.g. potatoes, pasta, and bread) have a slightly higher risk of dying of heart failure. Days later, the headlines of daily newspapers scream: "Bread Kills Millions." This is an example of:        

A. how information becomes distorted by the media and others who relay information.

B. the ways in which researchers deal with statistically inaccurate data.

C. the processes by which "theory builders" put together abstract structures.

D. research methods used by people in a variety of occupations.

E. how information is arranged in a logical sequence to ensure accuracy.

A. how information becomes distorted by the media and others who relay information.

Which of the following statements is true?   

A. Only scientific knowledge is persuasive in our society because, unlike other forms of knowledge, science "works."

B. In any society, knowledge claims must fits with the way in which people more generally make sense of the world.

C. The practice of "bleeding" was frowned upon in the 18th and 19th centuries because it just didn't work.

D. One of the benefits of relying upon scientific knowledge is that it doesn't produce contradictory results.

 E. Scientists routinely rely upon the techniques of sharpening and leveling to ensure that their reports are accurate.

B. In any society, knowledge claims must fits with the way in which people more generally make sense of the world.

A person reading a scientific study is skeptical if they:

A. think that all scientists are idiots and none of their results can be believed.

B. don't believe the results.

C. consider whether the methods used to produce the data are valid and the scientist's expertise in interpreting the data is credible.

D. believe everything they read by anyone with a PhD.

E. consider science to be infallible.

C. consider whether the methods used to produce the data are valid and the scientist's expertise in interpreting the data is credible.