18 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markAccording to this chapter, at what point should a researcher choose the research method?
(A) After the specific research question has been carefully specified(B) Before deciding on a topic(C) The method and the question are chosen together, in no particular order(D) Before framing the specific research question - 1 markA survey, as described in this chapter, involves:
(A) A small number of people questioned in great depth(B) A relatively large number of people asked the same fixed set of questions(C) Only watching people without asking any questions(D) Reading old newspapers and magazines - 1 markAn interview in which only a set of topics is pre-decided, and the actual questions emerge during the conversation, is called:
(A) A structured interview(B) An unstructured interview(C) A survey(D) An archival study - 1 markIn the chapter’s public-space example, why might it matter that a certain group of people is NEVER seen using a space?
(A) In observation, an absence can be as significant as a presence(B) It means the researcher chose the wrong space(C) It has no research value at all(D) It means the survey method should be used instead - 1 markIn the chapter’s mass-media example, which two methods are combined to study change over time?
(A) Interview and observation(B) Survey and interview(C) Observation and archival method(D) Survey and archival method - 1 markIn the co-educational vs single-sex schools example, which THREE methods does the chapter show could all answer the same question about happiness?
(A) Survey, archival method, case study(B) Observation, archival method, experiment(C) Interview, observation, survey(D) Interview, experiment, survey - 1 markBefore starting the projects in this chapter, students are asked to revisit which chapter of their Class XI textbook?
(A) Chapter 5 of Introducing Sociology, ‘Doing Sociology: Research Methods’(B) Chapter 1 of Introducing Sociology(C) There is no such cross-reference(D) Chapter 7 of Understanding Society - 1 markWhich of these is NOT listed by the chapter as a practical difficulty of running a survey in a school?
(A) Needing a teacher’s permission to distribute the questionnaire(B) Some students not returning the filled questionnaire(C) The cost and effort of making enough copies(D) Students refusing to attend school on the day of the survey - 1 markThe ‘Biography of a Commodity’ project asks a student to:
(A) Interview the shopkeeper who sold the item(B) Survey 100 households about the same item(C) Write about a consumption item as though it were narrating its own life story(D) Compare the item’s price across ten years using archives
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): A survey cannot follow up on an unexpectedly interesting answer given by a respondent.
Reason (R): In a survey, the questions to be asked are already fixed in advance and cannot be adjusted on the spot.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): In observation, a researcher must decide in advance exactly what is relevant to the study and ignore everything else.
Reason (R): The chapter states that careful attention has to be paid to what is happening without pre-judging what is relevant and what is not.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I (Method) with List II (Feature), as described in this chapter.
List I: (i) Survey (ii) Interview (iii) Observation (iv) Archival method
List II: (a) Uses material from the past such as old newspapers or magazines (b) Systematically watching and recording what happens (c) A large number of people answer the same fixed questions (d) Conducted in person with a small number of people
(A) i-c, ii-d, iii-b, iv-a(B) i-d, ii-c, iii-a, iv-b(C) i-c, ii-b, iii-d, iv-a(D) i-a, ii-d, iii-b, iv-c
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following two statements about research methods.
Statement I: A structured interview follows a pre-determined pattern of questions.
Statement II: An unstructured interview pre-decides the exact questions to be asked in order.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Neither Statement I nor Statement II is correct(B) Only Statement I is correct(C) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct(D) Only Statement II is correct
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following steps of planning a research project in the order that the chapter’s reasoning implies.
1. Choose a research method that fits the question
2. Pick a broad topic of interest
3. Collect and analyse evidence using the chosen method
4. Narrow the topic into one specific research question
(A) 2-1-4-3(B) 2-4-1-3(C) 4-2-1-3(D) 2-4-3-1
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markQuestionnaires are like a ______ taken at one particular moment, so a survey does not capture how the situation was before or may change later.
(A) snapshot(B) interview(C) archive(D) case study
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of the following are project topics suggested by this chapter. Which one is NOT?
(A) Public transport(B) The biography of a commodity(C) Changing aspirations of different age groups(D) The impact of climate change on agriculture
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Ravi wants to do his sociology project on public transport in his town. His first idea is simply ‘Public transport in my town’, but his teacher tells him this is far too broad to research. Ravi then narrows it to a specific question: ‘Has the availability of auto-rickshaws in my town changed the way daily-wage workers travel to work over the last ten years?’ He now has to decide how to collect evidence for this question.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, why did Ravi’s teacher reject his first idea, ‘Public transport in my town’?
(A) It was not an interesting topic(B) It had already been researched by someone else(C) It was too broad to research directly(D) It needed the archival method only
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markRead the following statements about this chapter and select the option that correctly marks them True (T) or False (F).
(i) A research method chosen for one question is automatically suitable for every other question.
(ii) Practical considerations such as time and resources matter when choosing a method.
(iii) The chapter gives six suggested project topics.
(A) (i) T, (ii) T, (iii) T(B) (i) F, (ii) T, (iii) T(C) (i) T, (ii) F, (iii) F(D) (i) F, (ii) F, (iii) T
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (A) The chapter says that one of the first tasks of the researcher, after carefully specifying the research question, is to select a suitable method.
- (B) A survey asks a fixed set of questions to a relatively large number of people, such as 30, 100 or 2000.
- (B) An unstructured interview pre-decides only the topics; the specific questions come up naturally in the conversation.
- (A) The chapter states that what is not happening can be as important or interesting as what does happen.
- (D) A survey tells you what is happening today, while the archival method (old newspapers, magazines, television programmes) tells you what things were like in the past.
- (C) The chapter walks through interview, observation and survey as three different ways to answer the same ‘are children happier’ question.
- (A) The chapter explicitly asks students to refer again to Chapter 5, ‘Doing Sociology: Research Methods’, of the Class XI textbook Introducing Sociology.
- (D) The chapter lists permission problems, cost of copies, and non-return/incomplete answers as difficulties. It never mentions students refusing to attend school.
- (C) The project asks the student to imagine and write the object’s own ‘autobiography’, tracing how it was produced, traded and purchased.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both statements are true, and the fixed nature of survey questions (R) is exactly why interesting answers cannot be pursued further (A).
- (D) A is false: the chapter says the opposite, that relevance must NOT be pre-judged in observation. R is true, and it directly explains why A is false.
Match the Following
- (A) Survey = fixed questions to many people (i-c); interview = in person, few people (ii-d); observation = watching and recording (iii-b); archival = using material from the past (iv-a).
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) Statement I is correct. Statement II is wrong: an unstructured interview pre-decides only the TOPICS, not the exact questions, which emerge during conversation.
Chronological Ordering
- (B) The chapter’s reasoning gives this order: a broad topic (2) is narrowed into a specific question (4); ‘having decided on a specific question, the next step is to choose the appropriate method’ (1); then evidence is collected and analysed (3), i.e. 2-4-1-3.
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) The chapter’s own comparison: questionnaires are ‘like a snapshot taken at one particular moment.’
Odd One Out
- (D) The chapter’s six topics are public transport, communication media, household appliances, use of public space, changing aspirations, and the biography of a commodity. Climate change is not one of them.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The passage says the teacher found the first idea ‘far too broad to research’, exactly the chapter’s own point about narrowing a topic into a specific question.
True / False
- (B) (i) is false: a method suitable for one question is not necessarily suitable for others. (ii) and (iii) are both true.
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