Research Methods – Sociology Practice Exam

The chosen answer highlights the "imposition problem," which refers to how questionnaires can impose particular meanings or interpretations on respondents. This can limit the validity of the data collected, as respondents may not fully understand the questions as intended or might interpret them in ways that differ from the researcher’s objective. Consequently, the way questions are formulated can lead to responses that do not accurately reflect the respondents' true thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, thus compromising the research findings.

The imposition problem is a significant concern when it comes to ensuring that the questions align with the constructs that researchers aim to measure. It emphasizes the importance of careful question design and pre-testing to improve validity in survey research.

Other options present their own issues but do not directly address the validity of the questionnaire in the same context as the imposition problem. High detail in responses, while generally positive, can lead to data that is unwieldy or misinterpreted if the responses arise from poorly constructed questions. Social interaction bias involves how the presence of social context influences responses, which is more relevant to interviews than questionnaires. A lack of response rate indicates a problem with gather data but does not impact the validity of responses that are collected. Each issue is valid in its own right, but they do not

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