first time professor xiao taught W r i t i n g

You need to write an answer to each of the following five questions. One paragraph will generally be necessary to properly answer each question. Each question in worth 8 points (for a total of 40).

Word count at least 800

1. Explain the difference between variables and attributes.
2. The first time Professor Xiao taught her course on research methods, she noticed that students who typically arrived on time to class got better grades on tests than students who typically arrived late. Based on this observation she develops a general expectation that in courses she will teach in the future, those who arrive on time to class will get better grades than students who arrive late. In reaching this conclusion, is Professor Xiao engaging in inductive or deductivereasoning? Clearly explain your answer.
3. When asked to explain why crime rates dropped in Fake County during the 1990’s, Professor Smith answers that she does not know all the reasons for the trend in this specific instance. However, she notes that when looking at all counties in the nation, there is a significant association between unemployment rates and crime rates; the crime rate generally declines when the unemployment rate declines. She says that based on this finding, other research results, and criminological theory, criminologists generally agree that unemployment rates are one of the factors that influence crime rates, although there are surely many other factors. Is Professor Smith’s explanation of crime rates idiographic or nomothetic? Clearly explain your answer.
4. Professor Ordorica studies the historical development of societies. She is interested in the factors that lead to social revolutions. Her basic approach to research is to look for tensions between different groups in society, such as between different social classes, that lead to struggles and, eventually, structural change in society. What type of paradigm discussed in your textbook best characterizes her organizing conceptual framework? Explain why.
5. A sociology instructor asks students in an introductory course to complete a questionnaire that the instructor will analyze as part of a research project intended for publication. Would this be considered ethically problematic by common research standards? Explain your answer.