Lesson 4.1.3.7

4.1.3.7 Values, objectivity and sociology and social policy Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.1.3.7, Values, objectivity and sociology and social policy: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 1: Education with Theory and Methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. According to Max Weber, what should sociologists separate from empirical research findings?

    • Quantitative data
    • Personal value judgements
    • Research methods
    • Theoretical perspectives

  2. At which stage of research do personal values inevitably influence a sociologist first?

    • Statistical analysis
    • Selecting a topic
    • Calculating percentages
    • Publishing results

  3. What term describes research bias caused by a sociologist's personal or political commitments?

    • Value bias
    • Hawthorne effect
    • Interviewer bias
    • Social desirability

  4. What practice do interpretivists recommend since values cannot be fully eliminated from research?

    • Reflexivity
    • Triangulation
    • Operationalisation
    • Random sampling

  5. Why do Marxists criticise the claim that sociology can be value-free?

    • Promotes social stability
    • Encourages qualitative data
    • Masks ruling-class interests
    • Prevents statistical testing

  6. What is the main way sociological research influences government social policy?

    • Enacting legislation
    • Setting budget limits
    • Providing empirical evidence
    • Making political decisions

  7. Seebohm Rowntree's studies of poverty in York directly influenced which area of government activity?

    • Foreign diplomacy
    • Welfare reform policy
    • Defence strategy
    • Electoral law

  8. What is a major risk of sociology being closely tied to government policy agendas?

    • Narrowing research questions
    • Guaranteeing complete objectivity
    • Eliminating quantitative data
    • Promoting radical revolution

  9. In sociological methodology, how is complete objectivity usually regarded?

    • An absolute certainty
    • A regulative ideal
    • An inherent given
    • A legal requirement

  10. According to feminist sociology, what is the main danger of claiming value freedom in research?

    • Promoting political revolution
    • Masking patriarchal bias
    • Rejecting statistical evidence
    • Overemphasising social class

  11. Which term describes a researcher critically examining how their own values shape their study?

    • Reflexivity
    • Determinism
    • Positivism
    • Triangulation

  12. Which outcome do New Right thinkers claim sociology has encouraged through social policy?

    • Free-market capitalism
    • Nuclear family collapse
    • State welfare dependency
    • Private sector growth

  13. At which stage of research do personal values inevitably enter sociological work first?

    • Selecting random samples
    • Publishing final results
    • Choosing research topics
    • Calculating mean averages

  14. What main threat to sociological objectivity arises when government funds a research study?

    • Compulsory qualitative methods
    • Funder agenda setting
    • Inadequate sample sizes
    • Excessive statistical testing

  15. Alvin Gouldner warned that sociologists claiming neutrality while serving state policy risk becoming what?

    • Objective scientists
    • Organic intellectuals
    • Hired guns
    • Value-free observers

  16. According to Marxists, whose interests are served by claiming sociology is value-free?

    • Minoritised social groups
    • Welfare state clients
    • The working class
    • The ruling class

  17. Why do critical sociologists argue that government-commissioned research serves elite interests?

    • Avoids empirical data
    • Limits critical questions
    • Guarantees total anonymity
    • Mandates qualitative methods

  18. In 'Whose Side Are We On?', Howard Becker argued that sociologists should side with which group?

    • The underdog
    • Corporate executives
    • Government ministers
    • The ruling elite

  19. Which concept describes a sociologist explicitly acknowledging how personal values influenced their choice of research topic?

    • Reflexivity
    • Determinism
    • Objectivity
    • Positivism

  20. What does it mean to say that sociological or scientific knowledge is provisional?

    • Inherently flawed
    • Permanently proven
    • Open to revision
    • Purely subjective

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