Unit 2: Emerging technologies and future of the discipline - Practice Quiz

1 Which technology allows researchers to collect information from connected devices in real time?

2 What is virtual reality mainly used to create?

3 Which technology is commonly used to analyze very large datasets?

4 What does artificial intelligence enable computers to do?

5 What is machine learning?

6 In social sciences, digital transformation refers to the use of digital tools to improve what?

7 Which AI application can help identify common themes in interview transcripts?

8 Which method collects responses through an online questionnaire?

9 What is social media analysis?

10 Which tool is commonly used to organize and analyze numerical research data?

11 What is digital ethnography?

12 What is social innovation?

13 Sustainable development aims to meet present needs while protecting what?

14 Which example best represents a sustainable social innovation?

15 Which area is included in sustainable development?

16 Which skill is important for professionals working with emerging technologies?

17 Why is lifelong learning important in the future of the social sciences?

18 Which competency helps a researcher work effectively with people from different fields?

19 What does data privacy protect?

20 What is algorithmic bias?

21 A social researcher wants to understand how residents use a newly developed digital platform to report neighborhood problems. Which emerging technology would be most useful for identifying patterns in the locations and frequency of reports?

22 A university uses virtual reality to help students experience how inaccessible a public building may be for a wheelchair user. What is the primary research or educational value of this application?

23 Researchers analyze public posts, online discussions, and digital interactions to examine how a social movement develops. Which feature of emerging technologies most directly supports this study?

24 A researcher uses a natural language processing tool to classify thousands of interview transcripts by major themes. What is the most appropriate way to use the tool?

25 An automated system recommends social assistance eligibility using historical administrative data. If past decisions disadvantaged a particular group, what is the most likely risk?

26 A public policy organization introduces an AI chatbot to answer citizens' questions. Which practice best reflects responsible digital transformation?

27 A researcher studies online harassment using social media posts collected through a public application programming interface. Which issue should be addressed before analysis?

28 A survey is distributed through a popular social media platform, and most respondents are young adults with regular internet access. Which limitation is most important?

29 A researcher combines online survey responses with interview data and platform activity logs to examine digital learning. What is this approach called?

30 A study of online communities removes usernames but retains detailed quotations that could be searched to identify users. What additional protection is needed?

31 A community creates a low-cost solar cooling system managed by local cooperatives to preserve agricultural products. Why is this an example of social innovation?

32 A city plans a smart waste-management project that uses sensors to optimize collection routes. Which evaluation measure best reflects sustainable development?

33 A nonprofit pilots a digital platform connecting surplus food from restaurants with local shelters. Which action would best strengthen the initiative's sustainability?

34 A development project installs internet centers in rural communities but does not provide training or affordable access. What major problem is most likely to result?

35 A social science graduate is asked to evaluate an algorithm used by a public agency. Which combination of competencies would be most useful?

36 A research team includes sociologists, software developers, and community representatives. Why can this interdisciplinary structure improve a technology-based project?

37 A researcher regularly updates skills in data visualization, privacy protection, and AI assessment. Which professional quality does this behavior demonstrate?

38 A university uses an AI system to flag students who may need academic support. Which action most directly supports transparency?

39 Before using facial-recognition software to identify participants in a public demonstration, what is the most important initial consideration?

40 An AI model performs less accurately for speakers of a minority language. Which responsible response is most appropriate?

41 A research team uses virtual reality to study how bystanders respond to public harassment. Which design choice most directly strengthens the study's ecological validity without eliminating experimental control?

42 A municipality proposes using digital twins to model housing displacement after a transit expansion. Which limitation should researchers treat as most consequential when interpreting the model?

43 An institution introduces an AI system to prioritize students for academic advising. Historical data reflect unequal access to advising. Which intervention best addresses the resulting risk of reproducing disadvantage?

44 A language model classifies interview excerpts by political ideology, but its accuracy is lower for multilingual participants. Which response is methodologically strongest?

45 Researchers use an AI-generated summary of policy consultations to advise legislators. Which governance arrangement best preserves accountability?

46 A study estimates public opinion from social media posts collected through an API. Which combination most directly addresses coverage error?

47 A researcher studies online discussions about suicide. Posts are publicly visible, but users may not expect academic reuse. Which approach best reflects contextual privacy?

48 A digital ethnographer changes the wording of community posts to protect participants while preserving their meaning. What is the main methodological trade-off?

49 A platform changes its recommendation algorithm midway through a longitudinal study. Which design best supports causal interpretation of changes in users' political exposure?

50 A network study finds that highly connected users spread misinformation more rapidly. Which inference is least justified without additional evidence?

51 A social enterprise distributes low-cost solar devices but increases household debt through mandatory financing. Which evaluation conclusion is most defensible?

52 A community-led water project succeeds in one village but fails after replication elsewhere. Which explanation most appropriately challenges simplistic scaling assumptions?

53 A city evaluates a circular-economy initiative only by counting tons of material diverted from landfills. Which criticism is strongest?

54 A participatory climate-adaptation project gives every stakeholder an equal vote, but technical infrastructure decisions affect low-income residents most. Which improvement best advances procedural justice?

55 A social science professional must decide whether to deploy a predictive model for child-welfare referrals. Which competency combination is most appropriate?

56 An employer values applicants who can use generative AI for literature reviews. Which portfolio evidence most convincingly demonstrates responsible competence?

57 A research organization adopts open science practices, but community partners fear that raw data publication could expose them. What is the most appropriate professional response?

58 A facial-recognition system has equal overall accuracy across two demographic groups, but false-positive rates are much higher for one group. Which ethical conclusion is most accurate?

59 A university uses an opaque vendor model to detect student distress and automatically alerts administrators. Which safeguard is most essential before deployment?

60 A generative AI tool produces a persuasive but fabricated citation in a policy report. Which control most directly prevents this failure from reaching publication?