Chapters Flashcards

Question

Operationalization Choice

Answer 1

-Operationalization ~The process of developing operational definitions *How can we measure the concept? *Must determine what might work as a data-collection method -Measurement ~Assigning numbers or labels to units of analysis to represent the conceptual properties

Answer 2

-Conceptualization -Conceptual Definition -Operational Definition -Measurements

Answer 3

-Qualitative ~Nominal *Aren't numbers or can be put in any order ~Ordinal *Follows strict rules and is organized by an order -Quantitative ~Interval *Does not have a true zero or zero is meaningless **Temperature ~Ratio *Has a true zero **Lengths

Answer 4

-The key standards for measurement quality are RELIABLE and VALIDITY ~Consistency

Answer 5

-Test-retest methods ~Make the same measurement more than once *Should expect the same response both times -Interrater Reliability ~Compare measurements from different raters *Initial measurements -Split-half Method ~Make more than one measure of any concept *See if each measures the concept differently

Answer 6

-Face Validity ~On its face, does it seem valid? ~Does it jibe with our common agreements and mental images? -Criterion-related validity ~Whether your variable relates to another in the logically expected direction -Content validity ~Does the measure cover the range of meanings included in the concept?

Answer 7

-Research method in which ~Conditions are controlled ~So that 1 or more independent variables ~Can be manipulated to test a hypothesis ~About a dependent variable;e -Allows ~Evaluation of causal relationships among variables ~While all other variables are eliminated or controlled

Answer 8

-Experimental Group ~Group of subjects exposed to the experimental treatment -Control Group ~groups of subjects exposed to the control condition ~Not exposed to the experimental treatment ~May receive placebo -Experimental Treatments ~Alternative manipulations of the independent variable being investigated

Answer 9

-Between Subjects ~Dependent measures taken one time ~Data are independent -Within Subjects ~A "repeated measures" design ~Dependent measures taken multiple times ~Data are dependent -Mixed ~Between and within

Answer 10

-Steps ~Decide on the target population *Who to recruit? ~Decide distribution of participants across groups *How to assign participants? -Cardina RULE ~Ensure that groups are as similar as possible *Randomization or "Random Assignment"

Answer 11

-Experiments potentially control for many threats to the validity of causal inference -Experimental design ensures ~Empirical correlation exists ~Cause precedes effects ~No spurious third variable -However, threats to validity still exists

Answer 12

-Randomization ~Groups should be identical with respect to all variables except the experimental treatment -Blinding ~Technique used to control subjects knowledge of whether or not they have been given the experimental treatment -Constancy of Conditions ~Only the Independent Variable varied, while all else is controlled

Answer 13

-Experiments often conducted under carefully controlled conditions ~Reduces internal validity threats ~Increases issue of generalizability -How do we know that the findings generalize to ~Other populations? ~The real world?

Answer 14

-Quasi-Experimental Design ~When randomization isn't possible for legal or ethical reasons ~Introduces internal validity threats -Includes "natural" experiments ~Moratorium on the death penalty

Answer 15

-Surveys -Qualitative Interviews -Field Observations -Secondary Data

Answer 16

-A guarantee that researchers are free to examine all topics and discuss all ideas without any restrictions, threat, or interference from outside the scientific community

Answer 17

-Legal Liability ~Research may expose themselves to criminal liability by *Failing to repot observed criminal activity to the police *Engaging in participant observation studies where crimes are committed -Reporting of Research ~Researches DO NOT FABRICATE DATA *Fraud = an explicit effort to falsify or misrepresent data ~IF they discover significant errors in their published data, they take reasonable steps to CORRECT SUCH ERRORS in a correction, re-traction, erratum, or other appropriate publication means *Error = an unintentional mistake in design or analysis ~They do not present portions of another's work or data AS THEIR OWN, even if the other work or data source is cited occasionally *Plagiarism -Safeguards Against Fraud ~Citations for related ideas and research ~A safeguard against fraud is PEER REVIEW, which takes place when a researcher submits a research article for publication ~REPLICATION is repetition of a research study using the same basic procedures used in the original to test the accuracy ~Emphasis on successful experiments *File drawer bias **A tendency to publish positive results but not to publish negative or nonconfirmatory results *Promotes questionable research practices (QRPs) *Selective reporting of dependent variables *Adding more participants than planned *Failing to report all independent variables ~Growing call for per-registration: Publishing hypothesis and methods before data collection *Prevents HARKing ("hypothesizing after results are known") *Improves transparency

Answer 18

-From experience -Social science is said to be empirical when knowledge is based on what we experience

Answer 19

-The study of methods used to understand something; the science of finding out

Answer 20

-Logical groups of attributes ~The variable "gender" includes the attributes of "female" and "male"

Answer 21

-Repeating a research study to test the findings of an earlier study, often under slightly different conditions or for a different group of subjects

Answer 22

-A systematic explanation for observed facts and laws that describe and predict

Answer 23

-Norm of science whereby different researchers studying the same problem arrive at the same conclusion

Answer 24

-A fundamental model or frame of reference that we use to organize our observation and reasoning

Answer 25

-A type of inductive theory based on (grounded in) field observation

Answer 26

-Conforming to the norms or standards of a group

Answer 27

-Agreement to participate in research after being informed about goals, procedures, and potential risks

Answer 28

-Groups such as juveniles and prisoners who require special protections if they are research subjects

Answer 29

-Whether statements about cause or measures are correct

Answer 30

-Possible sources of false conclusions about cause or measurement

Answer 31

-The things-what or whom-being studied in a research project

Answer 32

-Data collected at a single time point

Answer 33

-Data collected at multiple time points

Answer 34

-Words or symbols in language that we use to represent mental images

Answer 35

-The mental process of making fuzzy and imprecise notions, such as concepts, more specific and precise

Answer 36

-The work definition of a concept or term

Answer 37

-A statement specifying what operations should be performed to measure a concept

Answer 38

-Consistency -Obtaining the same results when measuring something more than once

Answer 39

-Research design with three components ~Pre and posttest ~Experimental and control groups ~Random assignment to group

Answer 40

-Subjects in an experiment who do not receive the experimental treatment

Answer 41

-Subjects in an experiment who receive the experimental treatment

Answer 42

-Research design that includes most, but not all, elements of an experimental design

Answer 43

-A type of quasi-experimental design where changes in a dependent variable are monitored over some time period

Answer 44

-Construct Validity ~Multiple sources of evidence ~Establish chain of causation ~Member checks -Internal Validity ~Pattern-matching ~Time-series analysis -External Validity ~Replicate through multiple case studies

Answer 45

-Random Samples ~Even the best random samples are going to be different from the true population -Sampling Error ~Occurs when a random sample is taken rather than observing every subject in a population *Any sample size over 1,000 participants only lowers the error by one percent. **The only way to get near zero error would be to study everyone in that population, but that is not possible due to financial difficulties and the amount of data

Answer 46

-Inference ~The conclusion based on the sample from a population -Taking different samples of the same population will show the sampling error or Variation Due to Sampling -Confidence Intervals ~The mean for the population lies between the samples of said population *Use a range to find the mean of a population -Greater variation in a population leads to a wider confidence interval ~More variation = wider confidence interval -Small samples vary more from each other and have less information, which leads to wider confidence intervals

Answer 47

-The process of selecting observations -Why Sample? ~Learn something about a large group without having to study every member of that group ~Improve data quality *Obtain in-depth information about each subject rather than superficial data on all ~Want to minimize the number of things we examine or maximize the quality of our examination of those things we do examine ~When is sampling unnecessary? *The number of things we want to sample is small *Data is easily accessible *Data quality is unaffected by the number of things we look at ~Elements *Kind of thing the researcher wants to look at

Answer 48

-Enables us to generalize findings ~Oberved cases *Larger unobserved population -Samples must be representative of the variations that exist among us ~Representative *Each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected into the sample ~"One spoonful can reflect the taste of the whole pot if the soup is weel-stirred" George Gallup

Answer 49

-Conscious Bias *When the sample is not fully representative of the larger population from which it was selected

Answer 50

-Sample Element ~Who or what are we studying -Population ~Whole group -Population Parameter ~The value for a given variable in a population -Sample Statistic ~Description of a given variable in the sample *Use sample statistics to make estimates or inferences about population parameters

Answer 51

-Target Population -Study Population -Sample -Sample is a smaller (but hopefully representative) collection of units from a population used to determine truths about that population *Gives results with known that can be calculated mathematically -The sampling frame is the list from which the potential respondents are drawn ~Registar's office, class rosters ~UCR, NCVS

Answer 52

-Sampling Error ~Any difference between the characteristics of a sample and the characteristics of the population from which the sample is drawn

Answer 53

-Two key components of sampling error ~Confidence levels ~Confidence intervals

Answer 54

-Random selection permits the researcher to link findings from a sample to the body of probability theory to estimate the accuracy of those findings -All statements of accuracy in sampling must specify both a confidence level and a confidence interval -The researcher must report that he or she is x percent confident that the population parameter is between two specific values

Answer 55

-Randomly selecting samples from a larger population -Advantages ~Estimates are easy to calculate ~Simple random sampling is always an equal probability approach -Disadvantages ~Sampling frame large, this method can be impractical ~Minority subgroups of interest in the population may not be present in the sample in sufficient numbers for the study

Answer 56

-Elements in the total list are chosen (systematically) for inclusion in the sample ~List of 10,000 elements, we want a sample of 1,000; select every tenth element ~Choose the first element randomly -Advantages ~Sample easy-to-select ~ A suitable sampling frame can be identified easily ~Sample evenly spread over the entire reference population -Disadvantages ~Sample may be biased if hidden periodicity in population coincides with that of selection

Answer 57

-Frame can be organized into separate "strata" ~Each stratum is then sampled as an independent sub-population ~Individuals randomly selected from the stratum -Advantages ~Ensures proportionate representation in the sample ~Adequate representation of minority subgroups of interest can be ensured -Disadvantages ~Sampling frame of the entire population has to be prepared separately for each stratum ~May require a larger sample than other approaches *Not always feasible

Answer 58

-Used for difficult-to-sample populations ~Involves the repetition of two basic steps *Listing *Sampling -Advantages ~Cuts down on the cost of preparing a sampling frame ~This can reduce travel and other administrative coasts -Disadvantages ~Sampling error is higher for a simple random sample of the same size

Answer 59

-What about situations when it is impossible to select a probability sample? ~Nonprobability sampling can be used -Non-probability samples used when ~The population parameters are unknown ~The study population is difficult to find -Cannot generalize to larger population

Answer 60

-Use results that are easy to get

Answer 61

-Researchers recruit initial subjects ~Initial subjects recruit additional subjects who recruit additional subjects

Answer 62

-Interviewed 38 female officers of varying background ~Technique of snowball sampling -Open-ended questions designed to examine female officers' identification with police and gender roles ~Perceived distinctiveness from male counterparts ~How citizens view them ~They see themselves as masculine or feminine -Transcripts analyzed from emerging themes, concerns, and phrases that were presented by participants ~Discourse analysis

Answer 63

-Women bring distinctive characteristics to the task of policing compared with male counterparts ~Example *More empathetic; better communicators -Citizens see them more as police officers rather than as women ~But other did note that some comment on their appearance -Common were comparisons to other female police officers ("othering")

Answer 64

-The researcher chooses the sample based on who they think would be appropriate for the study ~Used primarily when there is a limited number of people who have expertise in the area being researched

Answer 65

Is it desirable to sample at all, or can the whole population be used? Is it important to generalize to a larger population? ~Political preference polls Do you have the access and ability to perform probability sampling? -Major considerations ~Methods ~Theory ~Practicality ~Ethics

Answer 66

-Population refers to the whole, whereas sample is a smaller group within the population -Biased Samples ~Occurs when one or more parts of the population are favored over others *Voluntary Response Sample **Consists of people who have chosen to include themselves *Convenience Sample **Only included people who are easy to reach -Good Sample (Unbiased Sample) ~One that is representative of the entire population ~Gives each "thing" an equal chance of being chosen -Unbiased Sample ~Stratified Random Sample *Divide the group into stratum (people of similarities) and then do a SRS ~Multistage Sampling *Use a combination of two or more SRS ~Simple Random Sampling (SRS) *Similar to putting names in a hat and asking those to be in the research

Answer 67

-Common mode of observation in ~Sociology ~Political Science ~Criminal Justice Research -Self Reports ~Dominant method for studying the etiology of crime

Answer 68

-Perceptions and Attitudes ~To learn how people feel about crime and CJ Policy -Counting Crime ~Asking people about victimization and criminal activity *Counters problems of data collected by police -Targeted Victim Surveys ~USed to evaluate policy innovations and program success

Answer 69

-How questions are asked in the single most important feature of survey research ~Open-Ended *Respondent is asking to provide his or her answer ~Closed-Ended *Respondents select an answer from a list **Question range strongly disagree to strongly agree -Need a mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions for surveys -Make Items Clear ~Avoid ambiguous questions *DO NOT ask "double-barreled" questions *Emphasize the 5 W's **Who **What **Where **Why **When -Short Items are Best ~Respondents like to read and answer questions quickly -Avoid Biased Items and Terms ~DO NOT ask questions that encourage a certain answer *"How would you rate Michael Jordan's legendary career?" -Vary the response options ~Multiple choice ~Rank order ~Open-ended

Answer 70

-Give mutually Exclusive Choices ~What is your age? *0-10 *10-20 *20-30 *30-40 *40+ **Error is those who fall into two categories because they are 10, 20, 30, or 40 ~ What type of vehicle do you own? *Van *SUV *Sedan **The error is that it does not give cars, trucks, motorcycles, hatchbacks, etc. -Use unbalanced scales carefully ~What is your opinion of Crazy Jim's auto-repair *Pretty Good *Great *Fantastic *Incredible *The Best Ever **Error only listing the positive attributes, not giving options for negative feedback

Answer 71

-National Crime Victimization Survey -California Healthy Kids Survey -Center for Disease Control -Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey -Survey Monkey Questionnaire Templates -American Association for Public Opinion Research -General Social Survey -Existing Research *Peer Reviewed

Answer 72

-Self-administered questionnaires ~Can be home-delivered, mailed, or computer-based ~Issues with response rates -In-Person Interview Surveys ~Typically achieve higher response rates than mail surveys (80-85% is considered good) ~More costly, less efficient -Telephone Surveys ~Saves money and time, provides safety to interviewers, and is more convenient ~But it is challenging to recruit respondents

Answer 73

-Qualitative Interview ~Is an interactive between an interviewer and a respondent *Interviewer has a general plan of inquiry, including topics to be covered -Key Features ~Helps research specific populations ~Understand the subject's perspective ~Must consider researcher positionality

Answer 74

-Firsthand accounts of their impressions and their lived experiences ~Exploring the defense attorney's justification for defending the guilty -Understand how people feel about their roles and identities ~Interviewing incarcerated fathers about fatherhood -Explores embeddedness in a "scene" ~Understanding the role of women within Brooklyn drug markets

Answer 75

-Type Based on INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ~The structure of the interview that may have predetermined topical areas, questions, and PROBES -Types ~Structured ~Semi-structured ~Unstructured -The interview schedule will influence how in-depth and interactive your interviews should be

Answer 76

-Bring people together for a guided topic

Answer 77

-Number of issues ~Double Barrel questions

Answer 78

-Build Rapport ~Consider appropriate attire, language, and location -Probes ~You can use *An attention probe **Lean in *A continuation probe **Nod *Clarification probe **Ask the respondent to clarify *Follow-up questions -Gaining access to participants ~Establish your role *Determine if you are an insider or outsider **May need to establish your identity as a researcher **May require a sponsor or "in" ~Compensation might be necessary

Answer 79

-How would you use surveys or interviews to answer your research questions?

Answer 80

-Include an INTRODUCTION to the literature review ~General findings *One Paragraph -Synthesis of existing research ~By theory, methods, and/or conclusions *DO NOT DO study one, study two, study three found this *MAKE connections between the studies (similarities and differences between the studies) -Outline the limitations or challenges of this particular area of research ~WHAT IS MISSING? *One paragraph -Need for the paper ~2-3 pages ~5 Peer-reviewed articles and/or books *Sources after 2010 *Use in-text citations and references (APA guidelines)

Answer 81

-Selecting some units of a larger population for study

Answer 82

-Sampling in which the probability that an element will be included in a sample is known

Answer 83

-The value for a given variable in a population

Answer 84

-A summary characteristic of a sample used to estimate a population parameter

Answer 85

-The range of sample statistics we will obtain if we select many samples

Answer 86

-A list or quasi-list of elements in a population that is used to select a sample

Answer 87

-Encompasses two different methods of obtaining data ~Direct observation ~Asking questions -May yield qualitative and quantitative data -Benefits ~Helps generate hypotheses for future research ~Provides a comprehensive perspective ~Especially appropriate for natural settings

Answer 88

-Videotaping, photographing, or voice recording ~May raise ethical or bureaucratic issues -Structured Observations ~Observers mark closed-ended forms *Produces numeric measures -Field Notes ~Observations are recorded as written notes *Requires re-writing immediately after observations

Answer 89

-Researcher embeds into the setting of interest for the purpose of gathering detailed data about ~Culture ~Symbols ~Processes ~Membership Boundaries -Studying social life in its natural setting

Answer 90

-A question or concern is identified for study -A group to study is identified ~Typically small and purposively selected -Permission to study the group is obtained -The researcher observes the group ~Must choose membership role -Take extensive note -Analyze data

Answer 91

-Asking questions about your data ~What are people doing? *What are they trying to accomplish? ~How exactly do they do this? *What specific means and/or strategies do they use? ~How do members talk about, characterize, and understand what is going on? ~What assumptions are they making? ~What do I see going on here? -What did I learn from these notes? -What themes or outcomes are present?

Answer 92

-How could you use ethnography to answer your research? ~How would you gain access to your group? ~What role will you choose? Why? ~What would you look to observe? ~How would you record those observations?

Answer 93

-Researchers may expose themselves to criminal liability by ~Failing to report observed criminal activity to the police ~Engaging in participant observation studies where crimes are committed

Answer 94

-Strengths ~Provide great depth of understanding ~More appropriate to measure behavior than surveys ~Can supplement other data -Weaknesses ~Generalizability *Findings may be population-specific ~Low reliability ~Probability samples cannot normally be drawn

Answer 95

-Agency records data, and content analysis do not require direct interaction with research subjects ~Data from agency records *Agencies collect a vast amount of crime and criminal justice data ~Content Analysis *Researchers examine a class of social artifacts **Typically written documents ~Secondary Analysis *Analyzing data previously collected

Answer 96

-Most commonly used in descriptive or exploratory studies -Center on the important links between perceptions of crime problems, individual behavior, and criminal justice policy -Types of agency records ~Published studies ~Nonpublic Agency Records ~New Data Collected by Agency Staff

Answer 97

-Criminal Activity ~Incidents ~Crime Violated ~Victims ~Offenders -Apprehension ~Arrests ~Offenders ~Charges ~Counts -Court Activity ~Defendants ~Filings ~Charges and Counts ~Cases ~Apperances ~Dispositions ~Sentence -Corrections ~Offenders ~Admission ~Returns ~Discharges

Answer 98

-Virtually all Cj records-keeping is a social process: "Social Production of Data" ~Records reflect decisions made by CJ personnel as well as actual behavior by juveniles and adults ~Discretion factors into record-keeping -Potential for clerical error increases with the volume of data

Answer 99

-Data collected by other researchers are often used to address new research question -Advantages ~Cheaper, faster, benefit from work of skilled researchers -Disadvantages ~Data may not be appropriate to your research question *Least useful for evaluation studies

Answer 100

-Analysis of the contents of communication -Technique that allows us to study human behavior indirectly through analysis of communications ~Textbooks, newspapers, Essays, Magazines, Articles, Cookbooks, Songs, Political Speeches, Novels, Advertisements, and Pictures -Appropriate uses ~Obtain descriptive information ~Analyze observable/interview data ~Test hypothesis ~Check other research findings

Answer 101

-Develop a research question -Define important terms (Operationalisation) -Determine the method of sampling and unit of analysis -Formulae coding categories -Analyze Data -Conclude and Report

Answer 102

-Population ~Totality of artifacts we want to say something about -This is often more difficult than it seems ~All issues of the Reno Gazette over a period of a year? ~All coverage of terrorism in the elite press? -We can analyze a census or we can sample ~The same sort of sampling techniques used for surveys can be applied here *Random v. non-random sampling *Many non-random samples chosen for theoretical as well as convenience reasons

Answer 103

-All studies must cover (code) descriptive information into categories ~Deductive *Researcher determines categories before analysis begins ~Inductive *The researcher becomes familiar with the descriptive information collected and allows the categories to emerge as the analysis continues -Major coding categories ~Manifest *Refers to the specific, clear, and surface contents **Words, pictures, images, and such that are easily categorized ~Latent *Refers to the meaning underlying what is contained in a communication ~Both *Combination

Answer 104

-Advantages ~Unobtrusive ~Easy* -Disadvantages ~Limited to analysis of communications ~Difficult to establish validity

Answer 105

-Evaluation Research ~Process Evaluation ~Impact assessment -Problem Analysis -Evaluation Research + Problem Analysis = Policy Intervention

Answer 106

-Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy -Vera Institute of Justice -Justice Reinvestment Initiative -Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation Center

Answer 107

-Policy Demands ~Goal -Policy Input ~Resources -Policy Output ~Deliverables -Policy Impact

Answer 108

-Randomized Evaluation Design ~Randomly assigning participants to conditions ~Avoid selection bias -However, MUST Consider ~Case Flow *Represents the process through which subjects are accumulated into experimental and control groups ~Treatment Fidelity *Whether an experimental intervention is delivered as intended **Related to reliability -Quasi-Experimental Design ~In some cases, random assignment is impossible or unethical ~Alternative approaches can be used, including *Time series analysis, non-equivalent groups, and cohort design -However, challenges exist ~Lack of built-in control for selection (internal validity threat) ~Potential issues with history and instrumentation effects

Answer 109

-Main Steps ~Carefully define a specific problem ~Conduct in-depth analysis of causes ~Search for solutions ~Evaluate the effectiveness of solutions -Coupled with SCIENTIFIC REALISM, can help public officials find alternative courses of action ~Consider the role of context

Answer 110

-Challenges to applied research ~Must consider the views of other stakeholders, including *Political officials *Community members *Law enforcement/corrections officers -Stakeholders may operationalize "success" differently *May have conflicting perspectives on goal and success

Answer 111

-For this paper, you should ~Re-state your research question *State your hypothesis ~Describe how you are operationalizing your variables *Must be measurable ~Describe the methods for obtaining the data *Interviews, observations, surveys, etc. ~Describe your sample, including *Units of analysis *Sample size *Sampling strategy ~Discuss reliability and validity *What are you doing to address threats to both? -This assignment should be between 3 and 4 pages *USE subheadings for organization

Answer 112

-Separate paper by subheadings ~Research question and hypothesis ~Study design *Interviews, observations, surveys, etc. -Will vary based on the project but may include ~Sample *size and strategy *Gaining access ~Independent variables ~Dependent Variables *Questions *Measures ~Selected data sets ~Site locations/access

Answer 113

-Paper Includes ~Problem of Interest ~At least 8 peer-reviewed sources *What researchers have already found out ~Propose study design *Sampling strategy *Type of method **In detail *Issues of reliability and validity **Issues on addressing threats and can't get around due to the study design -Combine Previous work ~Incorporate feedback ~Refine paper *Clear thread in the first paragraph *Analysing other research on the research question *Study proposal your research relates to other research -Should be 6-8 pages ~APA formatting

Chapters Flashcards

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