26 Jan What is a survey instrument?

Exam 1

Question 1

Houston is having an issue with theft, so the Mayor decides that the only way to reduce theft in the city is to increase the penalty for theft in hopes to deter potential thieves. The City Council agreed to increase the penalty for theft. However, thefts continued to increase around the city. Which of the following alternatives to research is the Mayor using?

Question 2

What type of research is often necessary when we know very little about a new or emerging social trend?

Question 3

“A recent proposal by the Bigton Police Department is to not dispatch officers to take stolen vehicle reports. Instead the vehicle owner would enter the appropriate information into an online system and get the case number needed to file an insurance claim. The City Manager rejects the proposal, arguing, “”The good people of Bigton deserve a living and breathing police officer when they call one. That is just the way we ve always done things around here.”” Which of the following alternatives to research is the City Manager using?”

Question 4

The Captain of the Narcotics Unit in a large metropolitan police department hears that prescription drug abuse is growing among juveniles in her city. She asks one of her lieutenants to conduct research to determine the extent of this new trend. Into which of the following research categories would this research project best fit?

Question 5

“Because the steps must be completed in a certain order, the research process is; ”

Question 6

“Because researchers often find it necessary to revisit the steps, the research process is; ”

Question 7

“Because research often results in additional questions for future research, the research process is; ”

Question 8

What is the potential harm when a criminal justice researcher interviews violent criminal offenders in their home?

Question 9

“What is the potential harm when a researcher asks respondents to disclose their names, addresses and information on their criminal behavior? ”

Question 10

What is the potential harm when an interview asks young sexual assault victims to recount the details of their victimization?

Question 11

“When it is not possible for anybody, including the researcher, to determine the identities of the research subjects using the information they provide on a survey, we say that research subjects have been granted; ”

Question 12

When a researcher knows but agrees not to disclose her research subjects´ identities she has likely assured them of;

Question 13

Researchers should secure consent from research subjects prior to gathering information from them. This consent must be both;

Question 14

“Which of the following groups of research subjects would be considered a vulnerable population, requiring a more detailed review by an Institutional Review Board? ”

Question 15

Researchers who intend to gather information from human subjects should seek the approval for their research from an Institutional Review Board;

Question 16

Research means…

Question 17

If you rely on expert opinion about a criminal justice issue, what alternative to research are you using?

Question 18

Compared to the physical sciences, like biology, chemistry, or physics, research methods in social sciences, like criminal justice, sociology, or economics are:

Question 19

Conceptualization is…

Question 20

Operationalization is…

Question 21

What is a statement, written in the form of a rule or guideline, about what the data must reveal for the researcher to confirm his or her hypothesis?

Question 22

The purpose of the Stanford Prison Experiment was to…

Question 23

The Stanford Prison Experiment was developed by which researcher?

Question 24

What research project was discussed in the PowerPoint and video that specifically dealt with legal harm to its participants?

Question 25

If you’re conducting field observations of gang members in a high crime area and you assign two graduate students to hang out with the gang members in the high crime areas, what is the potential ethical violation here?

Question 26

This codifies statements of principles that guide professional behavior or practice:

Question 27

A researcher conducting research to determine if low self-esteem is a cause of crime, is best described as a(n):

Question 28

To understand the changing demographic characteristics of juvenile offenders, a researcher will survey a random sample of 1,000 juvenile offenders every 5 years over the next 15 years. What is the time dimension of this research project?

Question 29

A researcher will conduct a survey of 100 women who are victims of domestic violence to determine the circumstances surrounding their decision to call the police for help. What is the time dimension of this research project?

Question 30

After observing their behavior for several months, a researcher theorized that correctional officers become personally detached from inmates as a means of reducing the stress associated with their professional responsibilities. What method of reasoning is this researcher using?

Question 31

Because the research suggests that police officers are more likely as a group to experience alcoholism, the chief of police concluded that Officer Smith’s recent illness was likely caused by his excessive drinking. Which type of logical error did the chief of police commit?

Question 32

After completing research on crimes committed by girls, a researcher concludes that when girls commit crimes, they do not consider their behavior criminal. Instead they consider their behavior a normal response to social inequality. What research paradigm is this researcher following?

Question 33

A criminal justice professor does a lot of research on the effect of poverty on juvenile delinquency. She hopes to use her research findings to provide information on how to structure poverty reduction programs. What research paradigm is this research following?

Question 34

The time dimension of a survey given to college freshman every year for 10 years is:

Question 35

A researcher who objectively measures age by the number of anniversaries of a person’s birthdate isusing what type of measure?

Question 36

A researcher who subjectively measures age based on responses to questions about economic and social independence is using what type of measure?

Question 37

A researcher who theorizes that Southerners are more violent and then collects data to test this theory is using what type of reasoning?

Question 38

A researcher who notices that Southerners appear to be more aggressive and develops a theory that Southerners are more violent is using what type of reasoning?

Question 39

There is only one ‘best way’ to conduct research.

Question 40

The research process is a set of specific steps that, when done correctly, produce data.

Question 41

The four objectives of the research process are to answer a research question or a set of research questions, resolve disagreements among researchers, fill gaps within the body of knowledge, and produce more research questions.

Question 42

Research questions are statements that make some claim.

Question 43

Which type of research describes a social phenomena?

Question 44

Which type of research attempts to find a cause for social trends and phenomena, it asks ‘why?’?

Question 45

What type of research is conducted for the purpose of expanding the body of knowledge?

Question 46

What type of research is intended to collect the information necessary to solve a specific problem?

Question 47

This ethical principle means that during the research process the researcher should never do anything that will hurt another person or put any person in danger

Question 48

Which principle of ethical research states that researchers should respect an individual’s right to be left alone and ensure that the personal information of research subjects will not be inappropriately divulged?

Question 49

Which principle of ethical research states that researchers should not lie about or fabricate their research findings, represent another person’s work as their own, or sanction another person’s work without conducting a careful analysis?

Question 50

What type of research misrepresentation involves lying about or fabricating research findings?

Exam 2

Question 1

“A recent analysis of domestic violence in a northern city reveals that domestic violence incidents tend to increase during the coldest months of the year (i.e. winter) and decrease during the warmest months of the year (i.e. summer). In this case, we would say which of the following about the correlation between temperature and domestic violence; ”

Question 2

The variable income (in dollars) is measured at what level of measurement?

Question 3

What level of measurement includes categories that can be rank ordered, but do not have equal differences between their attributes?

Question 4

The variable race (Caucasian, African American, Asian) is measured at what level of measurement?

Question 5

The variable age (in years) is measured at what level of measurement?

Question 6

Which of the following levels of measurement is the most precise?

Question 7

The extent to which a measure accurately measures what it purports to measure is referred to as the measure s;

Question 8

The extent to which a measure consistently measures a social phenomenon is referred to as the measure s;

Question 9

What type of validity refers to the extend to which a measure corresponds to other variables that are related to the underlying variable we are interested in studying?

Question 10

If we asked someone whether she has been arrested for a crime and then compared her answers to official arrest records, what type of validity would we be using?

Question 11

What type of validity refers to the degree to which a measure includes every dimension of the concept?

Question 12

What type of reliability refers to when a researcher uses previous research or generally agreed upon standards to test the reliability of a new measure?

Question 13

What type of reliability refers to when a researcher administers the measure twice to the same group to see if the results are similar?

Question 14

What type of measure is a single number that represents a compilation of other measures?

Question 15

A police officer develops a way to classify her colleagues in terms of their professionalism on the job. The categories are career officer, work-a-day officer, and slacker officer. This measure is best described as a(n):

Question 16

A recent analysis of domestic violence incidents across the United States revealed that domestic violence incidents in northern cities tend to increase during warm months and decrease during cold months. In this case, we would say which of the following about the correlation between temperature and domestic violence incidents?

Question 17

What type of reliabiity refers to when a researcher splits a measure in half and administers each half to two similar groups?

Question 18

A researcher is interested in bullying but learns it is difficult to differentiate between actual bullying and normal playful interactions between third graders during recess. After developing her definition of bullying, she asks her three graduate students to observe behavior at an elementary school during recess and identify bullying incidents. At the end of the day, the researcher compares the independent results of the three researchers. What type of reliability is this researcher using?

Question 19

What is the most common type of scale?

Question 20

A formal statement that predicts how a change in one or more variables might cause a change in another variable is called a(n):

Question 21

A variable that is alleged to cause a change to another variable is referred to as a(n):

Question 22

A variable that is alleged to be changed because of another variable is referred to as a(n):

Question 23

The independent variable in the hypothesis ‘Police officers who pursue hobbies unrelated to their profession are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease’ is:

Question 24

The dependenr variable in the hypothesis ‘Young, male African-American motorists are more likely to be searched by a police officer during a stop’ is:

Question 25

The intervening variable in the hypothesis ‘Inmates who successfully complete a degree in prison are less likely to recidivate, unless they are released to the same social environment where they lived prior to their incarceration’ is:

Question 26

A set of attributes for a variable that allows for one and only one response is said to be:

Question 27

A set of attributes for a variable that reasonably includes all possible responses is said to be:

Question 28

The hypothesis ‘there is no correlation between regular church attendance and juvenile delinquency’ is a(n):

Question 29

The hypothesis ‘mandatory exercise programs reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease among career police officers’ is a(n):

Question 30

The hypothesis, Female professors are less likely than male professors to give out A’s is an example of a…?

Question 31

The hypothesis, the more impaired an offender is with respect to drug consumption, the more violent their crime is a…

Question 32

You have completed a study on the alleged causal relationship between the moon phase and street crime. You determined that there is no correlation between the phase of the moon and the rate of reported street crimes, despite the fact that many of your colleagues in the police department strongly believe there is. Your research reveals that the relationship between the moon phase and street crime is:

Question 33

A study of juvenile delinquency reveals a strong correlation between illegal drug use and delinquent acts. The researcher concludes that illegal drug use is the cause of delinquent acts. Looking at the same data, another researcher comes to the conclusion that delinquent acts lead to illegal drug use. Which causal rule are both researchers forgetting here?

Question 34

Spuriousness means:

Question 35

If the statement ‘A lack of education is a cause of crime,’ is true, then which variable must have happened first?

Question 36

The lowest (least precise) level of measurement is called:

Question 37

Similar to nominal or ordinal level variables, a type of variable that has a fixed number of attributes is called:

Question 38

Similar to an interval or ratio level variable, a type of variable that has an almost unlimited number of values is called:

Question 39

A researcher who uses height as a measure of annual income likely has a problem with:

Question 40

A researcher who uses a survey written in English when half of his repondents do not speak English likely has a problem with:

Question 41

A variable that occurs between an independent and dependent variable and affects the relationship between them is called a(n):

Question 42

The different characteristics or values that a variable can take on are called:

Question 43

A statement that alleges no plausible connection between two or more variables is called a(n):

Question 44

A predictive statement that alleges a plausible connection between two or more variables is called a(n):

Question 45

Which of the following is a variable?

Question 46

If crime increases following an increase in gang activities, then the correlation between crime and gang activity is:

Question 47

A line graph that remains horizontal from left to right is representative of:

Question 48

If ‘A’ happens before ‘B’ and there is a predictable correlation between these two variables, is that enough to conclude that ‘A’ is a cause of ‘B’?

Question 49

The causal rule that the cause must precede (happen before) the effect is referred to as:

Question 50

If body weight decreases after sustained physical exercise, then the correlation between body weight and calorie intake is:

Exam 3

Question 1

The scientific basis that allows researchers to use samples to predict conditions within a larger population is called the:

Question 2

A(n) __________ is a research method that measures how much, if any, an independent variable causes a change to the dependent variable.

Question 3

What refers to the difference between the results the researcher gets from the sample and the results the researcher might have gotten had he or she actually polled the entire population?

Question 4

What refers to any process that systematically increases or decreases the chances that certain members of a population will be selected into the sample?

Question 5

If we want to study participants in a particular drug treatment program, we ask the program administrators for a list of all past and present participants. Using this list, we can select a subset of these participants for our sample.What is this list an example of?

Question 6

A researcher draws names out of a hat to see which police officers in a particular precinct will be interviewed for a study on workplace satisfaction. This probability sampling technique is best defined as

Question 7

_____________ typically occurs when the members of a population are more accessible in natural groups, such as churches, schools, or organizations

Question 8

What sampling technique would a researcher use if they suspect gender is an important factor to their research, so he or she wants to be sure the sample contains an equal number of males and females?

Question 9

What type of sampling technique does a researcher use a structured process to randomly select cases into a sample? For example, every 10th case

Question 10

The group that is exposed to the treatment or stimulus believed to cause a change in the dependent variable is known as the;

Question 11

_______ is the independent variable that the researcher alleges will be the cause of a change in the dependent variable

Question 12

What type of experimental design model is sometimes referred to as the classic experimental design model because it includes an experimental group, a control group, a treatment, a pretest, and a posttest?

Question 13

An experiment applies a treatment to a single experimental group and measures the dependent variable both before and after the application of this treatment. What type of experimental design is being used?

Question 14

What type of experimental design includes the basic elements of the experimental design model plus a control group, but does not include a pretest?

Question 15

An experiment has two experimental groups and two control groups; a treatment or stimulus that is applied only to the experimental groups; pretests that measure the dependent variable prior to the treatment for one of the experimental groups and one of the control groups; and posttests that measure the dependent variable after exposure to the treatment for all groups. What type of experimental design is being used

Question 16

Which type of experimental design only has the basic elements of the experimental design model?

Question 17

Using a ________, the researcher measures the dependent variable after the treatment has been administered.

Question 18

__________ refers to the ability of an experimental design to document the causal relationship between an independent variable and dependent variable.

Question 19

External validity is related to which of the following research methods concepts?

Question 20

_______ refers to when a threat to the internal validity of an experiment occurs naturally within the research subjects themselves.

Question 21

_____ occurs when research subjects have an awareness that they are being measured, which causes a change in their behavior

Question 22

_____ is a threat to internal validity that occurs when, for whatever reason, research subjects become unavailable to the researcher during an experiment.

Question 23

_____ is a threat to internal validity that occurs when external events unrelated to the experiment affect research subjects.

Question 24

______ is a threat to internal validity that occurs when research subjects are exposed to a pretest prior to the treatment that can change the outcome of the posttest.

Question 25

_____ occurs when there may be an initial treatment effect, but the effect diminishes over time, indicating that the independent variable has no long-term effect.

Question 26

_______ occurs when there is a failure to ensure that the subjects assigned to the experimental and control groups are more or less equivalent with respect to the variables that might influence the dependent variable.

Question 27

Which survey format is of low cost, can provide wide coverage of the population, allows research subjects anonymity, and reduces the potential for interviewer bias?

Question 28

A survey researcher wants the maximum response rate but might need to provide the respondents with visual images to explain questions. Which of the following survey formats would be the most appropriate in this research situation?

Question 29

A survey researcher wants to reach respondents from different nations and to provide respondents surveys written in the language with which they are most comfortable. Which of the following survey formats would be the most appropriate in this research situation?

Question 30

_________________ are questions that lead a respondent to answer in a certain way.

Question 31

The survey question, “Are the officers that work for the SO generally courteous?” is poorly worded. What is the problem with this question?

Question 32

________ are two questions in one

Question 33

The survey question, “Do you think the government should spend more money on the military to avoid a catastrophic invasion of the country?” is poorly worded. What is the problem with this question?

Question 34

The survey question, “Experts suggest that children who experience child abuse are more likely to abuse their partners as adults. Do you believe this?” is poorly worded. What is the problem with this question?

Question 35

_______ response sets allow respondents to write their own responses to questions, but in a less structured way.

Question 36

_______ response sets allow the respondent to enter specific information into a blank space or box.

Question 37

_______ response sets can be used to specify a standard set of responses from which the respondent must choose.

Question 38

___________ are used to measure the respondents’ attentiveness while responding to the statements.

Question 39

__________ is a scientific technique that allows a researcher to learn something about a population by studying a few members of that population.

Question 40

What sampling technique refers to when the sample consists of individuals who are readily available to the researcher?

Question 41

What sampling technique refers to when the sample consists of individuals who are referred to the researcher individually by previous research subjects?

Question 42

A _____________ is the entire set of individuals or groups that is relevant to a research project.

Question 43

Probability sampling techniques rely on random selection and allow researchers to predict what is happening in the larger population from which the sample came.

Question 44

Survey research methods are data collection procedures or processes that involve the use of a survey or interview instrument wherein individuals or groups are asked to respond to questions and/or statements

Question 45

A researcher contacts every police department in the United States and asks them what color of uniforms their officers wear. What is the researcher doing in this case?

Question 46

Which of the following statements about survey length is most accurate?

Question 47

Which of the following statements about survey research is accurate?

Question 48

What is a survey instrument?

Question 49

The purpose of pretesting a survey instrument is to;

Question 50

What can be said about the following statement: Results from a non-probability sample can be inferred to the larger population from which the sample was obtained.