In the classical experiment subjects are measured on the independent variable before
the experiment begins and again after the dependent variable has been manipulated by
the researcher.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following statistical techniques relies upon testing in the null hypothesis?
a. mean
b. chi square
c. range
d. median
Telescoping refers to:
a. when respondents may not accurately recall when an incident occurred
b. when only certain victims are interviewed
c. when only certain crimes are reported
d. none of the above
According to federal regulations, which of the following represent special populations
for purposes of criminal justice research?
a. police officers
b. juveniles
c. corrections officers
d. parolees
The most effective method of accounting for certain crimes such as delinquency and
victimless crimes is:
a. anonymous surveys
b. self-report surveys
c. observation surveys
d. uniform crime reports
In an effort to insure that textbooks for introductory level criminology and criminal
justice courses are gender and race neutral an analysis of the language was undertaken.
Which of the following would be appropriate?
a. measuring the only the manifest content
b. measuring the latent content
c. measuring the number of words used
d. measuring the number of different subjects the author uses
When a survey is confidential rather than anonymous
a. the researcher must make this fact clear to respondents
b. the researcher must abort the research project
c. the researcher may release information to third parties
d. the researcher is obligated to disclose participant identities
Validity is especially weak in field studies.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following best applies to the statement that science is always objective?
a. this only happens in the study of economics
b. objectivity is a matter of intersubjective agreement
c. objectivity can never happen when engaged in scientific research
d. objectivity is always present when a researcher knows all of the variables impacting
their study
The design and execution of criminal justice research requires eliminating the confusion
over concepts and reality. To accomplish this, scientists have found it useful to
distinguish three kinds of definitions: real, conceptual, and:
a. apparent
b. operational
c. congruent
d. altruistic
What are the basic ways of administering questionnaires?
a. face-to-face interview
b. telephone interviews
c. self-administered
d. all of the above
Agency records and statistics published by agencies or governmental entities are most
commonly used for which type of studies?
a. explanatory
b. descriptive
c. evaluations
d. understanding the criminal justice system
Qualitative field research is very reliable.
a. True
b. False
Scientists must have two types of support before they will agree on something they
haven”t personally experienced.
These types are:
a. epistemological and methodological
b. logical and hard facts
c. logical and empirical
d. hard facts and complete data
Which of the following is not an advantage of using secondary data?
a. reduction in validity threats
b. it is cheaper than collecting original data
c. it is faster than collecting original data
d. the researcher may benefit from the work of others established in their fields
Outputs refer to the basic question of what a policy action is trying to achieve while
impacts refer to the means of achieving desired policy goals.
a. True
b. False
Prospective studies are completed quickly since you only have to ask people to project
what they would do or how they will act in the future.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following is not necessary in the construction of closed-ended questions?
a. the response categories must be mutually exclusive
b. the response categories must be exhaustive
c. the researcher must be careful in structuring the responses
d. the response categories should be extensive
Which of the following types of researchers have NOT historically used qualitative
interviews:
a. criminologists
b. sociologists
c. anthropologists
d. chemists
A scouting report is a product of:
a. a process evaluation
b. an outcome evaluation
c. an evaluability assessment
d. defining policy objectives
Qualitative interviews are based on a deliberate plan but are inherently flexible.
a. True
b. False
The first step in gaining access to formal organizations is typically:
a. writing a letter
b. finding a sponsor
c. making a phone call
d. offering a financial reward
Which of the following are referred to as a summary based measure of crime?
a. UCR
b. NCVS
c. NIBRS
d. ADAM
The way to remember the percentages of samples that will fall within one, two and
three standard errors of the parameter are the following:
a. 68-95-99
b. 50-50-50
c. 50-75-100
d. 50-70-90
What would be considered the minimum level for an adequate response rate for analysis
and reporting of questionnaires?
a. 30 %
b. 40%
c. 50%
d. 75%
Which of the following is correct?
a. X is a sufficient cause of Y if Y always happens when X is present
b. Y is a necessary cause of X if Y always happens when X does
c. X is a necessary cause of Y only if Y happens before X
d. Y is a sufficient cause of X only if X happens before Y
Although a person’s observations and experiences are real, his or her concepts are:
a. mental creations
b. subliminal
c. discreet
d. reliable
Process evaluations:
a. assess the extent to which policies achieve their intended goals
b. are essentially the same as impact assessments
c. focus on policy demands and agenda
d. assess the extent to which policies are being implemented as intended
The broad questions that influence all measures of crime include all of the following
except:
a. what offenses should be measured
b. what units of analysis should be used
c. why do offenders commit crimes
d. what is the research or policy purpose in measuring crime
Things we consider real because we”ve been told they are real is an example of:
a. agreement reality
b. expressed reality
c. assumed reality
d. experiential reality
As a general rule the interviewer should dress:
a. casually
b. formally
c. similar to the interviewee
d. however they would like.
The value of institutional review boards includes which of the following?
a. they provide expert advice on how to resolve ethical dilemmas present in some
research
b. since some researchers are not disinterested parties, IRBs offer outside judgments
about ethical considerations
c. they make sure that researchers are not overlooking the rights and well-being of their
subjects
d. all of the above
In the text, an example was given concerning the difficulty in trying to measure how
much crime happened to victims who were not residents of South Florida. Since police
only routinely kept records on where victims stayed locally (such as hotel addresses)
researchers could have an additional question added to the incident recording form
asking for the victim’s permanent address. All of the following would be benefits of that
except:
a. it is much cheaper to add a question to a form than collecting the data oneself
b. it is much more expensive to add a question to a form because it requires all the
forms to be reprinted
c. it allows for more control over the measurement process
d. it enhances the reliability of data collection