Which of the following would not be an example of an evidence-based policy?
a. the use of CCTV in public entertainment districts to reduce property crime
b. acquaintance rape of college students
c. underage drinking
d. Compstat
Which of the following is accurate with respect to field research?
a. field research can only gather quantitative data
b. field research can only gather qualitative data
c. field research can gather both qualitative and quantitative data
d. field research can gather neither qualitative nor quantitative data
One common threat to statistical conclusion validity is:
a. the manner in which a sample is pulled
b. whether the sample is randomly selected
c. the size of the sample
d. all of the above are threats
This type of analysis can help public officials plan and select an alternative action:
a. evaluation analysis
b. evidence-based analysis
c. policy analysis
d. problem analysis
An empirical measure that adequately reflects the meaning of the concept under
consideration is known as:
a. reliability
b. validity
c. accuracy
d. face validity
The good thing about applied studies such as program evaluation is that they do not
require the same degree of planning as do survey designs.
a. True
b. False
Missing data in qualitative research serves as a type of:
a. analytical technique
b. focus groups
c. connector that accounts for what participants declined to mention
d. none of the answers are correct
DAWN is based on units of analysis that are:
a. directly related to the use of drugs
b. indirectly linked to criminal offenses
c. directly reported to the survey by the offender
d. indirectly related by the victim
The core sample of the Monitoring the Future is:
a. households
b. high school seniors
c. college students
d. jail inmates
In the field of public health, “monitoring” (in order to measure crime) is referred to as
a(n):
a. index system
b. surveillance system
c. classification system
d. data system
When we rely on the “truths” of our culture, we are accepting knowledge derived from
the majority, and this is
called acceptance of:
a. traditions
b. myths
c. reality
d. agreement
Which of the following situations would not have an impact upon error in agency
records?
a. computers have the capacity to magnify clerical error
b. a single crime could be recorded by two agencies, thus making that event
over-represented
c. having very little data to input
d. even rare events can be recorded improperly
In univariate analysis, missing data can be reported in several different ways.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following is a test of statistical significance?
a. regression
b. chi square
c. gamma
d. lambda
If a burglar breaks into a house, rapes one of the occupants, and flees in the owners’ car,
which one of the crimes
will be counted in congruence with the hierarchy rule?
a. vehicle theft
b. breaking and entering
c. rape
d. all of the above
A list of all elements in a population is referred to as the sampling frame.
a. True
b. False
Maturation as a threat to internal validity in experiments refers to:
a. some subjects are older than others
b. as people grow and change, results can be impacted
c. only subjects over the age of 21 are mature enough to be part of an experiment
d. none of the above
Inexperienced researchers tend to fear that their questionnaires will look:
a. too easy
b. too complex
c. too long
d. too cluttered
Which of the following constitute facts related to variables?
a. the empirical counterpart to a concept
b. variables can only be one value
c. more broad than concepts
d. cannot be observed
All of the following may represent errors when constructing items for questionnaire
except for:
a. the researcher uses long and complicated items
b. the negation of a question
c. the researcher uses short items
d. the researcher uses a combination question when they only want a single answer
In its most elementary form, evaluation research is a process of:
a. evaluating whether a piece of research is valid
b. determining the reliability of research findings
c. determining whether the intended result, of a given policy intervention was produced
d. evaluating whether a given piece of legislation is effective
If, on a questionnaire, a respondent is asked “what do you feel is the most important
crime problem facing the policy in your city today” they are being asked what type of
question?
a. closed-ended question
b. open-ended question
c. contingency question
d. matrix question
Federal regulations and IRB guidelines address ethical issues in social research. Which
of the following represents the foremost or key ethical issue in social research?
a. principle of do no harm
b. principle of humane treatment
c. principle of voluntary participation
d. principle of special populations
Which of the following is not an example of the use of secondary analysis?
a. using UCR data to measure the trends over time in reported rapes
b. identifying the characteristics of your state’s prisoners for the last ten years
c. developing a measurement for your city’s juvenile intake facility
d. using NCVS to see if there have been changes in the incidents of personal theft over
the last ten years
Of the three measures of central tendency which one is affected by extreme values?
a. mode
b. median
c. mean
d. neither mode, median, or mean are affected by extreme values
Which of the following would be an example of selection bias?
a. volunteers
b. random assignment to experimental and control groups
c. matching on experimental and comparison groups
d. making sure that the quotas are the same for the experimental and comparison groups
with respect to important variables
Which of the following statements is true concerning the relationship between standard
error and sample size?
a. there is a positive relationship
b. there is an inverse relationship
c. as sample size decreases, the standard error decreases
d. as sample size increases, the standard error increases
What are three major aspects of the overall scientific enterprise?
a. theory, data collection, selective observation
b. theory, data collection, data analysis
c. data collection, data analysis, funding
d. theory, data analysis, funding
In most cases, federal law does not protect researchers from legal action.
a. True
b. False
Surveys are especially useful for learning about which of the following?
a. crimes reported to police
b. crimes not reported to police
c. crimes resulting in conviction
d. crimes with multiple offenders
Which of the following is an attribute of the variable “employment status”?
a. unemployed
b. minimum wage
c. number of employees
d. all the above
The ‘science of knowing” refers to .
In order to avoid mistaken inferences, researchers must be careful to specify the people
or phenomena being studied, known as the ____________________.
In a classical experiment the independent variable is the cause and the dependent
variable is the
____________________.
The correspondence between a target population and sampling frames affects the of the
samples.
The middle attribute, or the , is the measure that divides the distribution so that half the
scores are higher and half are lower.
The conceptualization and operationalization processes can be seen as the specification
of variables and the
____________________ composing them.
In probability theory, the standard indicates how closely the sample estimates will be
distributed around the population parameter.
Compare and contrast bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis. Be sure to highlight
the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Answer:N/A
represents the process through which subjects are accumulated in experimental and
control groups.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of secondary data and give an example of
each.
Answer:N/A
Variables whose attributes have only the characteristics of exhaustiveness and mutual
exclusiveness are
____________________ measures.
____________________ logic moves from the general to the specific.
refers to whether specific findings apply to the unobserved.
Like reporting, NIBRS is voluntary; no agency is required to submit crime reports to
the FBI in any form.
Discuss the different tests of statistical significance, comparing and contrasting each.
Be sure to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each of the types of tests of
statistical significance as well.
Answer:N/A
validity becomes an issue when findings are based on small samples of cases.