The norm of voluntary participation is usually satisfied by ____.
a. compensation for participants
b. debriefing
c. informed consent
d. ensuring confidentiality
With respect to harm in the conduct of research, ____.
a. only risk of psychological harm is acceptable
b. risk of physical harm is acceptable only when participants are paid enough money to
compensate them
c. research with more than minimal risk is no longer permitted
d. criminal justice research may generate special considerations regarding physical
harm
Which situation presents a threat to internal validity?
a. subjects dropping out of an experiment
b. selecting a random sample
c. randomization of group assignments
d. very high reliability of outcome measures
Confidence levels allow the researcher to have some idea of how closely their samples
reflect the parameter. Which statement about confidence levels is true?
a. If a simple random sample is used, probability theory suggests that researchers can be
95 percent sure the estimates of that sample fall within one standard error of the
parameter.
b. If a simple random sample is used, probability theory suggests that researchers can
be 68 percent sure that estimates of that sample fall within two standard errors of the
parameter.
c. If a simple random sample is used, probability theory suggests that researchers can
almost be positive (99+ percent) that estimates of that sample fall within three standard
errors of the true value.
d. If a simple random sample is used, probability theory suggests that researchers can
be positive that sample mean is equivalent to population mean.
Field notes should include both empirical observations and
a. live discussions
b. interpretations of them
c. data analysis
d. names of the participants
The size of the sample and the standard error are related in which way?
a. The standard error is not related to the size of the sample.
b. When the sample size increases so does the standard error.
c. When the sample size increases the standard error decreases.
d. The standard error moves in the same direction as the sample size.
A researcher wants to measure attitudes towards gun control by asking people whether
they would be worried about traveling to areas where there are known to be a lot of
illegal guns. Critics argue that the conceptualization does not really look as though it is
related to attitudes about gun control, in other words, that it lacks ____ validity.
a. face
b. construct
c. convergent
d. criterion-related
Which action is central to voluntary participation?
a. paying subjects for participating
b. ensuring that there is some clear personal benefit for participants
c. emphasizing benefits while withholding information on risks
d. disclosing research purpose with informed consent
Which statement is false with regard to validity and reliability of agency records?
a. the shorter the time intervals under study the greater the concern about procedure
changes
b. longitudinal researchers must be concerned about changes in operational definitions
over time
c. longitudinal researchers must be concerned about changes in procedures over time
d. the longer the time interval under study the greater the concern about procedure
changes
Which of the following would be an example of content analysis in criminal justice
research?
a. counting the stories devoted to the coverage of crime in your local newspaper
b. counting the number of robberies that happen in your city
c. measuring the average length of time from arrest to disposition in your city
d. determining the average number of inmates housed in your city’s jail on a daily basis
A mock jury is an example of a(n) ____.
a. open ended question
b. interview
c. focus group
d. survey design
What can be said about the relationship between process evaluations and impact
assessments?
a. process evaluations can be used in interpreting results from an impact assessment
b. process evaluations monitor program implementation but impact assessments do not
answer questions about a program’s effects
c. process evaluation cannot be used to interpret outcomes
d. there is no relationship between impact assessments and process evaluations
Which statement is true?
a. A variable can be an independent in one experiment and dependent in another.
b. The dependent variable is manipulated by the experimenter.
c. A classical experiment examines the effects of the dependent variable.
d. In a classical experiment, the independent variable is viewed as the outcome.
When saying validity is “the approximate truth of an inference,” the emphasis is on
____.
a. truth
b. approximate
c. inference
d. validity
Dr. Smith is interested in implementing a program that is designed to reduce the
recidivism rates of property offenders. He selects two state prisons and, with the
blessing of the Department of Corrections, begins the programs in the main state prison
for males and a female institution that is nearby. Which design would be best for Dr.
Smith to use?
a. non-equivalent groups
b. randomized study
c. interrupted times-series
d. none of these would work
Scientific inquiry is a(n) _____ activity.
a. conscious
b. private
c. casual
d. informal
The words or symbols in language used to illustrate subjective thoughts or mental
images about things we may encounter in daily life are known as ____.
a. operations
b. concepts
c. observations
d. measurements
A researcher using social artifacts as the unit of analysis might be studying ____.
a. newspaper editorials
b. probation officers
c. students
d. professors
One of the most important issues addressed by institutional review boards relates to
_____.
a. voluntariness of participation
b. the adequacy of the experimental design
c. whether funding was received from an appropriate source
d. the qualifications of the researcher
In an examination of violent crime among the most populous nations in the world, the
United States ranks very high along with England, France, and Australia. The chance of
being raped is higher in France than in the United States. What units of analysis are
being used?
a. individuals
b. organizations
c. social artifacts
d. groups
After reading current research on the causes of juvenile crime and noting that lack of
opportunity, school failure, and parental neglect are often prominently mentioned, you
have trouble reconciling what you read with what your personal experience. You think
in particular of someone you went to high school with who, despite coming from a
well-educated, wealthy family, being a star student and athlete, and having very
attentive parents, carried out a series of burglaries and arsons. This illustrates the ____
fallacy.
a. individualistic
b. ecological
c. observational
d. personal
Data analysis looks for patterns in what is ____.
a. proved
b. observed
c. hypothesized
d. assumed
A(n) _____ is the most appropriate method for studying both general concern and fear
for personal safety
a. survey
b. observational study
c. experiment
d. randomized trial
Program evaluation is designed to link the intended actions and goals of criminal justice
policy to ____.
a. empirical evidence that supports them having the desired effects
b. policies that are made to benefit communities
c. implementation of policies
d. randomized field experiments
Your criminal justice class requires a study of the success of your state’s drug courts.
The professor suggests that you first select 10 counties from your state. From those 10
counties, you will select the two largest cities from each. Finally, the drug courts in each
of the cities will be monitored to measure success. What type of sampling design did
your professor suggest?
a. stratified sampling
b. multistage cluster sampling
c. multistage cluster sampling with stratification
d. judgmental sampling
In most cases, the methods used to select subjects must meet the scientific norm of
____.
a. generalizability
b. informed consent
c. equivalence
d. neutrality
Which unit of analysis is a social artifact?
a. citizen attitudes about the death penalty
b. editorials in the New York Times
c. cities with over 250,000 inhabitants
d. months of the year
Bias in questions can be established in which way?
a. questions that encourage particular responses
b. do not identify the name of either a prestigious or unpopular agency in the question
c. do not identify the name of either a prestigious or unpopular person in the question
d. questions that are unambiguous and clear
Which statement is most accurate?
a. Neither the independent nor the dependent variable need be operationally defined.
b. Only the dependent variable needs to be operationally defined.
c. Only the independent variable needs to be operationally defined.
d. Both the independent and dependent variables must be operationally defined.
A researcher who uses a stratified sampling technique ____.
a. does not select elements from homogeneous subsets of a population
b. recognizes the extent that subsets that are homogeneous on stratified variables will
generally result in homogeneity on other variables as well
c. cannot estimate that a stratified sample is likely to be more representative on a
number of variables than a simple random sample
d. does not use probability sampling method
After you have identified a sponsor and sent a letter to a formal organization stating
your interest in research, a phone call is typically the next step in the process. You have
agreed upon a time and day for the phone call and at the appointed time, you call. The
director will not take your call. What should you do next?
a. forget that organization as a target of your research because if the director will not
take your call now, you cannot expect much from him once the research begins
b. keep calling back until your call is taken by the director
c. ask to speak the director’s assistant and make an appointment for a meeting
d. find another sponsor and see if you have better luck getting access to the director
The qualitative interview can also be thought of as a(n) ____.
a. well-designed survey
b. difficult exercise
c. purposeful conversation
d. expensive venture
Quasi-experiments differ from true experiments in that they lack random assignment to
control and experimental groups.
Ordinal measures are variables whose attributes may be logically rank-ordered.
Policy analysis focuses upon whether the intended result was produced.
Loeber’s “dynamic classification of offenders” is a typology.
Field research encompasses two different methods of obtaining data: (1) making direct
observation and (2) writing detailed questions..
Experiments in criminal justice typically require only one experimental and one control
group for each study.
Theoretical sampling is not a part of this theory generating process.
A(n) _______________ measure combines multiple indicators to yield a single
measure.
A focus group is a type of qualitative interview, and involves a directed discussion with
a small group of people.
Random assignment cannot be used in some criminal justice research for legal and
ethical reasons.
Manipulation of data for the purpose of drawing conclusions is known as
_____________.
The research goal of voluntary participation may be impossible to follow.
A theory that is created based upon experience and field observations is referred to as
a(n) _______________ theory.
In the measurement of crime, single incident cannot include multiple offenses, but may
have one offense and multiple offenders.
Individuals must be allowed to make their own decisions about participation in
research.
Validity refers to the degree to which every observation can be classified in terms of
one and only one attribute.