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Chapter_9 Survey_Research_and_Other_Ways_of_Asking_Questions
1. Surveys may be used for descriptive, explanatory and applied research.
a. True
b. False
2. The National Jail Census collects information every five years about federal prisons.
a. True
b. False
3. The National Crime Victimization Survey can be used to evaluate local crime prevention programs.
a. True
b. False
4. There are two basic options for researchers when asking questions; open-ended or closed-ended.
a. True
b. False
5. The subsequent questions in a series are called contingency questions.
a. True
b. False
6. Face-to-face interviews are best for complex questions and other specialized needs.
a. True
b. False
7. As a general rule, the interviewer should dress in formal attire to do the interviewing.
a. True
b. False
8. When dealing with sensitive issues it may be more effective to use a self administered questionnaire.
a. True
b. False
9. Focus groups usually consist of 15 to 20 people.
a. True
b. False
10. Survey research is generally weaker on validity and stronger on reliability.
a. True
b. False
11. What are the basic ways of administering questionnaires?
a. face-to-face interview
b. telephone interviews
c. self-administered
d. all of the above
12. Surveys are best suited for studies that have what as their units of analysis?
a. individuals
b. groups
c. organizations
d. social artifacts
13. General population surveys and surveys of offenders tend to present what types of difficulties?
a. sampling error
b. validity error
c. generalizability error
d. sample error
14. For research that seeks to explore or explain why people commit criminal, delinquent, or deviant acts, which is the
best method available?
a. observation
b. asking questions
c. participant observation
d. studying criminal records
15. Surveys that are designed for more than one purpose are known as?
a. open-ended
b. closed-ended
c. general purpose
d. targeted victim
16. The term questionnaire suggests a collection of:
a. values
b. responses
c. answer options
d. beliefs
17. In the interest of being unambiguous and precise, survey questions should:
a. have questions with no more than 40 words in them
b. be generalizable
c. be clear
d. be reliable
18. Questions that encourage respondents to answer in a particular way are known as:
a. unfair
b. biased
c. double-barreled
d. vague
19. Inexperienced researchers tend to fear that their questionnaires will look:
a. too easy
b. too complex
c. too long
d. too cluttered
20. It is usually best to begin a self-administered questionnaire with:
a. sensitive issue questions
b. age, gender, etc. questions
c. sexual behavior questions
d. the most interesting set of questions
21. In most cases the following months should be avoided when mailing questionnaires:
a. June, July, August
b. November, December, January
c. March, April, May
d. September, October, November
22. When the potential respondent first opens their door, the interviewer must establish?
a. their knowledge
b. their authority
c. rapport
d. the purpose of the interview
23. As a general rule the interviewer should dress:
a. casually
b. formally
c. similar to the interviewee
d. however they would like.
24. Surveys may be used for all but which of the following?
a. descriptive research
b. motivational research
c. explanatory research
d. exploratory research
25. Which of the following represent targeted victims surveys?
a. self reports
b. Uniform Crime Reports
c. National Crime Victimization Survey
d. Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring
26. Which of the following is not collected routinely by the British Crime Survey?
a. offender demographics
b. self reported drug use
c. attitudes toward criminal sentencing
d. fear of crime
27. 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
28. Closed ended questions are useful because:
a. they provide uniform responses
b. they are more valid
c. they are more generalizable
d. you always get a thoughtful answer
29. Which of the following represent potential problems with the use of open-ended questions?
a. possibility of misunderstanding and researcher bias
b. they can be quickly completed by the respondent
c. they do not limit the responses received
d. they result in lack of uniformity of answers
30. 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
31. One of the following is not accurate with respect to the construction of questionnaire items. Which one is
inaccurate?
a. use only questions, no statements
b. short items are the best
c. avoid negative items
d. avoid the temptation to ask questions in a manner that determines a specific answer
32. 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
33. Which of the following represents a negative item?
a. drugs such as marijuana should not be legalized
b. it is fair to say that marijuana is a drug
c. unlike alcohol, marijuana does not make the user mean
d. marijuana is a more addictive than alcohol
34. Bias in questions can be established in which of the following ways?
a. questions that encourage particular responses
b. identify the name of either a prestigious or unpopular agency in the question
c. identify the name of either a prestigious or unpopular person in the question
d. all of the above
35. If a researcher tries to assess criminal victimization of the poor and disadvantaged, rather than using the term
“welfare” in her questionnaire, which of the following is less biased?
a. assistance to the poor
b. on the dole
c. the underclass
d. public nuisance
36. Which is a potential problem when using self-report surveys with high-rate offenders?
a. sampling
b. recall error
c. representation
d. bias
37. What procedures can help to guard against a socially desirable response when using self-report items?
a. one of the purposes of self-report items is to get socially desirable responses
b. ask what they think other people do before asking what they do
c. use legal definitions
d. ask only a few questions
38. Which of the following is not a concern when a questionnaire is not formatted properly?
a. respondents may miss questions
b. respondents may finish the questionnaire too quickly
c. respondents may throw the questionnaire away
d. respondents may become confused about the nature of the data desired
39. Contingency questions are appropriate when:
a. certain questions are clearly relevant to only some of the respondents and irrelevant to others
b. you want the respondents to write out an answer
c. you want the respondents to rank their answers on a scale
d. you want to impress the respondents with your questions
40. Which of the following is not an advantage of the use of matrix questions?
a. they are faster to complete for respondents
b. they do not take much thought on the part of the respondents to answer
c. they use space efficiently
d. the format increases the comparability of responses given to different questions for the respondent as well as
the researcher
41. Which of the following have been identified as advantages of the use of computer assisted interviewing?
a. respondents seem to sense a greater degree of confidentiality
b. get more “productive” answers to questions dealing with topics such as drug use
c. increase the speed and efficiency of the responses
d. all of the above
42. Which of the following represent advantages to the use of computer aided interviews?
a. the cost of the hardware and software is quite high
b. large scale systematic error can happen
c. batteries of laptops don’t last long, and computers and software are subject to malfunctions
d. they prompt the researcher with the questions
43. A mock jury is an example of:
a. open ended questions
b. interviews
c. focus group
d. survey designs
44. Which of the following statements is not true concerning surveys?
a. surveys are high on reliability
b. surveys are low on reliability
c. surveys are high on generalizability
d. surveys are low on validity
45. “Do you support the reduction of property taxes and the construction of a state prison near Atlanta?” is an example
of what sort of question?
a. double-barreled
b. biased
c. negative
d. too long
46. Which type of question should be avoided on a questionnaire?
a. short items
b. contingency questions
c. ambiguous questions
d. matrix questions
47. A reason why you should not contract with a professional firm for a survey might be that
a. drawing a sample is a complex process
b. they already have a pool of trained researchers
c. they may be trained in the intricacies of questionnaire construction
d. you are never sure if they follow the survey as you would
48. Focus groups are most useful
a. when precise generalization to a larger population is essential and the focus groups’ participants and the larger
population are relatively heterogeneous
b. when precise generalization to a larger population is essential and the focus groups’ participants and the larger
population are relatively homogeneous
c. when precise generalization to a larger population is not necessary and the focus groups’ participants and the
larger population are relatively homogeneous
d. when precise generalization to a larger population is not necessary and the focus group participants and the
larger population are relatively heterogeneous
49. Probably the most important ability for interviewers to have is the ability to:
a. dress in a fashion that is similar to the people being interviewed
b. determine very quickly the kind of person the respondent will feel most comfortable with
c. rephrase questions so that they make sense to the respondent
d. all of the above
50. 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%
51. In general, the longer a potential respondent delays replying:
a. the more valid their response will be because they are taking their time completing the survey
b. the more likely they will respond
c. the less likely they will respond
d. the less valid their response will be
52. In general, survey research is:
a. strong on reliability and strong on validity
b. strong on reliability and weak on validity
c. weak on reliability and strong on validity
d. weak on reliability and weak on validity
53. In contrast to interviews, self-administered questionnaires have the advantages of:
a. being more effective in dealing with complicated issues
b. producing fewer incomplete questionnaires
c. dealing with the context of social life
d. handling sensitive issues more effectively if surveys are anonymous
54. Which of the following is not an advantage of telephone surveys?
a. respondents are eager to participate
b. they save time and money compared to face-to-face interviews
c. there is greater control over data collection
d. researchers’ appearance is not important
55. “What is your opinion on the death penalty?” is an example of which type of question?
a. closed ended question
b. open ended question
c. matrix question
d. contingency question
56. “What is your gender? male female” is an example of which type of question?
a. closed ended question
b. open ended question
c. matrix question
d. contingency question
57. The following is an example of which type of question?
Q1: Have you ever protested against the death penalty?
- yes
- no If you answer yes, go to Q2
Q2: Where did the protest take place? __________________
a. closed ended question
b. open ended question
c. matrix question
d. contingency question
58. Which of the following would is an accepted method for increasing response rates in mailed surveys?
a. go to the respondents home and pick up the questionnaire
b. include a self addressed stamped envelope
c. contact the non-respondents by telephone
d. send out only one original mailing with no follow ups
59. When follow-ups are planned with mail surveys:
a. response bias is not an issue
b. the anonymity of respondents is not guaranteed
c. the response rate increases
d. none of the above
60. The National Crime Victimization Survey is an example of which type of survey research?
a. targeted victim survey
b. self-report study
c. attitudinal survey
d. survey of beliefs
61. Which of the following is accurate with respect to specialized interviewing?
a. concerned only the views and opinions of those individuals who are interviewed
b. concerned with the interview technique
c. only concerned with generalizing to the general public
d. ask questions of a large number of subjects
62. Specialized interviewing will consist of which of the following?
a. the interview schedule is less structured than sample surveys
b. uses general guide that includes topics, issues, etc.
c. questions are not presented in a standardized order
d. all the above
63. In all but which of the following situations would a survey be the appropriate method of gathering data?
a. assessing the community’s attitudes about community policing
b. interviews with offenders in prison
c. evaluation of a new law that your state legislature is proposing
d. assessing the opinions of prosecutors and judges about court docket delays
64. How has NCVS broadened the scope of the responses it gets from the surveys?
a. it has asked more questions about demographic information
b. it has reduced unimportant questions and added more questions about victimization
c. it has included questions dealing with police-public contacts in order to assess experiences during traffic stops
d. it has questions concerning the relationship with the offender
65. Which of the following questions is best for a survey?
a. What grade did you get in your last criminal justice course and why did you get it?
b. If you did not do as well in your last criminal justice course was it because of the teacher, the book, the time
the class was offered, or what?
c. What grade do you expect to get in research methods?
d. Why did you miss class so many times during the last semester and were your grades impacted by the misses
or was it a good trade-off because you were doing things for your school organization?
66. Which of the following represent special problems when giving a self-report questionnaire to an incarcerated
population?
a. inmates will admit to criminal acts they have not been charged with
b. inmates may be reluctant to admit committing crimes because of legal consequences.
c. inmates may have limited reading ability and that would influence their ability to answer questions.
d. you may not have considered all the potential responses
67. What is an important consideration to think about when mailing questionnaires?
a. people don’t like to have their name and address associated with the answers they give on a questionnaire
b. timing
c. people may not get their mail in time to return the questionnaire
d. people generally will not complete questionnaires
68. Which of the following is not an example of an advantage of computer assisted in-person interviews?
a. responses can be quickly entered into data files for analysis
b. complex questions can be automated
c. questions can be programmed in different languages
d. there is no opportunity for follow-up questions
69. With respect to telephone interviews, which of the following does not represent a problem for the researcher?
a. caller ID, which is common now in many households, may reduce the number of subjects that answer their
phones
b. telephone surveys may reduce the risk to the researcher who would otherwise have to go door-to-door
c. telephone surveys are limited to those people with home phones
d. people can hang up, thus increasing the number of calls you must make
70. Which of the following make surveys a good choice for doing research?
a. surveys can be given only once to the same population because they will learn from the prior survey
b. there are many methods of surveys that can be used with any given population
c. survey research is appropriate only for exploratory research
d. surveys have strong validity
71. When the respondent is asked to provide his or her own answers to questions, they are answering
____________________ questions.
72. If the respondent must select an answer from among a list provided by the researcher, they are answering
____________________ questions.
73. When a researcher asks respondents for a single answer to a combination question their question is said to be
____________________.
74. When we ask people for information they will respond using a filter of what will make them look good, which is
known as social ____________________.
75. Subsequent questions in series are called questions.
76. If you want to ask several questions that have the same set of answer categories, the best type of question to use is
the ____________________ question.
77. Respondents may develop a set or pattern of answering when answering matrix
questions.
78. questionnaires are generally the least expensive and easiest to complete.
79. A(n) is frequently required for eliciting responses to open-ended questions.
80. One technique borrowed from market research is the group which uses somewhere
between 8 and 15 people.
81. Surveys tend to be strong on reliability and .
82. The tends to be based on a much less structured set of open-ended questions than other
survey or interview techniques.
83. A closed-ended question has a response set consisting of the categories “strongly agree”, “agree”, “disagree” and
“strongly disagree”. These responses are an example of a ____________________ scale.
84. When any given response fits in only one given set of categories the categories are
exclusive.
85. When constructing questions it is a good idea to ensure that a set of given responses is ,
including all reasonable responses in the categories given.
86. Identify the strengths and weaknesses in general of survey research.
87. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of the following.
a. open-ended questions
b. closed-ended questions
88. Write sample questions dealing with the relationship between gender and criminal activity. Have the questions be in
the following forms:
a. open-ended
b. closed-ended
c. matrix
d. contingency
89. What is CASI? What advantages and disadvantages does it offer for researchers?
90. Compare and contrast in-person interviews and telephone surveys in terms of the role of the researcher and the
types of questions appropriate for each.
