When we attempt to answer questions about why something happens, the purpose of
our research is _____.
a. exploration
b. description
c. explanation
d. application
If the researcher feels they will need to ask questions of the subjects, what is the best
technique in field research to use?
a. complete observer
b. complete participant
c. a combination of observer and participant
d. surveys
The quasi-list of elements from which participants will be selected is called the ____.
a. parameter
b. sampling frame
c. population
d. sample
Which statement is false with regard to agencies collecting original research data?
a. cooperation to add research questions is likely to be successful if you are asking for a
major additional effort on the part of the agency staff
b. the cooperation of the staff and their organizations are directly proportional to the
intrusiveness of the data collection
c. if the research project is likely to save the agency money or improve staff
performance the chances of enlisting assistance is greater
d. Researchers have less control over the data collection process when they rely on
agency staff
When selecting a survey method, which factor is least likely to be a consideration?
a. cost
b. speed
c. clarity
d. question content
General population surveys and surveys of offenders tend to present which types of
difficulties?
a. recall error
b. systematic error
c. feasibility error
d. random error
Which statement 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. Drugs have negative effect.
According to federal regulations, which of the following populations is classified as a
‘special” population?
a. public employees
b. juvenile delinquents
c. undergraduate students
d. new parents
If a randomized experiment is used for evaluation purposes, ____.
a. case flow must be adequate to produce enough subjects in both the experimental and
the control groups
b. program staff may minimize the exceptions to randomization
c. special interventions must be consistently applied
d. maintaining the desired level of control over experimental conditions
Which type of interview is the most natural, in-depth, and exploratory?
a. semi-structured interviewing.
b. structured interviewing.
c. unstructured interviewing.
d. focus group interviewing.
Most government organizations routinely collect and publish compilations of data,
which we refer to collectively as:
a. statistical and or graphic data
b. electronic data
c. published statistics
d. crime rates
Which of the following is not a guideline for good field note taking?
a. don”t trust your memory, write down as much as possible unobtrusively
b. develop your notes from sketchy to more detailed with rewrites
c. use only key words and phrases in your notes, you will remember the details at a later
date
d. record as many details as you can right after each observation session
It should go without saying that questionnaire items must be ____.
a. long
b. statements of purpose
c. clear
d. translated in different languages
The test-retest method is used to examine ____.
a. reliability
b. validity
c. generalizability
d. precision
Traditional approaches to finding cause and effect usually try to isolate causal
mechanisms from other possible influences while the scientific realist approach views
these other possible influences as ____.
a. deviations
b. causal mechanisms
c. contexts
d. true causes
Which of the following is a purpose of institutional review boards?
a. to evaluate safeguards to protect the welfare of human subjects
b. to make sure that the data analysis is appropriate and is correctly performed
c. to determine whether tenure recommendations should be made based on research
d. to make sure that researchers have enough money for travel
Field research is a data collection method that involves the __________________of
phenomena in their natural settings.
a. direct observation
b. written records
c. grounded theory
d. accurate measures
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
National Crime Victimization Survey and the British Crime Survey both use ____ to
gather data.
a. simple random samples
b. stratified sampling
c. multistage cluster sampling
d. quota sampling
Which of the following would be an accurate statement concerning the use of content
analysis?
a. content analysis involves only a systematic study of messages
b. content analysis involves a systematic study of messages and the meaning that those
messages have for citizens
c. content analysis involves only the meaning of speeches given concerning criminal
justice issues
d. content analysis methods can only be used with agency reports to determine what
they contain
When we trust the judgments of people who have special training, such as a doctor or a
lawyer, we relying on _____ as a way of knowing.
a. wisdom
b. expertise
c. authority
d. power
Regardless of the techniques used to identify subjects from subcultures, there will be
concerns. Which of the following is not one of them?
a. lack of probability sampling
b. selection bias
c. generally a small sample size
d. there are no concerns once you get an informant to introduce members of their
subculture
Field notes should include all but which of the following?
a. specific names of those being studied and where events happen even if those being
studied are criminals
b. what you specifically witnessed
c. what you think that you witnessed
d. your interpretations of what you witnessed
The dictionary definition of the word “ethical” is “conforming to standards of conduct
of ____.”
a. a given profession or group
b. the dominant religious group
c. society as a whole
d. the relevant legal codes
Inexperienced researchers tend to fear that their questionnaires will look too ____.
a. easy
b. complex
c. long
d. cluttered
Relating to randomization, which statement is inaccurate?
a. as the number of exceptions to random assignment increases, the statistical
equivalence of the experimental and control groups decreases
b. when exceptions to random assignment are made, no bias enters the selection process
c. randomization in experiments for evaluation purposes are best suited for programs
where exceptions are at a minimum
d. Random assignment of people to receive some especially desirable or punitive
treatment may not be possible for legal, ethical, and practical reasons.
Qualitative field research is the preferred method for studying many ____.
a. subjects who change language
b. types of crimes
c. types of phenomena
d. types of active offenders
If the variable that you are interested in studying is so rare that it is unlikely to be
discovered using random sampling, what is the best alternative?
a. accidental sampling
b. quota sampling
c. stratified sampling
d. purposive sampling
Which of the following does not represent potential problems in doing evaluation
research?
a. conflicting goals
b. vague goals
c. when the intended actions and goals are linked through empirical evidence.
d. difficulty in expressing policy goals in the “if-then” form that can be empirically
tested
Field observation can produce systematic counts of behaviors and
___________________________________________ beyond those actually observed.
a. the name of participants
b. reasonable estimates for a large population of behaviors
c. time and dates for all
d. identify that you want to meet and talk with the contact person
All of the following may represent errors when constructing items for a 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
A good way to avoid sampling bias in the assessment of public opinion about a specific
criminal justice topic is to employ the use of a radio call-in show.
The essential characteristic of interviewers is that their presence in the data collection
process must not have any effect on the responses given to questionnaire items.
The standard error is the measure of sampling error.
If a measure is reliable, you are measuring what you think you are measuring.
To gain access to a formal organization for the purposes of field research, one needs to
find a(n) ____________ who is personally known to and respected by the director.
The goal of _______________ is to ensure that the experimental and groups will be
statistically equivalent.
A respondent who is asked to personally answer questions rather than selecting one of
the assigned answers is answering _______________ questions.
When we ask people for information, they will often respond using a filter of what will
make them look good. This is known as _______________.
Subsequent questions in series are called contingency questions because whether they
are to be asked and answered is _______________ on the response to the first question
in the series.
Agency records, secondary data and content analysis do not require direct interaction
with research subjects.
When examining qualitative data, there are many ways to find concepts that become
higher-level themes.
Ecological fallacy refers to the dangers of making assertions about large groups as the
units of analysis based upon examination of individuals.
Data collected by or for public agencies is readily available and researchers have tight
control over the actual data collection process.
_______________ relates to whether results from experiments conducted in one setting
would be obtained in other settings.