The final stage of the research process is _____.
a. interpretation
b. literature review
c. analysis
d. application
The term “questionnaire” suggests a collection of _____.
a. statements
b. concepts
c. conclusions
d. ideas
When a supervisor for a survey telephones a subset of the respondents to verify certain
information, it is an example of _____.
a. lack of generalizability
b. interrater reliability
c. split-half method
d. construct validity
Which of the following statements is inaccurate concerning having agencies collect
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
Which of the following is true concerning the use of multivariate tables?
a. they are constructed in different manner than a bivariate tables
b. they include only one independent variable
c. the dependent variable is explained in terms of more than one independent variable
d. subgroups are generally described as subsamples in the table
In a distribution of sentence lengths in months like the following: 6, 12, 10, 18, 24, 360;
which statistic would a researcher not want to report?
a. standard deviation
b. mean
c. range
d. raw numbers
Which of the following is a test of statistical significance?
a. regression
b. chi square
c. gamma
d. lambda
With regard to evaluation designs, which of the following statements is not accurate?
a. variation in the levels of treatment delivered by a program can be a major threat to
the validity of even randomized evaluation studies
b. uncontrolled variation in treatment is equivalent to unreliable measurement of the
independent variable
c. controlled variation in treatment represents a threat to generalizability
d. varying degrees of participation by clients in a program will impact the outcome
Of the three measures of central tendency, which one takes into account extreme
values?
a. mode
b. median
c. mean
d. mode and median
Which of the following is important to remember when using agency records?
a. to ask permission before you study any agency data
b. to examine the data through some form of content analysis
c. the financial considerations of obtaining complete agency records are typically
substantial
d. the discretionary actions by criminal justice officials and others affect the production
of virtually all agency records
Chi Square is based on the ___________________.
a. null hypothesis
b. mean
c. range
d. descriptive statistics
Social regularities represent _____.
a. probabilistic patterns
b. probabilistic problems
c. probabilistic predictions
d. probabilistic positions
Randomization may not be appropriate for assignment of people to treatment or
programs for all of the following reasons except _____.
a. practical reasons
b. agency support
c. ethical reasons
d. legal reasons
When a researcher uses a multistage cluster sampling technique, they must repeat
several sets, including _____.
a. listing and stratifying
b. listing and counting
c. listing and sampling
d. listing and randomizing
Which of the following would not be a logical crime to study using the field research
techniques?
a. prostitution
b. shoplifting
c. embezzlement
d. drug use
Which of the following is an inaccurate statement?
a. The independent and dependent variables must be operationally defined for the
purposes of experimentation.
b. The independent and dependent variables are most often operationally defined before
the experiment begins.
c. It is possible for the independent and dependent variables to be operationally defined
after a wide variety of observations are made.
d. The independent and dependent variables can never be operationally defined after a
wide variety of observations occur.
A basic principle of probability sampling is that a sample will be representative of the
population from which it is drawn if _____.
a. all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected for the sample
b. the researcher uses a method of selection based upon convenience
c. every nth person is selected for the sample
d. if the researcher follows rules.
_______________ are two dimensions of generalizability.
a. Construct validity and external validity
b. Compensatory rivalry and external validity
c. Construct validity and compensatory rivalry
d. Internal validity and diffusion
A _____ asks people whether or not they have been the victim of a crime.
a. self-reported survey
b. victim survey
c. computer-based survey
d. random survey
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
Which of the following would not be an example of experimental mortality?
a. A subject deciding that he/she does not want to participate any longer.
b. Inmates in an experiment at the state maximum security prison being moved to a
minimum state prison.
c. Police officers participating in a quasi-experiment designed to measure job
satisfaction changing careers.
d. Experimental subjects who stay in an experiment until it is completed.
Under what conditions would it be appropriate to use a snowball sampling technique?
a. when the characteristic of interest to the study is a deviant one and only a small
number of people who know one another are required
b. when your questionnaire can be administered in a narrow geographic area
c. when all you need to do is interview persons from a population where the sampling
frame is known
d. when the researcher absolutely must have a sample that is representative of the
population from which it is drawn
Which of the following is a serious consideration for researchers who adopt the role of
complete participant when doing field research?
a. generalizability
b. ethics
c. validity
d. reliability
Which of the following represent targeted victims surveys?
a. Bureau of Justice Statistics
b. Uniform Crime reports
c. National Crime Victimization Survey
d. Court Records
Which of the following comes closest to the purpose of an institutional review board?
a. to give guidance on reducing potential harm to subjects
b. to determine if the proposed research is worthy of study
c. to turn violators of ethical principles over to the police
d. to make it difficult for any social science research to be completed
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
The publication produced by the Bureau of Justice Statistics that includes information
about hundreds of justice agency data sets, characteristics of criminal justice agencies,
and perceptions of crime to name just a few, is called _____.
a. the Uniform Crime Reports
b. the National Crime Victimization Survey
c. the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
d. Gallup Poll
Which of the following is an example of a multistage cluster sample?
a. the Self Report Survey
b. the National Crime Victimization Survey
c. Uniform Crime Reports
d. Court records
Which of the following is not a purpose of institutional review boards?
a. to determine whether adequate safeguards are in place to protect the welfare of
human subjects
b. to make sure that grant money is spent appropriately
c. for judgments to be made about the overall risks to human subjects and to determine
if these risks are acceptable
d. to make sure that researchers have enough money for travel
One way social science differs from our casual day-to-day inquiry is that _____.
a. it is a conscious activity
b. it is a subconscious activity
c. it is a formal activity
d. it is an informal activity
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. the response rate decreases
Instead of making one pre-test and one post-test measure, the _______________ makes
a longer series of observations before and after introducing an experimental treatment.
Qualitative field research is the preferred method for studying many types of active
offenders, especially those with no recorded arrests or convictions for particular crimes.
Exploratory and descriptive studies frequently are _______________________ in
nature since they allow data to be gathered at one point in time.
Theories describe ________________________that might logically be expected among
variables.
Long items in a questionnaire are usually better than short ones
When a sample closely reflects the population in terms of aggregate characteristics, the
sample is said to be _________________ of the population.
Reliability is measuring what you think you are measuring.
___________ is the final stage of the research process.
The standard error is the measure of sampling error.
Variables whose attributes have only the characteristics of exhaustiveness and mutual
exclusiveness are __________
____________________ surveys are best at measuring crimes that do not have readily
identifiable victims and those that are less observed by police.
Policy analysis focuses upon whether the intended result was produced.
The range is a measure of central tendency.
____________________ is an effort to convert the UCR to a more comprehensive
crime report.
In grounded theory, observations may not contribute to theory development.