Final exam review Flashcards
As measurement for a “culture of violence” in the South, Gastil used which of the following:
Index of Southernness
A _________ is the mental image that summarizes a set of similar observations, feelings, or ideas.
Concept
If one were to hypothesize that increases in residential mobility, controlling for both ethnic heterogeneity and population density, result in increases in a neighborhood’s crime rate, the dependent variable is:
Crime rate
Which type of validity refers to assessing whether a measure covers the full range of a concept’s meaning?
Content validity
Which of the following is NOT a required element of informed consent?
None of the above
Which of the following definitions best describes a variable measured at the interval level?
Variables which values represent fixed measurement units but have no absolute, or fixed, zero point.
Which of the following best describes the test-retest approach to assessing measurement reliability?
Calculating reliability by administering tests of the concept to the same individuals at two different points in time.
Resistance to change is best defined as:
Reluctance to change our ideas in light of new information
Bursik notes several observations about delinquency on the very first page of his article, then notes that many readers would incorrectly attribute those observations to which popular criminological book?
Code of the Street, by Elijah Anderson
Which of the following definitions best describes a variable measured at the nominal level?
Variables whose values have no mathematical interpretation; they vary in kind or quality but not amount.
Ordinal variables have all of the following properties except:
Equal intervals
Which of the following best characterizes a deductive research strategy?
Theory–>Hypothesis–>Data Collection–>Empirical Generalizations
Considering oneself to be poor would be a __________ measurement of poverty, while simply being under the poverty threshold would be an _________ measurement of poverty.
subjective; absolute
Which type of validity refers to whether or not a particular measure is related to similar (but not exactly the same) measures as specified by theory?
Construct validity
Which of the following principles of research ethics refers to comprehensively reporting and sharing methods and data?
Honesty and openness
Quantitative variables consist of:
Interval & Ratio variables
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are tasked with what?
All of the above.
The primary focus of explanatory research is to:
Identify causes and/or effects of social phenomena
As measurement for a “culture of violence” in the South, Hackney used which of the following:
Former Confederate State status
If someone is arrested for domestic abuse, and the researcher is using a rational choice perspective, what is the predicted outcome of the arrest?
The abuser will cease their behavior because the cost is perceived to be greater.
Which of the following is not a goal of social science research?
Theory construction
If one were to sample incarcerated juvenile delinquents from a female facility for a research project, their biological sex is:
None of the above
Which of the following definitions best describes what a hypothesis is:
A tentative statement about empirical reality
Which of the three principles established by the Belmont Report stipulates that the benefits of scientific research should be equitably distributed among all individuals in the population?
Justice
Both _________ and ___________ research philosophies are strongly associated with qualitative methods.
Interpretivism and constructivism
Treating persons as autonomous agents and protecting those with diminished autonomy refers to which principle from the Belmont Report?
Respect for persons
Which of the following definitions best characterizes a post-positivist research philosophy?
The belief that there is an empirical reality but that our understanding of it is limited by its complexity and by the biases and other limitations of researchers.
If one were to hypothesize that increases in residential mobility, controlling for both ethnic heterogeneity and population density, result in increases in a neighborhood’s crime rate, the primary independent variable is:
Residential mobility
Which of the following sequences best represents an order of research questions, problem statements, and problems that starts from least specific and moves to most specific?
Problems–>Problem Statements–>Research Questions
Likert scales are often used for what kind of variables?
Ordinal
Conceptualization is best defined as:
Defining the mental image that summarizes a set of similar observations, feelings, or ideas.
If one were to approach arrests for domestic violence from a deterrence perspective, the expected outcome from an arrest is:
Decrease in domestic violence incidents for the individual arrested
Loftin & Hill cite two important issues with Gastil and Hackney’s “Southern Subculture of Violence” thesis. These issues are:
A and C.The relationship between structural characteristics and homicide is not linear, and The “cultural” effect they estimated included influences of structural poverty.
Deductive research involves:
Creating specific expectations drawn from general premises and then collecting data to confirm them.
A researcher simply has a subject report their numerical age (in years) for a survey. At what level of measurement will this variable be?
Ratio
Which type of validity assessment includes a comparison to a more direct or already validated measure of the same phenomenon?
Criterion validity
If a researcher seeks to assess the validity of a measure of general happiness, and compares it to an already validated measure of happiness, they are assessing the _______ validity of their proposed general happiness measure.
Criterion
A researcher creates a survey question about a subject’s religion, and includes the following categories:
1) Catholic
2) Christian
3) Protestant
4) Other
What type of variable will result from this question?
Nominal
Cross-population generalizability is a term that refers to which of the following statements:
That conclusions from a research project on one group of individuals also apply to other groups of individuals not included in the study.
Operationalization is best defined as:
The process of specifying the operations that will indicate the value of a variable for each case.
Interval variables have all of the following properties except:
None of the above
According to Kuhn, there are three broad categories of “normal” science. Which one of these categories attempts to determine the types of phenomena a theory or paradigm can possibly explain?
Applicability
Which of the following definitions best characterizes a constructivist research philosophy?
None of the above
The primary focus of evaluation research is to:
Determine the effects of social programs or interventions
This scientific guideline stresses the importance of providing definitions for potentially ambiguous concepts.
Specifying meaning of all terms
What type of variable is hypothesized to change or vary due to variation in another variable?
Dependent
Suppose a researcher has an individual rater go into the field and provide ratings (on a pre-determined survey form) of the level of physical disorder in a particular area of a neighborhood, then has this same rater complete the form again the following week in that same area. The researcher is assessing __________ reliability.
intra-rater
Which of the following definitions best characterizes a positivist research philosophy?
The belief that there is a reality that exists apart from our own perception of it, although our knowledge of this reality may never be complete
The belief that there is a reality that exists apart from our own perception of it, although our knowledge of this reality may never be complete
The belief that there is a reality that exists apart from our own perception of it, although our knowledge of this reality may never be complete
In order to be considered “falsifiable” a theory must:
Be capable of being proven wrong
Which of the following best describes the intra-observer approach to assessing measurement reliability?
None of the above
Nominal variables have all of the following properties except:
Rank order
If a researcher seeks to establish that their measure of general happiness is strongly correlated with a theoretically related measure of occupational satisfaction, they are assessing the _______ validity of their proposed general happiness measure
Construct
Authenticity is a term that refers to which of the following statements:
That conclusions reached from a study accurately reflect the perspectives of participants in the research setting.
The primary focus of descriptive research is to:
The primary focus of descriptive research is to:
If a research project has an internal validity problem, this means that:
Conclusions about the relationship between treatment and outcome may be biased for that sample
Which of the following types of experiments involves the composition of groups after treatment has occurred?
Ex post facto control group design
Which of the following terms is defined as: “the entire set of elements in which we are interested?”
None of the above
Suppose a researcher adopts a role in which they do not participate in group activities and are publicly defined in that setting as a researcher. They are using a ____________ methodology.
Complete observation
Theoretical in nature, a _____________ is the outcome we would have observed had a case in the treatment group were actually assigned to the control group, holding all other individual characteristics and experiences to be exactly the same.
Counterfactual
Miller notes several reasons as to why qualitative research is discounted within the field of criminal justice and criminology, which of the following is not a reason she describes:
That qualitative data analysis is “journalistic” at its core
If I wanted to reduce the influence of “floating” responses in my survey, I would include which of the following response options?
Don’t know
The term “sampling error” refers to:
Any difference between the characteristics of a sample and the characteristics of the population from which it was drawn
Which of the following terms is defined as: “the individual entities of the population whose characteristics are to be measured?”
Elements
If a researcher notices a particular feature in their initial wave of sampling corresponds to unique interview information, then incorporates this feature into future rounds of sampling (i.e., they specifically try to find individuals with this feature) what kind of sampling design are they using?
Theoretical
In the midst of a study, a significant event occurs, and post-test results change considerably compared to pre-test results for all groups involved. This is known as:
History effect
What makes an ex post facto control group design different from other quasi-experimental methods?
Treatment has already occurred
Which of the following is not a typical method employed in collecting qualitative data mentioned in class?
Grounded theorization
What is a potential reason a researcher might use covert participation and observation techniques?
Both B and C: They do not want participants to react differently than they normally would and It would be difficult to conduct the research in that setting otherwise
Endogenous change occurs when:
the subjects develop or change during the experiment as part of an ongoing process independent of the experimental treatment.
Which of the following elements of causal inference requires that the variation in one variable be related to variation in another variable?
Association
Which of the following terms best represents a sampling method which selects elements on the basis of convenience?
Availability sampling
The term “probability of selection” refers to:
None of the above
____________ matching is accomplished by making the comparison (control) group look similar to the treatment group in terms of average characteristics (age, gender, race, etc…).
Aggregate
Which of the following terms best represents a sampling method which selects elements because of their unique position or knowledge about a particular situation?
Purposive sampling
Which of the following best describes a disproportionate stratified random sampling method?
Sample elements are separated into different strata based upon some important characteristic. Elements are then selected from some strata more often than other strata.
Which of the following terms is defined as: “units selected at each stage of a multistage sampling design?”
None of the above
Which of the following terms best represents a sampling method which selects elements to ensure that the sample represents certain characteristics in proportion to their prevalence in the population?
Quota sampling
If a researcher is concerned that the use of a pretest may sensitize subjects to react differently to treatment, one possible solution to this issue is to create multiple groups to test the interaction of pretesting and treatment. This method is known as:
Solomon four-group design
Treatment contamination occurs when:
either the experimental or comparison group is aware of the other group and is influenced in the posttest as a result.
In what way is an idiographic causal explanation different from a nomothetic causal explanation?
A nomothetic explanation refers to a single independent variable, while an idiographic explanation refers to a sequence of events, thoughts, or actions
Which of the following best describes a simple random sampling method?
Sample elements are added to a list and each is assigned a random number. Elements are then selected randomly using a random number table
Sample generalizability refers to:
When a conclusion based on a sample, or subset, of a larger population holds true for that population
Which of the following best describes a multistage cluster sampling method?
None of the above
If a researcher takes on the role of a covert participant, which of the following is not a potential concern?
None of the above
Which of the following is not a cause of treatment misidentification?
The control group compensates for not receiving treatment
The term “representative sample” refers to:
A sample that looks similar to the population from which it was selected in all respects that are potentially relevant to the study
A researcher is conducting participant observation and notices that behavior of the individuals she is studying becomes different when she is actively observing them. This problem is known as:
Reactive effect
Which of the following term is defined as: “a subset of elements from the larger population?”
Sample
Which of the following elements of causal inference requires that the observed relationship between two variables controls for variation between geographic units or other contexts in this relationship?
None of the above
Miller mentions all of the following methods of assessing the reliability/validity of qualitative data except:
None of the above
If I want to limit fence-sitting responses in a survey I would remove which of the following response options?
Undecided
Which of the following elements of causal inference requires that the observed relationship between two variables is not caused by a third variable?
Nonspuriousness
Which of the following is not a type of endogenous change that may alter the natural development of subjects in a study?
Hawthorne effect
Which of the following is not a typical problem with longitudinal research?
Compensatory rivalry
____________ matching is used to match cases in the comparison group based upon specific people in the treatment group.
Individual
Which of the following terms best represents a sampling method which selects elements based upon referrals from previously selected sample elements?
Snowball sampling
Which of the following best describes a proportionate stratified random sampling method?
. Sample elements are separated into different strata based upon some important characteristic. Elements are then selected equally from each strata
Which of the following is a potential cause of sampling error?
The population is heterogeneous
If a researcher collects data from individuals with respect to their perceptions of economic inequality, then attempts to make inferences about neighborhood differences in these perceptions, they are committing which type of fallacy?
Reductionist
A repeated-measures panel design is meant to accomplish which of the following?
To determine the effect of treatment over finely-tuned time periods
Which of the following qualitative methodologies is best described as unstructured interviews with multiple individuals in which the researcher encourages discussion between participants?
Focus group
Which of the following best describes a systematic random sampling method?
Sample elements are selected from a list, then every nth element is selected after the first element is selected randomly within the first interval
Which of the following strategies of qualitative data analysis involve multiple rounds of coding to refine concepts, ultimately leading to an emerging theory to explain patterns in the data?
Grounded theory
A group of control subjects come to know that another group exists, and that they are receiving some form of treatment while their own group is not. They become demoralized, and their scores on further tests suffer accordingly. This is an example of:
Contamination
Which of the following qualitative methodologies is best described as field research in which a researcher develops a sustained and intensive relationship with people while they go about their normal activities?
Participant observation
Suppose a subject takes a pre-test on a day where they are not in their normal frame of mind, and thus perform quite poorly, then take a post-test when they are closer to their normal state of being, and score much higher. This process is known as:
Regression to the mean
I mentioned three examples of books where qualitative researchers used participant observation strategies, which of the following is not one of them?
Devil’s Knot by Mara Leveritt
In order to avoid treatment contamination, a researcher should do which of the following?
Ensure that comparison group members are unaware of the treatment being given to the experimental group
The term “target population” refers to:
A set of elements larger than or different from the population sampled and to which the researcher would like to generalize study findings
