Research Design Quiz #10 Flashcards
Improperly collected data can
- D
- L
Delay your research
* Lead to cancellation of your research
Although some of the best data comes from experimental designs, criminologist use many alternative data collection strategies which include
* S
* I
* O
* U
Surveys
Interviews
Observations
Unobtrusive means
We can measure all sorts of things with surveys to get valuable data
1) A
2) F
3) P
4) V
5) C B
6) A with C or S
1) Attitudes
2) Fears
3) Perceptions
4) Victimizations
5) Criminal behavior
6) Agreeance with concepts or statements
The two primary means of collecting data through surveys are _________ ________ and ___________
self-completing questionnaires and interviews
The key to a successful mail survey is getting a high
__________ rate.
response
Although oversampling by __% is generally recommended, some suggest greater
oversampling for mail surveys. The target is to have
* __% response within 2 weeks
* __% response within 2 weeks of a follow-up letter
* __% response within 2 weeks of the final contact
* You may have to follow up multiple times to achieve a good response rate
20%
40%
20%
10%
Mail surveys a popular method of getting data and allows for
- Gathering large samples
- Broader area coverage
- Minimized costs in terms of time and money
- No field staff is required
- Biased effects from interviews are eliminated
- Respondents have greater privacy
- Respondents can answer questions with few constraints
Some drawbacks of mail surveys
- Poor response rate/nonresponse
- Poorly constructed surveys lacking uniformity will cause problems
- Respondents may answer in a different manner/question misinterpretation
- Survey fatigue
- Slow return rate impedes completing research
Disadvantages of self-administered survey:
Low return rate
* Nonresponse
* Misinterpretation/misunderstanding of questions
Self-administered surveys
Some benefits of this technique include:
- Can target large samples
- Can potentially gain access to virtually any desired population/group
- Covers wide geographic areas (the internet makes it globally accessible)
- Ease of data processing
- Cost efficiency
- Can address a wide variety of topics
There are different types of interviews we
can use to collect data:
1) Str
2) Se-Str
3) Un
4) In-D
1) Structured
2) Semi-Structured (a blend between structured and unstructured)
3) Unstructured
4) In-depth
_________ interviews are the most
commonly used interview approach in
criminal justice research
structured
Use close ended questions
* Questions are asked in the same
order each time
* Questions are asked in the same way
each time
* Easily administered
* Higher response rates
* Easy data processing
what kind of interview is this?
Structured
Disadvantages of structured interviews
- Cannot explore further than the
responses obtained - Time consuming/costly
- Limits the types of responses you can
get
Disadvantages of unstructured interviews:
- Quantifying responses can be
exceptionally difficult - Lack of quantified data is problematic
- More susceptible to intervening
and/or biasing effects/elements - Require a considerable amount of
training and knowledge to do them
the right way
_________ interviews allow
respondents to answer open ended
questions and the interview is sort of
assembled as it happens
Unstructured
Being face-to-face versus something else may have appreciable and positive impacts on the quality of data collected
Several advantages:
- The contact can be positive reinforcement (as opposed to a faceless mail survey)
- Confusion and/or misinterpretation can be cleared up immediately
- Other observations can also be recorded as the main interview takes place
- Can use audiovisual aids, schedule additional interviews, use language that connects the researcher with
respondents, and wide discretion
Disadvantages of face-to-face interviews
- EXTREMELY time consuming and costly
- Interviewer effects and/or biases
- Interviewer error
- Interviewer lack of skill/knowledge
Telephone surveys
Advantages:
Some advantages
* Don’t need a huge staff
* Easier to monitor interviewer biases
* Less expensive and efficient in terms of time expenditure
Disadvantages of Telephone survey
- Limited research scope
- Difficulty obtaining in-depth responses
- Lose potential sample participants who don’t have phone access
- High refusal/low participation rates
Field research:
the researcher becomes a covert participant
in the research
Is this full participant, participant researcher, researcher who participates, or complete researcher?
Full participant
Field research
researcher becomes a participant in
the research, but is KNOWN to the study participants
Is this full participant, participant researcher, researcher who participates, or complete researcher?
participant researcher
Field research
researcher observes study
participants and is known among the participants
Is this full participant, participant researcher, researcher who participates, or complete researcher?
Researcher who participates
Field research
researcher observes participants
without their knowledge
Is this full participant, participant researcher, researcher who participates, or complete researcher?
Complete researcher
for observations/field research, the researcher must address the following:
1) Decide Wh___
2) Decide on the Fo____
3) Determine wh___
4) Determine for how lo____
- Where the observations are to be done
- Decide on the focus of the observation
- Determine when the observations will be conducted
- Determine for how long observations will be made/data
collected
Observation/field research:
Strengths of these approaches
Direct collection of data
Primary data
Observation/field research:
Disadvantages:
- Incorrect collection of observed data
- Misidentification
- Inaccuracy/inconsistency
________ (in this context) means that potential study participants are completely unaware of
the fact that they are being studied
Unobtrusive
Two common methods of Unobtrusive research include ____ ____ ____ and _____ ______
accessing archival data and content analysis
- Official statistics (OJJDP, BJS, UCR, NCVS, State crime reports)
- Historical documents/records
- Public documents/records
- Private records (diaries, letters, foundations, autobiographies)
which of the two (2) types of unobtrusive research is this? what the drawback?
archival data;
lack of authenticity
- Contents of records, documents, publications, and presentations
- Contents of newspapers, magazines, articles, and even television programs/movies
which of the two (2) types of unobtrusive research is this? what the drawback?
Content analysis;
Developing a quantifiable instrument
