Test#1 Flashcards
Applied Research
- Need for specific facts and findings with policy implications
Conceptualization
-Specifying what data will be collected as evidence of variables of interest
Descriptive Research
- Researcher observes and then describes what was seen
Explanatory Research
- Why some people feel a certain way
ex. Why do people favour cops
Exploratory Research
- More specific problem to research
ex. People favour cops
Methodology
- How social science methods can be used to better understand crime and criminal justice problems
Operationalization
- Specify steps/proceudres to ID/measure variables
Replication
-Repeating research study to test findings of earlier study
Axioms
- Basic assumptions about reality taken as true; usually rep. relationship btwn 2 concepts
- People are deterred from committing crime because stressful act
Propositions
-conclusions about relationships btwn multiple concepts based on logical interrelationships among axioms
nomothetic
- Explores fewer, most important causal explanations affect groups
idiographic
- explores many, unique causal relationships affect individuals
Qualitative Data (Analytic approaches)
- More descriptive, experiences, opinions
Quantitative Data (Analytic approaches)
- Focuses on numbers, percentages
Objective
-Statement or fact, based on statistics
Subjectivity
- Based on personal impressions or “feelings”
Objectivity
- “Independent of mind”, not utilized
- Instead use intersubjective agreement (multiple agree something exists= treat as objective)
Observation
- Info gathering of experience of what may/may not exist
- ex. Watching, score/performance
Hypothesis
- Specific expectations about empirical reality, derived form propositions
- more specific and concrete
Traditional model of science
- Theory
- Conceptualization
- Operationalization
- Observation
Grounded Theory
- A type of inductive theory based on (grounded in) field observation
Paradigm
- A fundamental model or frame of reference that we use to organize our observations and reasoning
Anonymity
- Researcher can never link identity of participant to their responses/data (can’t reveal)
Confidentiality
- Researcher can link data to participant, but promises not to do so publicly (won’t reveal)
How to uphold confidentiality/anonymity principles (3 ways)
- Replace names/addresses with id’s
- Specify if survey is anonymous or confidential
- Specify info will not be disclosed to 3rd parties
Necessary cause
- Must occur for effect to occur
- ex. being charged before being convicted
Belmont report
- ethical principles for protecting human rights
Ethical
- Conforming to the norms or standards a group
Informed consent
- Agreement to participate in research after being informed about goals, procedures and potential risks
Special populations
- Groups such as prisoners or juveniles that require special protections
Unit of Analysis (4)
- What/who is studied (not always what/who was observed)
- Individual, group, organization, social artifacts
Individual (UOFA)
- examine characteristics within specific population
- ex. police, victims
Groups (UOFA)
- Examine characteristics of groups as unitary entities
- Ex. gangs, cities
Organizations (UOFA)
Examine formal groups within est. leaders/rules
-ex. prisons, drug treatment
Social Artifacts (UOFA)
- Examine characteristics of social behaviours and events
- ex. police reports, internet posts
Cross-sectional studies
- single point in time observed
- simple, less costly
- usually descriptive or exploratory
- limits conclusions about cause and effect order
Longitudinal studies
Permit observations over time
Trend studies
- Studies change within a general population over time
cohort studies
- Studies change in specific population over time
Panel
Like cohort, but some participants are studied 2x or more
Conception
- Mental image
Concept
- Word, label, phrase
Conceptualization
- Definition of concepts that have indicators and multiple attributes
Operationalization
- Specific definitions of plan for how to measure concepts
Measurement
- Details of making direct observations based on above (5 W’s and H)
Exhaustive
- All attributes of variables observed
ex. Include all races in race question
Mutually Exclusive
- Each observation has only one attribute
- Check off one block? some people are in between
Nominal
- Names/labels are attributes
Ordinal
- Attributes can be rank-ordered
- Can determine highest but not difference btwn
- ex. education, race scores, opinions
Interval
- Meaningful distance btwn attributes
- No zero
- ex. temperature, IQ
Ratio
- Has true zero point
- ex. Age, income, # of years in school
Reliability
- If we measure same thing repeatedly, will it yield same results?
- Problem = Reification
Reification
- May not measure what you say regardless of getting the same results
Measurement Validity
- Does measurement = reality?
Test-Retest
- Same measure = same result each time
Inter-rate reliability
- Different raters used to verify measurement consistency
- ex. fill out checklists in same way
Split-half method
- Measure concept more than one-way
- Do all questions equally predict phenomena observed
UCR (uniform crime responses) data
- Summary based group level unit of analysis
- Details of reported and cleared crimes/offenders
- Data collection/reporting=standardized
- Unit of analysis= incidents (social artifacts)
Victimization surveys
- Data on ind/incidents (social artifacts)
- GSS
- every 5 years
- Ask about 8 type 1 offences
Self-report surveys
- Offenders
- Often confidential interviews or anonymous survey, usually w/ youth
