Research Methods Final

The reliability of quantitative field studies can be enhanced by

careful attention to the details of observation

If a randomized experiment is used for evaluation purposes,

case flow must be adequate to produce enough subjects in both the experimental and the control groups

Which of the following is not a variable oriented strategy for research

case study approach

Contingency questions are appropriate when

certain questions are clearly relevant to only some of the respondents and irrelevant to others

Social artifacts such as written documents or articles from newspapers illustrate which method

content analysis

Which of the following would be an accurate statement concerning the use of content analysis

content analysis involves a systematic study of messages and the meaning that those messages have for citizens

When using agency records in their research, researchers keep in mind two general maxims:

"Follow the paper trail" & "expect the expected"

After you have identified a sponsor and sent a letter to a formal organization stating your interest in research, a phone call in typically the next step in the process. You have agreed upon a time and day for the phone call and at the appointed time, you call. The director will not take your call. What should you do next?

Ask to speak to the directors assistant and make an appointment for a meeting

When selecting a survey method, which factor is least likely to be a consideration

Clarity

Dr.Jones is having his Intro to CJ students analyze cartoons............

Content analysis

Surveys are best suited for studies that have which unit of analysis

Individuals

Which of the following statements is not true concerning field research

It has greater validity and reliability than does survey research

Which of the following is NOT accurate with respect to ethics and the political aspects of applied research

Just as there are codes for ethical conduct for researchers, there are formal codes of accepted political conduct

On a questionnaire, a respondent is asked "what do you feel is the most important crime problem facing the police in your city today?" Which type of question is being asked?

Open-Ended question

Which statement is false with regard to the use of published data in aggregate forms

Published data is never used in criminal justice research because it is not readily available

Which method is conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census Bureau under contract from the Bureau of Justice Statistics?

Survey of Inmates in Local Jails

Which of the following is not an example of nonpublic agency records

The FBI's publication of the Uniform Crime Reports

Which of the following is true concerning the reliability of quantitative field studies

The reliability of quantitative field studies can be enhanced by careful attention to the details of observation

Which statement is false with regard to agencies collecting original research data

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

Which of the following would be an example of content analysis in criminal justice research

counting the stories devoted to the coverage of the crime in your local newspaper

Content analysis is well suited for which of the following situations

court records

If the researcher feels they will need to ask questions of the subjects, what is the best technique in field research to use?

a combination of observer and participant

Which element should NOT be in a letter that serves as a follow up to identification of the sponsor

a detailed description of your research

Randomization may not be appropriate for assignment of people to treatment or programs for all of the following reasons except

agency support

Closed ended questions are useful Because they

are more easily processed

Which statement is true about longitudinal research

as the time interval under investigation increases, so does the potential for change in measurment

which statement is accurate with respect to the construction of questionnaire items

avoid negative items

Agency records and statistics published by agencies or governmental entities are most commonly used for which type of studies

descriptive

Program goals represent

desired outcomes

Which step is of least concern in the evaluability assessment

determine the degree of support for your project

Field research is a data collected method that involves the _____ of phenomena in their natural setting

direct observation

Which of the following is most frequently used as a tool to gather data when doing field research

direct observation

Probes are important tools for qualitative interviewing because they prompt participants to

elaborate on responses by filling in more detail and depth

Which activity would not be a logical crime to study using the field research techniques

embezzlement

Program evaluation is designed to link the intended actions and goals of criminal justice policy to

empirical evidence that supports them having the desired effects

In determining which role to assume while doing field research which of the following should the research consider

ethical and methodological considerations

Which of the following is a serious consideration for researchers who adopt the role of complete participant when doing field research

ethics

Which statement is false with regard to the use of evaluation research

evaluation research may only use experimental design

Audit trails consists of extensive logs of data, such as

field notes and memos

Which statement is false regarding the use of field notes for recording observations

field notes should not include unanticipated events

To gain access to a formal criminal justice organization for the purpose of conducting qualitative interviewing, which step should be followed?

find a sponsor, send a letter, follow up with a phone call and then set up a meeting

A mock jury is an example of an

focus group

Which action does not represent a step in the policy analysis process

formulate a hypothesis that will allow for exploration

One of the most important parts of conducting evaluation research is

formulating goal statements that are empirically testable

Which of the following would be considered an appropriate method for increasing the response rate in mailed surveys

go to the respondents home and pick up the questionnaire

Which of the following situations would not have an impact upon error in the agency records

have very little data to input

Policy analysis is used to

help design alternative courses of action

Problem analysis takes place in the earlier stages of the policy process. In contrast, program evaluation studies are conducted

in the later stages

Which of the following is not correct with respect to process evaluations

information about program implementation can be linked to outcome measures, even when accompanied by a process evaluation

In field research, validity often refers to whether the _______ of the things observed or people interviewed has been accurately captured

intended meaning

Field notes should include both empirical observations and

interpretations of them

Qualitative field research compared to surveys

is stronger on validity but weaker on reliability

Which of the following have been identified as disadvantages of the use of computer assisted interviewing

it can be difficult to print and archive a complex questionnaire used in CAI

Which statement is false with regard to field research

it has greater validity and reliability than survey research

Which of the following is true concerning qualitative field research

it is often a theory or hypothesis generating activity

Which approaches are considered inappropriate for initiating field research among active offenders

letters, phone calls, and formal meetings

The behavior of people, together with the characteristics of people and places, can vary by population group,

location, time and weather

Reflexivity refers generally to ones subjectivity in the research process. Thus, the process of reflexivity requires that one be critically conscious of

ones feelings

Environmental surveys are used for which research purpose

planning police strategies in drug enforcement and to assess the impact of those strategies

In structured field observations, the data collection form resembles a survey questionnaire. For example, the environmental surveys are used for which of the following research purposes.

planning police strategies in drug enforcement and to assess the impact of those strategies

What can be said about the relationship between process evaluations and impact assessments

process evaluations can be used in interpreting results from an impact assessment

Most government organizations routinely collect and publish compilations of data, which we refer to collectively as:

published statistics

If field observations will be made on a phenomenon that occurs with some degree of regularity, what sampling techniques can be used to select cases for observation?

purposive sampling techniques

Which of the following is accurate concerning data acquired during field research

qualitative data that is not easily reduced to numbers

Often developed through ______, grounded theory combines a naturalist approach with a positivist concern for a systematic set of procedures

qualitative interviewing

Bias in questions can be established in which way

questions that encourage particular responses

Field observation can produce systematic counts of behaviors and ________ beyond those actually observed

reasonable estimates for a large population of behaviors

General population surveys and surveys of offenders tend to present which types of difficulties

recall error

Which behavior would have the least impact on the validity and reliability of a study using agency records

recognition on the part of the researcher that criminal justice data is a composite of criminal behavior, ability to detect that behavior and decisions about system response to that behavior

Which of the Following is not an advantage of using secondary data

reduction in validity threats

Generalizability of qualitative studies is often limited by

representative of the population

Researchers Field research results can have general applicability beyond the specific setting observed. However findings cannot be formally generalized compared to those based on

rigorous sampling and standardized questionnaires

Treatment integrity is

roughly equivalent to measurement reliability

Regardless of the techniques used to identify subjects from subcultures, there will be concerns. Which of the following is NOT one of them

selection bias

Which factor is a problem when using self report crime questions in general population surveys

social desirability

It is often said that agency data are not designed for research purposes. Which of the following support that statement

some criminal justice agencies collect data because they want to help researchers

Field notes should include all but which of the following

specific names of those being studied and where events happened even if those being studied are criminals

Individual agencies maintain silo databases. Silo databases refer to

stacks of data that are isolated from each other

If the number of subjects in a program is small, statistical tests can detect only very large program effects of differences in outcome measures between the two groups. This illustrates the problem of

statistical conclusion validity

Which statement is false with regard to surveys

surveys are low on reliability

It is usually best to begin a self administered questionnaire with

the most interesting set of questions

What is the advantage to using unstructured interviewing techniques when conducting field research

the researcher may not want to be likely to enter casual conversation with the subject as a means of gathering data

All of the following may represent errors when constructing items for a questionnaire except for

the researcher uses short items

What is an advantage to using unstructured interviewing techniques when conducting field research

the researcher wont enter into casual conversation with the subject as a means of gathering data

Which of the following are necessary in the construction of closed ended questions

the response categories must be exhaustive

When followups are planned with mail surveys

the response rate increases

Which statement is false with regard to validity and reliability of agency records

the shorts the time intervals under study the greater the concern about procedure changes

Which of the following is not correct concerning structured observations

they are best suited for studies where a researcher is expected to encounter a wide variety of situations

which statement is false with regard to structured interviews

they are best suited for studies where a researcher is expected to encounter a wide variety of situations

Which of the following is not an advantage of the use of matrix questions

they do not take much thought on the part of the respondents to answer

Which fact is important to remember when using agency records?

to examine the data through some form of content analysis

Which of the following is not an effective role (in the sense that the researcher could affect what he/she is studying) for a field researcher

total participation

Which type of interview is the most natural, in-depth, and exploratory?

unstructured interviewing

Which of the following is not a guideline for good field note taking

use only key words and phrases in your notes, you will remember the details at a later date

With regard to evaluation designs, which of the following statements is not accurate

variation in the levels of treatment delivered by a program can be a major threat to the validity of even randomized evaluation studies

Relating to randomization, which statement is inaccurate

when exceptions to random assignments are made, no bias enters the selection process

Program evaluation differs from policy analysis with respect to

when it occurs in the policy process

Focus groups are most useful

when precise generalization to a larger population is not necessary and the focus groups participants and the larger population are relatively homogenous

Which of the following does NOT represent potential problems in doing evaluation research

when the intended actions and goals are linked through empirical evidence

Questions that encourage respondents to answer in a particular way are called

biased