Research Methods Final Questions from Exams

things we consider real because we've been told they are real is which type of reality? a. agreement reality b. expressed reality c. assumed reality d. experimental reality

a. agreement reality

contingency questions are appropriate when ______. a. certain questions are clearly relevant to only some of the respondents and irrelevant to others b. you want the respondents to write out an answer c. you want the respondents to rank their answers on a scale d. you want to impress the respondents with your questions

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

A specifiable aspect of a given concept is referred to as a ______. a. dimension b. concept c. construct d. direct observable

a. dimension

what are the four purposes of research? a. exploration, description, explanation, application b. exploration, description, funding, application c. exploration, development, inquisition, funding d. exploration, development, inquisition, application

a. exploration, description, explanation, application

one objective of this book is to help future criminal justice professionals become ______. a. informed consumers of research b. informed consumers of books c. experts in the department of justice d. expert readers

a. informed consumers of research

The assignment of grades by the professor to major research papers is an example of ______. a. measurement b. operationalization c. conceptualization d. validity

a. measurement

threats to internal validity in an experimental design can be minimized by _______ a. proper selection and random assignment of subjects to groups b. large sample size c. small sample size d. allowing only participants committed to change in the experimental group

a. proper selection and random assignment of subjects to groups

the test-retest method is used to examine ______ a. reliability b. validity c. generalizability d. precision

a. reliability

Violence in children's programming is a major research endeavor that requires counting the number of violent acts in Saturday morning cartoons for an entire year. The units of analysis being used for this project are ____. a. social artifacts b. individuals c. groups d. organizations

a. social artifacts

which of the following are necessary in the construction of close-ended questions? a. the response categories should be both exhaustive and mutually exclusive b. the response categories must be exhaustive but not mutually exclusive c. the researcher must focus on expanding responses d. the response categories must be dichotomous

a. the response categories should be both exhaustive and mutually exclusive

which of the following represent criteria for causality? a. there is a correlation between the cause and effect b. the effect precedes the cause in time c. the change in the effect is caused by some 3rd variable d. cause in social science is not probalisitic

a. there is a correlation between the cause and effect

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

a. to give guidance on reducing potential harm to subjects

Which of the following would allow a researcher to measure change in a general population over time? a. trend study b. cohort study c. panel study d. cross-sectional study

a. trend study

which of the following would serve as a "snapshot" of a phenomenon at one point in time? a. panel study b. cross-sectional study c. cohort study d. trend study

b. cross-sectional study

neither the subjects nor the researcher can identify which group is the control group and which is the experimental group. Which design is being used? a. cross-sectional b. double-blind c. a blind experiment d. of no value

b. double-blind

what two qualities should every variable possess? a. meaning and value b. exhaustive and mutually exclusive c. exhaustive and thorough d. specificity and reliability

b. exhaustive and mutually exclusive

Topics that are best understood in their natural settings are most appropriate for: a. survey research b. field research c. experiments d. none of the above

b. field research

a scientific realist approach to examining mechanisms in context bridges a. dependent and independent variables b. idiographic and nomothetic approaches to causation c. truth and reality d. sample and population differences

b. idiographic and nomothetic approaches to causation

which statement is a potential threat to internal validity in an experimental design? a. generalization b. instrumentation c. randomization d. correlation

b. instrumentation

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? a. close-ended question b. open-ended question c. contingency question d. matrix question

b. open-ended question

ranks in the local police department represent what level of measurement? a. nominal b. ordinal c. interval d. ration

b. ordinal

the most effective method of accounting for certain crimes, such as delinquency, drug use, and victimless crimes are _______. a. anonymous survyes b. self-report surveys c. observation surveys d. uniform crime reports

b. self-report surveys

A ________ sample ensures that appropriate numbers are drawn from homogeneous subsets of that population a. simple random b. stratified c. convenience d. systematic

b. stratified

logical sets of attributes are known as _____. a. values b. variables c. concepts d. operational definitions

b. variables

when we want to know if the results of an experiment really tell us what would happen in the real world, we are referring to ______. a. internal validity b. external validity c. generalizability d. reliability

c. generalizability

Which of the following variables allows for attributes to be placed on a continuum with equal distance between points? a. nominal and ordinal b. ordinal and interval c. interval and ratio d. all of the above

c. interval and ratio

when using a nonequivalent-groups design, the research will handle subject assignment to groups by _____. a. random assignment to experimental and control groups b. allowing subjects to pick which group they want to be in c. matching subjects in the experimental and comparison groups d. the self-selection method

c. matching subjects in the experimental and comparison groups

most of the forms of qualitative research, like field observations, are based upon _______ sampling techniques a. simple random b. probability c. nonprobability d. cluster sampling

c. nonprobablity

an indicator of the dimension "victim harm" is ______ a. economic gain b. gender of victim c. physical injury d. location of injury

c. physical injury

external validity in an experimental design refers to _____ a. the accuracy of measurements b. the lack of concern with issues internal to the study c. the ability to apply findings to other populations d. whether appropriate outcome measures have been used

c. the ability to apply findings to other populations

all of the following may represent errors when constructing items for a questionnaire EXCEPT for _____. a. the researcher uses long and complicated questions b. the negation of a question c. the researcher uses short items d. the researcher uses a combination question when they only want a single answer

c. the researcher uses short items

Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo designed a stimulated prison to measure _______ a. the dispositional hypothesis b. the degree of violence that prison guards innately have c. the situational hypothesis d. how violent inmates can be subdued

c. the situational hypothesis

A survey distributed on a college campus discovered that males support the death penalty in greater numbers than do females. The units of analysis in this case would be ______. a. social artifacts b. groups c. organizations d. individuals

d. individuals

the keystone of inquiry is _____ a. population sampling b. research c. literature review d. observation

d. observation

which of the following is NOT appropriate for use as a sampling frame? a. questionnaires mailed to all registered voters in a community when you wish to sample attitudes toward a new law b. self-report surveys of high schoolers when you want to measure drug use of juveniles c. taxpayer rolls when the researcher is interest in public concerns about school appropriations in their community d. official crime data when you want to know how offenders select their victims

d. official crime data when you want to know how offenders select their victims

when assessing the potential for harm, the researcher should _____ a. proceed only when they are confident that no harm will result b. proceed only when the harm potential is psychological and not physical c. never proceed when harm is a potential d. proceed when the benefit outweighs the harm

d. proceed when the benefit outweighs the harm

A RA at a local university devises a plan to spot check the dorm for illegal drinking by randomly selecting a starting door for the first check, and then knocking on every 5th door. What technique is the RA using? a. stratified sampling b. simple random sampling c. quota sampling d. systematic sampling

d. systematic sampling

true or false: confidentiality and anonymity mean the same thing, so they can be used interchangeably

false

true or false: cross-sectional studies are those based on observations of the same individuals made on two or more occasions

false

true or false: deception of subjects is never appropriate

false

true or false: ethical considerations in research are always evident

false

true or false: reliability is measuring what you think you are measuring

false

concepts are _______ a. empirical measurements b. variables c. mental images d. hypothesis

mental images

Age of an offender is an example of which level of measurement? a. interval b. nominal c. ratio d. ordinal

ratio

true or false: Ordinal measures are variables whose attributes may be logically rank-ordered

true

true or false: informed consent is a method of ensuring voluntary participation in research

true

true or false: making observations in a more deliberative way helps to reduce erorr

true

true or false: most explanatory social research uses a probabilistic model of causation

true

true or false: special populations like juveniles and prisoners require special protections if they are research subjects

true

which of the following would not be a unit of analysis? a. individuals b. groups c. organizations d. variables

variables