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
