Understanding Research Methods: A Focus on Terms and Concepts, Quizzes of Criminal Justice

Download Understanding Research Methods: A Focus on Terms and Concepts and more Quizzes Criminal Justice in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Matthew Effect (give example of study) DEFINITION 1 Being important and having a recognizable name matters-all science is not created equallyExample: LaCour and Gay Rights canvassingWays around this effect: focus on equality; be critical readers TERM 2 Midterm Question: What are some things to consider when reading a research article? DEFINITION 2 Be skepticalMethodology (who, what, when, where, why)What is the motivation for the research (personal gain/who paid for it?)Where is the information fromData (where is it, what is it, how can I get it)Be honest (have good methodological skill set)Relevant and valid (why should I care about this topic?EthicsReplication (must be replicable with same results) TERM 3 Confirmation Bias DEFINITION 3 Confirming what you already believe inexample: autism and vaccination TERM 4 Are numbers truth? DEFINITION 4 As Steven Colbert says, they are 'truthy'The same statistic can be depicted in many different waysDon't make the numbers 'work' in your favor TERM 5 What makes a good research question? DEFINITION 5 TestableOriginality/ReplicationSpecific but not to narrowIV + DV for deductivePolicy ImplicationsConcise is better (if you can write it in 10 words then do it)Feasibility TERM 6 Explain the process of deductive reasoning DEFINITION 6 hypothesisdataempirical generalizationanalysis TERM 7 Explain the process of inductive reasoning DEFINITION 7 dataanalysisempirical generalizationshypothesis TERM 8 Key points of Goffman "On the Run" DEFINITION 8 6 year Ethnographyin Philadelphiashe was an undergrad and then a grad student at Penn State TERM 9 Define and describe: Ethnography DEFINITION 9 -Not concerned with generalizability; care only of study's focus - Quantitative Research says that this would be a limitation-Primary Data= field notes -Because of this, it is subjective and there are concerns with inter- rator reliability-Issue with never a true examination of human behavior because they know they are being recorded: Hawthorne Effect-Strength= very detailed and deep; emotional meaning that cannot be seen in number TERM 10 Hawthorne Effect DEFINITION 10 study participants will not produce a true expression of their ways because they are aware of their actions being recorded TERM 21 Ethical concerns with Tuskegee Syphilis Study DEFINITION 21 Alabama Alcoholics anonymous men who were share croppers that had Syphilis were not given treatment for the disease BECAUSE the researchers wanted to see what the progression of the disease was TERM 22 The experiment examples that violated ethical concerns led the to the _____report. DEFINITION 22 Belmont Report TERM 23 What 3 things is the Belmont Report concerned with and what do they mean DEFINITION 23 Respect for persons-diminished autonomyBeneficence-must be beneficial to society & risks less than positive resultsJustice-equally benefit everyone TERM 24 In the Belmont Report, under respect for persons, what are the four protected groups? DEFINITION 24 4 protected Groups-Prisoners-Children-Mentally Ill (cognitively impaired)-Women who are within child bearing age TERM 25 What broad topics are the IRB looking at when reviewing proposals? DEFINITION 25 Information (demographics) -What your study is (literature review) and any potential harm (methodology and harm)Where you are going to house the data -Identifiable information, safety issues, etc.Any protected groups -How will you accommodate for them TERM 26 3 Types of IRB review DEFINITION 26 Full Review: diminished autonomy groupsExpediated: survey (personal) and interviews (general stuff)Exempt: i.e. content analysis or secondary data analysis TERM 27 3 conclusions the IRB come to DEFINITION 27 AcceptanceNeed revisionsRejection TERM 28 What are the 4 types of research questions and examples of each DEFINITION 28 Exploratory -Deductive researchers most likely to use this - Example: Experience of woman with mental illness in criminal justice systemExplanatory -Gender effects crimeDescriptive -How many people in jail in ILEvaluative - Evaluate a specific policy TERM 29 Describe Positivistic Science DEFINITION 29 a set reality; one reality in the worldideology: If you do enough studies on something you will eventually find that one reality you have been looking for. It just takes persistenceTop Down approach-Start with hypothesis, collect data, analyze data, and come to empirical conclusionA positivistic research question: IV and then a DV (cause leads to effect) -i.e. poverty (IV) leads to crime (DV) -i.e. males more likely to commit crime TERM 30 Define Post-Positivistic Science or Post- Positivism DEFINITION 30 Realizes that one reality might be hard to conceptualize -For example, if you wanted to study marijuana, you can not do that in IL but you can in ColoradoPost-Positivism states that we need to come to a shared agreementShared agreement: define what the terms that will be studied are so everyone is on the same page and agrees TERM 31 Interpretivists DEFINITION 31 -Do not care about that one truth in the world because they believe there are many---two people can see different things in the same situation-Instead of concerning themselves with what that one truth is in the world they focus on CONSTRUCTIVISM- Constructivism= construct reality; concerned with what peoples interpretation are, their feelings, and etc.Inductive Reasoning - Bottom up Approach -Look at data set, analyze it, formulate a hypothesis, and conclude TERM 32 Qual. questions are answered with ___ and Quan. questions answered with____. DEFINITION 32 Qualitative questions are answered with wordsQuantitative questions are answered with numbers TERM 33 What is mixed methodology? DEFINITION 33 Mixed methodology is mixing qualitative and quantitative methods together TERM 34 deductive research (top-down) DEFINITION 34 translates abstract theory into specific variables to test hypothesis-poverty and crime TERM 35 inductive research (bottom up) DEFINITION 35 used to make sense of related observations-much more concerned with sense making; asks what is going on here TERM 46 Explain: Ordinal DEFINITION 46 ordered; strongly agree ---> strongly disagreeno mathmatical precision beyond less/more than can distinguish differences but can't say that an 'agree' is 2 more than a somewhat disagreeexample: how much force was used agains you in an arrest TERM 47 Explain: Interval DEFINITION 47 No true zerocan add and subtract variablesExample: how long were you sentenced to prison TERM 48 Explain: Ratio DEFINITION 48 has a true zerocan add, subtract, divide, and multiply variablesexample: how many times have you used illegal drugs in the last month TERM 49 What are populations and samples? DEFINITION 49 population: entire set of elements (individuals or other entities)Sample: a subject of elements from the population. TERM 50 Why do we use samples? DEFINITION 50 we collect samples because it is costly and unrealistic to be able to study the entire population TERM 51 Define: Generalizability DEFINITION 51 ability to transfer results TERM 52 Define: Sample Generalizability DEFINITION 52 ability to generalize from subset (sample) of a larger population to the population itself TERM 53 Define: Cross-Population Generalizability DEFINITION 53 ability to generalize form findings about one group, population, or setting to other groups, populations, or settings TERM 54 What is the goal of sampling? DEFINITION 54 to draw a sample that resembles the population it is drawn from as closely as possible TERM 55 What is a representative sample? DEFINITION 55 a sample that is similar in characteristics as the populations it was drawn froma non-representative sample may contain characteristics that are over or under represented TERM 56 Define: sampling error DEFINITION 56 the difference between the characteristic of a sample the population was drawn fromnot possible to be perfect, so the goal is to get the error as small as possible TERM 57 What are the two general types of sampling DEFINITION 57 Probability and Non-probablitiy TERM 58 What does probability sampling provide researchers with? DEFINITION 58 Allows researchers to be statistically representative of the population they want to learn about (generalize to) TERM 59 What are the 4 types of probability sampling? DEFINITION 59 Simple random samplingsystematic random samplingstratified random samplingDisproportionate Stratified Sampling TERM 60 Explain: Simple Random Sampling DEFINITION 60 Identifies cases strictly on the basis of chance -i.e. flipping a coin or rolling a dieEvery element has an equal chance of being selected -Odds in coin toss are 1/2, odds for the die are 1/6Flaw: might not yield perfect representation of the sample TERM 71 What was the VaR used for? DEFINITION 71 prior to the financial crisis of 2008, firms trusted the VaR model to quantify their overall riskThe aggregate risk for the firm could be calculated at any point in time by taking the same basic process one step further TERM 72 What were problems with the VaR? DEFINITION 72 VaR "potentially catastrophic"-underlying risks associated with financial markets are not as predictable as a coin flip or even a blind taste test between two beers-the false precision embedded in the models created a false sense of security-Problems with the model: -underlying probabliites on which the models were built were based on past market movements (future doesn't necessarily look like the past in financial markets) -99% and 1%..no focus on the 1%; which is the biggest danger TERM 73 What three errors did Wall Street make with the VaR and financial crisis? DEFINITION 73 confused precision with accuracythe estimates of the underlying probabilities were wrongfirm neglected their "tail risk" TERM 74 Explain: Statistical Independence DEFINITION 74 Statistical Independence between two events= outcome of one has no effect on the outcome of the other TERM 75 Explain: Prosecutor's Fallacy DEFINITION 75 occurs when the context surrounding statistical evidence is neglected TERM 76 Explain: Reversion (regression) to the mean DEFINITION 76 probability tells us that any outlet--an observation that is particularly far from the mean in one direction or the other-- likely to be followed by outcomes that are more consistent with the long-term average TERM 77 Validity = DEFINITION 77 accuracy TERM 78 Reliability= DEFINITION 78 Consistency TERM 79 What are the 4 types of validity DEFINITION 79 Construct validityconcurrent(convergent) validitypredictive validityExternal validity TERM 80 Explain: Construct Validity DEFINITION 80 assess how the variable in the question relates to other variables TERM 81 Explain: Concurrent (Convergent) validity DEFINITION 81 assess whether self-report results are consistent with results from other sources of knowledge about delinquent behavior TERM 82 Explain: Predictive Validity DEFINITION 82 Examines to what extent self-reports predict later behaviorbased on the relation between self-report scores and one or more criterion variables, such as future criminal involvement, arrests, or conviction TERM 83 Explain: External Validity DEFINITION 83 the generalizability of the sample's self-report results to the research population TERM 84 What are the threats to validity DEFINITION 84 Respondent variablesTask variablesMethod of Administration TERM 85 What are threats to validity associated with respondent variables DEFINITION 85 -respondent motivation and self-presentation-Respondent characteriscts that appear to be related to differential response validity include: age, ethnicity, nature and frequency of the behavior, seriousness and saliency of the event, and earlier involvement with the authorities TERM 96 In a self-administered survey, what can encourage more candid responses? DEFINITION 96 less change of interviewer bias and anonymityprivacy TERM 97 Studying delinquency, what makes self- administered questionnaires a poor choice? DEFINITION 97 difficulties with reading TERM 98 What are some advantages of interview over self-administered questionnaires? DEFINITION 98 fewer incomplete questionnaires and fewer misunderstood questionshigher return ratesgreater flexibility in terms of sampling, types of questions that may be asked and special observations TERM 99 What are advantages/disadvantages of the phone interview? DEFINITION 99 speed and economygreater flexibility, standardization, and researcher flexibilityDisadvantages: refusal rates are high and little control over identity of the respondent TERM 100 Define: Reliability DEFINITION 100 level of precision of an instrument, which is the extent to which a measuring instrument is producing identical scores if it were used to make multiple measures of the same object TERM 101 T/F:The general consensus of self-report items is that they appear to behave with notable consistency DEFINITION 101 true TERM 102 What does Cronbach's alpha measure? DEFINITION 102 measure that tests the internal consistency of a delinquency scale TERM 103 What does Cronbach's Alpha depend on? In relation to reliability, what is its value? DEFINITION 103 Depends on the number of items and on the average inter- item correlationits value is the lower limit of reliability TERM 104 When should someone calculate an internal consistency measure? (Cronbach or Kuder- Richardson) DEFINITION 104 if one wants to test the internal consistency of a delinquency scale, that is, to check whether different behaviors intercorrelate and load on one general factor, then it would be advisable to calculate an internal consistency measure TERM 105 Accuracy/reliability of frequency scores is greater in categorical or open-end response sets? DEFINITION 105 accuracy or reliability of frequency scores is greater in the case of open-end questions than in the case of categorical response sets TERM 106 In most cases, is the reliability of self-report scales reasonable? does it often present problems? DEFINITION 106 in most cases the reliability of self report scales is reasonable and does not present major problems