CCJ3701 EXAM 2 Questions and Verified
Answers
causation Correct Answer: IV causes the DV;
nomothetic causal explanation: quantitative; belief that variation in IV will be
followed by variation in DV when all other things are controlled; test with
experimental or non experimental research designs
idiographic causal explanation: qualitative; concrete, individual sequence of events,
thoughts, or actions that resulted in a particular outcome for a particular individual
or that led to a particular event; narrative is critical element; concerned with
context and deterministic; can involve counterfactuals (situation in the absence of
variation in the IV, subjects didn't undergo treatment but had experiences similar to
it)
five criteria of causation Correct Answer: 1. empirical association (between the
hypothesized IV and DV): DV does something predictable in response to a change
in IV
2. temporal ordering/time order (of effects of one variable on the others): change in
IV happened before change in DV
3. nonspuriousness: relationship between two variables is not caused by variation in
third variable spuriousness- apparent association between two variables is actually
untrue, both variables caused by a 3rd variable; ex: ice cream causes crime
4. mechanism (that creates the causal effect): specific way that IV causes the DV;
circumstantial evidence that helps researcher build an argument; ex: children of
incarcerated parents are more likely to commit crime in adulthood. why? reduces
parent's ability to supervise, removes important role model
5. context (in which change occurs): situational factors that must be present for a
cause-and-effect sequence to occur; contextual effect- when relationships among
variables differ across geographic units; ex: children of incarcerated parents are
, more likely to commit crime themselves if the remaining parent is unable to run a
functioning household
causality vs. correlation Correct Answer: causality- thing A is the reason why thing
B occurred; must establish correlation
correlation- two things happen around the same time or simultaneous variation
occurred between them
true experiments Correct Answer: 1. two comparison groups: experimental and
control group
2. random assignment
3. assessment of change: pre-tests (measure DV prior to intervention, isn't required)
and post-tests (required for all true experiments, measurement of the outcome after
experimental group receives treatment)
random assignment vs. random sampling Correct Answer: random assignment-
creates two equivalent groups in a random/chance-based manner to ensure internal
validity; limits systematic bias
random sampling- to ensure that subjects are representative of some larger
population; generalizability
causality in true experiments Correct Answer: 1. association: established by random
group assignment
2. time order: established by pre-tests and post-tests
3. nonspuriousness: random assignment eliminates extraneous influences that can
create spurious relationships
4. mechanism & 5. context: hard to address because of controlled lab environment
Answers
causation Correct Answer: IV causes the DV;
nomothetic causal explanation: quantitative; belief that variation in IV will be
followed by variation in DV when all other things are controlled; test with
experimental or non experimental research designs
idiographic causal explanation: qualitative; concrete, individual sequence of events,
thoughts, or actions that resulted in a particular outcome for a particular individual
or that led to a particular event; narrative is critical element; concerned with
context and deterministic; can involve counterfactuals (situation in the absence of
variation in the IV, subjects didn't undergo treatment but had experiences similar to
it)
five criteria of causation Correct Answer: 1. empirical association (between the
hypothesized IV and DV): DV does something predictable in response to a change
in IV
2. temporal ordering/time order (of effects of one variable on the others): change in
IV happened before change in DV
3. nonspuriousness: relationship between two variables is not caused by variation in
third variable spuriousness- apparent association between two variables is actually
untrue, both variables caused by a 3rd variable; ex: ice cream causes crime
4. mechanism (that creates the causal effect): specific way that IV causes the DV;
circumstantial evidence that helps researcher build an argument; ex: children of
incarcerated parents are more likely to commit crime in adulthood. why? reduces
parent's ability to supervise, removes important role model
5. context (in which change occurs): situational factors that must be present for a
cause-and-effect sequence to occur; contextual effect- when relationships among
variables differ across geographic units; ex: children of incarcerated parents are
, more likely to commit crime themselves if the remaining parent is unable to run a
functioning household
causality vs. correlation Correct Answer: causality- thing A is the reason why thing
B occurred; must establish correlation
correlation- two things happen around the same time or simultaneous variation
occurred between them
true experiments Correct Answer: 1. two comparison groups: experimental and
control group
2. random assignment
3. assessment of change: pre-tests (measure DV prior to intervention, isn't required)
and post-tests (required for all true experiments, measurement of the outcome after
experimental group receives treatment)
random assignment vs. random sampling Correct Answer: random assignment-
creates two equivalent groups in a random/chance-based manner to ensure internal
validity; limits systematic bias
random sampling- to ensure that subjects are representative of some larger
population; generalizability
causality in true experiments Correct Answer: 1. association: established by random
group assignment
2. time order: established by pre-tests and post-tests
3. nonspuriousness: random assignment eliminates extraneous influences that can
create spurious relationships
4. mechanism & 5. context: hard to address because of controlled lab environment
