CCJ3701 Exam 1 2023 with complete solution questions and answers

positivism Goal of research is to study things in a way that helps discover or understand reality postpositivism Goal of research is to achieve intersubjective agreement because limitations in research techniques often prevent ability to perceive objective reality variable A characteristic or property that can vary independent variable The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied. dependent variable The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. unit of analysis **** the objects, individuals, or things described by the variables or theory—the who or the what that you are analyzing a unit of analysis example individuals, social groups, organizations ecological fallacy generalizing from the whole to the individual behavior inductive reasoning Moves from the specific to the general deductive reasoning Moves from general ideas (theory) to specific reality (data) inductive research Begins with specific data, looks for patterns, moves towards broader hypothesis or theories. deductive research Begins with theories, derives hypothesis, and then observes cases or specific data to confirm or falsify them. Measurement Validity Exists when a measure measures what we think it measures measurement reliability *** this refers to the extent to which consistent results are obtained when a particular measure is applied to similar elements Generalizability -Exists when a conclusion holds true for the population, group, setting, or event that we say it does, given the conditions that we specify Sample generalizability*** Exists when a conclusion based on a sample, or subset, of a larger population holds true for that population Cross-population generalizability/External validity Exists when findings about one group, population, or setting hold true for other groups, populations, or settings Nominal Measures Values have no mathematical interpretation ---Attributes differ in kind, but not in amount ---Cannot be ordered ---Attributes must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive Nominal Measures Example Gender, Eye color, type of pet, type of house, breed of cat, city of residence, hair color Ordinal Measures The numbers assigned to each case specify only the order of the cases, permitting greater-than and less than distinctions Ordinal Measures Example Economic status ; Educational experience Interval Measures Numbers represent fixed measurement units but have no absolute zero point Interval Measures Example Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit Ratio Measures Fixed measuring units with an absolute zero point --Zero means that absolutely no amount of the variable --Ratios can be formed between the numbers Ratio Measures Example Number of drinks an individual has consumed in one sitting; height; weight Nominal Gender (male, female) Nominal Seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) Ratio Number of dreams recalled Ratio Number of errors Ratio Duration of drug abuse (in number of years) Ordinal Ranking of favorite foods Intervals A college student's SAT score Ratio Number of students in your class Interval Temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) Ratio Time (in seconds) to memorize a list Nominal Political Affiliation (Republican, Democrat) Ordinal A letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) measurement info Often interval and ratio levels of measurement can be treated as equivalent •Ordinal data can be treated as continuous at times (though this is cause of great dispute) descriptive research •Define and describe •Count descriptive research example "What is the peak age of criminal offending?" explanatory research Identifying cause and effect of a phenomena •Predict how one phenomenon will change in response to changes in another explanatory research example "What factors are related to early onset of criminal behavior?" evaluation research Determining the effects of a program or intervention evaluation research example DARE; Scared Straight; Juvenile Boot Camps; GREAT Overgeneralization **** distortion of thinking in which a person draws sweeping conclusions based on only one incident or event and applies those conclusions to events that are unrelated to the original Selective Observation **** Choosing to look only at things that are in line with our preferences or beliefs Inaccurate Observation **** Failure to accurately observe or pay attention to things in life Illogical Reasoning **** entails either isolating a particular part of an argument before then presenting it as an entirely individual or separate position Resistance to Change **** is the action taken by individuals and groups when they perceive that a change that is occurring as a threat to them. quantitative data/research Using numbers to describe social phenomena • Count events • Analyze information with statistical techniques quantitative Often research will then move towards qualitative data/ research Written or spoken words with no direct numerical interpretation -Interpretation of events observed as they occur how scientists try to minimize errors in research --Representative samples • Measurement and sampling • Causal criteria • Scientific methods qualitative Exploratory research hypothesis Statements of what is expected if theory is true research question An interrogatory statement describing the variables and population of the research study operationalization The process of specifying the operations (measures) that will indicate the value of a variable probability sampling **** each member of the population has a specifiable probability of being chosen non-probability sampling **** Does not require a population to be identified. No randomization. Unrepresentative. population **** A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area concept A mental image that summarizes a set of similar observations, feelings, or ideas conceptualization The process of specifying what is meant by a term (inductive or deductive) operation The procedure for measuring the concepts sample The distribution of characteristics among the elements of a representative sample is the same as the distribution of those characteristics among the total population sampling error Any difference between the characteristics of a sample and the characteristics of the population from which it was drawn sampling distribution *** The probability distribution of a sample statistic when a sample is drawn from a population. representativeness**** **** Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information. Simple random sampling Identifies cases strictly on the basis of chance (e.g., random number tables and random digit dialing) • Can be done with or without replacement sampling probability sampling*** Allows researchers to select study subjects to be statistically representative of population they want to learn about (generalize to) Replacement Sampling •Each element is returned to the sampling frame from which it is selected so that it may be sampled again Systematic random sampling The first element is selected randomly from a list, and then every nth element thereafter is selected • Periodicity Cluster sampling Sampling in which elements are selected in two or more stages Systematic random sampling steps Three steps: - (1) Calculate sampling interval • 750 / 150 = 5 - (2) Identify the first case to be selected - (3) Selection of subsequent cases • Every nth case is selected, where n is the sampling interval Stratified random sampling Uses information known about the total population prior to sampling to make the process more efficient • Proportionate vs. disproportionate stratified sampling Cluster sampling stages - (1) Clusters • A random sample of clusters is selected - (2) Within clusters • Within each selected cluster, a random sample of elements is selected Nonprobability Sampling Each member of population has an unknown probability of being selected • Four types: - Availability - Quota - Purposive/judgment - Snowball availability estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory quota a limited or fixed number or amount of people or things, in particular. purposive Sampling method to recruit specific persons who could provide inside information snowball series of actions resulting from each other Stratified random sampling steps Two steps: - (1) Distinguish all elements in the population according to their value on some relevant characteristic - (2) Sample elements randomly from within each strata the scientific method 1. Identify a problem 2. Develop a research plan 3. Conduct the study 4. Analyze and evaluate the data 5. Communicate the results 6. Generate more new ideas when you might use different types of probability sampling techniques ??? types of research methods Surveys or questionnaires,Participant observation, •Intensive interviewing hypothesis a tentative statement about empirical reality, involving a relationship between two variables The drawback of non probability sampling is that it is limited and doesnt ensure that your sample is representative explanatory research describes how one phenomenon will change because of another exploratory research gathering info from an understudied area cross-sectional study sample subject at 1 point cross-sectional collects data only ONCE longitudinal studying the same subjects over time longitudinal repeated measures