Test Bank for Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice 6th Edition by Bachman, Schutt
ISBN: 9781071954232
Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice (6th)
ISBN 9781071954232 | Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Research Related to Criminal Justice and Criminology
Total Questions: 76
Easy
Multiple Choice (17)
Q1. [Multiple Choice]
Overgeneralization occurs when we ______.
a) choose to look only at things that align with our preferences or beliefs b) conclude that what we have observed or know to be true for some cases is true for all cases ✓ correct
c) prematurely jump to conclusions or argue on the basis of invalid assumptions d) are reluctant to change our ideas in light of new information
Q2. [Multiple Choice]
We commit the error of selective observation when we ______.
a) decide that what we observe in a small group must be true for the larger group as well
b) jump to conclusions about how media affects gratuitous violence by individuals
c) choose to look only at things that align with our preferences or beliefs ✓ correct
d) don’t critically evaluate the ideas of those in positions of authority
Q3. [Multiple Choice]
Which error are we committing when we prematurely jump to conclusions?
a) selective observation
b) resistance to change
c) inaccurate observation
d) illogical reasoning ✓ correct
Q4. [Multiple Choice]
The process by which other independent researchers evaluate the scientific merit of a study is known as ______.
a) pseudoscience
b) transparency
c) epistemology
d) peer review ✓ correct
Q5. [Multiple Choice]
The 19th century belief that bumps and fissures of the skull determined the character and personality of a person was known as ______.
a) pseudoscience
b) phrenology ✓ correct
c) epistemology
d) transparency
Q6. [Multiple Choice]
According to your text, ______ research is the primary focus of many studies of youth crime and violence.
a) questioning b) prevalence
c) descriptive ✓ correct
d) victimization
Q7. [Multiple Choice]
Research which seeks to find the answer to the question “what is going on here?” is known as ______ research.
a) descriptive
b) exploratory ✓ correct
c) explanatory
d) evaluation
Q8. [Multiple Choice] ______ research seeks to identify cause and effects of social phenomena.
a) Descriptive
b) Exploratory
c) Explanatory ✓ correct
d) Evaluation
Q9. [Multiple Choice]
Many people consider ______ to be the premier goal of any science.
a) exploration
b) explanation ✓ correct
c) evaluation
d) transparency
Q10. [Multiple Choice]
Research which seeks to determine the effects of a social program or other type of intervention is known as ______.
a) descriptive research
b) exploratory research
c) explanatory research
d) evaluation research ✓ correct
Q11. [Multiple Choice] ______ asserts that a well designed test of a specific prediction can move us closer to understanding actual social processes.
a) Explanatory research
b) Exploratory research
c) Positivism ✓ correct
d) Postpositivism
Q12. [Multiple Choice]
In general, research methods can be divided into two different domains, ______ and ______.
a) questionnaires; participatory action reports
b) quantitative; qualitative ✓ correct
c) interpretivist; postpositivist
d) exploratory; explanatory
Q13. [Multiple Choice]
When a researcher uses primarily predetermined categories on questionnaires, which type of method are they employing to gather information?
a) quantitative ✓ correct
b) qualitative
c) interpretivist
d) exploratory
Q14. [Multiple Choice]
______ methods are most often used when motives for research are explanation, description, or evaluation.
a) Qualitative
b) Quantitative ✓ correct
c) Authentic
d) Mixed
Q15. [Multiple Choice]
True experiments must have ______.
a) only one random intervention group
b) non random assignment to groups
c) quasi treatment groups
d) two randomly assigned groups (one treatment and one non treatment) ✓ correct
Q16. [Multiple Choice]
The reanalysis of already existing data is known as ______ data analysis.
a) primary
b) tertiary
c) content
d) secondary ✓ correct
Q17. [Multiple Choice]
A way of knowing that relies on objective, empirical investigation is known as ______.
a) methodology
b) transparency
c) data analysis
d) epistemology ✓ correct
True/False (13)
Q18. [True/False]
Overgeneralization occurs when we conclude that what we have observed for some cases is true for all cases.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q19. [True/False]
If you think that all youths who are violent are likely to commit violent acts in adulthood, you will probably find many cases that confirm your belief.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q20. [True/False]
Selective observation occurs when we conclude that what we observe is true for all cases.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q21. [True/False]
Inaccurate observations often occur in everyday observation, such as when there are five people standing at a corner but we report seeing seven.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q22. [True/False]
Methodology is a way of knowing that relies on objective, empirical investigation.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q23. [True/False]
Evaluation research is the primary focus of studies that ask questions like “How many people are victims of violence?” and “What are the most common crimes committed by youthful offenders?”
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q24. [True/False]
Research that investigates social phenomena without expectations is exploratory.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q25. [True/False]
Explanatory research seeks to identify cause and effects of social phenomena.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q26. [True/False]
Evaluation research seeks to determine the effects of a social program or other type of intervention.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q27. [True/False]
Zhang’s (2019) study on the effect of prevention resource officers (PROs) on violence in schools is considered descriptive research.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q28. [True/False]
Positivism assumes an external objective reality.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q29. [True/False]
If the data collected are numerical, the study uses quantitative methods.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q30. [True/False]
Exploration is the most common motive for using quantitative methods.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Essay (2)
Q31. [Essay]
What are the four common errors in everyday reasoning?
Suggested answer: Sample response: (a) Overgeneralization, (b) selective or inaccurate observation, (c) illogical reasoning, and (d) resistance to change.
Q32. [Essay]
What are the four types of social research?
Suggested answer: Sample response: (a) Descriptive – where social phenomena are defined and described, (b) exploratory–seeks to find out how people get along in a setting, what meanings they give to their actions and what issues concern them, (c) explanatory–seeks to identify causes and effects of social phenomena, predict how one phenomenon will change/vary in response to variation in some other phenomena, and (d) evaluation–seeks to determine effects of a social program or other type of intervention.
Medium
Multiple Choice (12)
Q33. [Multiple Choice]
As described in your text book, “everyday errors” refer to errors that ______.
a) frequently occur in nonscientific, unreflective discourse about the social world ✓ correct
b) are rarely identified in social research
c) can easily be avoided when conducting research
d) have little to do with logic in analyzing the social world
Q34. [Multiple Choice]
Research that is ______ in nature is generally concerned with uncovering information about a given phenomenon, learning as much as possible about people, perceptions, and/or events.
a) exploratory ✓ correct
b) explanatory
c) transparent
d) descriptive
Q35. [Multiple Choice]
Postpositivists are closely related to positivists because they ______.
a) emphasize the importance of understanding subjective meanings
b) assume an external, objective reality, but acknowledge its complexity ✓ correct
c) worry that researchers may be unable to discover positive social effects of computer use
d) are sure we can use scientific methods to perceive objective reality
Q36. [Multiple Choice]
Critical theory rests on the premise that power differences shape ______.
a) structures, patterns of behavior, and meanings ✓ correct
b) how interesting people are over time
c) very little of social interactions among people
d) and have little to do with challenges to societal structures over time
Q37. [Multiple Choice]
Which type of method is most likely to be employed if a researcher wants to focus on a participant’s words rather than counts and numbers?
a) interpretivist
b) quantitative
c) qualitative ✓ correct
d) positivist
Q38. [Multiple Choice]
Surveys that collect written responses to questions as well as numerical data such as age of respondent utilize ______.
a) interpretivism
b) critical theory
c) mixed methods ✓ correct
d) peer review
Q39. [Multiple Choice]
When a researcher elects to garner the strengths of several research methods combined, they are relying on ______.
a) primary data collection
b) triangulation ✓ correct
c) the ability to use less clear data to find an answer
d) quantitative data collection
Q40. [Multiple Choice]
The most versatile research method used by criminological researchers is ______.
a) experiments
b) secondary data analysis
c) surveys ✓ correct
d) participant observation
Q41. [Multiple Choice]
An example of the type of indirect measurement known as ______ is when a researcher studies representations of the research topic in media forms such as news articles.
a) crime mapping
b) intensive interviewing
c) participant observation
d) content analysis ✓ correct
Q42. [Multiple Choice]
With the advent of computer technology, which has become a popular method for examining the relationship between criminal behavior and other social indicators?
a) intensive interviewing
b) crime mapping ✓ correct
c) participant observation
d) secondary data analysis
Q43. [Multiple Choice]
What can result in misidentifying the prevalence of a condition and assuming that relationships exist for all subgroups of a population?
a) selective observation
b) peer review
c) measurement bias ✓ correct
d) intersubjective agreement
Q44. [Multiple Choice]
Historically, who has been underrepresented in research studies?
a) men and people who live in urban areas
b) women and racial/ethnic minorities ✓ correct
c) racial/ethnic minorities and men
d) people who live in urban areas and racial/ethnic minorities
True/False (12)
Q45. [True/False]
Everyday errors occur infrequently in the nonscientific, unreflective discourse about the social world.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q46. [True/False]
Not enough devotion to tradition can stifle adaptation to changing circumstances.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q47. [True/False]
Pseudoscience involves claims based on beliefs and/or public testimonials, not on the scientific method.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q48. [True/False]
A deeper understanding of an event or perceptions is the desired outcome in exploratory research.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q49. [True/False]
Exploratory research suggests how one type of social phenomena, like race, affects other social phenomena, like neighborhood characteristics.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q50. [True/False]
Evaluation research is a type of explanatory research because it deals with cause and effect.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q51. [True/False]
Postpositivism asserts that a well designed test of a specific prediction can help us to understand social processes.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q52. [True/False]
Positivists believe that the goal of science is to achieve intersubjective agreement among scientists.
a) True
b) False ✓ correct
Correct answer: False
Q53. [True/False]
Positivism and postpostivism represent an opposing research philosophy to interpretivism.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q54. [True/False]
The use of triangulation suggests that a researcher can get a clearer picture of the social reality being studied by viewing it from several different perspectives.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q55. [True/False]
Combining surveys and intensive interviewing techniques is one way to use mixed methods.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Q56. [True/False]
Inadequate representation in research makes it more difficult to conclude that results of the research can be generalized to the larger, diverse population.
a) True ✓ correct
b) False
Correct answer: True
Essay (11)
Q57. [Essay]
What is the difference between social science and pseudoscience?
Suggested answer: Sample response: The social science approach answers questions about the social world using systematic methods that allow others to inspect and evaluate its methods. On the other hand, pseudoscience does not rely on scientific methods but rather looks to testimonials of believers who have firsthand experience or who claim to have witnessed the event.
Q58. [Essay]
Why must the scientific method be transparent?
Suggested answer: Sample response: The techniques of the scientific method must be transparent so that the procedures, methods, and data analyses of any study can be replicated. Transparency allows other researchers to see if the same results can be reproduced. If findings can be replicated, then we have greater confidence that the finding is real and not based on bias. Transparency also relies on peer review, the process by which other independent researchers evaluate the scientific merit of the study.
Q59. [Essay]
Define positivism and postpositivism. How are they different?
Suggested answer: Sample response: Positivism asserts that a well-designed test for a specific prediction can move us closer to understanding actual social processes. Postpositivism is closely related to positivism but acknowledges the complexity of reality and the limitations and biases of the scientists who study it.
Q60. [Essay]
Explain mixed methods and why researchers elect to use them.
Suggested answer: Sample response: Many researchers are increasingly electing to garner the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research philosophies, so they are relying on mixed methods to study one research question. This is sometimes called triangulation. The latter term suggests that a researcher can get a clearer picture of the social reality being studied by viewing it from several different perspectives. Each will have some liabilities in a specific research application, and all can benefit from a combination of one or more other methods (Brewer and Hunter 1989; Sechrest and Sidani 1995).
Q61. [Essay]
What is intersubjective agreement?
Suggested answer: Sample response: It is the agreement between scientists about the nature of reality, often upheld as a more reasonable goal for science than certainty about an objective reality.
Q62. [Essay]
Explain the differences between quantitative methods and qualitative methods.
Suggested answer: Sample response: The distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods involves more than just the type of data collected. Quantitative methods are most often used when the motives for research are explanation, description, or evaluation. Exploration is the most common motive for using qualitative methods, although researchers also use these methods for descriptive and evaluative purposes. The goals of quantitative and qualitative researchers also may differ. Whereas quantitative researchers generally accept the goal of developing an understanding that correctly reflects what is happening in the real world, some qualitative researchers instead emphasize the goal of developing an “authentic” understanding of a social process or social setting. An authentic understanding is one that reflects fairly the various perspectives of participants in that setting.
Q63. [Essay]
What are three reasons why “resistance to change” may occur?
Suggested answer: Sample response: The three reasons include ego-based commitments, excessive devotion to tradition, and uncritical agreement with authority.
Q64. [Essay]
How can researchers measure violence? Use the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) in your answer.
Suggested answer: Sample response: A way to measure violence is to ask respondents about their offending behaviors. Some surveys do this, including the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS). Its sample consists of 1,000 students who were in the seventh and eighth grades in the Rochester, New York, public schools during the spring semester of the 1988 school year. This project has interviewed the original respondents at 12 different times, including the last interview that took place in 1997, when respondents were in their early 20s (Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, & Bushway, 2008). As you can imagine, respondents are typically more reluctant to reveal offending behavior compared with their victimization experiences. However, these surveys have proved to be very useful in examining the factors related to violent offending and other delinquency.
Q65. [Essay]
What is the YRBS? What does it measure?
Suggested answer: Sample response: The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is another large research survey that estimates the magnitude of youth violence (along with other risk-taking behavior, such as taking drugs and smoking) and has been conducted every two years in the United States since 1990. To measure the extent of youth violence, students are asked questions such as “During the past 12 months, how many times were you in a physical fight?” and “During the past 12 months, how many times were you in a physical fight in which you were injured and had to be seen by a doctor or nurse?”
Q66. [Essay]
Discuss underrepresentation in research and the impact that it has on research findings.
Suggested answer: Sample response: Historically, women and racial/ethnic minorities have been underrepresented in research studies. In addition, some groups may be reluctant to participate in research for different reasons, such as distrust of the motives of the researchers, historical experiences, not understanding the research process, not seeing any benefit to participation, and misuse of findings to the detriment of their communities. Inadequate representation in research ultimately makes it more difficult to conclude that research findings can be generalized to the larger, diverse population.
Q67. [Essay]
Why is it misleading to suggest that simply engaging in criminological research will result in the unveiling of absolute truths?
Suggested answer: Sample response: Research always has its flaws and limitations (as does any human endeavor), and findings are always subject to differing interpretations. Social research allows us to consider and reveal more, to observe with fewer distortions, and to describe more clearly to others the basis for our opinions, but it will not settle all arguments. Other people will always have differing opinions, and some opposition will come from other social scientists who have conducted their own studies and drawn different conclusions.
Hard
Multiple Choice (6)
Q68. [Multiple Choice]
In their research, Schildkraut and Maraindale (2024) asked 188 police officers to write down their feelings about arming teachers in their own words. This is an example of ______.
a) exploratory research ✓ correct
b) explanatory research
c) descriptive research
d) evaluation research
Q69. [Multiple Choice]
Assessing the impact of a school policing program whose goal is to decrease school violence is an example of ______ research.
a) descriptive
b) exploratory
c) explanatory
d) evaluation ✓ correct
Q70. [Multiple Choice]
Postpositivists believe that the goal of science is to achieve ______ agreement among scientists about the nature of reality.
a) impartial
b) unbiased
c) objective
d) intersubjective ✓ correct
Q71. [Multiple Choice]
The research philosophy that emphasizes the importance of understanding subjective meanings people give to reality is known as ______.
a) positivism
b) postpositivism
c) interpretivism ✓ correct
d) critical theory
Q72. [Multiple Choice]
Collins (1991) suggested that being sensitive to being in an “outside” role within social situations ______.
a) is never advantageous
b) limits researchers with regard to the utilization of types of research methodologies
c) may have unique advantages for researchers ✓ correct
d) has little effect on social research methodology
Q73. [Multiple Choice]
Whyte (1991) proposed a more activist approach to research ______.
a) where the researcher should not be an active participant in the research
b) that argues that researchers should not collaborate with the person(s) being studied
c) where values are excluded from the research process
d) that encourages researchers to “get out of the academic rut” ✓ correct
Essay (3)
Q74. [Essay]
Illustrate how the social science approach to answering questions can reduce the potential sources of error in everyday reasoning.
Suggested answer: Sample response: There are various ways in which the social science approach can reduce the potential sources of error in everyday reasoning. For example, social science research methods can reduce the likelihood of overgeneralization by using systematic procedures for selecting individuals or groups to study that are representative of the individuals or groups about whom we wish to generalize. Social science methods can also reduce the risk of selective or inaccurate observation by requiring that we measure and sample phenomenon systematically. To avoid illogical reasoning, social researchers use explicit criteria for identifying causes and for determining whether these criteria are met in a particular instance. Lastly, scientific methods also lesson the tendency to develop answers about the social world from ego-based commitments, excessive devotion to tradition, or unquestioning respect for authority.
Q75. [Essay]
What is the NCVS? Explain why it is considered descriptive research.
Suggested answer: Sample response: The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is an ongoing annual survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NCVS asks questions such as “Has anyone attacked or threatened you with a weapon (for instance, a gun or knife) or by something thrown (such as a rock or bottle)? Include any grabbing, punching, or choking.” This survey can be classified as descriptive research, which is the primary focus of many studies of youth crime and violence, because the survey is not interested in explaining some phenomenon, just in describing its frequency or its qualities.
Q76. [Essay]
What is secondary data analysis? If you were to utilize this type of research method, where would you look for your data?
Suggested answer: Sample response: Secondary data analysis is the reanalysis of already existing data and is another method used by researchers. I could obtain the data from official sources, such as local or federal agencies (e.g., rates of crime reported to police, information on incarcerated offenders from state correctional authorities, or adjudication data from the courts), or from surveys sponsored by government agencies or conducted by other researchers.