Social Science Research Methods
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Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth introduction to the principles and practices of research in the social sciences. Students will explore both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including survey design, interviews, case studies, participant observation, and statistical analysis. Emphasis is placed on formulating research questions, developing hypotheses, designing ethical studies, and interpreting data. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with practical skills to critically evaluate social science research and to conduct their own independent projects, preparing them for further academic research or professional roles requiring analytical and investigative abilities.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Research Methods for Criminal Justice 3rd Edition by Frank E. Hagan
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Criminal Justice
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Sample Questions
Q1) The dependent variable in a study:
A) is the variable which causes other variables
B) determines or precedes in time other variables
C) is denoted by the letter X
D) is denoted by the letter Y
Answer: D
Q2) Hypotheses are derived from:
A) theory
B) method
C) data analysis
D) variables
Answer: A
Q3) There is unanimous agreement that the cause of the crime dip in the 1990s was due to application of the "broken windows" approach to policing.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) _________________ involves generalizing from specific findings to general laws.
Answer: Inference
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Ethics in Criminal Justice Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following was not identified as a key element in the "classic professionalism model"?
A) knowledge
B) service
C) autonomy
D) cynicism
Answer: D
Q2) The Department of Health and Human Services has not been responsive to the unique needs of social science research in regulating research conduct.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The Department of _________________ guidelines are the most widely followed regulations for social science research in the U.S.
Answer: Health and Human Services
Q4) Project Camelot was a study of decision-making in the Kennedy Administration.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Research Design: the Experimental Model and Its Variations
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Sample Questions
Q1) What advantage does a time-series design have over a simple before-after design? Give an illustration and explain.
Answer: Answers will vary
Q2) _________________ is a fake treatment with no known effect which is administered to the control group.
Answer: Placebo
Q3) In the diffusion of treatment effect neither the experi menters nor the subjects are aware of what group is the treatment group.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Correlation or relationship does not necessarily imply or demonstrate causality. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q5) Time series designs and panel designs are examples of cross sectional designs. A)True
B)False Answer: False
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Chapter 4: The Uniform Crime Reports and Sampling
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Sample Questions
Q1) _________________ is the name of the unit-record reporting system which is the major change in the new Uniform Crime Reports program.
Q2) _________________ samples refer to those that permit estimation of the likelihood of each element of the population being selected in the sample.
Q3) What are some possible explanations for the crime dip of the 1990s?
Q4) Focus groups refer to attempts to construct and focus upon typical characteristics of criminal organizations.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Which of the following is a description of a judgmental sample?
A) the U.S. Census
B) a marketing survey of test market cities
C) studying a sample of census tracts
D) the National Crime Survey
Q6) The major explanation for the "crime dip" in the eighties was increase in police efficiency.
A)True
B)False
Q7) _________________ sampling is a nonprobability stratified sample.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Survey Research: Questionnaires
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Sample Questions
Q1) surveys are data-gathering methods which involve asking respondents to admit to various behaviors.
Q2) is an attempt to construct typical characteristics of certain types of criminals.
Q3) The expected response rate to mail questionnaires by large private survey organizations in the seventies was eighty percent.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Offering remuneration in mail surveys is not a useful practice with all populations being surveyed.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are some ways of increasing responses in mail surveys?
Q6) Discuss some ways of checking the validity of self-report surveys.
Q7) A is a reconnaissance operation or exploratory testing of the instrument using subjects who are similar to the group to be studied.
Q8) What are some problems with self-report surveys of delinquen cy or crime commission?
Page 7
Q9) What are the principal advantages/disadvantages of mail surveys?
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Chapter 6: Survey Research: Interviews and Telephone
Surveys
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following was not mentioned as appropriate procedure in conducting interview surveys?
A) interviewers should not arrive at the household too early or late in the day
B) interviewers must be prepared at times to be a persistent boor
C) minor small talk should be avoided
D) if instructed to do so, the interviewer should properly edit all responses
Q2) Which of the following was not mentioned as a means of rolling for error in victim surveys?
A) use experiments
B) use of panels
C) reverse records checks
D) bounding of target groups
Q3) The chief finding of initial victim surveys in the 1960s was that there was about twice as much crime as officially recorded by police.
A)True
B)False
Q4) _________________ is the name (or acronym) for the use of computers in conducting telephone interviews.
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Chapter 7: Participant Observation and Case Studies
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most participant observers agree that it is a good idea to study groups with which you are already familiar or of which you are a member.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is the proper notation for a single subject reversal design?
A) ABACA
B) ABA
C) AB
D) ALIBABA
Q3) A gatekeeper is an insider or person willing to vouch for the researcher's presence.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The "Chicago School of Sociology" in the twenties was a leading advocate of field studies.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify and discuss the following three designs: ABA, ABAB, ABACA.
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Chapter 8: Unobtrusive Measures, Secondary Analysis, and the
Uses of Official Statistics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Humphreys' Tearoom Trade study involved:
A) physical trace analysis
B) disguised observation
C) simulation
D) secondary analysis
Q2) A thorough literature review, although important, is secon dary to the actual gathering of primary data.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Confederates are informants who are unaware of treatment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The "Dayton Water Survey" involved a mail questionnaire to water users.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The "Dayton Water Survey" was an example of an unobtrusive measure.
A)True
B)False
10
Q6) _________________ is the systematic classification and study of the content of mass media.
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Chapter 9: Validity, Reliability, and Triangulated Strategies
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Sample Questions
Q1) The fit between theoretical and operational definitions of terms is:
A) construct validity
B) concurrent validity
C) convergent validity
D) charismatic validity
Q2) The multiple forms method involves the administration of alternate forms of the instrument to the same group.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Variables such as sex, race, and religion would be considered:
A) nominal variables
B) ordinal variables
C) interval variables
D) ratio variables
Q4) In nominal level measurement the actual numbers assigned to categories have no mathematical meaning.
A)True
B)False
Q5) _________________ validity asks whether the measuring instrument works in predicting present characteristics.
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Chapter 10: Scaling and Index Construction
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Sample Questions
Q1) Simple summated scales consisting of five-point, bipolar response ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree describe:
A) Thurstone scales
B) Likert scales
C) Guttman scales
D) Semantic Differential scales
Q2) The Guttman method of devising attitude scales relies upon judges to select items.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which type of scale eliminates items which fail to discrimi nate between high and low scorers?
A) Thurstone
B) Likert
C) Guttman
D) Factor
Q4) _________________ is Guttman's notion that a scale should measure one and only one dimension.
Q5) Briefly discuss the prediction scale tradition in criminal justice.
Q6) What are salient factor scores and what are they used for? Give an example.
Page 13
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Chapter 11: Policy Analysis and Evaluation Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) There is little rationale for program administrators to fear evaluations of their programs.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following was not viewed as an obstacle to effective evaluation research in criminal justice?
A) poorly done evaluation design
B) cooptation of evaluation staff
C) inter-agency halitosis
D) focusing on the method and not the process
Q3) Evaluation research has been overreliant upon questionnaires as the primary means of data gathering.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The major emphasis of the NIJ research program is that the research be policy relevant.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the major types of evaluation research and how do they differ from each other?
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