Intro to research methods in criminal justice 1

methodology

science of finding out- systematic procedure or mode of inquiry

empirical knowledge

based on what we experience and observe

the 4 ways of knowing

1. authority

2. tradition

3. personal experience - most influential

4. scientific approach

authority

knowledge from someone w expertise

pro: quick and easy; experts spend lots of time learning a particular thing

con: overstated expenses; ulterior motives; misplaced authorities

tradition

authority of the past

cons: history can change; often not true in 1st place; spreads misinformation

pitfalls of personal experience

overgeneralization

selective observation

premature closure

halo effect

safeguards against pitfalls

conscious training

measurement devices

replication

research designs

peer review

constant reinvestigation

social science

using scientific method to investigate individuals, societies, and social processes

why conduct social science research?

answer practical questions

make informed decisions

make money

change society

build knowledge

what are the 4 categories of research purposes

exploration- to formulate more precise questions for future research

description- describe process, mechanism, or relationship

explanation- to find out why something is

evaluation- determine effectiveness of specific policies and programs

what is a theory

set of interconnected statements that explain how 2 or more events are related

how are theory and research related

theory always present in research

how does theory affect method

direction of logic- inductive or deductive

level- macro or micro

inductive

specific— general

begin with concrete observations— move to abstract

deductive

general— specific

begin with abstract logical relationship— move to concrete evidence

what are the 2 levels of theory

micro level- individuals

macro level- larger aggregates

what is the research cycle

theory— hypothesis— observations— empirical generalizations

what are the 2 modes of explanation

idiographic- choose 1 situation and explain it completely; exhaustive; not as common in criminology

nomothetic- choose type of situation and try to explain it collectively; most important factors; most simple

what are attributes

characteristics/ qualities of a person place or thing

ex: marin is a white female professor

variable

logical groupings of attributes

ex: race, gender, occupation

what type of research studies does quantitative research cover

surveys and experiments

what type of research studies does qualitiative research cover

participant observation, intensive interviewing, focus groups

quantitative research

numerical; easily defined variables

qualitative

non numerical; less clear variables

whats a hypothesis

expected relationship between concepts

dependent variable

outcome, caused by independent variable; Y

independent variable

presumed to cause the dependent variable; X

control variable

a type of IV; reduces risk of attributing explanatory power to IV that arent responsible for changes to DV

what is meant by ethical

conforming to the norms or standards of a group

what was the historical progression of ethics

pre 1960s- research conducted on small samples; informal code of ethics existed

late 1960s- large samples became more common; ethically questionable research conducted

milgrams obedience & authority experiment

teacher tells participant to deliver electrical shocks to a person regardless of screams or passing out

zimbardos stanford prison experiment

half of participants assigned as prisoners, half assigned as guards

the guards placed in positions of power began to act aggressive, violent, bullying

prisoners began to act submissive, depressed

humphreys tea room trade

researcher posed as a lookout outside public toilets to study male homosexual encounters

tuskegee syphilis experiment

studied uneducated african american men with syphilis; even when cure was found did not tell them or give cure

issues of importance for ethical research

openness and honesty

dissemination of findings

openness and honesty

need to disclose procedures

decisions that were made

dissemination of findings

report negative or null findings

admit relationships found by accident

should research be publicized

4 issues for research on people

voluntary participation

no harm to participants

anonymity & confidentiality

avoid deception

voluntary participation

cant be forced to partake; ensured through informed consent

what is meant by “harm”

physical, psychological, embarassment; arbitrary costs and benefits

anonymity

researcher cant link specific answers to participants

confidentiality

researcher can link answers to participants but promises to not share publicly; wont disclose identity

deception

usually unethical but sometimes necessary

debriefing

seen as a compromise; giving partial info about study up front and full info afterward

how can research cause legal liability

witness crimes during research, be drawn into deviant roles yourself, become privy to knowledge of illegal acts through surveys

how is research protected legally

by federal law- the federal certificate of confidentiality

national research act of 1974

created a commission to develop guidelines for human subject research

belmont report of 1979

set of ethical principles protecting human subjects

1. respect for persons

2. beneficence

3. justice

what are codes of professional ethics

ASA and ASC have formed formal codes of conduct; dont necessarily prevent unethical behavior

Whats the IRB

institutional review board; judges overall risks and benefits; assesses safety, confidentiality, wellfare, and informed consent

what type of research is causation the focus of

explanatory research

2 types of causality

deterministic

probabilistic

deterministic causality

precisely identifies all factors that cause something to happen every time; no exceptions to rules; hard sciences

probabilistic causality

an effect or outcome occurs more frequently, but not always when a cause occurs; identifies trends; social sciences

what are the 3 criterion for probabilistic causality

1. association/ correlation- variation of 1 variable should coincide with the other

2. temporal order- cause must occur before effect

3. no spuriousness- no alternative explanation/ 3rd variable

positive correlation

the variables move in the same direction

negative correlation

variables move in opposite directions

Basic research

advances fundamental knowledge

test theories

somewhat controversial

applied research

addresses policy concerns

theory less central

less likely to be published

types of applied research

action research

impact assessment

formative evaluation- ongoing, modifies program

summative evaluation- after completion of program, informs future programs

3 aspects of research design

1. units of analysis

2. times dimension

3. data collection technique

units of analysis

what researchers observe, describe, explain

nesting

higher level units of analysis are made up of of multiple units of analysis

ex: nation— region— state

whats the ecological fallacy

making inferences about individuals from findings about groups

individualistic fallacy

making inferences about groups from findings about individuals; overgeneralization

cross sectional research

snapshot of one point in time; most common form; cheapest; cant fully capture change

longitudinal research

incorporates time; measures change; costly

4 methods of longitudinal research

1. time series study

2. panel study

3. cohort study

4. case study

time series study

repeating surveys of independent samples from same general population over time; can see trends but not within person change

panel study

repeating observations of same people over time; can measure within person change

cohort study

observe people who share similar life experiences in specified time period

case study

in depth analysis of small # of cases over period of time

attrition

participation dropout- death, cannot be located

what method of research is the most common in criminology

surveys

what are the 2 components of experiments

experimental group

control group

how does survey sample size relate to the population

uses info about a sample of people to generalize a larger population

what is content analysis

descriptive research that examines content in written/ symbolic material

what type of research uses existing statistics

quantitative

qualitative data techniques

field research- gain access & observe for for a period of time

historical comparative research- study previous era or different culture

what are the steps in the conceptualization & operationalization process

conceptualization— conceptual definition— operationalization— operational definition— actual measurements

whats a concept

mental image that summarizes a set of similar observations, feelings, ideas; not absolute

what is conceptualization

developing and clarifying what a concept means for a study; end product= agreed upon meaning

what is meant by concepts having multiple dimensions

aspects or facets: subgroups

ex: deviance

belief vs behavior

what are the steps in conceptualization

1. identify the dimensions of focus

2. identify indicators to represent concepts

what are indicators

signs of the presence or absence of a concept; can vary; dont have to agree

whats a conceptual definition

a working definition of the concept

whats operationalization

process of defining the measurement of a concept based on the conceptual definition

whats an operational definition

spells out exactly how a concept can be measured

what 2 qualities must every variable have

exhaustive- every observation can be classified by at least 1 of the attributes

mutually exclusive- every observation can be classified by ONLY ONE attribute; no overlap

continuous measurement

infinite # of values

discrete measurement

relatively fixed set of values

4 levels of measurement

nominal- cases classified into 2 or more categories; # value

ordinal- categories that can be ranked; attitude

interval- equal distance between numbers; temp in F

ratio-has true zero point; weight, birth rate

is higher precision of level of measurement always better

no

reliability

the extent to which a measurement technique produces the same result every time

validity

the extent to which an empirical measure reflects the meaning of a concept; more difficult to establish that reliability

how do we check for reliability

test- retest method- taking same measurement more than once for same result

interrater reliability - compare measurements from different raters

split-half method- split indicators in half and compare results

how can we improve reliability

conceptualize more clearly

increase precision

use multiple indicators

use pretests/ pilot studies

use established measures

whats the major problem with reliability

even if something is reliable it can be inaccurate

how do we check validity

face validity

criterion related validity

construct validity

face validity

does the measure make sense