Crime prevention exam 1 The Maryland Scientific Methods Scale

What is the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale?

A scale used to assess the methodological strength of research evidence behind crime prevention programs

What does the Maryland Scale help researchers determine?

How strong the evidence is that a program actually causes a desired outcome

What does Level 1 generally represent?

Weak evidence based on correlations or associations without a strong comparison or experimental design

What does Level 2 generally represent?

A before-and-after comparison without a strong comparable control group

What does Level 3 generally represent?

A before-and-after comparison that includes an experimental or comparable control condition

What does Level 4 generally represent?

A stronger experimental or quasi-experimental design involving multiple units and controls for other variables

What does Level 5 represent?

The strongest level, involving random assignment to experimental and control conditions

Which Maryland Scale level provides the strongest evidence?

Level 5, because random assignment provides the strongest basis for determining whether the intervention caused the outcome

Why does the Maryland Scale matter?

It allows researchers and policymakers to distinguish between programs supported by strong evidence and programs supported by weaker evidence

What is the basic progression of the Maryland Scale?

From weaker observational evidence toward stronger controlled experimental evidence, with Level 5 using random assignment