Download Sampling Techniques and Survey Research: A Study Guide for CJC 205 and more Exams Policy analysis in PDF only on Docsity!
CJC 205 FINAL STUDY SET EXAM WITH 100 % VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
NEW UPDATE 2025 - 2026 !!
cluster sampling - ANSWER multistage sampling in which natural groups (clusters) are sampled initially, with the members of each selected group being subsampled afterward
ex: selecting a sample of municipal police departments from a directory, get lists of the police officers at all the selected departments, and then draw samples of officers from each
confidence intervals - ANSWER the range of values within which a population parameter is estimated to lie
ex: a survey shows that 40% of a sample favors a ban on handguns, but we compute a confidence interval from 35%-45%, within which the actual percentage of the population probably lies
confidence levels - ANSWER the estimated probability that a population parameter lies within a given confidence interval
ex: we might be 95% confident that between 35%-45% of all residents of California favor an absolute ban on handguns
equal probability of selection method (epsem) - ANSWER a sample design in which each member of a population has the same chance of being selected into the sample
nonprobability sampling - ANSWER procedure in which a sample is selected in some fashion other than those suggested by probability theory
ex: purposive, quota, & snowball sampling
population - ANSWER all people, things, or other elements we wish to represent; researchers often study a subset of this and then generalize from the people, things, or elements actually observed to the larger group of all people, things, or elements
population parameter - ANSWER the summary description of a particular variable in a population
ex: if the mean age of professors is 43.7, then 43.7 is the population parameter for professors' mean age
probability sampling - ANSWER the general term for when samples are selected in accord with probability theory, typically involving some random selection mechanism
ex: area probability sampling, equal probability of selection method (epsem), simple random sampling, & systematic sampling
purposive sample - ANSWER a type of non probability sample in which you select the units to be observed on the basis of your own judgement about which ones will be best suited to your research purpose
ex: if you were interested in in studying community crime prevention groups affiliated with public schools and groups affiliated with religious organizations, you would probably want to select a purposive sample of school-and-church-affiliated groups
quota sampling - ANSWER a type of non probability sampling in which units are selected into the sample based on prespecified characteristics so that the total sample will have the same distribution of characteristics as are assumed to exist in the population being studied
sample element - ANSWER that unit about which information is collected and that provides the basis of analysis;
ex: typically, in survey research, elements are people
sample statistic - ANSWER the summary description of a particular variable in a sample; used to estimate population parameters
ex: if the mean age of a sample of 100 professors on campus is 41.1, then 41.1 is the sample statistic for professors' age
sampling - ANSWER selecting some units of a larger population for study
bias - ANSWER that quality of a measurement device that tends to result in a misrepresentation of what is being measured in a particular direction
ex: the questionnaire item "Don't you agree that the president is going a good job?" would be listed as biased in that it would generally encourage more favorable responses
closed-ended questions - ANSWER survey questions in which the respondent is asked to select an answer from among a list provided by the researcher; especially popular in surveys because they provide a greater uniformity of responses and are more easily analyzed than open-ended
computer-assisted interviewing (cai) - ANSWER survey research by computer, in which questionnaires are presented on computer screens instead of paper; useful for sensitive questions like self-reports
computer-assisted personal interviewing: an interviewer reads items from the computer screen and keys in responses
computer assisted self-interviewing: respondents silently read items on the screen of a computer and key in their answers
interview - ANSWER a data collection encounter in which one person (an interviewer) asks questions of another (a respondent); interviews may be conducted face-to-face or by telephone
interview survey - ANSWER a survey that uses a questionnaire in a systematic way to interview a large number of people; can be face to face, over the telephone, or on a computer
ex: the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
open-ended questions - ANSWER questions for which the respondent is asked to provide his or her own answers
questionnaire - ANSWER a document that contains questions and other types of items designed to solicit information appropriate to analysis
ex: used primarily in survey research & field research
respondent - ANSWER a person who provides data for analysis by responding to a survey questionnaire that is self-completed or administered as an interview
response rate - ANSWER the number of people participating in a survey divided by the number selected in the sample, in the form of a percentage; also called the completion rate or the return rate
survey - ANSWER a method for collecting data by applying a standard instrument in a systematic way to take measures from a large number of units
analysis - ANSWER literally means "to separate things into parts"; allows researchers to make and support claims about what they have found
audit trail - ANSWER an all-inclusive document of the research process that can include field notes, memos, etc.; enhances the trustworthiness of research
critical realist perspective - ANSWER a philosophical view that reality exists, but knowledge is constructed through multiple meanings
ex: different pimps view their sex workers as friends/ girlfriends, business partners, employees, or products
focus groups - ANSWER a group interview or a guided discussion with a small group of participants
ex: companies learn from potential costumers how to best market their products
grounded theory - ANSWER A type of inductive theory that is based on (grounded in) field observation; the researcher makes observations in natural settings and then formulates a tentative theory that explains those observations
insider/outsider status - ANSWER the researcher's level of closeness to the group of interest, with outsiders having little or no affiliation/relationship to the group;
concepts are general references and guides about what to look for in data; they are derived from themes or existing theories
structured interview - ANSWER an interview with a set of specific questions and answer choices
themes - ANSWER in grounded theory, they are higher-level concepts (usually derived from selective codes) that include a group of lower-level concepts (usually from open coding)
thinking units - ANSWER a term coined by John Lofland and Lyn Lofland (1995) to indicate a simple framework or loose coding device used to make sense of narratives
unstructured interview - ANSWER an open style of interviewing that is more akin to a conversation, but there may be a list of topical areas for discussion
environmental survey - ANSWER structured observations undertaken in the field and recorded on specially designed forms
ex: a community organization may conduct periodic environmental surveys to monitor neighborhood parks — whether facilities are in good condition, how much litter is present, and what kinds of people use the park
ethnography - ANSWER a report on social life that focuses on detailed and accurate description rather than explanation
reactivity - ANSWER the problem that the subjects of social research may react to the fact of being studied, thus altering their behavior from what it would have been normally
safety audit - ANSWER a type of environmental survey that focuses on security and safety of places; often combined with interviews or focus groups to measure perceptions of safety among people who regularly use specific places
content analysis - ANSWER the study of recorded human communications, such as books, websites, images, mass media messages, and police reports
interuniversity consortium for political and social research (icpsr) - ANSWER an organization based at the University of Michigan that archives and distributes major social science data collections
latent content - ANSWER as used in connection with content analysis, this term described the underlying meaning of communications as distinguished from their manifest content
manifest content - ANSWER in connection with content analysis, the concrete terms contained in a communication, as distinguished from latent content
national archive of criminal justice data (nacjd) - ANSWER a special collection within the Interuniversity Consortium of Political and Social Research that includes data series of special interest to criminal justice researchers and practitioners; the NCVS, Uniform Crime Report (UCR), and data series on correctional populations are included, as are hundreds of other examples of published statistics; the data collection also includes data from most research studies funded by the National Institute of Justice
obtrusive measurement - ANSWER research subjects are aware that data are being collected
ex: administering a questionnaire
published statistics - ANSWER summary data collected by public agencies and routinely made available to the public, sometimes referred to as "administrative data"; agencies are often required to keep and publish such measures
secondary analysis - ANSWER a form of research in which the data collected and processed by one researcher are reanalyzed — often for a different purpose — by another; this is especially appropriate in the case of survey data; data archives are repositories or libraries for the storage and distribution of data for this form of research
ex: examining patterns of auto theft to decide what preventive and enforcement strategies should be pursued
problem-oriented policing - ANSWER an approach to policing that depends on analyzing patterns of incidents and conditions that police are expected to handle and then developing responses based on analysis; this approach differs from traditional approaches in its focus on patterns rather than individual incidents
problem solving - ANSWER an example of applied research that combines elements of evaluation and policy analysis
ex: the most widely known approach in policing is SARA model: scanning, analysis, response, and assessment
process evaluation - ANSWER a type of applied research that seeks to answer the question: was a public program implemented as intended?
ex: a burglary prevention program might seek to reduce burglaries by having crime prevention officers meet with all residents of some target neighborhood; this research would determine whether meeting with neighborhood residents were taking place as planned
stakeholders - ANSWER individuals with some interest, or stake, in a specific program; any particular program may have multiple stakeholders with different interests and goals
