CRM 3012 Research Methods in Criminal Justice

Lecture: Introduction

Outcomes

• Identify the different types of realities and why we accept them
• Describe the roles of tradition and authority as sources of second-hand knowledge
• List the differences between variables and attributes
• Define the purposes of research and the different avenues of inquiry
• Explain the basic ethical issues of criminal justice research
• Describe the difference between quantitative and qualitative data
• Summarize the relationship between theory and observation
• Identify a theory and give examples of research spawned by that theory
• Give examples that illustrate deductive and inductive logic
• Differentiate between objectivity and subjectivity
• Distinguish between a theory and a paradigm
• Discuss the relationship between theory, research and public policy
• Identify the different types of harm that can result from engaging in criminal justice research
• Recognize deception in the research process and understand when deception may be acceptable
• Describe the role of institutional review boards

Lecture: Issues in Research Design

Outcomes

• Explain the role of causation in the social sciences
• List the three criteria for causality
• Discuss the difference between necessary and sufficient causes
• Define the relationship between validity and causal inference
• Identify the types of validity: statistical conclusion, internal, construct, and external
• Define scientific realism
• Use and recognize units of analysis in a research project
• Recognize the errors that can occur with the interpretation of units of analysis
• Explain the role that time plays in the research process
• Identify a cross-sectional study and when it is appropriate
• List the types of longitudinal studies and when each is appropriate
• Discuss the research process from the standpoint of logical order
• Define the elements of a research proposal

Lecture: Concepts, Operationalization, and Measurement

Lecture: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs

Outcomes

• Identify a conceptual definition and develop operational definitions
• Describe operational definitions and use them as specific measurements in a scientific study
• Explain exhaustive and exclusive measurement
• Differentiate and recognize the levels of measurement
• Differentiate reliability and validity; recognize the different types of tests for reliability and different categories of validity
• Identify the UCR and the NCVS as measurements of crime and their purposes
• Identify police-based measures and the errors they may contain
• Compare the UCR and the NIBR and identify their strengths and weaknesses
• Identify the measuring of crime through the use of victim surveys
• Compare victim surveys and crimes known to police
• Identify measurement of crime through self-report surveys
• Discuss the validity and reliability of self-report surveys
• Identify alternative reasons for measuring crime; for specific research and policy purposes
• Describe how experimental designs are used in explanation and evaluation research
• Explain the classical experiment and how it can be used in criminal justice research
• Discuss the use of independent and dependent variables in experimental designs
• Differentiate between the traditional use of experimental and control groups
• Differentiate between randomization in subject selection and assignment to groups
• Describe the threats to validity (internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion) and how those threats can be controlled
• Identify the variations to the classical experimental design
• Explain the quasi-experimental designs and their variations (nonequivalent groups, cohort, and time series)
• Recognize and critique the use of experiments in criminal justice research

Lecture: Data Collection and Sampling Procedures

Outcomes

• Identify the three ways of collecting data: asking questions, direct observation, and examining written records
• Give examples of the various research scenarios that employ different techniques or a combination of techniques for collecting data
• Recognize that probability sampling helps the researcher generalize back to a population of unobserved cases
• Recognize that both conscious and unconscious sampling bias can occur and they should be able to give examples of each
• Recognize that the basic principle of probability sampling is that all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected for the sample
• Define and identify a sample element, a population, a population parameter and a sample statistic
• Identify the bell-shaped curve or normal curve means
• Define the role of the standard error and how to decrease its presence
• Discuss confidence levels and confidence intervals and know why they are important for the ability to make inferences
• Explain the role of random sampling in probability theory
• Identify the different types of sampling designs along with the advantages and disadvantages of each
• Distinguish the types of sampling designs used by the National Crime Victimization Survey and the British Crime Survey and how they differ
• Articulate the differences between probability and nonprobability sampling techniques along with when each is appropriately used

Lecture: Survey Research

Lecture: Field Research

Outcomes

• Identify the different topics that are appropriate for survey research
• Give examples of survey designs in the counting of crime, self-reports, perceptions and attitudes, policy proposals, and targeted victim surveys
• Describe the difference between open-ended, closed-ended, matrix, and contingency questions
• Identify the format and organization of questionnaire items that maximizes responses
• Recognize the procedures used in self-administered, mailed questionnaires
• Explain the acceptable response rate
• Discuss computer based self-administration and when its use is appropriate
• Explain the role of the interviewer in the use of in-person interview surveys
• Define computer-assisted interviewing along with the advantages and disadvantages
• Discuss telephone surveys and how computers can assist in this process
• Compare the three methods of asking questions with respect to cost, speed, and question content
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of survey research
• Explain specialized interviewing
• Explain the role of focus groups in criminal justice research
• Articulate the advantages of using professional survey researchers
• Discuss the value of observing life and human interaction in its natural setting as a form of research
• List the methods of obtaining data for field research
• Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative data as they apply to field research
• State the topics which lend themselves to field research
• Identify the difference between the various roles of the researcher when doing field research
• Identify when a field researcher may want to supplement the observations with interviews or other data sources
• Recognize the process of gaining access to subjects in both formal organizations and subcultures
• Know the techniques used for selecting people or cases for observation
• Identify the different techniques and options available for collecting and recording field observations
• Describe the use of surveys and official records in combination with field research
• Retell the examples of field research offered in this chapter which illustrate the topics of the role of researcher, selection of subjects, and data-gathering techniques
• Articulate the strengths and weaknesses of field designs and give examples of each

Lecture: Agency Records, Content Analysis, and Secondary Data

Outcomes

• Identify the three sources of existing data and their application in criminal justice research
• Identify topics that are appropriate for the use of agency records
• Identify the different types of agency records: published statistics, nonpublic agency records, and new data collected by agency staff
• Discuss units of analysis in the use of agency records and the methods of sampling from these records
• Discuss threats to reliability of agency records
• Discuss threats to validity of agency records
• Modify content analysis
• Differentiate between the types of coding in content analysis
• Discuss the sources of secondary data
• Examine the advantages and disadvantages of secondary data
• Compare and contrast agency records, content analysis, and secondary data

Lecture: Evaluation Research and Policy Analysis

Outcomes

• Distinguish the different types of evaluation research
• Recognize the role of policy analysis
• Identify the different types of situations where evaluation research is appropriate
• Discuss the policy process
• Identify the difference between process evaluation and impact assessment
• Recognize when the evaluability assessment is appropriate and why
• Define stakeholders and their role in the research process
• Discuss the problems inherent in measuring program delivery
• Identify the treatment integrity and how it can impact evaluation studies
• Describe the techniques that are appropriate for evaluative studies
• Examine the role of policy analysis in politics and research
• Describe the relationship between politics and objectivity with respect to research

Lecture: Interpreting Data

Outcomes

• Describe the differences between descriptive and inferential statistics
• Define univariate analysis and give examples of its use
• Define the concept of distributions
• Explain the three measures of central tendency and be able to discuss how they are related
• Define the measures of dispersion and be able to discuss how they are related
• Compare the measures of dispersion with the measures of central tendency
• Compute a rate
• Explain the descriptive statistics which are applied when two or more variables are under study
• Construct and read a percentage table
• Define the multivariate analysis
• Explain the inferential statistics
• Describe and interpret tests of statistical significance
• Describe the cautions that are present in the interpretation of interpreting statistical significance