Ch 1Terms1. Aggregate- a group of multiple units (try to group people together not just one person). - Ex. Everyone with an AA or everyone with a BA2. Attribute- A characteristic of a unit of observation a specific value on a variable. - Ex. Male, 25, strongly agree3. Variable- An entity that can take on different values (gender, age, agreement) - Independent variable- causes outcome of interest. - Dependent Variable- outcome, depends on iv.- Ex. Education (IV)-----Income (DV)4. Theory- A systematic explanation of a pattern (has to be testable) Ex. Crime is a product of weakening bonds to conventional society5. Hypothesis- making your theory testable, comes before you measure anything.- A testable statement of an expectation about the world (ex. Children who dislike school will be more delinquent). 6. Deductive Reasoning- developing specific expectations from general principals. - Ex. The principle that all deans are meanies, you might anticipate that your current dean won’t let you change courses. 7. Inductive Reasoning- Developing general principles from a specific observation - Having noted that teenagers and crime victims are less supportive of police than older people and non-victims are, you might conclude that people with more direct police contact are less supportive of police and explain why. 8. Idiographic- seeking a complete explanation of a single case.- Ex. One gang studied in depth- the researcher lives in or watches the life closely. 9. Nomothetic- seeking a partial explanation of a class of cases.- Many gangs- 1 factor 1 thing studying10. Grounded Theory- A type of inductive theory that is based on (grounded in) field observation. The researcher makes observations in natural settings, then formulates a tentative theory that explains those observations.Topics11. Errors in Personal Inquiry- Pages 8-10-Inaccurate Observation-Overgeneralization-Selective Observation-Illogical Reasoning-Ideology and Politics-To Err is Human12. Purposes of research 1. Exploration2. Description- Describe the scope of the crime problem or policy responses to the problem.3. Explanation4. Application1. Evaluation and policy - evaluation research uses social scientific methods to test the results of a program or policy change.2. Policy analysis- different from other forms of criminal justice research primarily in its focus on future events.CH 2Terms1. Anonymity- The identity of a research subject is not known, and it is therefore impossible to link data about a subject to an individual’s name. Anonymity is one tool for addressing the ethical issue of privacy. 2. Confidentiality- Researchers know the identity of a research subject but promise no to reveal any information that can be attributed to an individual. Anonymity is similar, but sometimes researches need to know subject’s names to link information from different sources. Assuring confidentiality is one way of meeting our ethical obligation to not harm subjects.Topics3. Ethical issues in criminal justice research-Do No Harm to subjects-Voluntary Participation~ Informed Consent- Anonymous/ Confidential-No Identifiers-Deception [Researcher]-Analysis/ Reporting-Legal Liability-Special Populations (Kids, Prisoners, etc.)-Weigh Cost/Benefits4. Institutional review boards-Play an important role in ensuring that the rights and interest of human subjects are protected. But some social science researchers believe that IRBs are becoming too restrictive.-2 General Purposes:1. Board Members make judgments about the overall risks to human subjects and whether these risks are acceptable, given the expected benefits from actually doing the research2. They determine whether the procedures to be used include adequate safeguards regarding the safety, confidentiality, and general welfare of human subjectsCh 3Terms1. Cohort Studies- Observing a subset of units at multiple times, specific units may change.- How a generation changes over time. -2. Panel- Following the same units over time.- How specific people change over time. 3. Prospective studies- Following units forward through time.- Ex. How many people that were sexually abused as children are convicted of a sexual offense as an adult.4. Longitudinal studies- Using information about multiple time periods. - Ex. Analysis of newspaper stories about crime or number of inmates over time.5. Trend- Making statements about an entire population at multiple times. - How concepts/phenomena change over time. - Ex. knowing whether changes in sentences for certain offenses were followed by increases in the number of people imprisoned in state institutions. 6. Validity- whether statements about cause and effect are true or false.- A descriptive term used for a measure that accurately reflects what is intended to measure. Validity7. Statistical- Is the association large enough to be trustworthy. (Criterion 1 for causal inference) - If two variables do not vary together there cannot be causal relationship between them. 8. Internal validity- is the relationship due to the effect of some other factor. (criterion 3 for causal inference) can something else be causing it?- The internal validity of causal statements may be threatened by an inability to control experimental conditions.9. External validity- would we find this again under different conditions.- Can you generalize with the study- Ex. Do research findings about cause and effect apply equally to different cities, neighborhoods, and populations?10. Construct validity- Do our variables represent the process we meant to represent. Measurement problem?- Pg. 56 - Students who feel unpopular feel more depressed… Does this mean that lowpopularity causes depressed feelings.Fallacies11. Ecological Fallacy- Drawing conclusions about individuals from data about aggregates.- Drawing conclusions about individuals based solely on the observation of groups.12. Individualistic fallacy- Drawing conclusions about aggregates from data on individuals. Cause13. Necessary cause- must be present for effect to occur.- It is necessary for someone to be charged with a criminal offense to be convicted, but being charged is not enough, you must plead guilty or be found guilty by the court. 14. Sufficient cause- guarantees effect.- Pleading guilty to a criminal charge is a sufficient cause for being convicted,although you can be convicted through trial as well. 15. Probabilistic cause- changes likelihood of effect ( if something then probably will something else- Being
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