Chapter 9 Survey Research and Other Ways of Asking Questions Survey a data collection method that applies a standard instrument in a systematic way to take measures from a large number of units o Survey research is perhaps the most commonly used mode of observation in sociology political science and often in Criminal Justice o Surveys may be used for descriptive explanatory exploratory and applied research o Best suited for research that has individual people as units of analysis Or households where individual people will complete it o Respondent informant who fill out the questionnaire o Surveys still have shortcomings recall error can have reluctance to discuss personal issues o Topics Appropriate to Survey Research 1 Self Report 2 Perception and Attitudes 3 Targets Victim Surveys 4 Other 5 General Purpose Crime Surveys 1 Self Report o Exactly how it sounds respondent self reports on the subject at hand crimes committed victimization etc 0 An integral part of the way crime and delinquency is studied It is the best available way to explore or explain criminal behavior delinquency o In a self report survey where you recall crimes you have committed there are 2 different applications that are distinguished by their target population and sampling methods 1 Frequency of offending how many types of various crimes are committed by active criminals survey prisoners Problems recall error blurred specifics on each crime reporting fabricated offenses 2 Prevalence of offending how many people commit crime in contrast to how many crimes are committed by a target population of offenders U S household surveys Typical survey problems o The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Add Heath o Used to estimate the Prevalence of criminal and delinquent acts through a panel study that began in school survey of a national sample of students in grades 7 12 o Interview a data collection encounter in which one person interviewer asks questions of another respondent 2 Perceptions and Attitudes o Another application of surveys in Criminal Justice CJ is to learn how people feel about crime and criminal justice policy 3 Targeted Victim Surveys o Victim surveys that target individual cities or neighborhoods are important tools for evaluating policy innovations Conduct victim surveys before and after the introduction of the policy change NCVS National Crime Victimization Survey Cannot be used to evaluate local crime prevention programs because it is not representative of any particular local jurisdiction o Community Victim Surveys help with these needs o Designed by the BJS and Community Oriented Police Service COPS Allows for local surveys to be launched specifically evaluating local crime prevention efforts o Another types of victimization surveys are one that focuses on particular types of incidents that might target more narrowly defined population segments o National Violence Against Women Survey 4 Other Evaluation Uses o Other types may be appropriate for applied studies just depends o In General surveys can be used to evaluate policy that seeks to change attitudes beliefs or perceptions of something 5 General Purpose Crime Surveys o Designed for more than one of the purposes mentioned British Crime Survey BCS has included special sections of questions about various topics fear of crime contact with police self reported drug use fraud and technology crimes security measures taken to protect house and vehicles Etc Guidelines for Asking Questions Surveys include a questionnaire an instrument specifically designed to elicit information that will be useful for analysis 2 basic options of questions o Open ended questions questions in which the respondent is asked to provide their own answers Must be coded before they can be processed for analysis Researcher has to interpret meaning which opens up the possibility of misunderstanding and bias o Closed ended questions questions in which the respondent is asked to select an answer from a list provided by the researcher Useful because they provide uniform responses and are more easily processed for analysis Shortcoming lies in the researchers structuring of responses Questions and Statements o Typical questionnaire probably has just as many statements as questions Adds flexibility in the design of items and can make the questionnaire more interesting as well Make Items Clear o Must be clear and unambiguous o Frequently researchers will ask respondent for a single answer to a combination question double barreled questions Example have them agree disagree to a statement that has 2 aspects They may agree to one but not the other so what do they answer then Short Items are Best o Respondent should be able to read quickly understand its intent and select or provide their answer without difficulty Avoid Negative Items o A negation in a survey paves the way for easy misinterpretation Example agree disagree drugs such as marijuana should not be legalized Some may agree with it because it takes a stance against it even though they do not feel that way and vice versa Bias Items and Terms o Bias refers to any property of a question that encourages respondents to answer in a particular way The mere identification of an attitude or position with a prestigious unpopular person or agency can bias responses The way programs are identified had an impact of the public support Although these terms mean the same thing the support rate was different o Welfare less support than Assistance to the poor o Law enforcement less support than halting the o Drug rehabilitation less support than dealing rising crime rate with drug addiction Social desirability need to be wary of respondents answering through a filter of what will make them look good o Especially in face to face interviews o Example respondents answers to electing Obama or Hillary in a face to face they are more likely to be reluctant to answer why they wouldn t vote for them if their reasoning was because of racial or gender issues Designing Self Report Items o Adhering to the ethical principles of confidentiality and anonymity as well as convincing respondents that we are doing so is on way to get more truthful answers Can do this by adding disclaimer saying many people do not think of these acts as criminal acts asked how many people they think commit each offense and then asked if they have done so themselves o Self Report Surveys of known offenders faces other problems o May be reluctant to admit crimes because
View Full Document
Unlocking...