CCJ 4700 Exam 1 Study Guide 1 2 sources of agreement reality 2 Realities o 1 Agreement reality Agreed upon concepts o 2 Experiential reality Created through empirical research Empirical research is the production of knowledge based on experience or observation Errors in personal inquiry and their solutions o Inaccurate observation Keystone of inquiry is observation Incorrect observations will lead to inaccurate assumptions about the world Effect of priming Things can subconsciously effect your behavior Ex effect of weather on your mood Solution scientific observation A systematic and conscious activity which uses measurement o Overgeneralization devices Assumption that similar events are evidence of a general pattern Overgeneralization leads to misrepresentations Solution Repeating a study checking to see whether similar results are obtained each time o Selective observation support our world view Once we make a decision we often only see and remember details that These observations play a role in the maintenance of prejudices Solution specify in advance the number and kind of observations to be made Ex if you believe there are UFO s and then you see something weird in the sky then you will probably think it is a UFO o Intentional blindness Ex looking out the window of a car admiring the scenery then focusing on your reflection in the window Ex if you play one song in one ear and another song in the other you can only hear one You can only focus on one at a time not both o Illogical reasoning The way we handle problems may contradict our judgments about the Gambler s fallacy consistent run of good or bad luck is presumed to way things are foreshadow its opposite Ex in horror movies the person always choses to go into the creepy basement that they hear screams are coming from instead of running away o Ideology and politics Can undermine objectivity in scholarly research Solution stay objective 2 4 purposes of research o Exploration explore a specific problem An exploratory question is a question that has never been asked o Description focused on the how of behavior phenomena Counts and documents observations Rates and statistics Ex UCRs o Explanation focused on why things occur and others do not o Application focused on policy implications Evaluations Criminal theories attempt to explain why criminals behavior occurs Ex why do some people believe that the police are doing a good job Uses social scientific methods to test the results of a program or policy change etc Policy problem analysis actions Ex evaluating the effects of specific criminal justice programs Attempts to anticipate the future consequences of alternative Ex Problem oriented policing crime analysts work with police and other organizations to examine recurring problems 3 2 types of support that must present before scientists can agree on the reality of something Importance of logical and empirical support in determining the scientific validity of a reality you have never experienced o For something to be scientifically correct it must make sense and agree with empirical support o Epistemology is the science of knowing or the science of finding out o Methodology is the science of knowing how why Ex how social scientific methods can be used to better understand crime and criminal justice policy 4 Theory definition formal vs substantive theory grounded theory A set of interconnected statements or propositions that explain how 2 or more events or factors are related to one another o Substantive theory is developed for a specific area of social concern To study test or develop substantive theory you can examine cases within the same substantive area Ex You could observe several different gangs but not attempt to say something about delinquency in genera Could be thought of as shared theories among experts in a certain subfield Focused field of expertise o Formal theory is developed for a broad conceptual area in general theory If you want to study test or develop general theory you can compare cases within the same formal area Ex To study white collar crime you could examine various forms of crime like property violent white collar Often times our observations help us create and craft theories for how the world works ground theory o Take observations and for theories based on those observations o In other cases theories provide general statements about social life that are used to guide research o Theories are used in the generation of hypotheses expectations about reality based on theory that can be tested 5 Hypothesis definition 3 conditions that must be met in order for a statement to be considered a hypothesis An expectation about the nature of things derived from a theory 3 things you need for a hypothesis o 1 Expectation about reality o 2 Based on a theory o 3 It can be empirically tested Independent and dependent variables definitions be able to identify them in a hypothesis Independent variable IV the variable that is manipulated the cause or predictor 6 Dependent variable DV the variable that is measured the effect or outcome Ex You want to see how ice cream effects crime rates 7 4 different longitudinal designs cross sectional designs vs longitudinal designs strengths o IV ice cream o DV crime rates and weaknesses of both Longitudinal studies o Directly incorporates time o More powerful for measuring change o More costly and difficult o 4 types Times series study can look at different people over time Ex survey 1000 people who live in the US in 2000 and again in 2012 Panel study studies the same exact group of people over time Difficulty people could die attrition people drop out of the study Cohort study group of people with the same experience at a similar time Ex people being surveyed after taking a certain class Case study looking at one person or one group and looking at all the factors that affect them Ex a psychologist and their patient Cross sectional study o Most common form of analysis o Snapshot at a given time point o Usually the simplest and cheapest o Cannot fully capture change or social processes 8 Attributes and variables definitions be able to identify them Attributes characteristics or qualities that describe some object o Ex Attributes of grad students smart geeky dominates at Halo exceptional time management skills sleep deprived loner Variables logical groupings of attributes o Examples gender prior record psychopathy low self control Ex Childhood abuse variable is made up of
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