Criminal Justice and Criminology (Statistics) Quiz # 1

A large portion of criminology/criminal justice-based research involves theory testing.

True

False

Replication of studies is NOT important in any type of social science research.

True

False

Microsoft Excel is one of the most frequently used statistical analysis programs in criminology/criminal justice.

True

False

Researchers study populations to make inferences about samples.

True

False

Descriptive research is conducted for the purpose of describing a particular phenomenon that is occurring.

True

False

Which of the following is a software package used for criminology/criminal justice research?

STATA

SPSS

SAS

All of these

Evaluation research studies are conducted for the purpose of ______.

Replication

Examining the effectiveness of policy, programs, or interventions

Studying events in which researchers have limited knowledge

None of these

What are methods?

The process used to obtain scientific results

The manner in which research is written

How researchers decide what to study

A complex type of statistical analysis

It is good to be well versed in what type of math to be successful in statistics?

Calculus

Structural equation modeling

Basic algebra

Geometry

According to the text, the Point of Science can best be described as ______.

A complex process aimed to confuse students

The process of gathering information and knowledge that is accepted by other scientists

How we study the world around us

None of these

What is the purpose of replicating a study in criminology/criminal justice research?

To see if previous studies are accurate, when new samples are used

To simply retest exactly what has been done before

To publish another article

None of these

Which of the following is considered a feature of hypothesis testing?

Provides a way to prove scientific laws

Increases the potential for a Type II error

Provides small pieces of theories that must be true in order for scientific explanations to hold

None of these

How do statistics relate to the criminal justice system/criminology?

They help inform policy.

They form the backbone of scientific research.

They help test important hypotheses and theories.

All of these

Which of the following describes the process of probability sampling?

A process that ensures the sample mirrors the population from which it is drawn.

A process that involves hypothesis testing.

A process that ensures the population mirrors the sample from which it is drawn.

None of these

Which of the following statements increase the potential for being successful in introductory level statistics?

Being willing to spend time and effort practicing

Being able to understand multivariate regression the first day of class

Being great at math

Understanding complex calculus-based equations

A nominal variable is a continuous variable.

True

False

We can easily determine a cause and effect relationship between two variables.

True

False

The two types of continuous variables are ratio and interval variables.

True

False

Constants assume only one value in a sample.

True

False

A unit of analysis is the object or target of a research study.

True

False

Which of the following would be an event to empirically measure?

Number of prisoners in a prison

Odds of a sex offender reoffending

City homicide rates

All of these

If a researcher is interested in measuring a student’s grade level, what type of variable is she measuring?

Nominal

Interval

Ordinal

Ratio

Which of the following statements describes omitted variable bias?

Including too many variables

Making an ecological fallacy

Not including important variables

None of these

What are two overarching classes of variables?

Ordinal and ratio

Categorical and continuous

Interval and nominal

Interval and ratio

What is the primary difference between ratio and interval variables?

There is none, they are the same.

Interval variables have an absolute zero point.

Ratio variables have an absolute zero point.

None of these

Why is it important to understand levels of measurement?

They are an important statistical building block.

They often determine the type of statistical analysis that should be used.

Some variables can be added and subtracted while some cannot.

All of these

Which of the following describes a dependent variable?

The empirical event a researcher is trying to explain.

A variable that predicts other variables.

A variable that causes other variables to react a certain way.

None of these

Rank order the following types of variables in order of descriptiveness from least to most

Nominal, ratio, interval, ordinal

Ordinal, ratio, nominal, interval

Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio

Ratio, interval, ordinal, nominal

Which of the following is NOT a nominal variable?

Names of students in a class

Number of individual arrests

List of high schools attended by students in class

Names of various corrections institutions

Which term is defined as having the qualities of being measurable, observable, or tangible?

Scientific

Variable

Empirical

None of these