Professor Byrne - University of Massachusetts Lowell



Professor Byrne Fall, 2005

Graduate Research Methods: Final Exam Review

1. Format of exam: Short answers (50%) and essays (50%)

2. Length of exam: Two hours, in class

3. Required reading: All materials assigned in class including on-line materials available at my web page.

4. Study questions: the questions on the final will be based on the questions/topics identified below:

1. What are the most common problems associated with conducing randomized field experiments in criminal justice? How can (and do) researchers address these problems? (Give C.J. research examples).

2. What is a Campbell “systematic review” of the research? Using one of the two reviews included on our webpage,describe the key steps in the systematic review process.

3. What type of research design was used to evaluate Boston (and Los Angeles) “Operation Ceasefire” program? What did the researchers find out about the effectiveness of this strategy?

4. According to Byrne, what journals in our field are considered tier 1/a-list journals?

5. How does a researcher determine the appropriate operational definition to use in the following studies(1) a study of desistance from criminal behavior,(2) a study of desistance from drug use,(3) a study of desistance from gang involvement?

6. What is a Likert scale? What is a Guttman scale?

7. Describe how you would develop a typology,using a criminal justice example?

8. How did Skogan develop his index of disorder?

9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of official(self report,NIBR),victimization, and self report data?

10. What is the ADAM program and how does it work?

11. What is the difference between a probability sample and a nonprobality(or purposive) sample? Discuss the different reseach applications for these two sampling strategies.

12. What different types of sampling designs are available for research?What type of sampling design is used in the NCVS?

13. What different types of nonprobality sampling designs are available?Which sampling design would YOU use to study human trafficking in the sex trade?

14. Describe the general structure of a survey?

15. What is the difference between an open ended and a closed ended question?

16. How do you develop a risk classification instrument?

17. How would you design a workload study in a criminal justice agency?

18. What are the advantages and disadvantages of mail versus telephone surveys? What is computer-assisted interviewing?

19. Describbe the general rules and techniques of personal interviews.

20. What are the roles a researcher may take when conducting obsevvational/field research?

21. What is a focus group? How,when,where,and why do we use this technique?

22. Dicuss how you might use field research to examine the racial profiling by police (eg driving while black) issue and/or violence in bars.

23. What is content analysis? When can/should it be used?

24. What is secondary data analysis?When should it be used?

25. According to Worral,”what works”in police,courts, and corrections?

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