Exam 10: Scaling and Index Construction

Identify and discuss the three major types of attitude scales that have been developed in the social sciences are used in criminology and criminal justice.

Which of the following is a five-point scale that evaluates the methodological rigor and type of research design of studies?

A major shortcoming of Likert scaling is that on the basis of the total scale score it is impossible to predict the exact endorsement of each individual item.

Which of the following was aimed at selective incapacitation,individualization of sentences on the basis of predictions that particular offenders are likely to commit serious crimes at a high rate if not incarcerated?

Which of the following represent the simplest level of measurement?

Which of the following refers to the Uniform Crime Reports index that features an attempt to combine the most serious and best measures of recorded crime.

Nominal level variables represent the simplest level of measurement.

The three major types of attitude scales that have been developed in the social sciences are used in criminology and criminal justice are Thurstone scales,Likert scales,and Guttman scales.

Which of the following refers to the requirement of the Guttman scale that the items measure only one dimension or concept);this is assumed if ninety percent reproducibility is achieved?

Arbitrary scales are developed by the researcher and are based primarily on face validity the scale appears to be measuring what one intends to measure)and professional judgment.

Describe and discuss the Guttman scaling procedures.

__________ contain all the properties of nominal variables,but they also enable the placement of objects into ranks,that is,highest to lowest.

The UCR index offenses are those crimes that are considered serious and that the police feel are fairly accurately reported and uniformly measured.

Which of the following insists that an attitude scale should measure one and only one dimension unidimensionality)?

Ratio level variables not only assume the interval quality of data,but they also have a fixed meaningful zero point.

Which of the following is not one of the three major types of attitude scales?

__________ is a newer variation of the Thurstone process;the respondents rather than the judges place a series of statements into previously predetermined categories.

Guttman scaling insists that an attitudinal scale be based on __________;that is,it should measure one and only one dimension or concept.

Crime seriousness scales attempt to assign weight to crimes in terms of their relative severity.

__________ refers to attempts to increase the complexity of the level of measurement of variables from nominal to at least ordinal and hopefully interval/ratio.