Exam 3: Section 2: General Issues in Research Design

Theories describe relationships that might logically be expected among variables. This expectation often involves _____: a person's attributes on one variable are expected to cause or encourage a particular attribute on another variable.

Social scientific research is conducted in a variety of ways. Three broad and interrelated distinctions underlie many of the variations of social scientific research: 1) idiographic and nomothetic explanations, 2) inductive and deductive reasoning, and 3) quantitative and qualitative data. Sometimes these distinctions are described as alternative ways to conduct research. However that's misleading, ______.

Logic and observation are the most important elements of generating empirical knowledge in science.

Social scientific theories are written in a variable language, and people get involved mostly as the carriers of those variables. In cause-and-effect terms, the independent variable is the _____.

Social scientists study _____ that compose them. Attributes are characteristics or qualities that describe some object, such as a person while variables are logical groupings of attributes.

Field research-the direct observation of events in progress- is frequently used to analyze data and research results. It is also means of developing policies.

The type of causal reasoning is _____ when the causes of a single situation are exhaustively examined and the conclusion is drawn based on exhaustive examination.

Social scientific theories typically deal with aggregate, not individual, behavior. Their purpose is to explain why aggregate patterns of behavior are so regular even when the individuals who perform them change over time. In fact, social science is not so much interested in people but rather _____.

Nomothetic explanation attempts to explain a class of situation or events rather than a single one. It seeks to explain efficiently, using only one or just a few explanatory factors. Thus it settles for ______ of a type of situation.

Social scientific theories are written in a variable language, and people get Involved mostly as the carriers of those variables. In cause-and-effect terms, the dependent variable is the _____.

The purpose of social scientific theories is to explain why ____ even when the individuals who perform them change over time.

The ecological fallacy refers to the danger of making assertions about individuals as the unit of analysis based on the _____ or other aggregations.

Social scientists primarily study social patterns rather than _____ . All regular patterns reflect the aggregate, or combined, actions and situations of many individuals.

The main distinction between quantitative and qualitative data is that one is numerical and the other one is nonnumerical data. When we say that someone is witty, we are making a _____ assertion.

Both inductive and deductive reasoning are valid avenues for criminal justice and other social scientific research. Moreover, they work together to provide Ever more powerful and complete understandings. The deductive approach, we reason from _____.

A theory is an individual viewpoint for the observed facts and laws that relate to a particular aspect of life.

Social scientists primarily study social patterns rather than individual ones. Aggregates are more often the subject of social scientific research and all regular patterns reflect the _____ .

A hypothesis is an expectation about the nature of things derived from a personal observation.

Logic and observation are essential to social science and relate to three key aspects of the overall scientific enterprise: theory, data collection, and data analysis.

The main distinguishing factor between criminal justice researchers' activities and the daily routines of criminal justice practitioners is criminal justice researchers' ______ rather than on individuals.