Deck 6: Measurement

Question 1

The term ""operationalization"" refers to:

A) defining a concept.
B) initiating a research project.
C) developing a research method.
D) measurement.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A researcher studying the physical fitness of police officers must decide on a measure for physical fitness. She decides to assess the police officers' strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular capacity, reasoning that these are the three basic dimensions of physical fitness. Which type of validity is this researcher using?

A) Face
B) Criterion/Predictive
C) Construct
D) Content

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A research report contains the following statement. "We considered a parolee 'unsuccessful' if he was re-arrested for a new criminal offense within three years of his release from prison. This three-year time frame has been used consistently by criminological researchers for decades." What type of reliability are these researchers using?

A) Test-Retest
B) Inter-rater
C) Split half
D) Concurrent/Benchmark

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A research report contains the following statement, "The researchers administered the new test to a sample of 100 female juvenile offenders. Then, to test the reliability of this measure, the researchers re-administered the test to the same sample of 100 female juvenile offenders." What type of reliability are these researchers using?

A) Test-Retest
B) Inter-rater
C) Split half
D) Concurrent/Benchmark

Question 5

A research report contains the following statement. "The inventory included ten questions, each asked two different ways for a total of twenty questions to determine a domestic violence victim's tendency to experience subsequent victimization. In order to test the reliability of this inventory, we divided the questions into two equivalent ten question inventories. Then, we divided our sample into two equal groups and administered one version of the inventory to each group." What type of reliability is this researcher using?

A) Test-Retest
B) Inter-rater
C) Split half
D) Concurrent/Benchmark

Question 6

A researcher is interested in bullying but learns it is difficult to differentiate between actual bullying and normal playful interactions between third graders during recess. After developing her definition of bullying she asks her three graduate students to observe behavior at an elementary school during recess and identify bullying incidents. At the end of the day the researcher compares the independent results of the three researchers. What type of reliability is this researcher using?

A) Test-Retest
B) Inter-rater
C) Split half
D) Concurrent/Benchmark

Question 7

A criminologist develops a measure she calls the "Public Safety Indicator." This measure ranges from 0 to 10. A community that scores lower on the measure has a lower probability of experiencing violent crimes. The Public Safety Indicator includes numerous factors, such as the number of police officers per 1,000 residents, the number of convicted felons per 10,000 residents, and the number of non-rainy days. This measure is best described as a:

A) scale.
B) inventory.
C) index.
D) typology.

Question 8

A police officer develops a way to classify her colleagues in terms of their professionalism on the job. The categories are career officer, work-a-day officer, and slacker officer. This measure is best described as a:

A) scale.
B) inventory.
C) index.
D) typology.

Question 9

A criminal justice professor is attempting to measure the level of public support for the death penalty. He develops a survey that includes six statements that deal with the death penalty. Respondents must indicate whether they agree or disagree with the statements. An example of one of the statements is: "The death penalty should be used when the victim is a child or old person." To measure support for the death penalty, the number of 'agrees' are added up. A respondent with more 'agrees' is cons

A) scale.
B) inventory.
C) index.
D) typology.

Question 10

A researcher who reports that "the average Body Mass Index of police officers in the Bigton Police Department is 27.8," is using what type of measure?

A) Quantitative
B) Qualitative
C) Neither a nor b
D) Both a and b

Question 11

A researcher observes that the officers in the Bigton Police Department appear to be fat and out of shape. What type of measure is this researcher using?

A) Quantitative
B) Qualitative
C) Neither a nor b
D) Both a and b

Question 12

A research report contains the following statement. "The inventory included ten questions, each asked two different ways for a total of twenty questions to determine a domestic violence victim's tendency to experience subsequent victimization. In order to test the reliability of this inventory, we divided the questions into two equivalent ten question inventories. Then, we divided our sample into two equal groups and administered one version of the inventory to each group." What type of reliability is this researcher using?

A) Test-Retest
B) Inter-rater
C) Split half
D) Concurrent/Benchmark

Question 13

A researcher is interested in bullying but learns it is difficult to differentiate between actual bullying and normal playful interactions between third graders during recess. After developing her definition of bullying she asks her three graduate students to observe behavior at an elementary school during recess and identify bullying incidents. At the end of the day the researcher compares the independent results of the three researchers. What type of reliability is this researcher using?

A) Test-Retest
B) Inter-rater
C) Split half
D) Concurrent/Benchmark

Question 14

A criminal justice professor is attempting to measure the level of public support for the death penalty. He develops a survey that includes six statements that deal with the death penalty. Respondents must indicate whether they agree or disagree with the statements. An example of one of the statements is: "The death penalty should be used when the victim is a child or old person." To measure support for the death penalty, the number of 'agrees' are added up. A respondent with more 'agrees' is cons

A) scale.
B) inventory.
C) index.
D) typology.

Question 15

Researchers are examining the relationship between education and violent crime among inmates at a state prison. They decide to measure education as the number of years the inmate has spent in a formal educational setting. Which type of validity are these researchers using?

A) Face
B) Criterion/Predictive
C) Construct
D) Content

Question 16

To determine whether a new self-evaluation measure of an inmate's likelihood of success on parole is accurate, researchers compare the results of the self-evaluation with the results of an evaluation administered by a trained professional. Which type of validity are the researchers using?

A) Face
B) Criterion/Predictive
C) Construct
D) Content

Question 17

Researchers use intermittent school attendance to predict traffic accident involvement among juvenile drivers. They reason that since intermittent school attendance is related to poor academic performance, itself a well-known predictor of juvenile traffic accident involvement, that this is a valid measure. Which type of validity are these researchers using?

A) Face
B) Criterion/Predictive
C) Construct
D) Content

Question 18

The process by which researchers develop precise definitions for vague concepts is known as:

A) operationalization.
B) conceptualization.
C) definitional development.
D) measurement.

Question 19

Similar to a nominal or ordinal level variable, a type of variable that has a fixed number of attributes is called:

A) discrete.
B) scale.
C) linear.
D) continuous.

Question 20

Similar to an interval or ratio level variable, a type of variable that has an almost unlimited number of values is called:

A) discrete.
B) scale.
C) linear.
D) continuous.

Question 21

A researcher who uses height as a measure of annual income likely has a problem with:

A) validity.
B) reliability.
C) spuriousness.
D) precision.

Question 22

A researcher who uses a survey written in English when half of his respondents do not speak English likely has a problem with:

A) validity.
B) reliability.
C) spuriousness.
D) precision.

Question 23

Grade Point Average is an example of a(n):

A) index.
B) summative measure.
C) typology.
D) scale.

Question 24

A method for classifying observations, people, or situations into nominal categories is called a(an):

A) index.
B) scale.
C) typology.
D) additive measure.

Question 25

The variable income (in dollars) is measured at what level of measurement?

A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.

Question 26

Which of the following levels of measurement is the most precise?

A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.

Question 27

The extent to which a measure consistently measures a social phenomenon is referred to as the measure's:

A) capacity.
B) reliability.
C) validity.
D) accuracy.