Deck 7: Survey Research and Other Ways of Asking Questions

Question 1

Questions that encourage respondents to answer in a particular way are called _____.

A)unfair
B)biased
C)double-barreled
D)short and clear

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The term "questionnaire" suggests a collection of _____.

A)statements
B)concepts
C)conclusions
D)ideas

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Long items in a questionnaire are usually better than short ones

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Inexperienced researchers tend to fear that their questionnaires will look _____.

A)too easy
B)too complex
C)too long
D)too cluttered

Question 5

Surveys may be used for

A)exploratory, and applied research only
B)applied research only
C)descriptive research only
D)descriptive, explanatory, exploratory, and applied research only

Question 6

Surveys are best suited for studies that have what as their units of analysis?

A)individuals
B)groups
C)organizations
D)social artifacts

Question 7

General population surveys and surveys of offenders tend to present what types of difficulties?

A)recall error
B)systematic error
C)feasibility error
D)random error

Question 8

The subsequent questions in a series are called contingency.

Question 9

In the interest of being unambiguous and precise, the survey questions should be _____.

A)long
B)statements of purpose
C)clear
D)translated in different languages

Question 10

Face-to-face interviews are best for complex questions and other specialized needs.

Question 11

Which of the following represent targeted victims surveys?

A)Bureau of Justice Statistics
B)Uniform Crime reports
C)National Crime Victimization Survey
D)Court Records

Question 12

The National Jail Census collects information every five years about federal prisons.

Question 13

The essential characteristic of interviewers is that they be neutral;their presence in the data collection process must not have any effect on the responses given to questionnaire items.

Question 14

Focus groups usually consist of 15 to 20 people.

Question 15

When selecting a survey method, which of the following is not something to consider?

A)cost
B)speed
C)clarity
D)question content

Question 16

There are two basic options for researchers when asking questions: open-ended or closed-ended.

Question 17

National Crime Victimization Survey can be used to evaluate local crime prevention programs.

Question 18

Telephone surveys are relatively fast and low cost.

Question 19

Surveys may be used for descriptive, explanatory, and applied research.

Question 20

It is usually best to begin a self-administered questionnaire with _____.

A)sensitive issues
B)age, gender, etc.
C)sexual behavior
D)the most interesting set of questions

Question 21

Which of the following represents a negative item?

A)drugs such as marijuana should not be legalized
B)it is fair to say that marijuana is a drug
C)unlike alcohol, marijuana does not make the user mean
D)drugs have negative effect

Question 22

A mock jury is an example of a(n)_____.

A)open ended questions
B)interviews
C)focus group
D)survey designs

Question 23

If a researcher tries to assess criminal victimization of the poor and disadvantaged, which of the following is less biased than using the term "welfare" in her questionnaire,?

A)assistance to the poor
B)on the dole
C)the underclass
D)poverty

Question 24

Which of the following is a problem when using self-report crime questions in general population surveys?

A)social desirability
B)norm deviance
C)human bias
D)technical error

Question 25

Closed ended questions are useful because they _____.

A)provide varied responses
B)responses can be transferred directly into a data file
C)can be altered to fit the needs
D)are more easily processed

Question 26

One of the following is not accurate with respect to the construction of questionnaire items.Which one is inaccurate?

A)use only questions, no statements
B)short items are the best
C)avoid negative items
D)avoid the temptation to ask questions in a manner that determines a specific answer

Question 27

If, on a questionnaire, a respondent is asked "what do you feel is the most important crime problem facing the police in your city today?", they are being asked what type of question?

A)closed-ended question
B)open-ended question
C)contingency question
D)matrix question

Question 28

Contingency questions are appropriate when _____.

A)certain questions are clearly relevant to only some of the respondents and irrelevant to others
B)you want the respondents to write out an answer
C)you want the respondents to rank their answers on a scale
D)you want to impress the respondents with your questions

Question 29

Which of the following represent potential problems with the use of open-ended questions?

A)possibility of misunderstanding and researcher bias
B)they can be quickly completed by the respondent
C)they do not limit the responses received
D)they result in lack of uniformity of answers

Question 30

Focus groups are most useful _____.

A)when precise generalization to a larger population is essential and the focus groups participants and the larger population are relatively heterogeneous
B)when precise generalization to a larger population is essential and the focus groups participants and the larger population are relatively homogeneous
C)when precise generalization to a larger population is not necessary and the focus groups participants and the larger population are relatively homogeneous
D)when precise generalization to a larger population is not necessary and the focus group participants and the larger population are relatively heterogeneous

Question 31

When follow-ups are planned with mail surveys, _____.

A)response bias is not an issue
B)the anonymity of respondents is not guaranteed
C)the response rate increases
D)the response rate decreases

Question 32

Which of the following is not a concern when a questionnaire is not formatted properly?

A)respondents may miss questions
B)respondents may finish the questionnaire too quickly
C)respondents may throw the questionnaire away
D)respondents may become confused about the nature of the data desired

Question 33

Bias in questions can be established in which of the following ways?

A)questions that encourage particular responses
B)do not identify the name of either a prestigious or unpopular agency in the question
C)do not identify the name of either a prestigious or unpopular person in the question
D)questions that are unambiguous and clear

Question 34

Which type of questions should be avoided on a questionnaire?

A)short items
B)contingency questions
C)ambiguous questions
D)matrix questions

Question 35

Which of the following are necessary in the construction of closed-ended questions?

A)the response categories may or may not be mutually exclusive
B)the response categories must be exhaustive
C)the researcher must focus on expanding responses
D)the response categories must be dichotomous

Question 36

Which of the following is not an advantage of the use of matrix questions?

A)they are faster to complete for respondents
B)they do not take much thought on the part of the respondents to answer
C)they use space efficiently
D)the format increases the comparability of responses given to different questions for the respondent as well as the researcher

Question 37

All of the following may represent errors when constructing items for a questionnaire except for _____.

A)the researcher uses long and complicated items
B)the negation of a question
C)the researcher uses short items
D)the researcher uses a combination question when they only want a single answer

Question 38

Which of the following would be considered an appropriate method for increasing the response rate in mailed surveys?

A)go to the respondent's home and pick up the questionnaire
B)targeting a narrowly defined population
C)send one dollar along with the questionnaire
D)send out only one original mailing with no follow ups

Question 39

Which of the following have been identified as disadvantage of the use of computer-assisted interviewing?

A)respondents seem to sense a greater degree of confidentiality
B)get more "productive" answers to questions dealing with topics such as drug use
C)increase the speed and efficiency of the responses
D)It can be difficult to print and archive a complex questionnaire used in CAI.

Question 40

Which of the following statements is not true concerning surveys?

A)surveys are high on reliability
B)surveys are low on reliability
C)surveys are high on generalizability
D)surveys are low on validity

Question 41

What is CATI? What advantages and disadvantages does it offer for researchers?

Question 42

Compare and contrast in-person interviews and telephone surveys in terms of the role of the researcher and the types of questions appropriate for each.

Question 43

_________________________ questionnaires are generally the least expensive and easiest to complete.

Question 44

When we ask people for information, they will respond using a filter of what will make them look good.This is known as ____________.

Question 45

Respondents may develop a(n)___________________ or pattern of answering when answering matrix questions.

Question 46

Write sample questions dealing with the relationship between gender and criminal activity.Have the questions be in the following forms:
a.open-ended
b.closed-ended
c.matrix
d.contingency

Question 47

One technique borrowed from market research is the ______________ which uses somewhere between 8 and 15 people.

Question 48

Identify the strengths and weaknesses, in general, of survey research.

Question 49

Subsequent questions in series are called contingency questions because whether they are to be asked and answered is _________ on the response to the first question in the series.

Question 50

If you want to ask several questions that have the same set of answer categories, the best type of question to use is the ________________.

Question 51

When the respondent is asked to personally answer questions rather than selecting one of the assigned answers, they are answering _______________ questions.

Question 52

When a researcher asks respondents for a single answer to a combination question, their question is said to be ______________.

Question 53

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of the following:
a.open-ended questions
b.closed-ended questions

Question 54

If the respondent must select an answer from among a list provided by the researcher, they are answering __________________ questions.

Question 55

Surveys tend to be high on reliability and generalizability, but can have a weak point in __________________.