Surveys
A survey question that actually contains multiple questions.
Double-barreled
Considered the lowest level of measurement where categorical information is collected but categories have no logical ordering
Nominal Measurement
A research design for investigating causal effects where an independent variable is randomly assigned and a measurement of the dependent variable is taken afterwards
Experiment
The entirety of the units we are studying - who or what we would like our conclusions to extend to
(Target) Population
When presented with a statement, people tend to agree with it more often than disagree with it.
Agreement bias
Questions that respondents are allowed to answer freely. Provides primarily qualitative data on the concept of interest
Open-Ended Questions
A type of measurement that collects categorical information with a meaningful order but the distance between categories is not necessarily equal
Ordinal Measurement
An attempt to determine whether a criminal justice program or policy is effective
Program evaluation
A list of the elements in a population
Sampling frame
Data that are produced and collected by the researcher for the purpose of a research project. These data did not exist prior to the start of the study.
Primary Data Collection
Questions that provide respondents with a fixed set of possible responses.
Close-Ended Questions
A type of measurement that reflects counts of some values.
Interval/Ratio Measurement
Research done when we are interested in describing the prevalence of some phenomenon.
Descriptive research
Who we are studying. Could be individuals, groups, organizations, cities, states, etc.
Data that already exist in some form prior to the start of a study, and were generated for some purpose other than the current research project. These data may be created for another research project, or some non-research purpose.
Secondary Data Collection
Every respondent must be capable of choosing a response
Exhaustiveness
Describes when respondents choose an answer to a question even when they do not have an answer or know what the question is asking for.
Floating
Participants/units in a study that DO NOT receive the treatment.
Control group
The ability to take a conclusion from our data (the people or units we specifically study) and have it hold true for a broader population
Generalizability
The TWO main sampling strategies
Probability sampling & non probability sampling
No overlap between responses.
Exclusivity
Occurs when respondents choose neutral values rather than taking a side on a difficult issue.
Fence sitting
Using some probability-based technique to allocate the independent variable to units based on random chance.
Random assignment
The differences between your sample and your population
Sampling error
What would have happened in the absence of the intervention
Counterfactual