Contract Revision for class approval
I am proposing the following amendment to the class contract. In order for the change to be accepted all class members must agree to the change.
As the grades on the midterm exam were exceptionally low, and
As it is the judgment of the instructor that the exam was a fair exam, and
As it is desirable for students to complete the class with an acceptable grade
It is proposed that the syllabus be changed in the following manner:
Students who are not satisfied with their grade and who believe that they can prepare more effectively for the final may opt to have one half of the difference between their mid term grade and their final either added to or subtracted from their midterm grade.
Examples
Final grade midterm grade difference revised midterm exam average
95 65 95 – 65=30/2=15 65 + 15=80 95 + 80/2=88
70 90 70 – 90= -20/2= -10 90 - 10=80 70 + 80/2=75
Students who wish to exercise the option must do so in writing by signing and returning the following before the final exam.
I have read and understand the above. I want to exercise the option and have one half of the difference between my midterm grade and my final grade added or subtracted from my midterm grade
Name please print ___________________________________________
Signature __________________________________________________
Criminal Justice 380/Sociology 300
Research in Criminal Justice
Spring 2007
Instructor: Bob Sigler 348-7781 553-3897 rsigler@cj.as.ua.edu
Office hours: 11-12 Tuesday and Thursday home page: bama.ua.edu/~rsigler/home
Text: Research Methods in Criminal Justice and
Criminology
Frank E. Hagen Macmillan, 7th edition
Course description: Theoretical and specific instruction in both
the conduct and application of research methods in criminal justice settings. Includes problem of research and policy dimensions of both direct
and applied approaches.
Learning objects
1. become familiar with the basic
approaches to data gathering
2. become familiar with techniques of
data management
3. learn to develop basic research
designs
January 11 Intro
16-18 Overview, ch. 1 Ethics ch. 2
23-25 Research Design Ch. 4
30-Feb. 1 Alternate approaches Ch. 8
February 6-8 Observation, Case Studies ch. 7, Surveys, p. 160-179,
182-186, 199-215
13-15 Experimentation, ch. 3
20 Review
22 First Exam
27-Mar 1 Defining the Problem and Hypotheses
Mardh 6-8 Defining Variables
3-15 Spring Break
20-22 Measuring Variables ch. 10
27-29 Instrument 154-199 186-198
April 3-6 Collection of Data, setting
10-12 Population & Sample, p. 139-151
17-19 Preparing the Data ch. 12 Analysis, ch. 13
Paper due April 26
24-26 Validity, Reliability, and Probability, ch. 9
May 1-3 Evaluation Research ch. 11
7 8 am Final Exam
Course Requirements
First exam 30%
Second exam 30%
Paper 40%
Class Format
This course is essentially a lecture course. Please read the material assigned on time. If you have questions bring them to class and we will discuss them.
Paper
The paper will describe a research project that you might like to conduct. You will plan the project up to the analysis of data. You will not collect the data you will just develop the plan. If you collect data you will compromise the University and earn an F in the course. You can be creative in formulating your design and assume that environmental conditions permit you to do as you wish. The paper will include the following sections:
l. Review of literature 6. Setting
2. Statement of problem 7. Population
3. Variables 8. Sample
4. Hypotheses 9. Plan for collection of data
5. Instrument l0. Plan for analysis of data
Grading Policy: Grades are not assigned on a "curve." It is possible for all students to earn an A. It is also possible for no one to earn an A. I have specific expectations for your performance so you are working to achieve my expectations not competing with each other.
Attendance Policy: There are no penalties for missing class. I will take roll each class period. You should be aware, however, that there is a direct relationship between attendance and grades. Those who attend regularly consistently make higher grades then those who don’t. This is probably caused by several factors including: some of the questions on the exams come directly from the lecture and professors generally talk about what is most important to them in lecture (you should not be too surprised to discover that these things also tend to appear on the exams). You also may earn up to three additional points on your final grade (you loose one point for each day of class that you miss).
Missed Work Policy: Students who fall behind in their work are at risk of not completing the course or of producing inferior work. Keeping up to date is strongly encouraged. If you fall behind, I will work with you to develop a plan to bridge short term delays.
Academic Misconduct Policy: All acts of dishonesty in any work constitute academic misconduct. This includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information, misrepresentation, and abetting any of the above. The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policies will be followed in the event of academic misconduct, including the right to appeal any decision or action taken under this policy.
Challenged Students: To request disability accommodations, please contact Disabilities Services (348-4285). After initial arrangements are made with Disabilities Services, please contact Bob Sigler at rsigler@cj.as.ua.edu, 348-7781, or 553-3897.
Office hours: Office hours dedicated to students taking my courses this semester (you have priority over all others who might want my time) are posted on my office door. I will be pleased to talk with you any other time that I am in my office, by email, or by phone.
Final exam
CJ
480 form 1
Spring 2003
1.
For
________________________________________________________ samples subjects are
chosen in roughly the same ratio as exists in the population.
2.
A
_______________________________________________________________ is a
reconnaissance operation or exploratory test of the instrument using subjects
who are similar to the group to be studied.
3.
The
_______________________________________________________________ is a more
intensive and detailed interview, usually of fewer subjects than is the case in
a standard survey, and is particularly useful in like histories or case
studies.
4.
__________________________________________________________
asks ”Does my measuring instrument in fact measure
what it claims measure?”
5.
____________________________________________________________
validation involves the use of multiple methods to
measure multiple traits.
6.
__________________________________________________________
of measurement is determined by whether the set of items used to measure some
phenomenon are highly related and measuring the same concept.
7.
_______________________________________________________________
procedures involve attempts to increase the complexity
of the level of measurement of variables from nominal to at least ordinal and
hopefully interval/ratio.
8.
Guttman
scales are based on an assumption of _________________________; that is, it
should measure one and only one dimension or concept.
9.
________________________________________________________________
scales attempt to assign weight to crimes in terms of
their relative severity.
10.
An
important caution in the use of _______________________________ tables (scales)
is that the administrator should be careful that the group to be rated does not
differ significantly in experience from the group on which the base expectancy
table was calculated.
11.
_______________________________________________________
involves checking the work of coders for accuracy.
12.
______________________________________________________________
express the number of cases of the criterion variable as part of the total
population.
13.
____________________________________________________________
tables or those in which there is a two-variable cross
tabulation, examine how one variable influences the other.
14.
_____________________________________________________________
statistics are intended to summarize or describe data
or show relationships between variables.
15.
The
________________________________________________________ is the simplest
measure of dispersion and represents either the highest and lowest scores or
the distance between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.
16.
_______________________________________________________________,
measure the deviation from the mean relative to the standard deviation.
17.
The
statement of the problem is a recapitulation of your
_______________________________________________________
18.
The
____________________________________________________ describes the things that
are unique in your study so that the reader can judge generalizability.
19.
The
_________________________________________________________ is a formal
statement of your statement of the problem.
20.
When
you think in terms of _________________________________________ you are less
likely to make errors because you are certain that you are right.
First exam
CJ
480 form 1
Spring 2003
1. ________________________________________________________
is confirmation of the accuracy of findings or attainment of greater certitude
in conclusions through additional observations.
2. _______________________________________________________
is extreme positivism, in which the researcher takes the stand that if you
cannot measure it, it is not worth studying or
commenting on.
3. _________________________________________________________
occurs when researchers purposely fabricate or misrepresent their findings.
4. ______________________________________________________________
are committees of faculty and staff who review
research proposals to insure that human subjects are adequately protected.
5. ______________________________________________________________
are elements outside of one’s immediate study that may
imperil the researcher’s attempts to draw generalizations from the study and
infer one’s findings to be true of larger populations.
6. _________________________________________________________
designs involve measuring a single variable at successive points in time.
7. _________________________________________________________
methods generally involve the analysis of diaries and autobiographies to obtain
a detailed view of either a unique or a representative subject.
8. The
___________________________________________________ of the NIBRS includes the
type of property loss, the type of property involved, the value of the
property, and, if recovered, the recovery date.
9. ______________________________________________________________
attempts to explore questions of cause and effect similar to traditional
experimental research.
10. In
____________________________________________________________, groups whose
official transgressions are already a matter of record are studied and their self-admissions
are compared to this same behavior.
11. ______________________________________________________________
should match the subjects as closely as possible, should be neither over
dressed or under dressed for the situation, and have practiced before hand so
that they are familiar with the flow of the instrument to be used.
12. ___________________________________________________________
are initial queries made by the interviewer to
determine whether the person who has answered the telephone fits the target
population, for example, income and occupation.
13. _______________________________________________
involves using a pretest or initial interview to set a reference point of the
survey reporting period.
14. Some
common means of controlling for _____________________________________ in victim
surveys are use of panels, bonding of target groups, evaluations of coding,
reverse record check surveys of known groups, re-interview of the same group,
and interviews with significant others.
15. A _________________________________________________________
is a person who is willing to accept the purpose of the study and vouch for the
researcher’s presence.
16. ____________________________________________________________
designs are quantitative case studies that involve the longitudinal measurement
of a dependent variable on a single subject or case.
17. The
development and implementation of a management information system is
____________________________________________________________________
.
18. ________________________________________________________________
is both a basic research design and a method for recording data in other
research designs.
19. In a
___________________________________________________________________, the
researcher does not control the manipulation.
20. The
____________________________________________________________________
experimental design does the best job of controlling for internal validity
especially interactions between other factors and the pretest.