Research Paper

Use the Kaplan Library to obtain academic journal articles (studies)

• My studies• Library• Kaplan Online Library• Electronic Articles• Academic Search Premier• Click on box: Scholarly (peer reviewed) journal

Summarizing and Article (Study)

• What is the research question?• How was the study set up?• What were the findings?• It should take a minimum of one page to

summarize an article or study.

Let’s look at some examples

M-Rated Video Games and Aggressive Behavior

• Does playing M-rated video games increase aggression in children?

• Survey data were collected from 1,254 7th and 8th graders in tow states.

• Independent Variable?• Dependent variables = attitude towards aggression

and bullying• Findings: Time spent playing M-rated video games was

positively related to attitude toward aggression and bullying

• Weaknesses?

The Effects of Community Policing on Complaints Against Citizens

• Research Question?• Experiment: examined different neighborhoods• Control group = neighborhoods with no community policing• Experimental group = neighborhoods with community policing• Dependent variable?• Independent variable?• Findings: The results show that officers working in areas where

community policing had been implemented had fewer complaints than officers working in other areas.

• Weaknesses?

Review: Variables

• Dependent variable• Independent variable• What are the dependent and independent

variables is the following studies?

Use of Tasers

• Dependent variable = police shootings• Dependent variable = custody deaths• Independent variable = use of tasers• Time is a major in issue in this study.

Do have school programs reduce juvenile crime?

• Dependent variable = victimization• Independent variable = after school program• Control group and experimental group• Survey

Is DARE effective?

• Dependent variable?• Independent variable?• Control and experimental groups• Survey research: 8th and 10th grade

Child Abuse

• Research Question: What are the consequences of child abuse.

• Survey• Dependent variable – choose one consequence• Independent variable = measure of child abuse

Domestic Violence and Mandatory Arrest

• Research Question: Do mandatory arrest laws reduce future violence?

• Dependent variable• Independent variable• Experiment• Control group?• Experimental group?

Cyber-Bullying

• Can be a descriptive study = Survey• Research Question: Does the use of face-book increase

one’s likelihood of being a victim of cyber-bullying?• Dependent variable = cyber bullying• Independent variable = number of hours on face-book

per week.

Community Policing

• Research Questions• Does race matter?• Does region or location matter?• Officer attitude toward community policing?• Fear of crime and community policing.

Unit 3Chapter 4: Conceptualization,

Operationalization and Measurement

1. Conceptualization

• Clarifying or defining a concept• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDuRbHd9Jcc

Symptoms of OCD

• Checking• Need for cleanliness• Counting• Need for symmetry• Rituals centered around superstition• Dislike of certain numbers.• Hoarding

2. Operationalization

• Describing how a concept will be measured.• Creating a measure for a concept.

How OCD are you?

• 1. I often worry about dirt and/or contamination.• 2. I like things in order or place “just right.”• 3. I often find myself counting things, such as stairs.• 4. I often check and recheck things, such as my alarm

clock• 5. I often find my self disliking certain numbers, for

example the volume on my TV always has to be on an even or odd number.

• 6. I am fairly superstitious person, for example I try to step on crack in the side walk.

• 7. I have a certain way I like to eat my food.• 8. I tend to make a lot of lists.• 9. I find myself keeping, collecting, hoarding certain

items.• 10. I carry out a lot of tasks slowly and carefully, with

a great attention to detail.

Now that we have a measure of OCD we can design a research study.

• Purpose of Study: This study will examine the relationship between OCD and marijuana use

• Hypothesis: There is a negative correlation between OCD and binge

• Independent Variable: OCD• Dependent Variable: marijuana use• Measure of Marijuana Use: How many times in the

last 6 months have you use marijuana?

Religiousness

• Commitment to one’s religion (Christianity)• How would you measure or operationalize the

concept: religiousness?

Composite Measures: combining several survey questions often results in a better (more valid)

measure

• Combining several questions to measure a variable is called an index (scale)

• 1. How often do you go to church?• 2. How often do you pray?• 3. How often do you read the Bible?• 4. How often do you give money to a church?• 5. How often do you attend other church

affairs, such as Bible Study or meetings• Answer Categories: 1 = never, 2 = less than

once a month, 3 = monthly, 4 = at least once a week

• Measuring variables on an index usually makes measures much more valid.

• Example: Prejudice or Racism

• How would it make you feel if a close relative of yours was planning to marry a minority. Would you be uneasy, somewhat uneasy, or not uneasy at all?– Uneasy– Somewhat Uneasy– Not uneasy at all

• How would it make you feel of your supervisor at work was a minority?

• How would it make you feel if a minority moved into a house next to yours?

Reliability

• Reliability is a matter of whether a particular measurement technique, applied repeatedly to the same thing, will yield the same result each time.

• Reliability is often concerned with the issue of timing.

• Example: A survey concerning drug and alcohol use is distributed to students during the first week of class.

• Example: A survey concerning drug and alcohol use is distributed to students in every 9:00 AM class at USC.

Researcher Reliability

• Different research can obtain different results• Purpose of Research: To determine common

MO’s among incarcerated child molesters.• A team of two researchers.• Dr. Suzanne Smith• Dr. John Petersen

Validity

• Are your measuring a variable or concept correctly?

• Is your measure a “good” measure?

Example: Harvard’s Measure of Binge Drinking

• In the last two weeks, how many time have you drank 5 alcoholic drinks or beers or more in one sitting.

Better measure of binge drinking?

• How many times in the last two weeks have you had five or more alcoholic drinks (including beer) in less than an hour?

• Let’s practice

Problem with reliability or validity?

• A researcher measures athletic ability by having subjects of the study see how much they can bench press.

Problem with reliability or validity?

• A researcher want to determine on much Americans charge on their credit cards (on average). He distributes a survey to 5,000 U.S. citizens on December 20th.

Problem with reliability or validity?

• ADHD is measured by the following question.• Are you currently on a medication for ADHD,

such as Ritalin?

Problem with reliability or validity?

• Two professors, Smith and Jones, had out a survey to their class to assess their teaching ability. Before the survey his handed out to his class, Dr. Jones gives his students freshly baked cookies.

Measurement Issues: Exhaustiveness and Mutually

Exclusiveness

Survey Questions should be exhaustive

• What was the last illicit drug that you used• Marijuana• Cocaine• Heroin

Answer categories should also be mutually exclusive.

• What type of alcoholic beverage did you consume the last time you went to out to dinner?

• Distilled alcohol (a mixed drink)• Beer• wine

Levels of Measurement

• Nominal• Ordinal• Interval• ratio

The Time Dimension

• There are two types of studies in regard to time.

• 1. Cross-sectional• 2. Longitudinal

Types of Longitudinal Research

• Trend Studies• Example - MTFS

• Cohort Studies• Example: College class

• Panel Studies• studies with small samples• Example: medical study with 100 subjects