Category: Writing

List at least 10 variables that will be measured in your
research. No more than two of these should be sociodemographic indicators such
as race or age. The inclusion of each variable should be justified in terms of
theory or prior research that suggests it would be an appropriate independent
or dependent variable or will have some relation to either of these.

Are important concepts in criminological research always
defined clearly? Are they defined consistently? Search the literature for six
articles that focus on violent crime, intimate partner violence, domestic
violence, or some other concept suggested by your instructor. Is the concept
defined clearly in each article? For example, some researchers still use the
term domestic violence when they are referring to intimate partner violence,
while others use it to describe all violence that occurs in a home, including
sibling-to-sibling violence and other forms of violence. How similar are the
definitions? Write what you have found in a short report.

1.Write one page for the application to the IRB that
explains how you will ensure that your research adheres to each relevant ASA
standard.
2. Draft a consent form to be administered to your subjects
when they enroll in your research. Use underlining and margin notes to indicate
where each standard for informed consent statements is met.
Web Exercises

List the elements in your research plans that an IRB might
consider to be relevant to the protection of human subjects. Rate each element
from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates no more than a minor ethical issue and 5
indicates a major ethical problem that probably cannot be resolved.

Investigate the standards and operations of your
university’s IRB. Interview one IRB member and one researcher whose research
has been reviewed by the IRB (after receiving the appropriate permissions!).
How well do typical IRB meetings work to identify the ethical issues in
proposed research? Do researchers feel that their proposals are treated fairly?
Why or why not?

What policy would you recommend that researchers such as
Sherman and Berk (1984) follow in reporting the results of their research?
Should social scientists try to correct misinformation in the popular press
about their research, or should they only focus on what is published in
academic journals? Should researchers speak to audiences (such as police
conventions) in order to influence policies related to their research results?

1.  How do you evaluate the current ACJS ethical code? Is it
too strict, too lenient, or about right? Are the enforcement provisions
adequate? What provisions could be strengthened?
2. Why does unethical research occur? Is it inherent in
science? Does it reflect human nature? What makes ethical research more or less
likely?
3.Does debriefing solve the problem of subject deception?
How much must researchers reveal after the experiment is over as well as before
it begins?

Should criminologists be permitted to conduct replications
of Zimbardo’s prison simulation? Of Milgram’s obedience experiments? Can you
justify such research as permissible within the current ACJS ethical standards?
If not, do you believe that these standards should be altered so as to permit
this type of research?

With these hypotheses in hand, let’s see how they hold up
using real data! For these tests, you’ll be constructing basic cross-tabulations,
which allow you to compare two binary variables easily. Start by clicking
analyze->descriptives->cross-tabs. Then, type the name of your
independent variable in the “columns” box and your dependent variable in the
“rows” box. Last, select the “cells” option and make sure that “column” is
selected under the percentages window. The output that you get will allow you
to see, for instance, if people with a high score on the independent variable
also are more likely to have a high score on the dependent variable.
1. Start by cross-tabulating variables D1 and supervision.
1. How do these results line up with your hypothesis?
2. What is the direction of the association, if any?
2. Then, compare the variables heavytvwatcher and studyhard.
1. Do these results support your hypothesis?
2. What is the direction of the association, if any?
3. Compare the variables gender and drinkingnotbad.
1. How do these results compare with your hypothesis
2.  What is the direction of the association, if any? Test
your understanding of the chapter content. Take the practice quiz.

1. Consider the following pairs of variables:
1. Delinquent behavior and parental supervision
2. Hours watching TV per week and hours studying per week
3. Gender and how wrong one’s friends think it is to drink
Do the following for each pair of variables:
1. Articulate a research question involving the two
variables.
2. Hypothesize a relationship between the two variables or
a lack thereof. Explain why you think the variables will be related in this
fashion.
3. Identify the independent variable and the dependent
variable.
4. State the direction of the association that is expected.