Fluent Essays

Discussion Assignment Instructions The student will post one thread of at least 750–850 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday. For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 4 scholarly citations in APA format.  Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. The original thread must incorporate ideas and several scholarly citations from all of the Learn materials. The reply posts can integrate ideas and citations from the Learn materials from ch. 5 & 6 attached.  Integrate Biblical principles in your personal thread. Due by Monday 11:59 a.m (Eastern Time) September 13,2021. NO LATE WORK! Discussion Board Question #3 Measuring gang-related crime is an example of trying to measure a particular dimension of crime: motive. Other examples are hate crimes, terrorist incidents, and drug-related crimes. Specify conceptual and operational definitions for at least one of these types. Find one news article and one research report that presents an example. References King James Bible. (1970). The Holy Bible. Camden, New Jersey. Thomas Nelson, Inc. Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2018). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. CJUS 740 Discussion Assignment Instructions # 3 The student will post one thread of at least 750–850 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday. The student must then post 2 replies of at least 250–300 words words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday.  For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 4 scholarly citations in APA format. Each reply must incorporate at least 2 scholarly citations in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. The original thread must incorporate ideas and several scholarly citations from all of the Learn materials for that Module: Week. The reply posts can integrate ideas and citations from the Learn materials for other Modules: Weeks. Integrate Biblical principles in your personal thread and in all replies to peers. Due by Tuesday 11:59a.m (Eastern Time) September 14,2021. NO LATE WORK! Discussion Board Question #3 Measuring gang-related crime is an example of trying to measure a particular dimension of crime: motive. Other examples are hate crimes, terrorist incidents, and drug-related crimes. Specify conceptual and operational definitions for at least one of these types. Find one news article and one research report that presents an example. References King James Bible. (1970). The Holy Bible. Camden, New Jersey. Thomas Nelson, Inc. Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2018). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Chapter 5: Concepts, Operationalization and Measurement 1 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives • Understand the role of concepts as summary devices for bringing together observations and experiences that have something in common • Explain how concepts are mental images that do not exist in the real world • Describe how operationalization specifies concrete empirical procedures for measuring variables • Recognize that operationalization begins with study design but continues through the duration of research • Explain why measurement categories must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive 2 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives, cont. • Distinguish different levels of measurement and the properties of different levels • Understand precision, reliability, and validity as dimensions of measurement quality • Summarize how creating specific, reliable measures may not reflect the complexity of the concepts we seek to study • Understand how multiple measures of a concept can improve reliability and validity • Describe composite measures and explain their advantages 3 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Introduction • Because measurement is difficult and imprecise, researchers try to describe the measurement process explicitly • We want to move from vague ideas of what we want to study to actually being able to recognize and measure it in the real world • Otherwise, we will be unable to communicate the relevance of our idea and findings to an audience 4 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Conceptions and Concepts • Clarifying abstract mental images is an essential first step in measurement • “Crime” • Conception: Mental image we have about something • Concepts: Words, phrases, or symbols in language that are used to represent these mental images in communication – e.g., gender, punishment, chivalry, delinquency, poverty, intelligence, racism, sexism, assault, deviance, income 5 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Three Classes • Direct observables: Those things or qualities we can observe directly (color, shape) • Indirect observables: Require relatively more subtle, complex, or indirect observations for things that cannot be observed directly (reports, court transcripts, criminal history records) • Constructs: Theoretical creations; cannot be observed directly or indirectly; similar to Concepts 6 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Conceptualization • Specifying precisely what we mean when we use particular terms • Results in a set of indicators of what we have in mind • Indicates a presence or absence of the concept we are studying • Violent crime = offender uses force (or threatens to use force) against a victim 7 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Indicators and Dimensions • Dimension: Specifiable aspect of a concept • “Crime Seriousness”: Can be subdivided into dimensions – e.g., Dimension – Victim harm – Indicators – Physical injury, economic loss, psychological consequences • Specification leads to deeper understanding 8 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Discussion Question 1 Why does the phrase “crime seriousness” require further conceptualization? 9 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Confusion Over Definitions and Reality • Concepts are abstract and only mental creations • The terms we use to describe them do not have real and concrete meanings – What is poverty? delinquency? strain? • Reification: Process of regarding as real things that are not 10 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Creating Conceptual Order • Conceptual definition (what is SES?) – Working definition specifically assigned to a term, provides focus to our observations – Gives us a specific working definition so that readers will understand the concept • Operational definition (how will we measure SES?) – Spells out precisely how the concept will be measured 11 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Discussion Question 2 What are some social science concepts that you believe might be hard to operationalize? 12 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Operationalization Choices • Operationalization: The process of developing operational definitions • Moves us closer to measurement • Requires us to determine what might work as a data-collection method 13 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Measurement as “Scoring” • Measurement: Assigning numbers or labels to units of analysis in order to represent the conceptual properties • Make observations, and assign scores to them • Difficult in CJ research because basic concepts are not perfectly definable 14 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Exhaustive and Exclusive Measurement • Every variable should have two important qualities: – Exhaustive: You should be able to classify every observation in terms of one of the attributes composing the variable – Mutually exclusive: You must be able to classify every observation in terms of one and only one attribute • Example: Employment status 15 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Discussion Question 3 Can you identify a variable used in crime studies that is both exhaustive and mutually exclusive? 16 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Levels of Measurement • Nominal: Offer names or labels for characteristics (race, gender, state of residence) • Ordinal: Attributes can be logically rank-ordered (education, opinions, occupational status) • Interval: Meaningful distance between attributes (temperature, IQ) • Ratio: Has a true zero point (age, # of priors, sentence length, income) 17 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Implications of Levels of Measurement • Certain analytic techniques have Levels of Measurement requirements • Ratio level can also be treated as Nominal, Ordinal, or Interval • You cannot convert a lower Level of Measurement to a higher one • Therefore, seek the highest Level of Measurement possible 18 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Criteria for Measurement Quality • The key standards for measurement quality are reliability and validity • Measurements can be made with varying degrees of precision • Common sense dictates that the more precise, the better • However, you do not necessarily need complete precision 19 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Reliability • Whether a particular measurement technique, repeatedly applied to the same object, would yield the same result each time • Problem: Even if the same result is retrieved, it may be incorrect every time • Reliability does not insure accuracy • Observer’s subjectivity might come into play 20 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Dealing with Reliability Issues • Test-retest method: Make the same measurement more than once—should expect same response both times • Interrater reliability: Compare measurements from different raters; verify initial measurements • Split-half method: Make more than one measure of any concept; see if each measures the concept differently 21 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Validity • The extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the meaning of the concept under consideration • Are you really measuring what you say you are measuring? • Demonstrating validity is more difficult than demonstrating reliability 22 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Dealing with Validity Issues • Face validity: On its face, does it seem valid? Does it jibe with our common agreements and mental images? • Criterion-related validity: Compares a measure to some external criterion • Construct validity: Whether your variable relates to another in the logically expected direction • Content validity: Does the measure cover the range of meanings included in the concept? • Multiple Measures: Alternative measures 23 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Composite Measures • Allows us to combine individual measures to produce more valid and reliable indicators • Reasons for using Composite Measures: – The researcher is often unable to develop single indicators of complex concepts – We may wish to use a rather refined ordinal measure of a variable, arranging cases in several ordinal categories from very low to very high on a variable such as degree of parental supervision – Indexes and scales are efficient devices for data analysis 24 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Typologies • “Taxonomy” • Produced by the intersection of two or more variables to create a set of categories or types • e.g., Typology of Delinquent/Criminal Acts (Time 1 and 2) – None, Minor (theft of items worth less than $5, vandalism, fare evasion), Moderate (theft over $5, gang fighting, carrying weapons), Serious (car theft, breaking and entering, forced sex, selling drugs) – Nondelinquent, Starter, Desistor, Stable, Deescalator, Escalator 25 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Index of Disorder • What is disorder? (Skogan, 1990) • Distinguish between physical presence and social perception • Physical disorder: Abandoned buildings, garbage and litter, graffiti, junk in vacant lots • Social disorder: Groups of loiterers, drug use and sales, vandalism, gang activity, public drinking, street harassment • Index created by averaging scores for each measure 26 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Benefits of Indexes • A composite index is a more valid measure than a single question • Computing and averaging across all items in a category create more variation than we could obtain in any single item • Two indexes are more parsimonious than nine individual variables • Data analysis and interpretation can be more efficient 27 Chapter 6: Measuring Crime 1 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives • Recognize how different approaches to measuring crime illustrate general principles of conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement • Understand what crimes are included in different measures • Describe different measures of crime and how they are based on different units of analysis • Understand different purposes for collecting crime data • Explain different measures based on crimes known to police • Describe the main features of victim surveys 2 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives, cont. • Distinguish the main differences between crimes known to police and crimes measured through different types of surveys • Understand why self-report measures are used, and list different types of crimes for which they are appropriate • Summarize major series of self-reported measures of drug use • Understand how surveillance measures are obtained and used • Explain how different measures of crime satisfy criteria for measurement quality • Recognize that we have different measures of crime because each measure is imperfect 3 © 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Introduction • Crime can be a dependent variable in exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, and applied studies • Crime can also be an independent variable, as in a study of how crime affects fear and other attitudes • It can be both: drug use <- -> other offenses 4 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. General Issues in Measuring Crime • What offenses? • What units of analysis? – Specific entities about which researchers collect information – Offender, victim, offenses, incidents • What purpose? – Monitoring – Agency Accountability – Research 5 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Crimes Known to Police • Most widely used measures of crime are based on police records • Certain types are detected almost exclusively by observation (traffic and victimless offenses) • Most crimes reported by victim or witnesses • What crimes are not measured well by police records? – Assaults – Robberies 6 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) • Circa 1929, under FBI since 1930s • Originally, reporting voluntary, but now very common • Type I offenses (index crimes/offenses): murder, rape, robbery, larceny, burglary, aggravated assault, motor vehicle theft, and arson (added in 1979) • Type II offenses: a compilation of less serious crimes • Summary-based, group level unit of analysis 7 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. The UCR and Measurement Quality • The UCR is neither an exclusive nor an exhaustive measure • Not all law enforcement agencies submit complete reports to the FBI, and the quality of the data submitted varies • Summary-Based Measure of Crime – UCR data includes summary, or total, crime counts for reporting agencies (cities/counties) • UCR data are aggregates—cannot be used in descriptive or explanatory studies that focus on individual crimes, offenders, or victims 8 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Discussion Question 1 Why are aggregate and individual data both necessary? 9 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Incident-Based Police Records • Based on incidents as units of analysis • Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) – Police agencies submit detailed info about individual homicide incidents • Can conduct a variety of studies that examine individual events 10 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. National Incident-Based Reporting System • Joint effort by FBI and BJS to convert UCR to a NIBRS • NIBRS reports each crime incident rather than the total # of certain crimes for each law enforcement agency • Many features are reported individually about each incident: offenses, offenders, victims • UCR  NIBRS • 8 Part I offenses  46 Group A offenses 11 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Discussion Question 2 What if you were in charge of a law enforcement agency? Why would you want to report to the UCR? Why might you not want to report? 12 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Other Revisions with NIBRS • Hierarchy rule dropped • Victim type (individual, business, government, society/public) • Attempted/Completed • Drug-related offenses • Computers and crime • Quality control; states require certification 13 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. NIBRS and Measurement Quality • Eliminating the hierarchy rule means offense classifications are mutually exclusive – But not exhaustive, not all crimes are counted • Creating auditing standards and requiring submission of data on computer readable media enhance reliability • Crimes are selectively reported to police and selectively recorded by police – Voluntary: no agency is required to submit crime reports to the FBI in any form 14 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Measuring Crime Through Victim Surveys • Can obtain info on crimes not reported to police • Can measure incidents police may not officially record as crimes • Provides data on victims/offenders (individuals), and the incidents themselves (social artifacts) 15 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. National Crime Victimization Survey • Since 1972 by Census Bureau • Sought to illuminate the “dark figure of unreported crime” • Longitudinal panel study: households agree to participated for 3 years (7 interviews; one every 6 months) and then replaced • Does not measure all crime • Respondents are asked screening questions 16 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Discussion Question 3 Would you participate in a victimization survey? Why or why not? 17 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Positive Elements of NCVS • Measures both reported and unreported crime • Independent of changes in reporting • More information about how crime impacted victim than UCR • Provides more victim characteristics than UCR 18 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Negative Elements of NCVS • Telescoping incident dates • Faulty memory • Little information on offenders • No information on CJS response if reported • Excludes crimes against commercial establishments • Only includes residents of US 19 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. NCVS Redesign • Sought to improve measurement of domestic violence and sexual assault • Revised screening questions and added cues to help respondents recall and distinguish minor incidents • More direct questions on rape and other sexual crimes • Greater attention to measuring victimizations by someone the respondent knows • Gradual increase of telephone interviews to replace in-person interviews 20 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Community Victimization Surveys • First Development in late 1960’s – A series of city-level surveys by the Census Bureau • 1998 BJS and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) launched pilot surveys in 12 large and medium-sized cities – Jointly developed a guidebook and software so that local law enforcement agencies and other groups can conduct their own community surveys 21 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Comparison • Crimes Known to Police: – UCR – SHR – NIBRS • Victim Surveys – NCVS – Community Victimization Surveys 22 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Surveys of Offending • Delinquency, "victimless" crimes, and crimes rarely observed or reported to police may be measured by self-report surveys – Examples: prostitution, drug abuse, public order, shoplifting, drunk driving • Two ongoing self-report studies – National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) – Monitor the Future (MTF) 23 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. National Survey on Drug Use and Health • Based on a national sample of households • Conducted since 1971; 2004 sample had 68,000 individuals • Includes questions to distinguish between lifetime use, current use, and heavy use • Encourages candid responses via procedures • Includes residents of college dorms, rooming houses, and homeless shelters 24 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Monitoring the Future • Conducted since 1975 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse • Includes several samples of high school students and others, totaling about 50,000 respondents each year • Questions concern self-reported use of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, delinquency, other acts • A subset of 2,400 MTF respondents receive follow-up questionnaire 25 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Drug Surveillance Systems • Surveillance systems have been developed to obtain alternative measures of drug use • Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) – provides ongoing assessment of drug use among arrestees • Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) – collects emergency medical treatment reports for “drug episodes” from a sample of hospitals 26 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Measuring Crime for Specific Purposes • Local Crime and Self-Report Surveys – e.g., any purpose! • Incident-Based Crime Reports – e.g., Newark PD vehicle theft • Observing Crime – e.g., shoplifting, bar drinking, and violence 27 ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Measuring Crime Summary • UCR & SHR: best for murder and crimes in which the victim is a business or commercial establishment • NCVS: best for crimes against persons or households that are not reported to police • Self-report surveys: best at measuring crimes that do not have readily identifiable victims and that are less often observed by or reported to police 28