CCJ 4700 Exam 1 Questions & Answers
2025/2026
What are the two realities that explain how we know what we know? - ANSWERSExperiential -
direct experience
Agreement - what we've been told
What is tradition? Give an example. - ANSWERSThings that "everybody knows"
Ex: Driving on the left side of the road in the U.S. is dangerous
What is authority? Give an example. - ANSWERSTrusting the judgement of someone with special
expertise
Ex: You are more likely to believe a judge regarding your driver's license suspension than your
parents
Errors in Personal Human Inquiry - ANSWERSInaccurate Observation - overcome by using
measurement devices
Overgeneralization - overcome by replicating the study to see if you get the same results
Selective Observation - specify in advance the number and types of observations
Purposes of Research - ANSWERSExplore - examine an issue or policy about which little is
known
Describe - observe and describe the scope of a problem or policy response
Explain - answer "why?"
Apply - Applied research is often used to evaluate the effects of specific criminal justice
programs
Two major types of applied research:
, - Evaluation research
Comparing program goals to results
- Policy analysis Anticipate future consequences of alternative actions
What is the research process? - ANSWERSProblem or Objective - Describes what will be studied
Literature Review - Summarizes the prior research on the topic
Research Questions - Specifies what the research will answer
Subjects For Study - Whom or what will be studied
Measurement - Identifies the key variables of the study
Data Collection Methods - Explains how observations will be collected
Analysis - Specifies how the observations will be analyzed
References - List of materials consulted and cited
Schedule - A timeline for the various stages of the proposal
Budget - Species where money to support the research will be spent
Social Scientific Theory - ANSWERSDiscovering what is, not what should be
- Cannot settle debates on value
- Problematic with evaluators
Ex: What constitutes a good parole officer?
Social science aims to find... - ANSWERSPatterns of regularity in social life created by norms,
rules, and observations
What kind of patterns do social regularities represent? - ANSWERSProbabilistic
What are more often the subject of social science research? - ANSWERSAggregates
2025/2026
What are the two realities that explain how we know what we know? - ANSWERSExperiential -
direct experience
Agreement - what we've been told
What is tradition? Give an example. - ANSWERSThings that "everybody knows"
Ex: Driving on the left side of the road in the U.S. is dangerous
What is authority? Give an example. - ANSWERSTrusting the judgement of someone with special
expertise
Ex: You are more likely to believe a judge regarding your driver's license suspension than your
parents
Errors in Personal Human Inquiry - ANSWERSInaccurate Observation - overcome by using
measurement devices
Overgeneralization - overcome by replicating the study to see if you get the same results
Selective Observation - specify in advance the number and types of observations
Purposes of Research - ANSWERSExplore - examine an issue or policy about which little is
known
Describe - observe and describe the scope of a problem or policy response
Explain - answer "why?"
Apply - Applied research is often used to evaluate the effects of specific criminal justice
programs
Two major types of applied research:
, - Evaluation research
Comparing program goals to results
- Policy analysis Anticipate future consequences of alternative actions
What is the research process? - ANSWERSProblem or Objective - Describes what will be studied
Literature Review - Summarizes the prior research on the topic
Research Questions - Specifies what the research will answer
Subjects For Study - Whom or what will be studied
Measurement - Identifies the key variables of the study
Data Collection Methods - Explains how observations will be collected
Analysis - Specifies how the observations will be analyzed
References - List of materials consulted and cited
Schedule - A timeline for the various stages of the proposal
Budget - Species where money to support the research will be spent
Social Scientific Theory - ANSWERSDiscovering what is, not what should be
- Cannot settle debates on value
- Problematic with evaluators
Ex: What constitutes a good parole officer?
Social science aims to find... - ANSWERSPatterns of regularity in social life created by norms,
rules, and observations
What kind of patterns do social regularities represent? - ANSWERSProbabilistic
What are more often the subject of social science research? - ANSWERSAggregates
