Unit 2 SeminarUnit 2 Seminar

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Concepts, Variable,Operationalization, and Measurement

IntroductionIntroduction

•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

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What is a variable?What is a variable? Characteristics or properties that can vary and take

on different values or attributes (Bachman & Schutt, 2007).

Dependent & Independent Dichotomies: 2 male/female Intervening: Gender-parental supervision-

delinquency. Extraneous: Causes variation-dependent &

independent variable.

Conceptions and ConceptsConceptions and Concepts

•“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

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Three classes that scientists measure (Kaplan, Three classes that scientists measure (Kaplan, 1964)1964)

•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. = to Concept

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ConceptualizationConceptualization

•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

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Indicators and DimensionsIndicators 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

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Confusion over Definitions and RealityConfusion 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

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Creating Conceptualization OrderCreating Conceptualization 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

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Progression of Measurement StepsProgression of Measurement Steps

Conceptualization

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Conceptual Definition

Operational Definition

Measurements in the Real World

Operationalization ChoicesOperationalization 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

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Measurement as “Scoring”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

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Levels of MeasurementLevels of Measurement

•Nominal – offer names or labels for characteristics (race, gender, state of residence). Nominal – (there are two distinctive categories, you either have a salary or you don’t)

•[ ] yes or [ ] no- Ordinal – attributes can be logically rank-ordered (education, opinions, occupational status)-3 categories. Interval – meaningful distance between attributes (temperature, IQ)-Ratio – has a true zero point (age, # of priors, sentence length, income).

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Criteria for Measurement QualityCriteria for Measurement Quality

•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

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ReliabilityReliability

•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

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ValidityValidity

•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

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Measuring CrimeMeasuring Crime

•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

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General Issues in Measuring CrimeGeneral Issues in Measuring Crime

•What offenses? How are do you conceptualize crime?•What units of analysis?

•Specific entities about which researchers collect information•Offender, victim, offenses, incidents

•What purpose? e.g., monitoring, agency accountability, research

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How We Find Out About CrimeHow We Find Out About Crime

•How do we find out about crime?•Ask actual/alleged offenders•Ask victims or witnesses•Ask a neutral third party (an official agency)

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Crimes Known to PoliceCrimes 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?

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Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)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

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Assumptions of UCRAssumptions of UCR

•Citizens know an offense has occurred•Citizen reports offense to the police•Officer can verify that the offense occurred•Officer decides the offense deserves to be reported•Agency’s numbers end up being forwarded to FBI on time

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Positives of UCRPositives of UCR

•can compare agencies•quick, easy, and efficient•index offenses are valid indicators of public’s crime concerns

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Negatives of UCRNegatives of UCR

•Doesn’t count ALL crimes reported to police•Jurisdictions vary in completeness of crime data they provide to FBI; voluntary•Can suffer from clerical, data processing, political problems•Hierarchy rule – only most serious crime counted in an incident•Characteristics of victim deemphasized; only know characteristics of those arrested

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Incident-Based Police RecordsIncident-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

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National Incident-Based Reporting System National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)(NIBRS)

•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 LE agency•Many features are reported individually about each incident, offenses, offenders, victims•UCR – 7 Part I offenses, NIBRS – 46 Group A offenses

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Measuring Crime Through SurveysMeasuring Crime Through 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)

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National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

•Since 1972 by Census Bureau•Sought to illuminate the “dark figure of crime”•Longitudinal panel study: households agree to participate for 3 years (7 interviews; one every 6 months) and then replaced•Does not measure all crime•Respondents are asked screening questions

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Positives of NCVSPositives 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

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Negatives of NCVSNegatives 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

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Surveys of OffendingSurveys of Offending

•Useful in measuring crimes that are poorly measured by other techniques (prostitution, drug abuse, public order, delinquency)•Useful in measuring crimes rarely reported to police (shoplifting, drunk driving)

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National Survey on Drug Use and Health National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)(NSDUH)

•Based on a national sample of households•Conducted since 1971; 2004 sample had n=68,000•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

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What indicator can be used for What indicator can be used for the followingthe following

Domestic violence-AlcoholJuvenile crime-PovertyRacial profiling-EthnicityRehabilitation-DrugsSerial killers-SociopathCruel and unusual punishment-Death

penalty.