Chapter 3: Researching Deviance

Question 1

experiments

Answer 1

often considered the “gold standard” in research, experimental designs generally require subjects to be randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition

Question 2

quasi-experimental designs

Answer 2

whereas experimental designs generally require random assignment to a treatment or control condition, quasi-experiments usually relax this requirement

Question 3

survey

Answer 3

a form of research in which participants are asked a question or questions in order for the researchers to gather information

Question 4

sample

Answer 4

a group of people taken from a larger population and studied or surveyed

Question 5

response rate

Answer 5

the number of people in a survey divided by the number of people in the defined sample

Question 6

field research

Answer 6

generally involves getting out into the environment and studying human behavior as it exists in the “real world”

Question 7

pure observations

Answer 7

form of study in which participants do not see the researcher or even know they are being observed

Question 8

participant observation

Answer 8

research activity where the researcher is actively involved in the behaviors being studied. For example, a recovering alcoholic researcher might study the behaviors of others in AA meetings

Question 9

ethnography

Answer 9

the study and recording of human society and subcultures

Question 10

covert observation

Answer 10

refers to public observation where the researcher does not let the human subjects under study know that he or she is a researcher and that they are being studied

Question 11

overt observation

Answer 11

refers to studies in which the researcher makes human subjects aware that they are being observed

Question 12

content analysis

Answer 12

involves reviewing records of communication and systematically searching, recording, and analyzing themes and trends in those records

Question 13

operationalization

Answer 13

refers to the process that a researcher uses to define how a concept is measured, observed, or manipulated in a study

Question 14

secondary data

Answer 14

data collected by other researchers that may be used or reanalyzed by another researcher

Question 15

ethics in research

Answer 15

much effort has gone into the ethical implications of researching human subjects, which can be quite complex when studying deviant behavior. Generally, the subject should be asked if he or she consents to participate and his or her confidentiality should be protected

Question 16

human subjects

Answer 16

living persons being observed for research purposes

Question 17

institutional review boards (IRB’s)

Answer 17

an independent group that reviews research to protect human subjects from potential harms of the research