Justice Studies 301

Dr. Cecilia Menjívar

Study Guide for Exam #2

Chapter 5.

1. Difference between nominal and operational definitions (and sequence of conceptualization, nominal definition, operational definition, and measurement) and how concepts are measured.
2. Indicators and dimensions (and examples)
3. Difference between conceptualization and operationalization (and examples)
4. What is reliability.
5. What is validity and the four types that we covered.
6. Tensions between validity and reliability
7. Operationalization choices (e.g., range of variation, degree of precision, variation between extremes, dimensions, single or multiple indicators, level of measurement to use)
8. Levels of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) and examples of how variables can be measured at different levels. Recommended level of measurement when one’s purposes in research are not clear.

Chapter 7.

1. Two types of sampling (probability and non-probability) and comparisons between them, (concept and illustration), and all types of each.
2. Logic of sampling (including concepts of representativeness, sampling biases, EPSEM, randomness, relation to the standard error)
3. Two ways to reduce sampling error.
4. Area under the normal curve.
5. Terminology and concepts (e.g., parameter, statistic, population, sampling frame, sample, etc.)
6. Probability theory: the standard error and its relationship to the area under the curve, to sample size, and to the homogeneity of the sample