MCJ 5532, Research Methods in Criminal Justice Administration 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 2. Evaluate the key concepts associated with multiple methods of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting defensible research results. 2.1 Evaluate the relationship between key findings of existing scholarly research in the field of criminal justice and a proposed study on a related criminal justice topic. 5. Outline the major steps in empirical research in criminal justice. 8. Analyze the phases involved with writing a criminal justice research report. Reading Assignment Chapter 5: Survey Research: Questionnaires Chapter 6: Survey Research: Interviews and Telephone Surveys Unit Lesson As we learned in previous units, there are multiple ways to collect the data. One of the most popular methods of collecting data is survey research. This widely used technique allows the researcher to collect a variety of information from study participants, regardless of whether the identity of the participants is known. Questionnaires, interviews, and telephone surveys are three primary forms of survey research. Questionnaires There are many ways to develop a questionnaire. However, there are some rules and guidelines that exist to help a researcher develop questionnaires that will properly collect the data that he or she needs to address the research questions. Most of the guidelines focus on the wording and construction of questionnaires. When developing a questionnaire, one should be aware of the question types. Wording configurations that should be avoided include biased or leading questions, double-barreled questions, questions asked objectively, assumptions regarding the respondent’s knowledge regarding issues, vague wording, collecting excessive information, and “response set” (Hagan, 2014). The organization of the questionnaire is also important. Questionnaires should normally begin with questions that focus on the study topic and how they sit with demographic type questions such as age, race/ethnicity, income, and occupation. For example, if you were interested in looking at the relationship in the number of children involved in community policing activities, then make sure the survey begins with questions that ask specifically about their level of involvement in the community and/or the extent of their interaction with police in the community. Then, end a survey by asking them questions about their family such as how many people are in their household, how many of those people are children, and what are the ages of the children in the household? The manner in which the questionnaire is administered is also important. Questionnaires can be given directly to the participant, mailed to the participant, and electronically provided to the participant (e.g., link or QSR code). Mail surveys are a very popular method of.

1. MCJ 5532, Research Methods in Criminal Justice
Administration 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Evaluate the key concepts associated with multiple methods
of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and
reporting defensible research results.
2.1 Evaluate the relationship between key findings of existing
scholarly research in the field of
criminal justice and a proposed study on a related criminal
justice topic.
5. Outline the major steps in empirical research in criminal
justice.
8. Analyze the phases involved with writing a criminal justice
research report.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 5: Survey Research: Questionnaires

2. Chapter 6: Survey Research: Interviews and Telephone Surveys
Unit Lesson
As we learned in previous units, there are multiple ways to
collect the data. One of the most popular methods
of collecting data is survey research. This widely used
technique allows the researcher to collect a variety of
information from study participants, regardless of whether the
identity of the participants is known.
Questionnaires, interviews, and telephone surveys are three
primary forms of survey research.
Questionnaires
There are many ways to develop a questionnaire. However,
there are some rules and guidelines that exist to
help a researcher develop questionnaires that will properly
collect the data that he or she needs to address
the research questions. Most of the guidelines focus on the
wording and construction of questionnaires. When
developing a questionnaire, one should be aware of the question
types. Wording configurations that should
be avoided include biased or leading questions, double-barreled
questions, questions asked objectively,
assumptions regarding the respondent’s knowledge regarding
issues, vague wording, collecting excessive
information, and “response set” (Hagan, 2014).
The organization of the questionnaire is also important.
Questionnaires should normally begin with questions
that focus on the study topic and how they sit with demographic
type questions such as age, race/ethnicity,

3. income, and occupation. For example, if you were interested in
looking at the relationship in the number of
children involved in community policing activities, then make
sure the survey begins with questions that ask
specifically about their level of involvement in the community
and/or the extent of their interaction with police
in the community. Then, end a survey by asking them questions
about their family such as how many people
are in their household, how many of those people are children,
and what are the ages of the children in the
household?
The manner in which the questionnaire is administered is also
important. Questionnaires can be given directly
to the participant, mailed to the participant, and electronically
provided to the participant (e.g., link or QSR
code). Mail surveys are a very popular method of administering
questionnaires. The resource commitment
(time and money) is often minimal, and it can obtain the
responses from a representative sample and reach a
large geographic area. However, mail surveys have a high
nonresponse rate. Some researchers have found
that because so many organizations utilize mail surveys,
potential respondents are no longer willing to take
the time to complete the surveys. Researchers have also found
that there are some ways to increase the
UNIT III STUDY GUIDE
Survey Research
MCJ 5532, Research Methods in Criminal Justice

4. Administration 2
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response rate for mail surveys: multiple follow-ups, offering
rewards or incentives appealing to participants’
altruism, using an attractive format, obtaining sponsorship,
acquiring endorsements, personalizing the survey,
using a short format, and good timing (Hagan, 2014).
Self-report surveys gather data from respondents concerning the
various behaviors that they have engaged
in, which is the data-gathering method used by the National
Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). There are
some concerns associated with the use of self-report surveys
such as inaccurate reporting, issues with
instrumentation and research designs, and concerns about the
appropriateness of selected subjects or
settings. In spite of these weaknesses, self-report studies have
several strengths (related to validity and
reliability) that have been documented by researchers. For
example, researchers have found that self-report
surveys can be reliable in that they measure what they say they
measure and are valid to the extent that the
people being surveyed tell the truth about the behaviors they are
reporting. Data collected from self-report
surveys can also be checked against official records, other
observers, polygraph validation, known group
validation, life skills, measures of internal consistency, and
interviews.
Internet surveys are another way of administering a
questionnaire. Internet surveys have two primary forms:

5. email and web-based. However, as the use of the Internet
continues to expand the options for conducting
surveys, Internet surveys will also continue to expand (e.g.,
camera-based and VoIP telephone service).
Internet surveys have many advantages. These include the
ability to obtain a 100% response rate for
specialized populations, reaching large sample sizes, faster and
cheaper dissemination and collection than
telephone surveys, and the ability to provide instant results to
respondents. However, there are some
disadvantages to Internet surveys such as high-design and
programming costs, limited availability to
respondents with email accounts, limitations for respondents
with no Internet access, and concerns about the
ability to maintain anonymity and/or confidentiality. With these
concerns in mind, researchers who use
Internet surveys should follow the same question development
guidelines that are used in any other form of
survey construction. They should incorporate the electronic
tools available such as simple survey design
templates and survey completion invitation options (banner ads
on websites, email invitations) to design and
disseminate Internet surveys.
Interviews
Interviews are a method of collecting information face-to-face.
Interviews can be long or short, and can be
conducted on a one-on-one basis or with a large group.
Interviews can be broken down into three primary
forms: structured, unstructured, and depth. As with any data
gathering technique, interviews have their
advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages of
interviews include high-response rate, personal
contact between the researcher and the interviewee, use of
audiovisual aids, and the ability for the interviewer

6. to use his or her discretion in selecting an interviewee. One of
the primary disadvantages of interviews is the
interviewer effect: The interviewer may intentionally or
unintentionally introduce bias into the interview.
Interviews also can be very costly, require a large staff, and can
be very time-consuming. Thus, when using
an interview method of data collection, the interviewer must
incorporate as many checks and balances as
possible to minimize the disadvantages. These techniques
include use of the randomize response technique
(RRT), training interviews, appropriately arranging the
interview, maintaining the proper demeanor during the
interview, using the appropriate interview structure, and using
various interview accuracy checks.
Researchers can also use computer technology to assist in
conducting interviews and analyzing the data.
This includes techniques such as computer-assisted
programming interviewing (CAPI), continuous audience
response technology (CART), and statistical packages for the
social sciences (SPSS) (Hagan, 2014).
Telephone Surveys
These surveys are in some ways similar to interviews in that the
researcher can personally communicate with
the study participant and can use his or her discretion in
selecting the participants. Also, some of the
advantages of telephone surveys include the potential
elimination of field staff, simpler ways to monitor
interviewer bias, low costs, minimal time requirements, low
nonresponse rates, and inexpensive follow-up.
Telephone surveys also have disadvantages that include
“difficulty in obtaining in-depth responses” and “high
refusal rates” (Hagan, 2014, pp. 161-162). There are some
computer techniques that can be used to help
combat some of the disadvantages associated with telephone

7. surveys such as computer-assisted telephone
interviewing (CAT) and random digital dialing.
One should remember that just as the research question drives
the methodology used to conduct a study, the
research question also dictates the content of any data-gathering
tool used to collect information about the
MCJ 5532, Research Methods in Criminal Justice
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study’s topic. Therefore, survey research in the form of
questionnaires, interviews, and telephone surveys is
one of the many ways in which researchers can obtain data
related to their research topic.
Reference
Hagan, F. E. (2014). Research methods in criminal justice and
criminology (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Suggested Reading

8. The following articles discuss survey research as mentioned in
the lesson. You are highly encouraged to
review the information in these articles.
In order to access the resources below, you must first log into
the myCSU Student Portal and access the
Criminal Justice database within the CSU Online Library.
Bradley, J., Rajaram, S., Moses, S., Gowda, G. C., Pushpalatha,
R., Ramesh, B. M., . . . Alary, M. (2013).
Female sex worker client behaviors lead to condom breakage: A
prospective telephone-based survey
in Bangalore, South India. AIDS and Behavior, 17(2), 559-67.
Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., Arata, C., O'Brien, N., Bowers, D.,
& Klibert, J. (2006). Sensitive research with
adolescents: Just how upsetting are self-report surveys anyway?
Violence and Victims, 21(4), 425-
44.
Oltmanns, T. F., Rodrigues, M. M., Weinstein, Y., Gleason, M.
E., & J. (2014). Prevalence of personality
disorders at midlife in a community sample: Disorders and
symptoms reflected in interview, self, and
informant reports. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral
Assessment, 36(2), 177-188.
Pequegnat, W., Simon Rosser, B.R., Bowen, A. M., Bull, S. S.,
DiClemente, R. J., Bockting, W. O., . . .

9. Zimmerman, R. (2007). Conducting Internet-based HIV/STD
prevention survey research:
Considerations in design and evaluation. AIDS and Behavior,
11(4), 505-21.
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in
their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further
guidance and information.
You may complete one, two, or all of the non-graded learning
activities. Hopefully, these activities will not only
help you to review the research methods key concepts utilized
in this unit, but they will also demonstrate how
research methods are applicable to our day-to-day activities
(personal and professional).
There are several key concepts associated with research
methods that most people do not use on a daily
basis. However, understanding these concepts is integral to
understanding how research methods relate to
what we do on a day-to-day basis and the correct use of
research methodologies. Therefore, the following
activity is designed to assist you in further exploring the
research methods key concepts in this unit.
1. Briefly define the following concepts in one to two
sentences. Remember, there are several key
concepts across multiple chapters, so it is important to ensure
that the definitions are brief. The goal

10. of this part of the activity is to get you to quickly recall what
the key concepts represent and not spend
a significant amount of time thoroughly researching the
concepts. You would have already read the
textbook and obtained the detailed information during your
reading.
MCJ 5532, Research Methods in Criminal Justice
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Title
s

11. -report surveys
research
2. Take a few minutes to identify the key concepts that you
recognize as being applicable to activities
that you do on a daily basis. Next to each of those key concepts,
quickly jot down those activities or
contexts in which the key concepts are related. For example, if

12. you define research as exploring
topics that are of interest to you, then next to that key concept
you might write the following activities:
searching the Internet to find more information about a specific
product, talking with members of the
community about their reactions to a specific policy, or
sightseeing and exploring in a historical area.
If you define confidentiality as not releasing any identifiable
information associated with a research
participant, then next to confidentiality you might write
activities such as not releasing student data,
not releasing the name of the crime victim, or not releasing
purchaser information.
3. Now that you are able to identify the research methods key
concepts for this unit and how they are
related to day-to-day activities as well as to the research
methods process, pick a few key concepts
and challenge yourself to use those key concepts in casual
conversation throughout the week. Make
note of the number of times you are able to correctly utilize the
key concepts and if applicable, the
response you received from others regarding the use of the key
concepts.