CCJS 300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing

• School: University of Maryland
• Department: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Course: CCJS 300
• Professor: Alan Lehman

Document Summary

Behaviors (i. e. have you ever used an illegal drug?) Attitudes/beliefs/opinions (i. e. do you feel safe in your neighborhood?) Characteristics (i. e. what is the highest level of education you have?) Expectations (i. e. will your new home have a security system?) In experiments, respondents are usually randomly assigned, exposed to some condition or treatment, and assessed or measured to see if differences are caused by different conditions. Numbers of variables & hypotheses offered are usually low. In surveys, respondents typically all answer the same questions (more consistent), survey results thought of as correlational, not necessarily causal, and more questions/variables/hypotheses seen. Advantages: wide geographic coverage, avoids interviewer biases, respondent"s privacy assured, and more time for responding. Disadvantages: nonresponse (try to send a follow-up, offer an incentive, altruistic appeals, sponsorships/endorsements, shortened format) Disadvantages: may undercount females, minorities, elderly, & less educated: true. Advantages: person contact between researcher & respondents, higher response rates, ability to clarify questions, interviewer also an observer.