Official crime statistics can be knocked down and so far sideways those responsible criminologists ignore them. Discuss.
Official crime statistics can be knocked down and so far sideways those responsible criminologists ignore them. Discuss. Name of module: Criminal Justice Policy Name of lecturer: Coretta Phillips Date of submission: 7th November 2002 Name of student: Sharon Ingrid Kwok (200210386) Introduction Social scientist has been aware of the pitfalls and limitation in official crime statistics. Arguments have surrounded the official crime statistics to be sideways, and they can be distorted by social and institutional factors. (Reiner, Maguire and Coleman et al) In this assignment we will analyse the problems surrounding the interpretation of official crime statistics and illustrate how they are constructed and consequently where their systematic biases lies. Dark figures-non-reported and non-recorded criminal behaviour The core problem interpretating the official statistics on crimes that have been recorded by the police arise from the fact that they are incomplete and biased. For an event to be recorded and known to police category it has to overcome two hurdles: Addressing of Issues and Appropriate handling of procedures. Criminal behaviour must come to the attention of the police and should be recorded as such by the police using his appropriate procedures. Many criminal events may fail to enter the record at either stage. They may not come to be known to the police at
What is the meaning of p<0.05?
Deakin University Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences School of Psychology What is the meaning of p<0.05? Jessica Jacques Submitted as an assessment for Research Methods C (HPS 742) Due Date: Tuesday 26th April 2005 Word Count: 1, 497 Hypothesis testing based on statistical significance has dominated behavioural and social science graduate programs for over 40 years and as a current psychology student I can promise you it still does (Huberty, 1996). A closer review of the history and current status of our beloved significance tests and their computed p value, revealed to me that one can probably say that few methodological issues in social science research have generated as much controversy. In fact as Anderson, Burnham, & Thompson (2000) note, across the years and throughout disciplines, the frequency of published criticisms has grown substantially. However before the feeling of the rug being pulled from underneath overwhelms me, one must ask the question what in fact is the meaning of the p value such as 0.05? Put more precisely what is being tested and where does it fit into data analysis and research if at all? This essay will unravel what exactly is tested by statistical significance tests, the role of replicability to the progression of scientific knowledge, significance testing based on the falsificationist approach to science and the topic of effect
During this trip, and whilst we were recording data, there were problems which were encountered amongst methods, results and therefore the conclusions. The first one we came across was the longshore drift survey part.
Niral Patel 10D 2/12/04 Evaluation: During this trip, and whilst we were recording data, there were problems which were encountered amongst methods, results and therefore the conclusions. The first one we came across was the longshore drift survey part. The cork that was thrown into the sea was lost (poor methodology); therefore the results for this section were inaccurate as the direction/speed of the cork was not known with certainty making the results inaccurate. Because of this, the conclusion would have to be questioned as we are not able to draw a firm or accurate conclusion about the survey on longshore drift. A poor method was when we only received one cork and we were asked to record longshore drift data at two locations. This meant that only one of the two locations would be used, meaning that the results were not accurate overall making the conclusion questionable again for the longshore drift survey section. With the groyne measurements, the most accurate data available was not obtained due to safety reasons, because it would not be safe to climb onto a slippery groyne and take measurements, therefore the most accurate estimates of the groyne measurements were recorded. This was the fault in the method leading to inaccurate results as they were largely based on accurate as
Applied sociological research skills
Applied sociological research skills Key terms Objectivity - A lack of bias, preconceptions or prejudice. Lack of bias = keeping your opinions and your values separate from what you're studying and try to look at the issue as scientifically as possible. (related to value freedom) Value freedom - Where the research of a sociologist ought to be carried without their beliefs and ideas influencing the project. (see also positivism) Ethical issues - Issues which have a moral dimension, such as the debates over euthanasia and abortion. It goes against the mores, norms and values of society as people see it as not the right thing. In research we need to be sensitive aware of peoples morals and values. Positivism - A view where phenomena should be studied in a scientific manner. To find out things for certain. Case study - strengths and weaknesses - A detailed in-depth study of a group or event. - Weakness - it is not representative of others which are similar to it - Strength - it is good to use as a hypothesis, an untested theory, for research that you may plan to do in the future. Methodological pluralism - Sampling methods / Sampling frame - strengths and weaknesses - A sampling method is how you plan to choose a sample from a population. The aim usually being to get a sample which is representative of the population. For example random sampling,
Features of Quantitative Research.
Features of Quantitative Research According to Coolican (1990), quantification can be defined as the process of measuring on some numerical basis. Quantitative research tends to be numerical or categorical. This type of research aims to make predictions, establish facts and test hypothesis that have already been stated, that is, aims to find evidence which supports or does not support on existing hypothesis. Quantitative research normally involves large numbers of respondents, typically a hundred or more, and obtains results that are representative of the total population. Therefore, it is a form of research method that is considerably appropriate for generalization of descriptions. There are several main types of approaches to quantitative research (show as following) and these techniques are widely used in many substantive fields to study and explain individual differences and patterns of relationships among variables. > Correlational research aims to find out whether there is a relationship between two or more variables (Gay & Airasian, 1999). In any case, if a relationship is found, then its degree is identified by a number between -1.00 and +1.00 and this number is known as a correlation coefficient. For instance, when one variable increases and the other also increases, then the correlation in this case would be positive. On the other hand, if a correlation is
A practical using SPSS
Practical One A sample of 83 students was measured for their physical characteristics. The variables were as follows, classified as either quantitative or categorical : Height - Quantitative Weight - Quantitative Armlen- - Quantitative Uarm - Quantitative Lowera - Quantitative Legl - Quantitative Waist - Quantitative Hip - Quantitative ethnicity Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid European 36 43.4 43.4 43.4 Asian 25 30.1 30.1 73.5 African 3 5.7 5.7 89.2 other 9 0.8 0.8 00.0 Total 83 00.0 00.0 Questions 2)i) The frequency table - The data shows the frequency and the percentage in the ethnicity sample. This also shows the highest and the lowest of both the frequency and percentage. Eg, European has a frequency of 36 and a percentage of 43.3, and the lowest is other ethnic groups of 9 and 10.8%. ii) Pie chart - Here the pie chart shows that the European ethnic group is large compared to other ethnic groups. This a visual reference as it contains no quantitative data. The pie chart also makes it easier to see which ethnic group is which by different colours. iii) Bar Charts - This Bar chart shows that the European ethnic group is the highest than any other ethnic group. It shows quantitative data by showing percentages. 3. A quick overview of the ethnicity is the best way to show a presentation, whereas
To be or not to be Molière: that is the latest questionwreaking havoc among French academics.
To be or not to be Molière: that is the latest question wreaking havoc among French academics. In "Corneille in the Shadow of Molière," a book recently published in France, Dominique Labbé, a specialist in what is known as lexical statistics, claims that he has solved a "fascinating scientific enigma" by determining that all of Molière's masterpieces - "Le Tartuffe", "Dom Juan," "Le Misanthrope," value="148422">"L'Avare" - were in fact the work of Pierre Corneille, the revered tragedian and acclaimed author of "Le Cid." "There is such a powerful convergence of clues that no doubt is possible," Mr. Labbé said. The centerpiece of his supposed discovery is that the vocabularies used in the greatest plays of Molière and two comedies of Corneille bear an uncanny similarity. According to Mr. Labbé, all these plays share 75 percent of their vocabulary, an unusually high percentage. Mr. Labbé's claim has upset more than the insular world of scholars. In the French collective consciousness, Molière is perceived as something of a national Shakespeare. Written in large part for Louis XIV and his court, Molière's comedies instantly became symbols of French culture thanks to their extraordinary dramatic range and extensive popular and scholarly appeal. As Joan Dejean, a professor of 17th-century French literature at the
The objective of this project is to investigate whether prices in stock markets follow a weak form efficient process.
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 2 DATA AND METHODOLOGY 2 2.1 JARQUE-BERA STATISTICS FOR NORMALITY 4 2.2 LJUNG-BOX STATISTICS FOR SERIAL CORRELATION 5 2.3 AUGMENTED DICKEY-FULLER TEST OF UNIT ROOT 5 2.4 RUNS TEST FOR RANDOMNESS 6 3 RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS 7 3.1 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS 7 3.2 RESULTS FROM JARQUE-BERA NORMALITY TEST 10 3.3 RESULTS FROM LJUNG-BOX STATISTICS FOR SERIAL CORRELATION 11 3.4 RESULTS OF ADF TEST FOR UNIT ROOT 14 3.5 RESULTS OF RUNS TEST FOR RANDOM WALKS 16 4 CONCLUSION 18 Introduction The concept of 'efficient' stock market has been hotly debated ever since Eugene Fama first introduced it around some thirty years ago. Under the weak form of market efficiency, the price of a security reflects all the available information about the economy, the market and the specific security, and that prices adjust immediately to new information. For a long time the conformation of random walk is considered to be a sufficient condition for market efficiency. However, rejection of random walk model does not necessarily imply the inefficiency of stock-price formation. Random walk is the path of a variable over time that exhibits no predictable patterns at all. If a price, p, moves in a random walk, the value of p in any period will be equal to the value of p in the period before, plus or minus some random variable. The random walk hypothesis states that
Investigating Seed Germination.
Investigating Seed Germination. Results Table of Results TEMP. (?c) PERCENTAGE GERMINATED GROUP 1 GROUP 2 GROUP 3 GROUP 4 GROUP 5 MEAN -10 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 4 8 4 2 6 0 8.0 22 80 00 74 86 00 88.0 30 60 74 8 96 94 81.0 40 0 6 0 0 2 5.6 CONTROL 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 NB. Numbers in bold italics are anomalous. They have not been included in the mean. ==> TEMP. (?c) MEAN PERCENTAGE GERMINATED -10 0.0 4 8.0 22 88.0 30 81.0 40 5.6 CONTROL 0.0 These results can now be used to perform statistical analysis and to plot a graph. Analysis To determine whether temperature has had an effect I shall use the Chi-Squared (?2) Test for Goodness of Fit. The Chi-Squared Test is used to determine whether the actual results of the experiment confirm the null hypothesis stated. For this investigation, the null hypothesis would be; 'temperature has no effect on the percentage of seeds that germinate' Whereas the alternative hypothesis would be; 'temperature does have an effect on the percentage of seeds that germinate' We will now determine whether the results fit the null hypothesis: The following results were obtained: -10?c 4?c 22?c 30?c 40?c % Germinated 0.0 8.0 88.0 81.0 5.6 By using these results we can determine the expected frequencies if the null hypothesis is correct: ==> Total percentage of seeds that germinate /
Interview and survey: an evaluation and contrast of these two approaches to data collection In this essay I shall be evaluating and contrasting the interview and survey approach to data collection
Interview and survey: an evaluation and contrast of these two approaches to data collection In this essay I shall be evaluating and contrasting the interview and survey approach to data collection. I shall describe each method and the circumstances in which they would be used, and look at the strengths and weakness of each method by referring to two examples of research where each method has been utilised. Interviews and surveys can take many forms and the research approach will often determine which type is used. Some researchers such as Fontana and Frey (1994) view a survey as just another form of interview, where interviews fall into three main categories; structured, semi-structured and unstructured, of which the structured is type is a survey interview. For the purpose of this essay, I shall be treating a structured interview as a survey and the semi and unstructured as interviews. A survey is where a pre-determined set of questions is asked with a range of possible answers. Although a survey is commonly paper based, requiring the recipient to fill in the answers without the need to discuss with an interviewer, they can also be used over the telephone and in a face-to-face situation. Surveys of this type are often used for market research purposes. When used in face-to-face or telephone situations, one of the advantages is that the person asking the