Answer one (1) question under each section.
Section 1. Theory/Methods Integration
1.
Theories of criminal behavior are tested through the use of cross sectional and/or longitudinal methods. Using any theory in criminology as a discussion platform, explore the implications of the following questions:
A. Is the theory largely supported through one type of method?
B. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods?
C. What impact does the type of method used have on the results?
D. If you were going to design an empirical test, what type of method would you use?
E. How would this contribute to the body of knowledge in this theory and in the discipline, and what would the unique contribution of your work be to the field?
2.
Robert Sampson (2002: 219) lamented that one of criminology’s greatest weaknesses is designing good research, stating that “as a field, we are characterized by sophisticated statistical analysis of weak or fundamentally flawed data.” Using any theory of crime causation, briefly define the theory. Next, how have researchers measured crime for this theory and why might these measures be considered to be “weak or fundamentally flawed”? Next, develop how you would improve measurement of crime. Defend your answer. Finally, which methods would you use to test the theory (including the type of design, statistical analyses, etc). Why would these methods be the best approach?
Section 2. Research Methods
1.
The cycle of violence theory proposes that individuals who experience violence in their own pasts (e.g., domestic abuse, sexual abuse, history of family violence, etc.) may be likely to repeat a pattern of abuse in the form of domestic violence. Your task is to propose a QUANTITATIVE research design to test this relationship. The subsections below are provided to guide you in answering the question. Make sure that you have included all of the information indicated in the subsections in your answer. Be thorough and please number your answers to correspond to the various subsections.
A. Research Question
1) Provide a statement of your research question
2) State the hypothesis or hypotheses to be tested
3) List the conceptual definitions of the key variables (if your research purpose is explanatory, clearly identify your independent and dependent variables)

B. Sampling Design
1) Identify the population, sample, sampling frame, and sampling technique.
C. Data Collection Technique(s)
1) Describe the instrument to be used
2) Provide operational definitions of the key variables, as well as identify the level of measurement for each (be sure to provide a justification for using particular levels of measurement)
D. Human Subject Protections
1) Identify any issues related to the use of human subjects/respondents
E. Measurement Quality
1) Describe the reliability and validity of the measures
F. Analysis Plan
1) Explain the appropriate statistical tests to be used and why?
2.
For your dissertation, you have decided to undertake an examination of the amount and type of delinquency in the Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead Public School systems and you have been granted access to these students. You have decided to focus on the relative influences of strain, social learning, and self control on their delinquency. Your committee has asked you how you will measure each of your variables. In addressing their question, be sure to explain: (1) what or measures of your independent and dependent variables you would employ; (2) the strengths of these measures; and (3) the limitations of these measures. Finally, explain why you did not select other methods of measuring these variables for your dissertation. Be sure to cite the relevant literature in your answer.
Section 3. Individual Crime Theories
1.
Several recent American Society of Criminology addresses appear to paint either a glum or optimistic state of affairs for our discipline. On one hand, several scholars have defined our theoretical state as stale and lacking in intellectual excitement. Others have forwarded a view that suggests that our theoretical discipline is alive and well and moving forward with bold and innovative ideas. Your task is to outline and evaluate the arguments and positions posed on each side and then defend one of the positions.
2.
Traditionally, criminology had examined the etiology of crime as a “nature v. nurture” dichotomy. More recently, however, numerous theorists decry this dichotomy as a false one and that the two are intricately linked together in crime causation. First, trace the origins of the biological approaches, comparing the initial examinations to the current biosocial approaches. Next, using the relevant literature to defend your reasoning, argue whether this dichotomy is a false one or not. Finally, what solutions to crime do these theories suggest?

Section 4. Structural Crime Theories
1.
Almost everybody knows that violent crime rates tend to be much higher in neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty, yet despite more than a century of research the true meaning of this association remains ambiguous.
2.
Assess the utility of female-specific theories of offending. Are they helpful and/or necessary for explaining female offending, or does the existing body of sex-neutral theories suffice to account for both male and female offending?
Summarize the possible theoretical interpretations of the link between neighborhood poverty rates and levels of violence and assess which of these interpretations has the most support in the literature.