Basics Of Research Methods For Criminal Justice And Criminology

by Maxfield, Michael G.; Babbie, Earl R.

• ISBN13: 9780534615673
• ISBN10: 0534615678
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-28
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

1. Criminal Justice and Scientific Inquiry. 2. Theory in Criminal Justice Research. 3. General Issues in Research Design. 4. Concepts, Operationalization, and Measurement. 5. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs. 6. Overview of Data Collection and Sampling. 7. Survey Research and Other Ways of Asking Questions. 8. Field Research. 9. Agency Records, Content Analysis, and Secondary Data. 10. Evaluation Research and Policy Analysis. 11. Interpreting Data.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: An Introduction to Criminal Justice Inquiry	1	(58)
Criminal Justice and Scientific Inquiry	2	(24)
Introduction	3	(1)
Home Detention	4	(4)
What Is This Book About?	4	(1)
Two Realities	4	(2)
The Role of Science	6	(1)
Personal Human Inquiry	6	(1)
Tradition	7	(1)
Authority	7	(1)
Arrest and Domestic Violence	8	(18)
Errors in Personal Human Inquiry	8	(1)
Inaccurate Observation	8	(1)
Overgeneralization	8	(1)
Selective Observation	9	(1)
Illogical Reasoning	10	(1)
Ideology and Politics	10	(1)
To Err Is Human	10	(1)
Foundations of Social Science	11	(1)
Theory, Not Philosophy or Belief	11	(1)
Regularities	11	(2)
What about Exceptions?	13	(1)
Aggregates, Not Individuals	13	(1)
A Variable Language	13	(1)
Variables and Attributes	14	(3)
Variables and Relationships	17	(1)
Purposes of Research	17	(1)
Exploration	18	(1)
Description	18	(1)
Explanation	19	(1)
Application	19	(1)
Differing Avenues for Inquiry	19	(1)
Idiographic and Nomothetic Explanations	20	(1)
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning	21	(1)
Quantitative and Qualitative Data	22	(1)
Ethics and Criminal Justice Research	23	(1)
Knowing through Experience: Summing Up and Looking Ahead	23	(1)
Main Points	24	(2)
Theory and Ethics in Criminal Justice Research	26	(33)
Introduction	27	(1)
The Creation of Social Scientific Theory	27	(1)
The Traditional Model of Science	28	(3)
Two Logical Systems	31	(2)
Terms Used in Theory Construction	33	(1)
Grounded Theory and Community Prosecution	34	(8)
Theory in Criminal Justice	36	(1)
Law Breaking	36	(2)
Policy Responses	38	(1)
Theory, Research, and Public Policy	39	(1)
Ecological Theories of Crime and Crime Prevention Policy	39	(2)
Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice Research	41	(1)
No Harm to Participants	41	(1)
Ethics and Extreme Field Research	42	(10)
Voluntary Participation	44	(1)
Protecting Identity	45	(1)
Deceiving Subjects	45	(1)
Analysis and Reporting	46	(1)
Legal Liability	46	(1)
Special Problems	47	(2)
Promoting Compliance with Ethical Principles	49	(1)
Codes of Professional Ethics	49	(1)
Institutional Review Boards	50	(2)
Ethics and Juvenile Gang Members	52	(7)
The Stanford Prison Experiment	52	(3)
Discussion Examples	55	(1)
Main Points	55	(4)
PART TWO: Structuring Criminal Justice Inquiry	59	(92)
General Issues in Research Design	60	(31)
Introduction	61	(1)
Causation in the Social Sciences	62	(1)
Criteria for Causality	62	(1)
Necessary and Sufficient Causes	63	(1)
Validity and Causal Inference	63	(1)
Statistical Conclusion Validity	64	(1)
Internal Validity	65	(1)
Construct Validity	65	(1)
External Validity	66	(1)
Validity and Causal Inference Summarized	67	(1)
Does Drug Use Cause Crime?	67	(1)
Introducing Scientific Realism	68	(1)
Units of Analysis	69	(1)
Causation and Declining Crime in New York City	70	(4)
Individuals	70	(1)
Groups	71	(1)
Organizations	72	(1)
Social Artifacts	72	(1)
The Ecological Fallacy	73	(1)
Units of Analysis in the National Youth Gang Survey	74	(17)
Units of Analysis in Review	74	(2)
The Time Dimension	76	(1)
Cross-Sectional Studies	76	(1)
Longitudinal Studies	76	(1)
Approximating Longitudinal Studies	77	(2)
The Time Dimension Summarized	79	(2)
How to Design a Research Project	81	(1)
The Research Process	81	(2)
Getting Started	83	(1)
Conceptualization	83	(1)
Choice of Research Method	84	(1)
Operationalization	84	(1)
Population and Sampling	84	(1)
Observations	85	(1)
Analysis	85	(1)
Application	85	(1)
Research Design in Review	86	(1)
The Research Proposal	87	(1)
Elements of a Research Proposal	87	(1)
Answers to the Units-of-Analysis Exercise	88	(1)
Main Points	88	(3)
Concepts, Operationalization, and Measurement	91	(32)
Introduction	92	(1)
Conceptions and Concepts	92	(2)
Conceptualization	94	(1)
Indicators and Dimensions	94	(1)
Creating Conceptual Order	95	(1)
What Is Recidivism?	96	(2)
Operationalization Choices	96	(2)
Jail Stay	98	(12)
Measurements as Scoring	98	(2)
Exhaustive and Exclusive Measurement	100	(1)
Levels of Measurement	100	(2)
Implications of Levels of Measurement	102	(1)
Criteria for Measurement Quality	103	(1)
Reliability	104	(2)
Validity	106	(2)
Measuring Crime	108	(1)
General Issues in Measuring Crime	108	(2)
Units of Analysis and Measuring Crime	110	(13)
Measures Based on Crimes Known to Police	110	(3)
Victim Surveys	113	(1)
Surveys of Offending	114	(2)
Measuring Crime Summary	116	(1)
Composite Measures	117	(1)
Typologies	117	(1)
An Index of Disorder	118	(2)
Measurement Summary	120	(1)
Main Points	120	(3)
Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs	123	(28)
Introduction	124	(1)
The Classical Experiment	124	(1)
Independent and Dependent Variables	125	(1)
Pretesting and Posttesting	125	(1)
Experimental and Control Groups	126	(1)
Double-Blind Experiments	127	(1)
Selecting Subjects	127	(1)
Randomization	128	(1)
Experiments and Causal Inference	128	(1)
Experiments and Threats to Validity	129	(1)
Threats to Internal Validity	129	(2)
Ruling Out Threats to Internal Validity	131	(1)
Generalizability and Threats to Validity	132	(1)
Threats to Construct Validity	132	(2)
Threats to External Validity	134	(1)
Threats to Statistical Conclusion Validity	134	(1)
Variations in the Classical Experimental Design	135	(1)
Quasi-Experimental Designs	136	(1)
Nonequivalent-Groups Designs	137	(3)
Cohort Designs	140	(1)
Time-Series Designs	140	(3)
Variations in Time-Series Designs	143	(2)
Variable-Oriented Research and Scientific Realism	145	(2)
Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs Summarized	147	(1)
Main Points	147	(4)
PART THREE: Modes of Observation	151	(122)
Overview of Data Collection and Sampling	152	(32)
Introduction	153	(1)
Three Sources of Data	154	(1)
Asking Questions	154	(1)
Making Direct Observations	154	(1)
Examining Written Records	155	(1)
Using Multiple Data Sources	155	(1)
Multiple Measures in Home Detention	156	(28)
The Logic of Probability Sampling	157	(1)
Conscious and Unconscious Sampling Bias	158	(2)
Representativeness and Probability of Selection	160	(1)
Probability Theory and Sampling Distribution	160	(1)
The Sampling Distribution of 10 Cases	161	(4)
From Sampling Distribution to Parameter Estimate	165	(1)
Estimating Sampling Error	166	(1)
Confidence Levels and Confidence Intervals	167	(1)
Random Sampling and Probability Theory Summed Up	168	(1)
Population and Sampling Frames	169	(1)
Types of Sampling Designs	170	(1)
Simple Random Sampling	170	(1)
Systematic Sampling	170	(1)
Stratified Sampling	171	(1)
Disproportionate Stratified Sampling	172	(1)
Multistage Cluster Sampling	172	(2)
Multistage Cluster Sampling with Stratification	174	(1)
Illustration: Two National Crime Surveys	174	(2)
The National Crime Victimization Survey	176	(1)
The British Crime Survey	177	(1)
Probability Sampling in Review	177	(1)
Nonprobability Sampling	178	(1)
Purposive, or Judgmental, Sampling	178	(1)
Quota Sampling	178	(1)
Reliance on Available Subjects	179	(1)
Snowball Sampling	180	(1)
Nonprobability Sampling in Review	181	(1)
Main Points	181	(3)
Survey Research and Other Ways of Asking Questions	184	(32)
Introduction	185	(1)
Topics Appropriate to Survey Research	186	(1)
Counting Crime	186	(1)
Self-Reports	186	(1)
Perception and Attitudes	187	(1)
Policy Proposals	187	(1)
Targeted Victim Surveys	187	(1)
Other Evaluation Uses	188	(1)
Guidelines for Asking Questions	188	(1)
Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Questions	188	(1)
Question and Statements	189	(1)
Make Items Clear	189	(1)
Short Items Are Best	190	(1)
Avoid Negative Items	190	(1)
Biased Items and Terms	190	(1)
Designing Self-Report Items	191	(1)
Questionnaire Construction	192	(1)
General Questionnaire Format	192	(1)
Contingency Questions	193	(2)
Matrix Questions	195	(1)
Ordering Items in a Questionnaire	195	(1)
Self-Administered Questionnaires	196	(1)
Don't Start From Scratch!	197	(19)
Mail Distribution and Return	197	(1)
Warning Mailings and Cover Letters	198	(1)
Follow-Up Mailings	199	(1)
Acceptable Response Rates	199	(1)
Computer-Based Self-Administration	199	(2)
In-Person Interview Surveys	201	(1)
The Role of the Interviewer	201	(1)
General Rules for Interviewing	201	(1)
Coordination and Control	202	(1)
Computer-Assisted In-Person Interviews	203	(2)
Telephone Surveys	205	(1)
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing	206	(1)
Comparison of the Three Methods	207	(1)
Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research	208	(2)
Other Ways of Asking Questions	210	(1)
Specialized Interviewing	210	(1)
Focus Groups	211	(1)
Should You Do It Yourself?	212	(2)
Main Points	214	(2)
Field Research	216	(30)
Introduction	217	(1)
Topics Appropriate to Field Research	218	(1)
The Various Roles of the Observer	219	(2)
Asking Questions	221	(2)
Gaining Access to Subjects	223	(1)
Gaining Access to Formal Organizations	223	(2)
Gaining Access to Subcultures	225	(1)
Selecting Cases for Observation	226	(2)
Purposive Sampling in Field Research	228	(1)
Recording Observations	229	(1)
Cameras and Voice Recorders	230	(1)
Field Notes	231	(1)
Structured Observations	231	(1)
Linking Field Observations and Other Data	232	(3)
Illustrations of Field Research	235	(1)
Shoplifting	235	(1)
Conducting a Safety Audit	236	(10)
``Driving While Black''	238	(1)
Bars and Violence	239	(2)
Strengths and Weaknesses of Field Research	241	(1)
Validity	241	(1)
Reliability	242	(1)
Generalizability	243	(1)
Main Points	244	(2)
Agency Records, Content Analysis, and Secondary Data	246	(27)
Introduction	247	(1)
Topics Appropriate for Agency Records and Content Analysis	247	(2)
Types of Agency Records	249	(1)
Published Statistics	249	(2)
Nonpublic Agency Records	251	(3)
New Data Collected by Agency Staff	254	(2)
Improving Police Records of Domestic Violence	256	(6)
Units of Analysis and Sampling	256	(1)
Units of Analysis	256	(2)
Sampling	258	(1)
Reliability and Validity	258	(1)
Sources of Reliability and Validity Problems	259	(3)
How Many Parole Violators Were There Last Month?	262	(11)
Content Analysis	262	(2)
Units of Analysis and Sampling in Content Analysis	264	(2)
Coding in Content Analysis	266	(1)
Illustrations of Content Analysis	267	(2)
Secondary Analysis	269	(1)
Sources of Secondary Data	270	(1)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Data	270	(1)
Main Points	271	(2)
PART FOUR: Application and Analysis	273	(61)
Evaluation Research and Policy Analysis	274	(33)
Introduction	275	(1)
Topic Appropriate for Evaluation Research and Policy Analysis	275	(1)
The Policy Process	276	(1)
Linking the Process to Evaluation	277	(2)
Getting Started	279	(1)
Evaluability Assessment	280	(1)
Problem Formulation	281	(2)
Measurement	283	(3)
Designs for Program Evaluation	286	(1)
Randomized Evaluation Designs	286	(2)
Home Detention: Two Randomized Studies	288	(3)
Quasi-Experimental Designs	291	(3)
Other Types of Evaluation Studies	294	(1)
Policy Analysis and Scientific Realism	294	(1)
Modeling Prison Populations	295	(3)
Other Applications of Policy Analysis	298	(1)
Scientific Realism and Applied Research	299	(2)
The Political Context of Applied Research	301	(1)
Evaluation and Stakeholders	301	(1)
Politics and Objectivity	302	(1)
When Politics Accommodates Facts	303	(4)
Main Points	304	(3)
Interpreting Data	307	(27)
Introduction	308	(1)
Univariate Description	308	(1)
Distributions	308	(1)
Measures of Central Tendency	309	(2)
Measures of Dispersion	311	(2)
Comparing Measures of Dispersion and Central Tendency	313	(1)
Computing Rates	314	(2)
Describing Two or More Variables	316	(1)
Bivariate Analysis	316	(3)
Multivariate Analysis	319	(1)
Murder on the Job	320	(14)
Inferential Statistics	324	(1)
Univariate Inferences	324	(1)
Tests of Statistical Significance	325	(2)
Visualizing Statistical Significance	327	(1)
Chi Square	328	(2)
Cautions in Interpreting Statistical Significance	330	(2)
Main Points	332	(2)
Glossary	334	(8)
References	342	(10)
Name Index	352	(2)
Subject Index	354