Research Methods for Criminology And Criminal Justice: A Primer

by Dantzker, Mark L.; Hunter, Ronald D.

• ISBN13: 9780763736156
• ISBN10: 0763736155
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-01
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett

Summary

Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice: A Primer, Second Edition provides students of criminology and criminal justice with a clear approach to understanding social science research. Each chapter begins with a case study demonstrating how research methods are used in practical applications, and current topics such as community policing, alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders, and gang violence are discussed throughout the text. The Second Edition has been completely redesigned make the complex subject of research methods easy for students to comprehend.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xvii
Section I Functions
Research: What, Why, and How	3	(18)
The Nature of Scientific Inquiry	4	(1)
Social-Science Research and the ``Real World''	5	(1)
Science Versus Casual Inquiry	6	(1)
The Scientific Method	7	(1)
The Relationship Between Theory and Research	7	(1)
Theory	8	(1)
Inductive Logic	8	(1)
Deductive Logic	8	(1)
The Purpose of Research	9	(1)
What Research Is	9	(3)
Applied Research	10	(1)
Basic Research	10	(1)
Multipurpose Research	11	(1)
Types of Research	12	(2)
Descriptive Research	12	(1)
Explanatory Research	13	(1)
Predictive Research	13	(1)
Intervening Research	14	(1)
Why Research Is Necessary	14	(1)
Curiosity	14	(1)
Social Problems	15	(1)
Theory Testing	15	(1)
Factors That Influence Research Decisions	15	(1)
How Research Is Done	16	(2)
Identifying the Problem	16	(1)
Research Design	16	(1)
Data Collection	17	(1)
Data Analysis	17	(1)
Reporting	17	(1)
Summary	18	(1)
Chapter Resources	19	(2)
The Language of Research	21	(13)
The Language of Research	22	(7)
Theory	22	(2)
Conceptualization	24	(1)
Operationalization	24	(1)
Variables	25	(1)
Hypotheses	26	(3)
Assumptions	29	(1)
Other Key Terms	29	(2)
Population	29	(1)
Sample	29	(1)
Validity	30	(1)
Reliability	31	(1)
Data	31	(1)
The Research Process	31	(1)
Summary	32	(1)
Chapter Resources	33	(1)
Getting Started	34	(14)
Picking a Topic	35	(2)
The Purpose of the Research	37	(1)
Exploring	37	(1)
Describing	37	(1)
Explaining	38	(1)
Reviewing the Literature	38	(2)
Become Familiar with the Library	39	(1)
Text/Journal Abstracts	39	(1)
Scholarly Journals	40	(1)
Textbooks	40	(1)
Social-Science Indexes	40	(1)
Internet Searches	40	(1)
Critiquing the Literature	40	(3)
Understanding Writing Styles	41	(1)
Knowing What to Look For	42	(1)
The Research Question	43	(1)
Hypotheses	43	(1)
Summary	44	(1)
Chapter Resources	45	(3)
Research Ethics	48	(17)
The Researcher's Role	50	(1)
Ethical Considerations	51	(3)
Ethical Ramifications	51	(1)
Harm to Others	51	(1)
Privacy Concerns	52	(1)
Informed Consent	53	(1)
Voluntary Participation	53	(1)
Deception	54	(1)
The Professionalism of Research	54	(1)
Ethical Research Criteria	55	(2)
Avoiding Harmful Research	55	(1)
Being Objective	55	(1)
Using Integrity	55	(1)
Protecting Confidentiality	56	(1)
Reasons for Confidentiality and Privacy	56	(1)
Privacy Protections	56	(1)
Summary	57	(1)
Chapter Resources	58	(1)
Example of an IRB Submission	59	(6)
Qualitative Research	65	(13)
Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research	66	(1)
Qualitative Research Defined	67	(1)
Merits and Limitations of Qualitative Research	67	(1)
What You Have Done Before	67	(1)
Types of Qualitative Research	68	(7)
Field Interviewing	68	(3)
Focus Groups	71	(1)
Field Observation (or Participant-Observer)	71	(2)
Ethnographic Study	73	(1)
Sociometry	73	(1)
Historiography	74	(1)
Content Analysis	74	(1)
Summary	75	(1)
Chapter Resources	76	(2)
Quantitative Research	78	(15)
Quantitative Research	79	(1)
Quantitative Research Defined	79	(1)
Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research, Part II	79	(1)
What You Have Not Done Before	80	(1)
Empirical Observation	80	(1)
Causality	81	(1)
Idiographic and Nomothetic Causes	81	(1)
The Criteria for Causality	81	(1)
Necessary and Sufficient Cause	82	(1)
False Precision	82	(1)
Quantitative Measurement	82	(3)
Levels of Measurement	82	(3)
Types of Quantitative Research	85	(5)
Survey Research	85	(2)
Field Research	87	(1)
Unobtrusive Research	88	(1)
Evaluation Research	89	(1)
Combination Research	90	(1)
Summary	90	(1)
Chapter Resources	91	(2)
Section II Procedures	93	(66)
Research Designs	95	(11)
Research Designs	96	(8)
Historical	96	(2)
Descriptive	98	(1)
Developmental, or Time Series	99	(2)
Case Studies	101	(1)
Correlational	102	(1)
Causal-Comparative	102	(2)
Summary	104	(1)
Chapter Resources	105	(1)
Questionnaire Construction	106	(17)
Questionnaire Development	107	(1)
Rules for Questionnaire Construction	108	(10)
Rule One	108	(1)
Rule Two	109	(4)
Rule Three	113	(1)
Rule Four	113	(1)
Rule Five	113	(1)
Rule Six	114	(1)
Rule Seven	114	(1)
Rule Eight	114	(2)
Rule Nine	116	(1)
Rule Ten	116	(2)
Scales	118	(2)
Scaling Procedures	118	(1)
Arbitrary Scales	119	(1)
Attitudinal Scales	119	(1)
Summary	120	(2)
Chapter Resources	122	(1)
Sampling	123	(16)
Sampling	124	(1)
Probability Theory	125	(1)
Probability Sampling	126	(2)
Simple Random Samples	126	(1)
Stratified Random Samples	127	(1)
Systematic Samples	127	(1)
Cluster Samples	127	(1)
Nonprobability Sampling	128	(4)
Purposive Samples	129	(1)
Quota Samples	130	(1)
Snowball Samples	131	(1)
Convenience Sample	131	(1)
Sample Size	132	(4)
Confidence Levels	132	(1)
Sampling Formulas	133	(1)
A Commonly Used Sampling Formula	133	(2)
A Sampling-Size Selection Chart	135	(1)
Summary	136	(1)
Chapter Resources	137	(2)
Data Collection	139	(20)
Data Collection	140	(1)
Survey Research	140	(6)
Mail Surveys	141	(2)
E-mail	143	(1)
Self-Administered Surveys	144	(2)
Interviews	146	(2)
Structured Interviews	146	(1)
Unstructured Interviews	146	(1)
In-depth Interviews	146	(1)
Face-to-Face Interviews	147	(1)
Telephone Surveys	148	(1)
Comparison of Survey Strategies	148	(1)
Other Data-Collection Techniques	149	(5)
Observation/Field Research	149	(2)
Unobtrusive Data Collection	151	(3)
Summary	154	(1)
Chapter Resources	155	(4)
Section III Final Steps	159	(72)
Data Processing and Analysis	161	(18)
Data Processing and Analysis	162	(1)
Data Processing	162	(6)
Data Coding	162	(1)
Data Entry	163	(3)
Data Cleaning	166	(1)
Missing Data	166	(1)
Recoding Data	167	(1)
Data Analysis	168	(1)
Statistical Analysis	168	(1)
Descriptive Statistics	169	(8)
Frequency Distributions	169	(1)
Displaying Frequencies	170	(1)
Measures of Central Tendency	170	(3)
Measures of Variability	173	(2)
Skewness	175	(1)
Kurtosis	176	(1)
Comparative Statistics	177	(1)
Summary	177	(1)
Chapter Resources	178	(1)
Inferential Statistics	179	(14)
Statistical Analysis	180	(1)
An Overview of Inferential Statistics	180	(2)
Measures of Association	180	(1)
Statistical Significance	181	(1)
Comparative Statistics	182	(3)
Crime Rates	182	(1)
Crime-Specific Rates	183	(1)
Percentage Change	184	(1)
Trend Analyses	184	(1)
Inferential Statistics	185	(1)
Bivariate Analysis	185	(2)
Contingency Tables	185	(1)
Bivariate Regression	185	(2)
Multivariate Analysis	187	(4)
Student's t-Test	187	(1)
Correlation	187	(1)
Analysis of Variance	188	(1)
Multiple Regression	188	(1)
Other Multivariate Techniques	189	(2)
Nonparametric Techniques	191	(1)
Summary	191	(1)
Chapter Resources	192	(1)
Writing the Research	193	(17)
The Research Paper	194	(13)
The Title Page	194	(1)
Abstract	194	(1)
The Introduction	195	(2)
Methodology	197	(3)
Results	200	(3)
Conclusions	203	(1)
References and/or Bibliography	203	(4)
Tables and Figures	207	(1)
Appendixes	207	(1)
Summary	207	(2)
Chapter Resources	209	(1)
Summing Up	210	(21)
Summing Up	211	(1)
Doing Criminological Research	211	(1)
Types of Research	211	(1)
Steps in Research	211	(1)
The Language of Research Theory	212	(1)
Conceptualization	212	(1)
Operationalization	212	(1)
Variables	212	(1)
Hypotheses	212	(1)
Sampling	213	(1)
Validity	213	(1)
Reliability	213	(1)
Data	213	(1)
Nominal Data	213	(1)
Ordinal Data	214	(1)
Interval Data	214	(1)
Ratio Data	214	(1)
Getting Started	214	(1)
Picking a Topic	214	(1)
Reviewing the Literature	214	(1)
The Research Question	214	(1)
Hypotheses	215	(1)
Variables	215	(1)
Research Ethics	215	(1)
Ethical Concerns	215	(1)
Ethical Research Criteria	216	(1)
Qualitative Research	216	(1)
Types of Qualitative Research	216	(1)
Quantitative Research	217	(2)
Causality	218	(1)
False Precision	218	(1)
Types of Quantitative Research	218	(1)
Research Designs	219	(2)
Types of Design	220	(1)
Questionnaire Construction	221	(2)
Rules for Questionnaire Construction	221	(1)
Scales	222	(1)
Sampling	223	(2)
Probability Theory	223	(1)
Probability Sampling	223	(1)
Nonprobability Sampling	223	(1)
Sample Size	224	(1)
Confidence Levels	224	(1)
Data Collection	225	(4)
Survey Research	225	(1)
Data Processing and Analysis	226	(1)
Dealing with Missing Data	226	(1)
Recoding Data	227	(1)
Data Analysis	227	(1)
Inferential Statistics	228	(1)
Nonparametric Techniques	229	(1)
Writing the Research	229	(1)
Summary Statement	230	(1)
Index	231