Introduction to Criminology CRJ 270 Instructor: Jorge Pierrott

1. Introduction to Criminology CRJ 270 Instructor: Jorge Pierrott

2. 2 Where Do Theories Come From?

3. Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, students should be able to answer the following questions: • What is evidence-based criminology? How does the meaning of the word evidence in evidence-based criminology differ from the evidence found at a crime scene or the evidence used in criminal trials? • What four eras have characterized the field of criminology over the past 100 years? • What is a theory? What purposes do theories serve? What role do research and experimentation play in theory building in criminology? • What is the role of criminological research in theory building? What is internal validity? External validity? How can threats to internal and external validity be addressed?

4. Chapter Objectives • What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method? • What are some of the ethical considerations involved in conducting criminological research? • How do criminological research and experimental criminology impact social policy? • What sections might a typical research report contain?

5. Why is the Criminological Theory Important? • SafeStat • Offender Risk and Needs Assessments

6. Evidence-Based Criminology • Evidence-based criminology • Founded upon the experimental method • Emphasizes randomized controlled experiments • “Evidence” refers to scientific findings continued on next slide

7. Evidence-Based Criminology • Increasing importance in the field • American Society of Criminology Division of Experimental Criminology • Academy of Experimental Criminology • Journal of Experimental Criminology

8. The Evolving Science of Criminology • John Laub’s eras of criminological thought • Golden Age of Research (1900-1930) • Golden Age of Theory (1930-1960) • Empirical testing of dominant theories (1960-2000) • Current era/21st century criminology contains “all possible offspring” of what came before continued on next slide

9. The Evolving Science of Criminology • Present-day criminology has moved away from armchair criminology and is more scientific. continued on next slide

10. The Evolving Science of Criminology • Scientific criminology involves: • The systematic collection of related facts • An emphasis on the scientific method • General laws, a field for experimentation or observation, control of academic discourse continued on next slide

11. The Evolving Science of Criminology • Scientific criminology involves: • Acceptance into the scientific tradition • Emphasis on a worthwhile subject • Modern criminology meets these criteria

12. Theory Building • Goal of criminological research: • Construct theories or models that improve our understanding of criminal behavior and help us create effective strategies to deal with the crime problem continued on next slide

13. Theory Building • Theory • A series of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some class of events • Test by how well they describe, predict reality

14. Figure 2-1 The Theory Building Process

15. Uses of Theory • Provide patterns for interpreting data • Population • Link studies together • Other similar studies can be linked • Supply frameworks within which concepts and variables have special significance • Who does it affect, how does it affect society? • Allow us to interpret the larger meaning of findings • Death penalty – Is a moral issue?

16. The Role of Research and Experimentation • Research • The use of standardized, systematic procedures in the search for knowledge. • Why is research important in Criminology? • Types of research • Pure vs. applied • Primary vs. secondary

17. Applied Research • Applied research consists of scientific inquiry that is designed and carried out with practical application in mind. • Meaning – A researcher is working toward some more or less practical goal. • What’s an example of this? • How to stop hate crimes? • How to stop bullying?

18. Pure Research • Pure research is undertaken simply for the sake of advancing scientific knowledge and “does not carry the promise or expectation of immediate, direct relevance.” • Example: • Benjamin Franklin proving lightning is electricity.

19. Primary vs. Secondary • Which was primary and which was secondary?

20. Stages in Research • Problem identification • Development of a research design • Choice of data collection techniques • Review of findings

21. Problem Identification • Choosing the problem/issue to be studied. • Reasons may include: • Political reasons • Grant monies • Personal interests • Frequently involves testing hypotheses continued on next slide

22. Problem Identification • Hypothesis • An explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation • Something that is taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigations continued on next slide

23. Problem Identification • Variables • Concepts that can undergo measurable changes • Example: Changes in population, changes in arrests, citations – Something that can be measured. • Operationalization • Turning a simple hypothesis into one that is testable • Making the concepts measurable turns them into variables • Example: Actually measuring the number of crime during a specific period – Full moon example. continued on next slide

24. Problem Identification • After concepts in hypothesis are measurable, hypothesis can be tested

25. Development of a Research Design • Research design • The logic and structure inherent in any particular approach to data gathering • Simple research design - One-group pretest-posttest O1 x O2 • This design does not eliminate confounding effects

26. Validity in Research Designs • Internal validity • The certainty that experimental interventions did indeed cause the changes observed in the study group • External validity • The ability to generalize research findings to other settings

27. Figure 2-2 Threats to the Internal Validity of a Research Design

28. Figure 2-3 Threats to the External Validity of a Research Design

29. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Designs • Controlled experiments • Attempt to hold conditions other than the experimental intervention constant • Quasi-experiments • Give the researcher control over the “when and to whom” of measurement (but not exposure)

30. Experimental Design • Pretest-posttest control group design • Experimental group: O1 x O2 • Control group: O3 x O4 continued on next slide

31. Experimental Design • Randomization is critical to the success of an experimental design • Subjects are assigned to study groups without biases or differences resulting from selection • No self-selection allowed, no personal judgment used in subject assignment • Controls threats to internal validity

32. Choice of Data-Collection Techniques • Data gathering strategies provide approaches to the accumulation of information needed for analysis • Selection based on: • Ease/simplicity • Cost • Time • Form required for data continued on next slide

33. Choice of Data-Collection Techniques • Key issue • Will the strategy produce information in a usable form?

34. Types of Data-Gathering Strategies • Surveys • Case studies • Participant observation • Self-reporting • Secondary analysis

35. Surveys • Use questionnaires or surveys to gather “survey data” • May interview respondents in person, over the telephone, by e-mail, by fax, or by mail • Free tool – Survey Monkey

36. Case Studies • In-depth investigations into individual cases • Life history – a single subject is the focus of a case study • Suffer from high levels of subjectivity but provide the opportunity to examine individual cases in depth

37. Participant Observations • Involves various strategies in which the researcher observes a group by participating, to varying degrees, in the activities of the group • Researcher may operate undercover or make their purpose and identity known from the start continued on next slide

38. Participant Observations • Main types • Participant as observer • Observer as complete participant

39. Self-Reporting • Subjects are asked to report rates of certain behaviors, such as crime • May provide information when official records are lacking • Often considered a form of survey research • Introspection/personal reflection techniques – purely subjective

40. Secondary Analysis • New analysis or evaluation of existing data that was gathered by other researchers • Secondhand analysis of information originally collected for a different purpose

41. Problems in Data Collection • Scientific observation must meet two criteria • Intersubjectivity: Independent observers report seeing the same thing under the same circumstances • Replicability: When the same conditions exist, the same results can be expected continued on next slide

42. Problems in Data Collection • Observations meeting these criteria may still lead to unwarranted conclusions

43. Review of Findings • Most data subjected to some form of data analysis using statistical techniques • Descriptive statistics: describe, summarize, highlight relationships within data • Inferential statistics: attempt to generalize findings by specifying how likely they are to be true for other populations or locations

44. Quantitative versus Qualitative Methods • Quantitative methods • Techniques that produce measurable results that can be analyzed statistically • “Mystique of quantity” • Qualitativemethods • Techniques that produce subjective results, or results that are difficult to quantify • Verstehen

45. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research • Values affect all stages of the research process • No research free from preconceptions, biases • Control their effect by being aware of them at the onset of the research continued on next slide

46. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research • Ethical issues do not affect validity but may impact the lives of researchers and subjects • Protection of human subjects • Privacy • Need for disclosure of research methods • Data confidentiality continued on next slide

47. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research • Informed consent • Strategy used to overcome ethical issues inherent in criminological research • Inform subjects as to nature of research, their anticipated role, the uses made of the data continued on next slide

48. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research • Institutional review boards • Established by universities, research organizations, government agencies • Examine research proposals to determine whether expectations of ethical conduct have been met before the proposals are submitted to funding organizations

49. Social Policy and Criminological Research • Ideally, research should significantly impact public crime control policy • Realistically • Public officials may be ignorant of current research • Public officials may ignore research findings

50. Writing the Research Report • Title page • Acknowledgements • Table of contents • Preface • Abstract • Introduction • Review of existing literature • Description of existing situation • Statement of hypothesis • Description of research plan • Disclaimers/limitations • Analysis/discussion • Summary/conclusions • Endnotes/footnotes • Appendices • List of references continued on next slide