Research Methods in Criminology

1. Research Methods in Criminology 1.Assignment # 1 2.Research 3.Research methods

2. Why conduct research? • Some want to answer practical questions (“Will a reduction in average class size from 25 to 20 increase student writing skills?”) • Others want to make informed decision (“Should our school introduce extracurricular activities to reduce deviant behavior of students?”) • Still others want to change society (“What can be done to reduce rape?”) • Critics of scientific research in criminology view it as a detailed elaboration of what any person with common sense know

3. Females and the elderly fear crime because they are the most heavily victimized of all groups Victims of crime seldom know their offenders The typical criminal offender is either unemployed or on welfare The larger the city, the greater the likelihood its residents will be victims of crime. Rates of victimization are higher for males than females and for younger people In a large proportion of violent crimes, victims know their offenders Knowledge of imprisoned criminals indicates that most criminals have jobs and very few are welfare dependent The residents of smaller cities have higher rates for certain crimes: assault, personal larceny, and residential burglary Sense and Nonsense about crime (Walker, 1989)

4. Demographic characteristics (victims and offenders, 1976-2002) Rate per 100,000 population

5. Demographic characteristics (victims and offenders, 1976-2002) Rate per 100,000 population

6. Females and the elderly fear crime because they are the most heavily victimized of all groups Victims of crime seldom know their offenders The typical criminal offender is either unemployed or on welfare The larger the city, the greater the likelihood its residents will be victims of crime. Rates of victimization are higher for males than females and for younger people In a large proportion of violent crimes, victims know their offenders Knowledge of imprisoned criminals indicates that most criminals have jobs and very few are welfare dependent The residents of smaller cities have higher rates for certain crimes: assault, personal larceny, and residential burglary Sense and Nonsense about crime (Walker, 1989)

7. The Victim-Offender Relationship • Three types of relationships are often identified: • Familial (especially spouses and siblings) • Acquaintances (including friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, neighbors, and coworkers) • Strangers

8. UCR data • The majority of homicides known to police involve acquaintances (57%) • Relatives (22%) • Strangers (21%)

9. Homicides committed by women • Female-perpetrated homicides account for 10-12% of the overall homicides • Who do women kill? • The answer is those closest to them, with whom they live (intimate partners, or ex-partners and family members) • Over the period 1995-2001, intimate partners accounted for 32% of female-perpetrated homicides

10. Offender characteristics • Typical intimate partner killer is one aged b/w 25 and 40, with below-average level of educational attainment, who is likely to unemployed and from lower-class background (Mann, 1996, Goetting, 1987)

11. Method of killing • Women usually kill their partner with a knife or sharp instrument (78%) • Poisoning (6.2%) • Blunt instrument (2.6%) • Arson (2.2%) • Shooting (2.0%)

12. Weapon use in Murder • A firearm (handgun) is used in about two-thirds of all homicides (predominantly males) • Knives or other cutting instruments (predominantly females) • Personal weapons (hands, fists, and feet) • Blunt objects • Strangulation • Contrary to media images, poison and explosives are rarely used as murder weapons

13. Females and the elderly fear crime because they are the most heavily victimized of all groups Victims of crime seldom know their offenders The typical criminal offender is either unemployed or on welfare The larger the city, the greater the likelihood its residents will be victims of crime. Rates of victimization are higher for males than females and for younger people In a large proportion of violent crimes, victims know their offenders Knowledge of imprisoned criminals indicates that most criminals have jobs and very few are welfare dependent The residents of smaller cities have higher rates for certain crimes: assault, personal larceny, and residential burglary Sense and Nonsense about crime (Walker, 1989)

14. Homicide rates

15. The proportion of intimate homicides differs by type of area Intimate homicides (spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends) made up a larger percentage of murders in rural areas than in suburban or urban areas

16. Research as an attack on common sense • Hirshi and Stark (1969) in “Hellfire and Delinquency” have found a weak relationship b/w church attendance and nondeliquency • “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” • Study was attacked as false, stupid, or an illustration of inadequate methods • Had they found a strong relationship, they would have been accused of wasting time on the common sense knowledge

17. Pure research for the sake of scientific knowledge Construction of theories of models that allow for a better understanding of criminal behavior No immediate direct relevance Applied research Practical goal in mind Development of strategies intended to address the problem of crime Research as the use of standardized systematic procedures in the search of knowledge

18. Purposes of Research • Exploration, Description, and Explanation (Earl Babbie, 1999) • Explorationprovides beginning familiarity with a topic • To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity • To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study • To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study

19. Description • Describe situation or events • U.S. Census, UCR • Computation of crime rates for different cities • Many qualitative studies aim primarily at description

20. Explanation • Explain things • Reporting why some cities have higher crime rates than others involve explanation

21. Hypothesis Data are in the form of numbers from precise measurement Theory is largely causal and deductive Replication is possible Analysis proceeds by using statistics, tables, or charts No hypothesis Data are in the form of words and images from documents, observations, and transcripts Theory noncausal and inductive Replication is rare Analysis proceeds by extracting themes or generalizations (although numbers are possible) Quantitative and Qualitative

22. Quantitative and Qualitative • Two logical systems • Deductive logic-(hypothesis, observations, empirical generalizations, theory) • Inductive logic (observations, empirical generalizations, theory)

23. A model of the Research Process THEORY Induction Deduction FINDINGS HYPOTHESIS Analysis Operationalization DATA GATHERING RESEARCH DESIGN Measurement

24. Qualitative Research on Diversity • Educational system • Manners and everyday interactions • Friendship and social activity

25. Manners and everyday interactions • “Americans ask routinely ”How are you doing” but they are not interested in how I am doing” • “American smile” has a different meaning than smile in my culture. Here it is a polite greeting, nothing more…” • “I feel that people who smile at me are insincere because their smile appears suddenly and then disappears also suddenly”

26. Manners and everyday interactions • “Americans are obsessed with cleaning of their bodies, but they routinely put their feet on a chair or even small coffee table….this does not go along with hygiene” • “All my Americans friends do not take off their shoes at home. It seems to me that they can bring a lot of bacteria and viruses into their homes”

27. Friendship and social activity • “If I cook my real national food, no one from my department will try it…I need to Americanize my native food to make it attractive to my American class-mates”. • “It is to difficult for us to make American friends. Although, Americans are talkative and friendly, they are not opened to new relationships” • “Usually it takes much more time to establish a friendship with Americans than with people of my own culture”

28. Research Methods in Criminology • Experiments • Survey research • Field research • Content analysis • Existing data research • Comparative research • Evaluation research

29. Classic Experiment • At least two groups (control and experimental) • Randomly assign people to groups • Treat the experimental group by manipulation the independent variable • Observe the effect of the treatment on the dependent variable in the experimental group • Compare the dependent variable differences in the experimental and control groups • Control is crucial (to eliminate alternative explanations)

30. Experimental research • Researchers use deception to control what the subjects believe is occurring • Researchers intentionally mislead subjects through verbal or written instructions • It may involve the use of confederates or stooges –people who pretend to be subjects but who actually work for the researcher • For realistic deception, researchers may invent false treatment and dependent variables to keep subjects unaware of true ones (ethical issues)

31. Laud Humphrey’s “Tearoom Trade” (1970) • Study of impersonal sexual activity between male homosexuals • “Where the average guy go just to get a blow job” and “Who are they” • Observational research (how men approach each other and how they negotiate sex) • License plate numbers • Health care research

32. Laud Humphrey’s “Tearoom Trade” (1970) • Middle class • High educational level • Mostly married with children • Only one nonconventional thing about them-”tearoom” for anonymous sex • Great scandal (police could demand the names of the subjects)

33. The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (1983) • Goal was to find the most effective strategy • Three groups: two with different treatment and control • Police officers volunteering to take whatever action was dictated by a random system: instruction in an envelope • Three different instructions: (1) arrest the suspect; (2) separate or remove the suspect from the scene for 8 hours; (3) advise and mediate

34. Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment • Victims have been interviewed every two weeks for the next 6 months, police records have been monitored as well • Most influential policy experiment • Arrest works more effectively in deterring domestic violence

35. Experiments in Criminology • Not always possible (ethical issues) • Long-term study • Quasi-experiments or natural experiments • Example: Effect of the decision to conduct crackdown on drinking and driving by a local police force (planned interventions) • Occasionally, natural events (catastrophe or tornadoes) might substitute planned interventions

36. the only method that allows us to test the causal relationships between variables Random assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups allows us to test our hypotheses In real life, only rarely one variable actually a cause of another one Difficult to test very complex hypotheses (difficult to manipulate and control more than one or two variables) Ethical issues Strengths Weaknesses

37. Survey Research • Surveyis a series of questions asked of a number of people and designed to measure the attitudes, beliefs, values, and personality traits • Based on sampling

38. Different research designs Cross Sectional Design 1990 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 Cohort Study 1990 2000 41-50 41-50 51-60 51-60 61-70 61-70 71-80 71-80 Trend Study 1990 2000 41-50 41-50 51-60 51-60 61-70 61-70 71-80 71-80 Panel Study 1990 2000 41-50* 41-50 51-60* 51-60* 61-70* 61-70* 71-80* 71-80* +81* Denotes comparison * Denotes same individuals

39. Observation • Observation is a research technique in which a researcher directly observe the behavior of individuals in their usual social environments • Observational research is often called field research

40. Different strategies • Complete Participant –researcher goes “undercover” and does not tell people being observed that he/she is doing research • Complete Observer –researcher views things from a distance or one-way mirror • Participant Observer – people know that they are observed

41. Observation of behavior in natural context Get information about those individuals who cannot fill out survey or respond orally (children) Relatively small groups can be observed at once Labor-intensive Can be subjective Hawthorne effect (participation in research can influence subjects) Strengths Weaknesses

42. Life history and case studies • In-depth analysis of one or a few cases • Qualitative research • Sutherland’s “The Professional Thief” (1937) • Shaw's “The Jack-Roller” (1930)

43. Unobtrusive Research • Unobtrusive methods are strategies for studying people’s behavior in ways that do not have an impact on the subjects • Homicide rate

44. Unobtrusive methods • Artifacts (archeologists use) • Use of existing statistics • Content analysis

45. We do not need cooperation of people being studied Research does not affect the behavior of people being studied Study social things only after they have occurred and left traces These traces must solid enough to last until can be observed If we use secondary data we do not have control over the quality of these data Strengths Weaknesses

46. Triangulation • Every method has both strengths and weaknesses • Whenever possible researchers use more than one method to obtain data • Triangulation – methods are combined so that the strengths of one method overcome the weakness of another method

47. Example of Triangulation • Suppose you study the impact of neighborhood problems on youth development • Census information (unobtrusive) about poverty level in neighborhoods • Survey among youth and parents • Observations