Research Methods Final Exam

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

-originally called national crime survey, initiated 1972 -comprised national crime panel surveys and central city survey -national crime panel studies are conducted and referred to as NCVS -survey design, sampling and estimating schemas are among most complex in social sciences

historical and archival data

-potentially hazardous and relatively neglected area of cj -neglected sources include annual reports of city, county, and state cj agencies -must attempt to carefully weigh, doublecheck and verify other sources any info obtained through this method

Analysis of expressive movement

-speech -grimaces -gestures

In defense of Victim surveys

-surveys like other forms of data collection suffer various shortcomings -comparatively, victim surveys are a relatively toung technique in cjr -researchers still have much to learn about surveys in their future methodological analyses -BJS is constantly monitoring and attempting to update the methodological accuracy of the NVCS -in 1985, a group of experts in criminology the national crime consortium was charged with devising better screening questions to obtain better control over forgotten as well as sensitive questions

general procedures in Interviews

-typically receive guidelines that often come from either research organization or individual researchers and is sound advise regarding individual projects designed to standardize collecting large data

observations of language behavior

-analysis combies the study of physical location with expressive movement

Panel Design

-The NCVS consist of a crime panel -the panel repeats interviews every 6 months to provide a benchmark for crime reports -the benchmark involves using a pretest or initial interview to set a reference point for the survey reporting period (referred to as bounding) -initial interviews set up a time period to compare future victimizations -interviewers can be used to get demographic data, probe variables such as the victim-offender relationship, injury or loss suffered, the time and place of the incident(s) the time the crime is reported to police and other criminal justice matters (these data can help to create victimization theories)

disadvantage of interviews

- may be time consuming and costly - can be offset in part by using cluster sampling to cover widely dispersed households/respondents -interviewer prone to make mistakes in asking question or recording info -to address user, experts suggest interviewers receive training, supervision and monitoring before collecting data to obtain representative responses -interviewing becomes more challenging when attempting to obtain data from hard to reach pop -Interview may be problematic for respondents if factual date must be locked up are requested -sometimes less convenient and do not afford respondents anonymity compared with mail surveys -Chief problem is quality, integrity, and skill of interviewers

historical data

- neglected area of cjr - allows one to examine the past in attempt to objectively chronicle and explain these events - some examples of research that have relied on historical data inculde

Bergs 10 commandments of interviewing

- never start interview cold - stay on track - present natural front, be relaxed and natural - demonstrate ability to hear, be good listener and provide nonverbal responses - Appearance - Conduct interview in comfortable place - be respectful, assure respondents valued interest - be pleasant and appreciative

Advantages of Unobtrusive Measures

- nonreactivity: helps to avoid the overreliance on attitudinal data or verbal description given by respondents about their behavior -audio and visual aids can enhance the data gathering process -recording the equpiment can provide a permanent record for reanalysis -physical evidence is inconspicuous and offers anonymity -archival records enable the study of phenomena over time -observational studies have the advantages of gaining info fisthand and taking into account the context of the behavior -researchers can conduct large scale and event international analyses quickly and inexpensively

arranging interview

- not arrive before 10 no later than 8 -present proper identification such as prominently displayed name tag with officials - on arrival be sure to locate person being interviewed -inform respondents about letter sent or call made earlier regarding interview - if unsuccessful in schedule meetings do not keep calling

making observations

- observations can be used to measure characterisitics of individuals, events, and places. observations may be primary form of measurement in a study or they may supplement measures obtained through questioning

simple observations

- occurs in situations in which the observer has no control over the behavior or sign in question and plays an unobserved, passive, and unobtrusive role in the situation - their peculiarity derives from the fact that the researcher does not intervene in the production of the material -4 basic types of simple observation: (1): observation of exterior body and physical signs (2): analysis of expressive movement (3): physical location and (4): observation of language behavior

observer as participant

- one-visit interview typically with a victim or criminal - unfortunately sometimes the interviews are unaware that they are short-term participant observers where they used in-depth interviews of 30 primarily white, middle class "Johns" and were unable to find support for the "pathology-ridden depictions of the clients of prostitutes"

Coding Unreliability and Mechanical Error

- people make mistakes in coding data, data entry, and analyzing data -these could account for inaccuracies: scholars point out that unchecked mechanical errors abound in coding and data entry, especially large scale surveys

random digit dialing

- people who don't own or who are not contactable by telephone cannot be interviewed by phone - since characteristics most likely feature among poor households potential for sampling bias exists - possible solution random digit dialing: computer can be used to randomly select telephone numbers with a predefined geographical area -this procedure conforms to the rules of probability sampling, as well as stands a chance of getting at ex-directory households, but cannot access people without a telephone

Interviewers Effect

- potential for interviewer bias exist in survey research -typically caused by subjective bias motivated by the researchers self-interest -potential reactivity of respondents who are continually interviewed as part of their attitudes or reported victimizations

disadvantages of unobtrusive measures

- privacy invasion -participant observer is typically unknown to subjects who iften reveal behavior that could later prove to be dangerous if info reach wrong person -cjr have to constitutional rights to confidentiality or entitlement to privileged communication -concern about whether clandestine methods of data collection is representative of the subjects - measures can be time consuming but accomplices are used -observer bias -when used as exclusive measure, some question the accuracy of nonreactive methods

disadvantages of participant observation

- problem of gaining entry into and being accepted by a group is problematic - method is time consuming and could affect the researchers personal and professional life -the observer is often not in a position to control the actions of others and consequently, he/she will have to wait for something/ anything to occur (could also be a boring process)

offender interviews

- provide a picture of diff patterns of offending and perceptions that are diff from those of incarcerated offenders - focused on drug dealers, users, burglars, armed robbers, gang members and gun carrying offenders - may reveal info of motives, lifestyle, general attitudes - can provide data on beginning and end of offenders career - Advice when interviewing: establish goals, choose offenders, determine who should interview, appropriate subjects, convince subjects to participate, maintain field relationship, sort out truth, analyze, prevent findings

reciprocity and protection of identity

- reciprocity is about mutual obligation in participant observation research, since the participants have helped the researcher does he/she owe a debt to the participants? -experts suggest that the researcher should: -answer any questions that the subject may have to offer them - protect the subjects identity by using pseudonyms to hide subjects name

Comparison of the UCR, NCVS, and Self-reported Data

-Menard (1987) examined 5 to 10yr trends in crime and juvenile delinquency using the 3 data sources and found that while the UCR showed steady increase in crime rates, the NCVS and NYS indicated stable or decreasing rates -the increase in police reporting could be due to an increase reporting and police effectiveness -it could also reflect increase reliance on formal legal controls and police professionalism

sampling

-NCVS consists of national surveys of housing units -data obtained from nationally representative sample of 72,200 households or nearly 134,000 people - sample is subdivided and interviewed -each housing unit remains in sample for 3 years -samples designed so every 6 months one group rotated out and replaced with new one - rotation enables the crime panel to remain fresh and representative over time -the first and fifth interviews are conducted in person, while the others are by telephone

Problems Measuring Certain types of Crime

-NCVS does not interview victims of murder, however, there are problems measuring specific crimes -in past, rape was one such crime since respondents were never directly asked if they had been raped -Eigenburg argued in 1990, that rape had been poorly operationalized by the NCVS. Nevertheless than the rate collected by the UCR -this is because of improved operationalization of rape and domestic violence, especially since NCVS has been redesigned -Unlike in the past, today, the instrument asks in the respondent has been raped

Randomized Response Technique (RRT)

-Randomized response is a research method used in structure survey interviews to address resistance to sensitive questions - allows respondents to respond to sensitive issues while maintaining confidentiality -method requires that chance decides unknown to the interviewer, whether question is to be answered truthfully or "yes" regardless of truth - ex) ask people if use drugs, cheat on spouse, cheat on taxes -Before abortions legal, SS used method to ask if women had abortion

William Foote White- Street Corner Society

" the participant of the researcher in the activities of people being studied will be shaped in part by the degrees of differences in cultural backgrounds, race, or ethnic identification between the field worker and the study subjects -" first days or weeks in the field generally yield little data of lasting value. Takes time to fit into the scene adjust to people gain acceptance, and begin to understand what is going on"

unobtrusive methods

- any friend of data collection that directly removes the research from the set of interations, events, or behavior being investigated - subjects lack of awareness of being studied eliminates reactivity or stooge effects -nonreactive methods of gathering data - methods used whereby subjects are not aware that they are being studied - subjects are not aware of being analysed they do not react in an artifical or atypical manner - have a variety of official statistics and records available for the purpose of research -Best is the UCR -some argue best sources are offical agency records (data allow for a record of events that transpired and can be used to reconstruct those events)

purpose of unobtrusive measures

- avoid the contamination that might arise when investigators and research participants confront one another in data gathering situations

Telephone Surveys

- can and should be used - they eliminate the expensive costs associated with face-to-face interviewing - can also eliminate the need of a large staff to engage in interviewing -minimize time it would otherwise require to do research

structured interviews (closed-interview schedules)

- consist of check off list, questions are factual to which responses fit expectable pattern - researchers should not solicit additional comments however if occurs should record them verbatim -biggest disadvantage of closed ended question is they generally elicit only limited response patterns -biggest advantage: easy to administer and process (code)

redesigning the NCVS reflected effort such as

- controlling for mistakes in victim surveys that may include the following: -use of panels -bounding of target groups -evaluation of coding -reverse record check surveys of known groups -Reinterviews of the same groups -interview with significant others

archival records

- data are collected from diverse sources such as actuarial records, political and judicial records, government docs, the mass media and private records such as autobiographies, diaries and letters - scholars have made increasing use of archival research as there has been a growing appreciation for historical records -can be used for cross cultural and historical comparisons

advantages and prospects of telephone surveys

- eliminate interview bias -supervisors can easily monitor calls -allow for biases to be caught and quickly addressed -allow for wide and representative samples -inexpensive and quick -typically have low non-response rates - flat rate charge for unlimited long distance calls -believed effective in obtaining hard to locate responses -high refusal to participate can be circumvented if the researcher use short yes or no answers

Gate Keepers

- essential to research since they hold the key to the researcher gaining entry into the social world of being researched - someone who is willing to accept purpose of the study given by researcher and vouch for his/her presence to others

advantages of interviews

- face-to-face contact which typically results in higher response rate - provide opportunity to clear up confusion about questions/ items -make personal observations of respondents that may prove helpful later - allow researchers to read to those who may be either semiliterate or illiterate -provide interviewer to make use of cards, charts, and audiovisual aids - can make return visit if necessary and use language understandable -determine who is actually responding to question and judge when to ask questions -interviews can also be used to acquire a womens experience that often include standard surveys

Advantages of Case studies

- flexible since they allow researchers to use several data gathering techniques -case studies may be conducted in almost any type of social environment -may be inexpensive, depending on the extent of inquiry involved and the type of data collection technique used

Interviewing

- interviewing can refer to a variety of face-to-face situation in which the researchers orally solicits responses -Berg defines interviews as having conversations with purpose of gathering or collecting info/data -these rang from in depth lengthy interviews of one or a few subject to fairly structured surveys of large groups -after weighing advantages and disadvantages researchers should carefully considered other technique collect data

disguised observation

- involves any type of research in which the researcher hides his/her presence or purpose for interacting with a group -one problem is potentially long waiting period for results or expected behavior to occur -use of confederate: person planned to facilitate that which is to be observed

NCVS is conducted using a complex stratified multistage cluster sample

-The sampling Frame: -a national sampling frame is developed in which about 2,000 primary sampling units are defined as either a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, a country, or small group of countries - these clusters are then stratified on the basis of size, density, pop mobility, and other important socioeconomic criteria into 376 strata -one primary sampling unit is chosen from each strata with a proportionate probability with respect to pop size -primary sampling unit clusters of roughly four adjacent neighboring housing units are selected systematically so that each housing in the country has an equal probability of being selected (EPSEM)

Face-to-Face interviews

-attempted with household informants (any person 18ys or older) -surveys take 30 minutes -has 2 parts: screening questions and incident reports: -questions about personal victimization are asked of each household members 12 yrs of age or older -if victimization is claimed in the screening instrument, the incident report is followed up on the details such as info on offender, offense, victims actions and economic loss -subsequent interviews are obtained via a combination of personal and telephone interviews

disadvantages of the case study method

-because they are time consuming they are not conducted with the same broad magnitude as surveys - have limited generalizability - researchers bias and the type of case selected for analysis

Gaining Access (must have entry)

-before becoming an insider, learn the language of the group under investigation. Avoid overusing it and trying too hard to be an insider -experts argue that the initial intro to criminals in the field may be gained by frequenting their haunts (places where people frequently hangout) or sharing either common recreational interest - Howard Becker suggest that cabdrivers, reporters, bartenders and the police officers are good sources of info -if ones status (race and ethnicity) provides access to deviant groups, take advantage - Richard Tewksbury and colleagues suggest following to gain entry: knowledgeable insider, potential participant, marginal member, emphatic outsider, knowledgeable outsider working with a knowledgeable insider

physical location

-behavior occuring without the researchers intervention in the conditions that elicit the behavior

meta-analysis

-coined by Gene Glass -refers to quantitative analysis that reviews, combines, and summarizes the results of many different studies dealing with the same research question - techniques summarizes and sythesizes results of multiples studies to produce cumulative conclusion

Mistaken Reporting

-common error found in victim surveys -inaccurate info could be a mistake (some people may actually believe they were the victims of crime) -people lack the legal definition of what constitutes criminal actions and may report incidents that are not really crimes. -ex) a return home to find opened door or window, misplaced or lost items

complete participation

-complete participation occurs when the researcher not only join in, but begins to manipulate the direction of group activity -this strategy is rare and is believed to violate the researchers actual role in the process -experts argue that this strategy also has the impact of the researcher influencing the behavior of the subjects, rather than, the subjects acting in a natural manner

sampling bias

-could be either deliberate or accidental exclusions or additions of certain people or demographics

limitations of official data

-data have been gathered for agency purposes -may contain degrees of accuracy or operationalization the research desires -data may be "fudged" to give favorable impression of organization -long term studies may suffer from changes in instrumentation or recors keeping procedures of the agency -researchers often dicover that variables are not often properly measured - where cross national (cultural) research in CJ is concerned: researchers discover that stats are often dated, imcomplete, incomprehensive -state can be missing since many countries do not have yearly report of crime ( some countries do not report their crimes at all)

personal documents and biographies

-data have tremendous use in sociological as well as criminological studies - diaries kept by subjects have been used in studies on drug subcultures - represents places where data are stored on intimate activity (diary of ann frank, mein kampf) -can provide details about behavior, events, and aspects of individual and other participants life -some use diary methods by commissioning subjects/people to maintain record of activities for specified period of time -method has been used in studies regarding tv viewing, lifestyles, alcohol comsumptions, sexual behavior, and anxiety in children

benefits of victim survey

-despite the problems associated with victims surveys, they hold tremendous promise: -they have become a model that others countries are now using to collect crime data - they allow for an opportunity to obtain a picture of victims and their characteristics -They may give a more accurate estimates for crimes such as rape, assaults, and intimate personal violence (due to non-reporting) - the potential exists (telephone surveys) for jurisdiction to conduct their own victim surveys to gauge, plan, and evaluate elements of police services -they also useful for measuring the costs associated with crime, especially with respect to injuries, insurance, and crime prevention programs

What can we learn from correctional officers incident reports?

-did an inmate engage in rule infractions - how was the matter resoled -was an inmate physically abused by corrections officers - Lee correctional Institute in Bishopville SC - 7 inmates killed and 17 other inmates seriously wounded

Advantages of participant observation

-excellent tool for gathering qualitative data on subjects that little is known about (kkk, gangs, etc) -method produces less prejudgments - method is less disturbing to respondents than experiments -more flexible and natural as a data gathering technique -after being in the field for a while, contradictions between attitudes and behavior become apparent

false reporting

-false reporting leads to erroneous victim data - a little falsification should be expected from respondents -one would be overoptimistic in assuming greater accuracy in recall of criminal victimization

focus group

-focus groups can also be studied over the telephone. technique can garner participation from people in large or remove geographic areas - group can be connected inexpensively to defraying cost of airline fare, hotel, meals and other expenses associated with bringing people to a central location to measure group resources -can be achieved telephone conference -letters of informed consent may be required -reminder call before start of session (use landline)

going native

-going native occurs when the researcher over identifies with the group or subjects of the investigation and abandons his/her objective role as researcher, sometimes the researcher becomes one of the subjects -ex) anthropologist who married cannibal chief, professor who removed for using buying and giving drugs addicts heroin to interviews for his research

complete observation

-include experimental and unobtrusive measures. research of Stein (1974) is instructive in this regard -He used one way mirrors to secretly observe and record hundreds of sessions between prostitutes and their clients

observation

-is a strategy of data collection in which the investigator attempts to examine the activity of subjects while keeping her or his presence either secret or to a minimum

Mnemonics

-is a system of memorizing. it is used in field research when note taking is impossible or unwise -a technique once used by preliterate societies to orally pass down its traditions -process allows the researcher to later reconstruct in exact details what transpired -Dictaphones (sound recording machines that reproduce dictation) can also be a great device to use so that info can be later transcribed (this can help researchers to better manage data)

depth interviews

-more intensive and detailed, fewer subjects than is case in standard survey and particularly useful life histories or case studies methods - researcher has list of topics to be explored but exercises great discretion and flexibility in manner, timing, and direction of question -excellent for hypothesis generating or explanatory research -some classic example of this technique were used in many case studies and oral histories such as The Professional Thief and Other Peoples Money

researchers must avoid over-socialization and "going native"

-occurs when researcher becomes so immersed in the study and group that the new identity becomes part of who he/she is -researcher may become fascinated by the lifestyle of the group under investigation -criminal subjects may attempt to convince the researcher that he/she could be successful as a criminal if he/she were in the lifestyle -going native is dangerous in participant observation studies

over reporting and under reporting

-over reporting occurs because respondents tend to report acts that they ordinarily regard as being trivial or unimportant to warrant police attention or intervention -underreporting occurs because victim do not report crimes committed by a friend, relative, or family member -also a lack of reports on crime committed by criminal elites and others -most victims surveys do not include nonresidents and foreign visitors, especially found in inner-city urban areas with huge commuter pops (LA, NY, and Washington)

characteristics of participant observation

-participant observation places high demands on time and personal costs -cost refers not to money but instead to personal involvement -the researcher must commit to studying a group for an extended period of time (ranging from several weeks, months and maybe years) -observer hopes to understand the frame of reference of the group they are studying (must join group in their normal activities to experience things as they do) -could cause the researcher to become a different person

other recording methods

-photographs when allowed can serve as second type of field note - be aware of the use of tape recorders, videotapes, films, and other mechanical devices. these can help with recall -subjects will not allow the researcher to use such devices in every research investigation

Types of unobtrusive methods

-physical trace analysis - archival, existing data, and autobiographies - simple observation - disguised observation - simulation

poor memory

-poor memory is referred to as the progressive memory loss so the distance increases between the time of the event and the time of the interview concerning the event

SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences)

-possibly most widely used computer software for analysis or quanitative data for social scientist - descriptive stats are technique used to summarize large amounts of numerical data, typically use graphs frequency distribution and tables - inferential stats allow us to make inference about entire pop even though we don't have sample to it -provides software for analyzing survey responses -allows one to analyze, interpret, present and organize data

primary dara

-primary records are those that are collected by the researcher him/herself

Secondary analysis

-reanalysis of data that were gathered for other purposes -can be used to address research concerns in criminology and cj -some of these data sources consist of primary data sources and secondary data sources

unstructured interviews (open-ended)

-referred to as focused, clinical, nondirective -provide open-ended responses, no predetermined response categories are provided - questions are posed and respondents must provide answer - open-ended items may present coding nightmare, but provide qualitative detail and complexity of response that may be required in studying of less known subjects

field notes

-researcher must keep extensive and detail notes or use diaries to record all observations - detail notes should be kept of everything that occur even events or acts that seem trivial at the time - researcher may perceive events unimportant because of his/her lack of familiarity with the culture -may later have significant meaning -researches also suggest that more time should be spent taking quality field notes than time spent in the field

reverse record checks

-reverse record checks require the researcher to validate reported behavior on the basis of studying a group whose behavior is already known -pilot studies of known victims who had reported their incidents to police were conducted in Washington DC, Baltimore, and San Jose - these studies found recall deteriorates more quickly after 6 months and particularly forgotten are crimes committed by close acquaintances -reinterview of the same group (by a different interviewer) enables an assessment of potential bias and interviewer bias

training and operation session

-should be properly trained in workshop on complexity of study, be familiar with organizations and purpose of investigation -provide details to feel they are important part of study and be prepared to answer questions -also be asked to sign confidentiality agreement promising not to disclose any info about study or participants - should mail letter or phone call potential subjects/participant before interviewing

observation of exterior body and physial signs of behavior or attitudes

-signs of tattoos -clothing styles -ornamental objects (jewelry and other possessions)

secondary data

-sources already exist but may be new to subsequent researchers -involves the reanalysis of data that were origianlly collected for other purposed and even funded by governmental agencies in some cases - why use: gathering original data can be time-consuming, expensive and require rescources, this method saves time money and other valuable -allows one to investigate large data sets that a single researcher may not be able to collect on his/her own

steps in meta-analysis

-specifying the research problem and its basic terms - selecting a representative set of studies for review (requires an extensive literature review) -building a base relevant data for the review by summarizing, describing and coding the features of separate studies and translating features of separate studies and translating them into comparable categories and terms -analyzing the database of studies for patterns of significant effects and for theoretically meaningful correlations - providing a summary description of the results and some evaluation - technique is not often used in cjr

content analysis

-systematic analysis and selective classification of the contents of mass communication - technique good for comparative and historical studies or for discerning trends in existing phenomena -basic procedure in content analysis: selection of categorizes and subjects, rigorous establishment of criteria for inclusion, carefully following the preestablished classification scheme, statistically analyzing the results - could be either latent or manifest content. Lantent is meaning that lies beneath the superficial indicators of content -Manifest is concerned with uncovering apparent content of item in question or what it is clearly about (Manifest is better)

telescoping

-tendency of respondents to move forward and report as having occurred events that actually occurred before the reference/benchmark period -about 20% of the victimizations in police records were reported as having occurred before the reference period. However the victimization survey sample revealed that they had occurred within reference period (some subjects engage in this process to satisfy interviewers

bounding

-the use of NCVS allow the researcher to achieve bounding -1st interview with resident result in a panel that can be followed up 5 times every 6 months before being dropped out of the sample -at each 6 month interview, respondents are asked about events since the last interview (used to measure whether the person has experienced more or less victimization) -bounding is made possible beginning with the interview during which the boundary or time period during which events were recalled as having taken place can be established -events recalled later can be tracked with the previous interview, thus eliminating telescoping of reports -remember that using different coders to classify the same data enables assessment of coding erroe

What can we learn from court reports

- who appeared before the court and why - How was the matter settled or disposed

Vignettes and Scenarios

- "short stories" about hypothetical characteristics in specified circumstances to whose situations the interview if invited to respond - short stories about individual, situation and structure -can seen as warm-up exercises to get people to interact. Brief incident or scene -stories differ with respect to age, gender, ethnicity and use to explore sensitive topics

Types of participant observation

- (1) complete participation; (2) participant as observer; (3) observer as participant; and (4) complete observation

computer in survey research

- 1st wave of computer usage in SS - involved data management and statistical analysis -2nd wave more advanced - computer assistance program interviewing (CAPI) - uses laptop computer instead of clipboard -longitudinal projects, respondents, can be provided and inexpensive computer -some believe computerized interviews better than standard be (1) eliminate interview biases, (2) obtain more standardize responses (3) assure anonymity, (4) and reduce coding error -focus group research is suitable for Continuous Audience Response Technology (CART) -during this process groups are brought together to measure a stimuli

observer must attempt to operate mentally on 2 levels

-1: becoming an insider -2: remaining an outsider -observer must report everything and cannot take things for granted as being normal -observer must be able to report patterns of behavior and interrelationships objectively and without moral bias -role of the "outsider" can be very valuable when subjects share important info -sometimes informants may be more willing to open-up to neutral and reliable outsiders

participant observation

- refers to a variety of strategies in which the researcher studies a group in its natural setting by observing its activities and to varying degrees, participating in its activities -represents a commitments to more inductive or sensitizing strategy - Dean Champion (1993) argues that if properly conducted, observation is characterized by the following: -1. observations capture the natural social context where persons behavior occurs -2. observation grasp significant events or occurrences that might influence the social interaction of participants -3. observations determine what makes up reality from the world views, the outlooks and philosophies of those being observed -4. observations identify regularities and recurrences in social life by comparing and contrasting data obtained in one study with those obtained in studies of other natural settings

Case Studies

- relatively through examination of specific social settings or particular aspects of social settings, including detailed psychological and behavioral descriptions of persons in those settings -in depth, qualitative studies of one or a few illustrative cases - nearly every aspect of the subjects life is examined for patterns and causes of behavior -can be exploratory, descriptive or explanatory - provide a micro-criminological or in depth close up of one or only a few cases -also be a study of a crime commission

Ethical dilemmas often emerge while in the field

- researcher must decide what to do - deception is often necessary to collect these data -researchers must control their biases which could influence how they observe, record, and interpret -field research produces non-quantitative which requires literary and analytical skills at the write up stage of the process - no way to repeat or replicate field experience -physical environments often change - use of pseudonyms (of subjects who actually participated in the study) -people may eventually leave the scene/lifestyle

objectivity In research

- researchers must avoid over identification with the study, group, but also aversion to it -researchers must remain objective despite personal subjective bias -all of us face the problem of maintaining perspective in any situation in which we participate intimately over a considerable period of time (William foote white) -researchers (especially anthropologists) may find some of the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of the societies they study repugnant and immoral. However they are trained not to judge, but rather to record the meaning of these behaviors to the people who practice them

The Chicago School of Sociology in 1920s

- scholars at the University of Chicago fully engaged in participant observation and case study methods to investigate the abundance of social problems, including crime that was common to Chicago in the 20s, 30s, and 40s -the city was influenced by rapid industrialization, mass immigration, migration, prohibition, the greater depression, and the effects of ww1 - some experts feels that as research funds continue to decline, researchers will return to this form of data collection -while cjr typically focuses on the public, victims, criminals justice functionaries, field research as a technique is viewed as a neglected and underused technique

techniques employed in Telephone surveys

- sensitive items such as income can be handled by a line of questioning employing branching procedure in which income is narrowed down to broad estimates - likelihood of refusal is greater during the first minutes of the telephone conversation -interviewer should avoid screening respondents with threatening or sensitive questions or questions that easily permit the subject to refuse -ex) is there anyone there who earns under $20,000 a year?" -even questions requiring scaled responses rather than simply "yes" or "no" can be answered over the telephone

simulations

- situation or game that attempts to mimic or imitate, key features of reality, can be either human or computer - may range from simple relatively nonserious play activities or games to highly complex computer simulations of world economy or international diplomacy -should include debriefing of subjects to reassure them and explain full purpose of study -involve computer models that analyze and imitate activity through mathematical models - have become a useful part of many natura systems such as human systems in economics, psychology and other social sciences to gain insight into the operation of those

physical trace analysis

- study of deposits, accretion of matter and other indirect substances produced by previous human interaction - physical evidence left behind by a pop that are generated without the producers knowledge of their future use by researchers -distinction between 2 types: erosion and accretion measures erosion measures are the natural remnants of some pops activity that has selectively worn certain objects -Accretion measures constitute a pops deposit of materials. researcher examines those remnants that are left by people and are suggestive of some behavior - commonly used in crime scence investigation and forensic science, also used in antropology and archelogy

Announcement of Intentions

- suggest researchers should announce their intended purpose early to the group they intended purpose early to the group they intend to study - this allows the researcher not to pretend to be one of them -most subjects will accept the explanation that the researchers is writing a book on the subject matter -Orenstein and Phillips recommend that a detail explanation be given to leaders, sponsors or contacts who must answer for the researchers presence

Interviewing Aids and Variations

- tend greater versatility and accuracy to this method of collecting data -videotapes have been used in small # of important interviews, ASC and ACJS interview famous CJ -recorded by means of tape recorders, Allows greater accuracy and not having to take notes spot on - pictorials, photos, and motion pictures have been successfully used to enhance interviewer process - respondents can be handed a card that contains income range and specific to general range -pictures can be used to "break the ice" and facilitate discussions

Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI)

- the efficiency of telephone interviewing has been enhanced with the widespread use of computer assisted interviews - allows for easy supervision, tape recorded interviews, reduces the prospect of respondents answers being influenced by the personal characteristics of the interviewer -computer flashes on the monitor the question to be asked the interviewer keys in the answer, and program chooses the next question to be asked

sampling

- the use of random sampling is inappropriate in participant observation research - researchers often rely on snowball sampling -experts encourage field researchers to be "up-front" about their intended purpose in the field

Life history/oral history

- these techniques are typically used in case study methods -Kraska defines life history as a life history or a biographical interview that is a special type of field interviewing -journalist use the term autobiography and others such as historians and social scientists may refer to them as documentary expression or oral history -the process may include videotaping prominent criminologist and criminal justicians - researchers interview and gathers documentary material about someone's life, usually someone who is older -the researcher ask open-ended questions to capture how the person understands his/her own past -main person is to get at how the respondents see/remembers the past not just some kind of objective truth -a grid can even be used in the process which may consist of occupation, education, family events, or 10 different ages of the person -it can be considered a subtype of oral history

concern for accuracy

- to ensure participant observation researchers report matters correctly, they should use multiple forms of data sources to validate their findings -to assign validity to data some experts suggest the following: 1. data gathering by direct observation (the researcher) -2. data gathering by direct observation (from others) - interviews corroborated by other documents - data corroborated by using several (or multiple) informants - when this occurs, rank informants based on their reliability (low to high priority) - In the book, The Fence: in the shadow of two worlds: steffenmeier used the following for validity checks: use a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th interview to measure the same thing, some interviews were tape recorded

participant as observer

- type that most people identify as the role of the researcher - this strategy requires that the researcher makes his/her presence known and tries to objectively observe the activities of the group (without influencing it)

disadvantages of telephone survey

- typically are problematic when trying to conduct in-depth responses - do not provide qualitative details provided by face-to-face -exclude many people without telephone or unlisted or private numbers -no way to determine if the person on the phone fits the target pop with respect to income and occupation

examples of secondary analysis

- typically stats and other existing public docs -UCR and Bureau of Prisons stats - examine PD records, police assaults, police personnel records, Census Bureau -Interpol data

probing

- when respondent does not provide enough info in answer, probing is needed - involves asking follow-up questions to: focus, expand, clarify, or further explain response given - interviewer should be familiar with responses needed for each question to know when a probe is necessary -probe should not appear to be a cross-examination, but should be a natural extension of the interview -silence is golden, the interviewers silence should indicate to the respondent that he or she is not going to accept that response

What can we learn from police reports

- who officers stop with repsect to race/ehtnicity, socioeconomic status and gender - why a stop was made - what actions were taken after the stop

victim survey in CJ

-"dark figures" of crime have escaped official stats involve asking questions to representative sample to pop to obtain instantiation of vict a portion of which is not reported to police -BJS created by congress to coordinate local, state, and federal agencies -in late 1960s victim survey were conducted on a large scale basis to measure crime (as a result a major victim survey was stated in the US and in other countries) -most ambitious effort to collect these data came from the US with the help of the department of justices bureau of statistics which utilizes the US census Bureau as the data gathering agent - Other pilot surveys conducted by LEAA in the early 70s helped to identify major methodological issues to be addressed in later, larger BJS surveys -some of these issues included: recall periods, reverse validity checks, problems of under and over reporting, creditability of respondents and sampling questions

Trulson, Marquart, and Mullings 10 tips for breaking into prison for research

-1. get a contact -2. establish yourself and your research -3. little things count (be on time) -4. make sense of agency data by keeping in contact -5. deliver competent, reasonable reports on time -6. ask to brief agency and give a formal presentation of finding -7. write thank you notes -8. deal with adversity by planning ahead -9. inform agency of data use -10. maintain trust by keeping in contact

major purposes of observations

-1. to capture human conduct as it actually happens, to permit us to view the processual features of behavior -2. to provide more graphic descriptions of social life than can be acquired in other ways -3. to learn in an exploratory scene, those things that should receive more attention by researchers

Victim Surveys: A balanced View

-1974 LEAA released victimization findings for 13 central city surveys and reported that: -in covering the :dark figures" of crime the survey showed there was twice as much crime as appeared in official police stats -after reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of victim surveys it seems fair to conclude that: -for personal and household crimes, both victim surveys and UCR measure the true rate is most likely somewhere between victim survey which is overestimated crime and the UCR which underestimates crime

redesigning the NCVS

-1974, because of efforts from the National Academy of Sciences and an internal review by a predecessor of the BJS, a project was started to evaluate and redesign the NCVS -implementation of some of these redesign plans started in 1986 and other followed later - 1st set of changes had minimal impact on NCVS victimization rates -most of these items related to expanding the questions. the items were related to drug and alcohol use by offenders, self-protective measures taken by victims, police actions, victim contact with the justice system, location of crime, victim activity (precipitation) and expansion of several existing questions -other changes included decision to use CATI -other modifications include altering scope of crimes measured or adding new topic supplements to the NCVS on a regular basis -special questions will be periodically added to deal with timely issues such as school violence, school shootings, stalking, bullying, victim risk, identity theft, and others -efforts were made in redesigning the NCVS to avoid disrupting the integrity of it longitudinal design -new survey instrument was phased the NCVS so as not to compromise trend data

community crime victimization survey software

-BJS has produced crime victimization survey software to be used by local gov agency researchers to conduct their personal victimization surveys -it allow them to use the same items found in the NCVS -also contains items that can measure citizens attitudes toward crime, their neighborhoods, and local policing services

visual criminology

-the use of photographs in field studies/ ethnographies is not anything new -long tradition in anthropology and sociology -it is under explored in criminology and is rape for ethnographic investigations -can be used for data collection, analysis, and theory building - can be used to document aspects of the lives of those involved in either deviance or caught in the cjs -can also be as a pedagogical tool - Reflexive photography involves giving respondents cameras and asking them to take pics that are explored in subsequent interviews -Photo Novella: (picture stories) a form of photo interviewing that allows for discussions of needs and problems illustrated by pictures -Cecil Greek describes visual criminology as using photographs as an ethnographic tool in cj settings -photography is also used for news media and for collecting evidence to be used in forensic and legal matters

cost of large samples

-victim surveys require large samples to ensure the appearance of rare events -rare victimization requires large numbers -because sampling error is proportionate to the size of the sample instead of the size of the pop being sample, a larger sample is needed

tips on participant observation

-when it comes to studying criminals in their natural environment Polsky suggest: -one should remember that the subjects is in greater danger as a result of being studied in the field than is someone in jail -the researcher is more of an intruder and the subjects are free to not participate -in studying criminals in their natural environment: researchers should avoid taking notes on the spot and using questionnaires or tape recorders - in beginning researcher should just observe and listen not asking too many questions - researchers middleclass language and probing may become irritating to subjects -William foote white: one has to learn when to question and when not to question as well as what questions to ask

general procedures in participant observation

-while there is no best approach to participant observation, there is one customary procedure that field researchers agree -do not study a group that you have long standing membership - it would be difficult for the researcher to maintain objectivity -member/ researcher is too entrenched in the culture to be objective -the membership will not treat someone it knows as a researcher