Lecture notes of Criminological Research for Social Science students (RGBUSTR005)
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Course
Criminological Research (RGBUSTR005)
Institution
Universiteit Utrecht (UU)
Concise summary of lecture notes of the course Criminological Research for social science students, which is part of the criminology minor at Utrecht University.
Lectures Criminological Research for Social Science Students
Lecture 1 Introduction to criminological research
Criminological research Interdisciplinary social science
- Different explanatory models:
1. Psychology
2. Sociology
3. Economy
- Analysis level
1. Micro
2. Meso
3. Macro
- Empirical research
Quantitative vs Quantitative
qualitative - Measuring the size of nature of a phenomenon; testing
theory; generalization
Qualitative
- Get understanding of deeper meaning, experiences etc
Quali vs Quanti
- Quantitative dominant
- Qualitative less common – in-depth data
- Quanti N=large
- Quali N=small
- Quanti used for generalization
- Quali is content-related
Quanti Descriptive research, describe crime
- Scope
Correlation research; compare phenomena
- Development/coherence
Experimental research, causal relationships and crime
- Testing
Quanti research Examples
- Survey research; large-scale questionnaires
- Secondary analysis; existing data
- Experimental laboratory research
- Longitudinal study
- Meta-analysis
Quali Qualitative approach
- Explorative (no testing)(Dive deep)
- Interpretative (verstehen)(subjective understanding)
- Constructive (social, cultural, etc.)
- Inductive (data to theory)
- Holistic (all aspects)
- Contextual (focus in context)
- Cyclical and iterative (repeating empirical cycle)
- Primary data (first-hand, fieldwork)
Collecting data Existing data at police and judicial authorities
, - Illegal activity
- Police reports
- Criminal cases
Non-judicial data
- CBS
- Crime and law enforcement (WODC & CBS)
- United Nations: UNSTATS & UNODC
Victim or offender surveys
! there are inaccurate stats bcs of dark stats (a lot not reported) !
Dark number - Fraction of illegal activities actually recorded and
reported
Non-response - High non-response in criminological research
- People refuse to answer bcs is about crime
Empirical cycle 1. Observation
2. Induction
- Formulate abstract research question
- Guiding cause and measurable effect
- From specific to generalization/theory
- Propositions and concepts
3. Deduction
- Specify general theory
- Develop workable hypothesis
- From general/theory to particular
- Operationalize
4. Testing
- Conducting research
- Collect data
- Analysing/testing
5. Evaluation
- Confirm or reject hypothesis/theory
- Sufficient evidence?
- Theory can be: adjust, expand, improve
Why focus on - Experiments difficult or impossible
qualitative methods in - Official statistics limited (dark number) and politically
criminology loaded (crime numbers = hot issues)
- Survey data on sensitive topics: gap between attitudes
(speech) and social practices (deeds)
- Unrecorded fields such as organised, corporate, state
and white-collar crime. Also group or gender violence,
fraud, drugs, etc.
Qualitative research - Cross-sectional or snapshot (one moment)
designs (in criminology) - Comparative (also meta-level and parallel studies)
- Longitudinal (more measurements, development)
- Retrospective (biography, life history, perceptions before
and after intervention, historical)
- Case study (n=1)
- Ethnographic (small groups, thick descriptions,
, verstehen)
Practical cycle of 1. Problem statement, research question
qualitative research 2. Determine location/situation/case
3. Determine method, respondent/group selection
“sampling”
4. Acquire access, ask permission
5. Collect, record, retain data
6. Data analysis
7. Report
! from data analysis, you can go back to 1, 2, 3 !
! from acquiring access, you can go back to 2: determining
location !
Research question - Literature search / information first!
- Investigable (empirical – ethical)
- Feasibility (time – money – response / access)
- Simple and clear
- Relevant (scientific, social, policy) and original
- Balance between focused and broad
- What, who, where, when, how and why
- No YES-NO questions, better open questions
- Careful with why questions (factors? Motives?)
Data collection - Interviews
methods - Participant observation in situations/locations withing
groups, networks, organizations, etc.
- Discourse analysis (text, image, sound, art, film)
- Content analysis
- Every above method can happen online
Seminar 1
Illegal markets of goods and services
Deadlines - 9th June 17.00 research assignment
- Seminar 2, 17.00 zondag mail naar Romee and other
subgroup: a4, research proposal: student names +
number, intro(context), relevance, RQ, methods, min. 5
literature references, who, how, when, where
RQ Open
Relevant
Original
Broad, not too broad
Demarcated, concrete: What when where
Defined in 1 way
Feasible, doable
Explanatory questions, not descriptive
Lecture 2 Open interview
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