Criminological Research for Social Science Student (200900353)
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Universiteit Utrecht (UU)
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Criminological Research for Social Science Student (200900353)
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Criminological research
Inhoudsopgave
Lecture 1.....................................................................................................................................2
H. Bows – Methodological approaches to criminological research........................................2
H. Becker – Whose side are we on?........................................................................................4
J. Ferrell – Criminological Verstehen: Inside the immediacy of crime...................................6
L. Potter & G.R. Potter – “Snitches get stitches”: researching both sides of illegal markets. 8
Lecture 2....................................................................................................................................11
R. Legard et al. – In-depth interviews...................................................................................11
R. Gundur – Using the internet to recruit respondents for offline interviews in
criminological studies...........................................................................................................16
Lecture 3...................................................................................................................................18
S. Hall – Doing ethnographic research in criminology.........................................................18
S. Sandberg & H. Copes – Speaking with ethnographers: The challenges of researching
drug dealers and offenders....................................................................................................21
Lecture 4...................................................................................................................................25
M. Eisner – Long-term historical trends in violent crime.....................................................25
J. Deakin & J. Spencer – Using social surveys in criminological research..........................28
E. Van de Veer et al. – Feelings of safety: Ironic consequences of police patrolling............30
Lecture 5...................................................................................................................................32
M. Yar – Doing criminological research online....................................................................32
N. James & H. Busher – Internet interviewing.....................................................................34
M. Urbanik et al. – Ethical and methodological issues in gang ethnography in the digital
age: Lessons from four studies in an emerging field............................................................36
Lecture 6...................................................................................................................................38
R. Gill – Discourse analysis..................................................................................................38
K. Hayward – Visual criminology: Cultural criminology-style............................................40
L. Pauwels – Key methods of visual criminology................................................................41
Lecture 7...................................................................................................................................43
P. Davies – Doing data analysis in criminological research..................................................43
H. Rubin & I. Rubin – Data analysis in the responsive interviewing model........................45
Lecture 8...................................................................................................................................48
C. Kaplan & H. Verbraeck – Where have all the fieldnotes gone? The changing nature and
politics of drug ethnography in the Netherlands...................................................................48
D. Briggs – Living realities: The importance of ethnographic drug research.......................49
,Lecture 1
H. Bows – Methodological approaches to criminological research
Methodology concerns the process of examining methods and comparing the kinds of
knowledge they produce. This process is underpinned by epistemological concerns, which are
based on how the researcher views knowledge and the best way to gain knowledge about a
particular social phenomenon. The end product is a particular method (or methods) which
is/are adopted to conduct the research. The methodology can therefore be thought of as the
system and methods as the tools.
There are three broad research strategies:
Descriptive research describes people, situations, or phenomena.
Explanatory research intends to explain why a phenomenon occurs and is usually
developed to test a particular hypothesis.
Exploratory research is often used when little is known about a phenomenon. This
type of research seeks to create hypotheses rather than test one.
The methodology provides the framework for your research and is the approach to studying
the research topic and turns the research questions into projects. There are two broad
approaches to research: qualitative and quantitative. Each approach is steered by several sets
of assumptions and these assumptions guide which approach is deemed the most appropriate
for the research. The assumptions are based on your ontological and epistemological
positions. A philosophical question is: if a tree falls in the forest but no one hears it, does it
make a sound? The quantitative ontology would say it did. Qualitative ontology, however,
would say that a sound can only be a sound if someone hears it. The way in which you view
the world and reality (ontology) therefore shapes the type of knowledge (epistemology) you
seek to gain and the way you gain the knowledge.
Qualitative methodology is concerned with exploring the behaviour, opinions or
perspectives, feelings and experiences of people as individuals or groups. Reality exists not
independently of people, but rather is socially constructed, and meaning is developed through
experience. Consequently, qualitative methodology is rooted in a constructivist epistemology.
Qualitative methodology does not seek to test out preconceived ideas or theories.
In contrast, quantitative methodology is concerned with measuring or testing existing ideas or
theories (hypotheses) and generally assumes that reality exists independently of human
construction and experience. This epistemology is positivistic. Central to this methodological
approach is validity and reliability and scientific methods are viewed as the ‘best’ methods to
gain valid, reliable knowledge. Reliability focuses on consistency of measurement and
replication.
Increasingly, researchers are realizing the benefits of combining quantitative and qualitative
approaches. There are two types of methodological triangulation: ‘across method’ which
combines both quantitative and qualitative data collection, and ‘within method’ which
involves the use of different approaches within either qualitative or quantitative methods.
According to Denzin, four broad types of triangulation are:
1. Data triangulation involving time, space and people;
2. Investigator triangulation involving multiple observers of the same object;
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, 3. Theoretical triangulation involving multiple perspectives on the same set of objects;
4. Methodological triangulation, either within method or mixed method.
Primary data collection involves collecting data which does not currently exist. Secondary
data collection is the collection of materials, evidence or data which already exists but may
not have been collected or analysed previously, or you intend to analyse it in a different way.
There are many different methods that are useful for collecting primary data, and the type of
method used will depend on the nature of the research, the research question and the
methodological framework.
Surveys are a popular method in criminological research and are often used by government
officials. A survey generally collects data on different variables, which can broadly be
categorized into three groups: (1) attributes (i.e. demographic information such as gender, age
and marital status), (2) behaviour (i.e. questions on the what, when and how often), and (3)
opinions, beliefs or attitudes. Questions on surveys can be open or closed, and closed
questions are usually yes/no questions or Likert scale questions. Surveys allow researchers to
gather a lot of information from a large sample of people in a single instrument, and they can
be cost-effective and relatively quick. Surveys have been criticized by ‘attempting to convert
a social process into a series of quantifiable moments which do not adequately reflect the
experiences or feelings of those interviewed’. Reliance on coding-isolated responses strips
them of any remaining context.
Usually associated with qualitative methodology, semi-structured or unstructured interviews
are used to gain in-depth, ‘rich’ data about a particular social phenomenon. The purpose of the
interview is to gain in-depth data, placing the interviewee at the heart of the research, and
inductively obtaining information in a natural setting. Its purpose is also to provide
descriptions which can inform theory, rather than testing predetermined hypotheses or
theories. It seeks to investigate the participants’ own reality. However, one of the main
problems is the difficulty in generalizing.
The key characteristics of a focus group are a collective, organized discussion and interaction
between a group of people. In a focus group, participants interact with each other, asking each
other questions or making statements which other participants respond to. One of the primary
benefits of using focus groups is that participants help to stimulate and develop data through
their discussions with each other. Another strength is that it allows the researcher to gather a
large amount of data in a short period of time. The primary limitations of focus groups are that
certain people in the group may be more vocal, or controlling, of the discussion than others. In
some environments, people may not feel comfortable answering questions honestly and focus
groups may not be appropriate for all research topics. However, some of these issues can be
mitigated by the researcher ‘chairing’ the discussion effectively.
Ethnography is an umbrella term for a methodology which incorporates a number of different
approaches, including observation, participation observation, autoethnography and interviews.
One of the most common methods is participant observation. This involves observation of
individuals or groups of people in their natural setting to understand more about them, their
lives and cultures. It is a form of ‘fieldwork’.
‘Creative’ methods can be used alone but are often used in combination with other methods.
These methods have been particularly useful in research with young people, but also those in
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, ‘hard to reach’ groups. Photos can be used to stimulate discourse in interviews or focus
groups or can be used as part of a participatory-action approach to research. One of the most
common ways to utilize this method is to give participants cameras and ask them to take
photos representing particular topics, with the resulting photographs either analysed or used to
stimulate discussion. These methods enable participants to be actively involved in
constructing knowledge.
Increasingly researchers are now using these methodologies in combination with each other.
The benefits of combining methods is that it allows researchers to examine both the extent
and nature of a particular problem (for example, theft) by surveying a large number of people,
as well as exploring how these crimes impact communities and victims and the needs of these
victims.
Secondary research involves the analysis of existing data. Secondary analysis of existing data
is used to find answers to research questions that differ from the questions asked in the
original research. This is a cheap and relatively quick way of producing ‘new’ findings on a
particular issue. One of the most common forms of secondary analysis is a literature review.
Reviewing existing literature allows the researcher to examine what data and theory exist in
relation to a particular topic or area of inquiry. Systematic reviews are described as “rigorous
methods for locating, appraising, and synthesizing evidence from prior evaluation studies”. A
meta-analysis is a quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design to systematically assess
previous research studies to derive conclusions about that body of research. Other forms of
reviews include rapid evidence assessments (REA) and scoping reviews.
Being aware of ethical issues in criminological research is critically important and it is
essential that ethical issues are considered prior to, and throughout, the research process. The
British Society of Criminology (BSC) code of ethics categorizes the key ethical
responsibilities into five groups: (1) general responsibilities, (2) responsibilities of researchers
towards the discipline of criminology, (3) researchers’ responsibilities to colleagues, (4)
researchers’ responsibilities towards research participants, and (5) relationships with sponsors.
H. Becker – Whose side are we on?
An ongoing dilemma in research is whether a researcher should take sides or not. According
to this article, we cannot avoid taking sides. However, this can lead to the feeling that studies
of deviance exhibit too much sympathy with the people studied. This worry affects both
readers and researchers. If the feeling were made explicit, it would take the form of an
accusation that the sympathies of the researcher have biased his work and distorted his
findings. This sympathy can, for example, lead to researchers not publishing results which
might prove damaging to the people studied, such as findings that confirm a certain
stereotype.
One thing is that sociological research to deviance is often one-sided. It is neglected to ask
those questions whose answers would show that the deviant has done something pretty bad
and deserves what he gets. The sociology of knowledge cautions us to distinguish between the
truth of a statement and an assessment of the circumstances under which that statement is
made.
A typical situation in which researchers are more likely to be accused of bias is one with a
hierarchical relationship, such as the police and the drug addict, or the professor and the
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