Lecture notes Criminological Research for Social Science Students

LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGICAL
RESEARCH
PART 1
1. Criminological research
- Interdisciplinary science
- Different explanatory models e.g.:
o Psychology
o Sociology
o Economy
- Analysis level
o Micro
 Perpetrator or victim
o Meso
 Groups in societies (subcultures)
o Macro
 Sociological approaches (anomie)
- Empirical research
o Direct and indirect observation or experiences

2. Quantitative versus qualitative
- Quantitative
o Measuring the size of nature of a phenomenon; testing theory,
generalization
o EX crime rates
o Dominant
o Provides broad data
o N=large
o Generalization
- Qualitative
o Exploratory; in-depth interviews; observations; media research
o (Much) less common
o Provides in-depth data
o N=small
o Content-related
-  Combination strengthens research quality

3. Quantitative research methods
- Descriptive research; describe crime
o Scope
- Correlational research; compare phenomena/crime
o Development/coherence
- Experimental research; causal relationships and crime
o Testing
- Examples of quantitative research
o Survey research; large-scale questionnaires
o Secondary analysis; existing data
o Experimental laboratory research

, o Longitudinal study
o Meta-analysis

Collecting data
- Existing data at the police and judicial authorities
o Illegal activity
o Police reports
o Criminal cases
- Non-judicial data (such as statistics)
o Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
o Crime and law enforcement (WODC & CBS)
o United Nations: UNSTATS & UNODC
- Victim or offender surveys
o Safety monitor, CBS, police monitor
- Self-report surveys
o WODC

Dark number
- Only a fraction of illegal activities are registered
- A large amount of data is missing
o EX not every human trafficker is caught – in fact, most are not
- Alternative
o Combining different sources (self-report, offender surveys,
victim surveys)
o Combining research methods (quantitative/qualitative)

Non-response
- High non-response in criminological research
- People refuse to answer a question because it is about crime
- The same applies to participation in the research

4. Empirical cycle




- Observation
o An idea arises from observation
o Something to explore
o Literature study to determine what is known
o Additions?
- Induction
o Formulate an abstract research question
o Guiding cause and measurable effect
o From specific to a generalization/theory

, o Propositions and concepts
- Deduction
o Specify general theory
o Develop a workable hypothesis
o From the general/theory to the particular
o Operationalize
- Testing
o Conducting research
o Collect data
o Analyzing/testing
- Evaluation
o Confirm or reject hypothesis/theory
o Sufficient evidence?
o Theory can be:
 Adjusted
 Expanded
 Improved

Population and sample
- Population = the collection of all research units
o EX all UU students
- Sample = a subset of the population. We collect data from the
research units. This group represents the population
- The sample size is represented by the letter N

Selective versus random sampling
- Random
o Each member of the subset has an equal probability of being
chosen
- Selective

Sampling
- Population: all UU students
- Sample: UU lecture students
- Sample contains characteristics of the population

PART 2
Qualitative approach
- Explorative (no testing)
- Interpretive/interpretative (verstehen)
o How the people we research see reality
o Subjective understanding
- Constructivist (social, cultural, etc.)
- Inductive (data to theory)
- Holistic (all aspects)
o All variables cohere
- Contextual (focus ‘in’ context)
- Cyclical and iterative (repeat)