1. Researching Deviance 3 Primary Sources of Information/Data:
Official Data
Survey Data
Qualitative Data

2. Official Data Sources
Reliance on agencies (and their agents) who police/advocate specific behaviors
Sample:
Persons/behaviors that come to attention of official agents/agencies
Who’s left out?
Goal/Strengths:
Uniformity of data
Generalize-ability to a large population
Problems:
Missing data; Consequences of sample bias?
Data may simply be artifacts of reporting procedures
Politics of control agents and clients; inducements/deterrents
Trends may reflect cultural focus of moral panics rather than real change
How are these reflected in the study of Child Abuse Reporting?

3. Self-report Surveys Mode of Administration: Sample: Probability sample
Phone, Mail and In-person
Sample: Probability sample
representative of (sub)population(s) of interest
Sample size determined by need for precise estimates
Response rate & sample bias
Data generated from a questionnaire
Asking good questions
Limit sources of measurement error and other response burdens

4. Self-report Surveys Goal/Strengths of Surveys:
Generalize to population (external validity);
Efficiency;
Uniformity
Problems/Issues to be aware of:
Cooperation & Response rate – issues of sample bias?
Missing data
Measurement error
Candor, especially about deviant behavior
Asking the wrong questions
Constraining responses

5. Qualitative Research In-depth interviews Ethnography Goal/Strengths:
Gathering the viewpoint of subjects/internal validity;
M. Weber’s concept of “Verstehen” (understanding); objectivity
Thick description of context and behavior which give life to social meanings

6. Qualitative Research Long-term Observation
Sample: referral; “snowball”
Problems/Issues to be aware of :
Ethical dilemmas; Human subjects (IRB)
Covert vs. Overt research – informed consent
Legal issues
Navigating scientific and deviant subcultural terrains (at odds);
Rapport and trust is critical;
“Going Native”;
Hawthorne effect?