1. Introduction to Criminology Instructor: Jorge Pierrott
CRJ 270
Instructor: Jorge Pierrott

2. 2
Where Do Theories Come From?

3. Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to answer the following questions:
What is evidence-based criminology? How does the meaning of the word evidence in evidence-based criminology differ from the evidence found at a crime scene or the evidence used in criminal trials?
What four eras have characterized the field of criminology over the past 100 years?
What is a theory? What purposes do theories serve? What role do research and experimentation play in theory building in criminology?
What is the role of criminological research in theory building? What is internal validity? External validity? How can threats to internal and external validity be addressed?

4. Chapter Objectives
What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
What are some of the ethical considerations involved in conducting criminological research?
How do criminological research and experimental criminology impact social policy?
What sections might a typical research report contain?

5. Why is the Criminological Theory Important?
SafeStat
Offender Risk and Needs Assessments

6. Evidence-Based Criminology
Founded upon the experimental method
Emphasizes randomized controlled experiments
“Evidence” refers to scientific findings
A. Evidence based criminology is becoming increasingly popular.
It is founded upon the experimental method and uses social science techniques in theory testing.
“Evidence” refers to scientific findings, not to the kind of evidence gathered by the police or used in criminal trials.
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7. Evidence-Based Criminology
Increasing importance in the field
American Society of Criminology Division of Experimental Criminology
Academy of Experimental Criminology
Journal of Experimental Criminology
B) The use of randomized experiments in criminology was popularized by David Farrington, Lloyd Ohlin, and James Q. Wilson, who recommend the use of experiments whenever possible to test assumptions in the justice field.
1. The American Society of Criminology has a Division of Experimental Criminology.
2. The Academy of Experimental Criminology and several important new journals give evidence- based criminology a voice

8. The Evolving Science of Criminology
John Laub’s eras of criminological thought
Golden Age of Research ( )
Golden Age of Theory ( )
Empirical testing of dominant theories ( )
Current era/21st century criminology contains “all possible offspring” of what came before
Golden Age – is referred to as a period when data on crime and criminal behavior were largely gathered and evaluated independent of any particular ideological framework.
The second era – had a focus on intellectual theorizing but no systematic attempt to link criminological research to theory.
The third era – saw empirical testing of the accuracy of dominant theories. Scientific examination of the accuracy of criminological theories that had been advanced previously.
The fourth era – all possible offspring of what came before.
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9. The Evolving Science of Criminology
Present-day criminology has moved away from armchair criminology and is more scientific.
Meaning that evidence based testing is required in order for theories to be implemented.
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10. The Evolving Science of Criminology
Scientific criminology involves:
The systematic collection of related facts
An emphasis on the scientific method
General laws, a field for experimentation or observation, control of academic discourse
Gathering facts is part of criminology but does not offer explanations for crime.
Contemporary criminologists are concerned with identifying relationships among observed facts and attempting to understand the cause of crime.
Emphasis on measurement and objectivity gives criminology its scientific flavor.
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11. The Evolving Science of Criminology
Scientific criminology involves:
Acceptance into the scientific tradition
Emphasis on a worthwhile subject
Modern criminology meets these criteria

12. Theory Building Goal of criminological research:
Construct theories or models that improve our understanding of criminal behavior and help us create effective strategies to deal with the crime problem
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13. Theory Building Theory
A series of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some class of events
Test by how well they describe, predict reality

14. Figure 2-1 The Theory Building Process

15. Uses of Theory Provide patterns for interpreting data
Population
Link studies together
Other similar studies can be linked
Supply frameworks within which concepts and variables have special significance
Who does it affect, how does it affect society?
Allow us to interpret the larger meaning of findings
Death penalty – Is a moral issue?
Because knowledge is built on experience and observation, the crux of scientific research is data collection
Some researchers distinguish between pure and applied research
Applied research is conducted with practical applications in mind so that the researcher is working toward a practical goal (reducing crime, evaluating police effectiveness, etc.)

16. The Role of Research and Experimentation
The use of standardized, systematic procedures in the search for knowledge.
Why is research important in Criminology?
Types of research
Pure vs. applied
Primary vs. secondary
Pure research is conducted solely to advance knowledge; it may not produce anything of immediate relevance or application
1. There is also a distinction between primary and secondary research
Primary research is original and direct investigation
Secondary research involves new evaluations of existing information which has already been collected by other researchers

17. Applied Research
Applied research consists of scientific inquiry that is designed and carried out with practical application in mind.
Meaning – A researcher is working toward some more or less practical goal.
What’s an example of this?
How to stop hate crimes?
How to stop bullying?

18. Pure Research
Pure research is undertaken simply for the sake of advancing scientific knowledge and “does not carry the promise or expectation of immediate, direct relevance.”
Example:
Benjamin Franklin proving lightning is electricity.

19. Primary vs. Secondary
Which was primary and which was secondary?

20. Stages in Research Problem identification
Development of a research design
Choice of data collection techniques
Review of findings

21. Problem Identification
Choosing the problem/issue to be studied.
Reasons may include:
Political reasons
Grant monies
Personal interests
Frequently involves testing hypotheses
There are a variety of reasons for selecting topics, including political reasons (e.g., the availability of grant monies), personal interest on the part of the researcher, or a class assignment.
The bulk of criminological research is intended to explore causality issues, especially the claims made by theories which purport to explain criminal behavior.
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22. Problem Identification
Hypothesis
An explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation
Something that is taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigations
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23. Problem Identification
Variables
Concepts that can undergo measurable changes
Example: Changes in population, changes in arrests, citations – Something that can be measured.
Operationalization
Turning a simple hypothesis into one that is testable
Making the concepts measurable turns them into variables
Example: Actually measuring the number of crime during a specific period – Full moon example.
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24. Problem Identification
After concepts in hypothesis are measurable, hypothesis can be tested

25. Development of a Research Design
The logic and structure inherent in any particular approach to data gathering
Simple research design - One-group pretest-posttest
O1 x O2
This design does not eliminate confounding effects
O Is the pretest – information gathered on inmate agressiveness prior to the introduction of dietary changes.
x - Experimental intervention
O2 – Posttest – signifies a second set of observations

26. Validity in Research Designs
Internal validity
The certainty that experimental interventions did indeed cause the changes observed in the study group
External validity
The ability to generalize research findings to other settings

27. Figure 2-2 Threats to the Internal Validity of a Research Design
History – Events occurring between the first and second measurement.
Maturation – Fatigue, work schedule changes for inmates who work.
Repeated testing – people learn how to take a test – They know what the researcher is seeking.
Instrumentation – Researchers or interviewers are replaced with others who have different standards.
Statistical Regression – Changes may occur from the initial test to later tests. Initial testing may have been personal boasting.
Differential Selection – Reducing the tested subjects to groups reduces the chances that significant differences will exist.
Experimental Mortality – A group loses members in a greater number than another group. People being granted parole or expiring their sentence.
Experimenter Bias – Favoritism or biased behavior toward selected subjects.

28. Figure 2-3 Threats to the External Validity of a Research Design
Reactive effects of testing – A pretest may sensitize subjects.
Self-Selection – Subjects are allowed to decide whether they should participate or not.
Reactivity – People may not know they are part of an experiment.
Multiple –Treatment Interference – One or more studies being performed on the same person can skew results.

29. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Designs
Controlled experiments
Attempt to hold conditions other than the experimental intervention constant
Quasi-experiments
Give the researcher control over the “when and to whom” of measurement (but not exposure)

30. Experimental Design Pretest-posttest control group design
Experimental group: O1 x O2
Control group: O3 x O4
O1 and O3: pretests (information gathered prior to the introduction of the treatment)
x: treatment or experimental intervention
O2 and O4: posttests (observations after the treatment has been administered)
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31. Experimental Design
Randomization is critical to the success of an experimental design
Subjects are assigned to study groups without biases or differences resulting from selection
No self-selection allowed, no personal judgment used in subject assignment
Controls threats to internal validity

32. Choice of Data-Collection Techniques
Data gathering strategies provide approaches to the accumulation of information needed for analysis
Selection based on:
Ease/simplicity
Cost
Time
Form required for data
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33. Choice of Data-Collection Techniques
Key issue
Will the strategy produce information in a usable form?

34. Types of Data-Gathering Strategies
Surveys
Case studies
Participant observation
Self-reporting
Secondary analysis

35. Surveys Use questionnaires or surveys to gather “survey data”
May interview respondents in person, over the telephone, by , by fax, or by mail
Free tool – Survey Monkey

36. Case Studies In-depth investigations into individual cases
Life history – a single subject is the focus of a case study
Suffer from high levels of subjectivity but provide the opportunity to examine individual cases in depth

37. Participant Observations
Involves various strategies in which the researcher observes a group by participating, to varying degrees, in the activities of the group
Researcher may operate undercover or make their purpose and identity known from the start
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38. Participant Observations
Main types
Participant as observer
Observer as complete participant

39. Self-Reporting
Subjects are asked to report rates of certain behaviors, such as crime
May provide information when official records are lacking
Often considered a form of survey research
Introspection/personal reflection techniques – purely subjective

40. Secondary Analysis
New analysis or evaluation of existing data that was gathered by other researchers
Secondhand analysis of information originally collected for a different purpose

41. Problems in Data Collection
Scientific observation must meet two criteria
Intersubjectivity: Independent observers report seeing the same thing under the same circumstances
Replicability: When the same conditions exist, the same results can be expected
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42. Problems in Data Collection
Observations meeting these criteria may still lead to unwarranted conclusions

43. Review of Findings
Most data subjected to some form of data analysis using statistical techniques
Descriptive statistics: describe, summarize, highlight relationships within data
Inferential statistics: attempt to generalize findings by specifying how likely they are to be true for other populations or locations

44. Quantitative versus Qualitative Methods
Quantitative methods
Techniques that produce measurable results that can be analyzed statistically
“Mystique of quantity”
Qualitative methods
Techniques that produce subjective results, or results that are difficult to quantify
Verstehen

45. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research
Values affect all stages of the research process
No research free from preconceptions, biases
Control their effect by being aware of them at the onset of the research
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46. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research
Ethical issues do not affect validity but may impact the lives of researchers and subjects
Protection of human subjects
Privacy
Need for disclosure of research methods
Data confidentiality
Types of ethical issues: protection of human subjects from harm, provision of privacy, need for disclosure of research methods, data confidentiality
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47. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research
Informed consent
Strategy used to overcome ethical issues inherent in criminological research
Inform subjects as to nature of research, their anticipated role, the uses made of the data
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48. Values and Ethics in the Conduct of Research
Institutional review boards
Established by universities, research organizations, government agencies
Examine research proposals to determine whether expectations of ethical conduct have been met before the proposals are submitted to funding organizations
Institutional review boards have been established by some universities, research organizations, and government agencies
These boards examine research proposals to determine whether expectations of ethical conduct have been met before the proposals are submitted to funding organizations
They usually consist of other researchers with special knowledge of the kinds of ethical issues involved in criminological research

49. Social Policy and Criminological Research
Ideally, research should significantly impact public crime control policy
Realistically
Public officials may be ignorant of current research
Public officials may ignore research findings
Discuss the three-strikes laws as an example of the dilemma facing criminologists who want to influence social policy on the basis of statistical evidence
Review Lawrence Sherman’s 10 principal elements of a viable model for keeping the promise of experimental criminology

50. Writing the Research Report
Title page
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
Preface
Abstract
Introduction
Review of existing literature
Description of existing situation
Statement of hypothesis
Description of research plan
Disclaimers/limitations
Analysis/discussion
Summary/conclusions
Endnotes/footnotes
Appendices
List of references
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51. Writing the Research Report
Refereed journals
Journals that use peer reviewers to gauge the quality of the manuscripts submitted to them
Manuscript submission requirements vary by journal

52. CLASS ACTIVITY
Aprilville, a small town outside Bigcity, plans to implement a Neighborhood Watch program. The town mayor has asked you to find out if the program, once implemented, will have any effect on the town’s crime rate. Design a research study to answer this question:
Formulate one or more hypotheses and operationalize the concepts.
Choose a research design from those discussed in the chapter and explain why you selected this design.
Select a data-gathering strategy and explain why you chose this technique