The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice - International Student Edition

SECTION I: FOUNDATIONS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Research Related to Crime, Criminology, and Social Control Reasoning About the Social World The Social Science Approach Criminal Justice and Criminological Research in Practice Alternative Research Orientations More on the Role of Values in Research Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Highlighting a Few Specific Types of Research Methods Strengths and Limitations of Social Research A Comment on Research in a Diverse Society Conclusion Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Research Related to Crime and Criminology Identifying a Research Question Social Research Foundations The Role of Theory Social Research Strategies Social Research Standards Conclusion Chapter 3: Ethical Guidelines for Research Historical Background Ethical Principles Institutional Review Board Research Involving Special Populations: Prisoners and Children Conclusion SECTION II: FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement Concepts Variables and Levels of Measurement Did We Measure What We Wanted to Measure? A Comment on Measurement in a Diverse Society Conclusion Chapter 5: Sampling Sample Planning Sampling Methods Sampling Distributions Conclusion Chapter 6: Causation and Research Design Causal Explanations Criteria and Cautions for Nomothetic Causal Explanations Research Designs and Causality Units of Analysis and Errors in Causal Reasoning Conclusion SECTION III: RESEARCH DESIGNS Chapter 7: Experimental Designs History of Experiments True Experiments Quasi-Experiments Validity in Experiments Factorial Survey Design Ethical Issues in Experimental Research Conclusion Chapter 8: Survey Research Survey Research in the Social Sciences Designing Questionnaires Writing Survey Questions Organization of the Questionnaire The Cover Letter Survey Designs Errors in Survey Research Ethical Issues in Survey Research Conclusion Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, and Listening Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods Participant Observation Systematic Observation Intensive Interviewing Focus Groups Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research Conclusion Chapter 10: Analyzing Content: Research Using Secondary, Historical, and Comparative Data, and Content Analysis Analyzing Secondary Data Historical and Comparative Methods Comparative Research Content Analysis Methodological Issues When Using Secondary Data Ethical Issues When Analyzing Available Data and Content Conclusion Chapter 11: Social Network Analysis, Crime Mapping, and Big Data Social Network Analysis Crime Mapping Big Data Ethical Issues When Using Big Data Ethical Issues When Using Big Data Chapter 12: Evaluation and Policy Analysis A Brief History of Evaluation Research Evaluation Basics Questions for Evaluation Research Design Decisions Evaluation in Action Quasi-Experimental Designs in Evaluation Research Nonexperimental Designs Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Policy Research: Increasing Demand for Evidence-Based Policy Basic Science or Applied Research Ethics in Evaluation Conclusion Chapter 13: Mixing and Comparing Methods What Are Mixed Methods? Strengths and Limitations of Mixed Methods Comparing Results Across Studies Ethics and Mixed Methods Conclusion SECTION IV: AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED Chapter 14: Analyzing Quantitative Data Introducing Statistics Preparing Data for Analysis Displaying Univariate Distributions Summarizing Univariate Distributions Cross-Tabulating Variables Regression and Correlation Conclusion Chapter 15: Analyzing Qualitative Data Features of Qualitative Data Analysis Qualitative Compared With Quantitave Data Analysis Techniques of Qualitative Data Analysis Alternatives in Qualitative Data Analysis Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Ethics in Qualitative Data Analysis Conclusion Chapter 16: Summarizing and Reporting Research Research Report Goals Writing Is Not Easy! Research Report Types Displaying Research Special Considerations for Reporting Qualitative or Mixed-Methods Research Ethics, Politics, and Reporting Research Plagiarism Conclusion Appendix A: Questions to Ask About a Research Article Appendix B: How to Read a Research Article Appendix C: How to Use a Statistical Package: IBM SPSS Statistics Appendix D: How to Use a Data Spreadsheet: Excel Appendix E: Data Sets