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Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice FOURTH EDITION

M.L. Dantzker PhD University of Texas, Pan American

Ronald D. Hunter PhD Georgia Gwinnett College

Susan T. Quinn PhD Georgia Gwinnett College

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dantzker, Mark L., 1958-, author. | Hunter, Ronald D., author. | Quinn, Susan T., author. Title: Research methods for criminology and criminal justice/M.L. Dantzker, PhD, University of

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Texas, Pan American, Ronald D. Hunter, PhD, Professor and Program Coordinator of Criminal Justice/Criminology, School of Liberal Arts, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA, Susan T. Quinn, PhD, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA. Description: Fourth Edition. | Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2018. | Revised edition of Research methods for criminology and criminal justice, c2012. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016035879 | ISBN 9781284113013 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Criminology—Research— Methodology. | Criminal justice, Administration of —Research—Methodology. Classification: LCC HV6024.5.D36 2016 | DDC 364.072/1—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035879

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https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035879
BRIEF CONTENTS

Section I Functions

CHAPTER 1 Research: What, Why, and How

CHAPTER 2 Research and Ethics

CHAPTER 3 The Beginning Basics

CHAPTER 4 The Vocabulary of Research

Section II Procedures

CHAPTER 5 Sampling

CHAPTER 6 Introduction to Research Design

CHAPTER 7 Research Designs

CHAPTER 8 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs

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CHAPTER 9 Questionnaire Development

CHAPTER 10 Data Collection

Section III Final Steps

CHAPTER 11 Data Preparation and Analysis

CHAPTER 12 Inferential Statistics

CHAPTER 13 Writing the Research

CHAPTER 14 Summing Up

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Section I Functions

CHAPTER 1 Research: What, Why, and How

What You Should Know! The Nature of Scientific

Inquiry Social Science Research

and the Real World Science Versus Casual

Inquiry The Scientific Method The Relationship Between

Theory and Research Theory

The Purpose of Research What Is Research?

Types of Research Descriptive Research Explanatory Research

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Predictive Research Intervening Research

Why Research Is Necessary Curiosity Social Problems Theory Testing

Factors That Influence Research Decisions

How Research Is Done Identifying the Problem Research Design Data Collection Data Analysis Reporting

Summary

CHAPTER 2 Research and Ethics What You Should Know! Ethics The Researcher’s Role Belmont Report Ethical Considerations

Ethical Ramifications Harm to Others Privacy Concerns Voluntary Participation

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Deception The Professionalism of

Research Ethical Research

Criteria Reasons for

Confidentiality and Privacy

Summary

CHAPTER 3 The Beginning Basics What You Should Know! Getting Started

Picking a Topic The Purpose of the

Research Exploring Describing Explaining Become Familiar with

the Library Critiquing the Literature Understanding Writing

Styles Knowing What to Look

For The Research Question

Hypotheses

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Summary

CHAPTER 4 The Vocabulary of Research

What You Should Know! The Language of

Research Theory Conceptualization Operationalization Variables Hypotheses Assumptions Other Necessary Terms

Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Defined Merits and Limitations

of Qualitative Research

Quantitative Research The Research Process What You Have Not Done

Before Summary

Section II Procedures

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CHAPTER 5 Sampling What You Should Know! Sampling Probability Theory Probability Sampling

Simple Random Samples

Stratified Random Samples

Systematic Samples Cluster Samples

Nonprobability Sampling Purposive Samples Quota Samples Snowball Samples Convenience Sample

Sample Size Confidence Levels

Sampling Formulas A Commonly Used

Sampling Formula A Sampling Size

Selection Chart Summary

CHAPTER 6 Introduction to Research Design

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What You Should Know! Empirical Observation Causality Experimental Research

Designs Quasi-Experimental

Research Design Quantitative Levels of

Measurement Summary

CHAPTER 7 Research Designs What You Should Know! Research Designs

Descriptive Research Design

Historical Research Design

Cross-Sectional Research Design

Longitudinal (or Time Series) Research Design

Case Study Research Design

Determining Correlations and Causations

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Evaluation Research Summary

CHAPTER 8 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs

What You Should Know! Qualitative Research

Design Field Interviews Structured Interviews Semi-Structured

Interviews Unstructured Interviews Focus Groups Field Observation Ethnographic Research Sociometry

Quantitative Research Design Survey Research Quantitative Field

Observation Summary

CHAPTER 9 Questionnaire Development

What You Should Know!

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Surveys and Questionnaires

Rules for Questionnaire Construction Rule One: Start With a

List of All the Items One Is Interested in Knowing About the Group, Concept, or Phenomenon

Rule Two: Be Prepared to Establish Validity and Reliability

Rule Three: Word the Questionnaire Appropriately for the Target Audience

Rule Four: Clearly Identify Who Should Answer the Questions

Rule Five: Avoid Asking Questions That Are Biased, Leading, or Double-Barreled in Nature

Rule Six: Before Constructing a Questionnaire, Decide Whether to

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Use Open- or Closed-Ended Questions or a Combination of Both

Rule Seven: Keep in Mind That Respondents May Not Have All the General Information Needed to Complete the Questionnaire

Rule Eight: Whenever Possible, Pretest the Questionnaire Before It Is Officially Used

Rule Nine: Set Up Questions So That the Responses Are Easily Recognizable Whether the Questionnaire Is Self-Administered or an Completed in an Interview

Rule Ten: Organize the Questionnaire to Keep the Respondents’ Interest,

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Encouraging Them to Complete the Entire Questionnaire

Scales Scaling Procedures

Arbitrary Scales Attitudinal Scales

Summary

CHAPTER 10 Data Collection What You Should Know! Survey Research

Mail Distribution of Surveys

Surveys and the Internet

Interviews Face-to-Face Interviews Structured, Semi-

structured, and Unstructured Interviews

Telephone Interviews Field Observation Secondary Data

Sources of Secondary Data

Content Analysis

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Summary

Section III Final Steps

CHAPTER 11 Data Preparation and Analysis

What You Should Know! Data Preparation

Data Coding Data Entry Data Cleaning Missing Data Recoding Data

Data Analysis Statistical Analysis Descriptive Statistics

Frequency Distributions

Displaying Frequencies Measures of Central

Tendency Measures of Variability

Summary

CHAPTER 12 Inferential Statistics What You Should Know! Statistical Analysis

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Overview of Inferential Statistics

Measures of Association Statistical Significance

Comparative Statistics Crime Rates Crime-Specific Rates Percentage Change Trend Analyses

Inferential Statistics Bivariate Analysis Contingency Tables (or

Cross-Tabulations) Bivariate Regression

Multivariate Analysis Student t Test Correlation Analysis of Variance Multiple Regression Other Multivariate

Techniques Summary

CHAPTER 13 Writing up the Research What You Should Know! The Research Paper

The Title Page

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Abstract The Introduction Methodology Results Conclusions References or

Bibliography Tables and Figures Appendices

Summary

CHAPTER 14 Summing Up What You Should Know! Research Ethics

Ethical Concerns Getting Started

Picking a Topic Reviewing the

Literature The Research Question

Doing Criminological Research Steps in the Research

Process The Language of

Research Theory Conceptualization

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Operationalization Variables Hypotheses Sampling Validity Reliability Data

Sampling Probability Theory Probability Sampling Nonprobability

Sampling Sample Size Confidence Levels

Introduction to Research Design Causality Experimental and

Quasi-Experimental Research Designs

Research Design Descriptive Research

Design Historical Research

Design Cross-Sectional

Research Design

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Longitudinal (or Time Series) Research Design

Case Study Research Design

Correlational and Causal-Comparative Research

Qualitative Research Field Interviewing Focus Groups Field Observation Ethnographic Study

Quantitative Research Survey Research

Questionnaire Construction Scales

Data Collection Surveys Interviews Field Observation Secondary Data Content Analysis

Data Preparation Data Analysis Statistical Analysis

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Frequency Distributions

Other Ways to Describe the Data

Inferential Statistics Measures of

Association Statistical Significance Bivariate Analysis Multivariate Analysis

Writing the Research Summary

References

Appendix Institutional Review Board

Application What Is IRB Approval? Who Should Complete the

IRB Application Form? How Long Does an IRB

Review Take? General Overview of

Information in IRB Applications

Read This If You Are Using a Published Instrument

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Read This If You Are Creating Your Own Instrument or Modifying an Existing Instrument

Forms and Letters

Glossary

Author Index

Subject Index

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PREFACE

The purpose of this text is to assist criminal justice and criminology students in developing an understanding (and hopefully, an appreciation) of the basic principles of social science research. We do not seek to turn you into a research scientist in one short course, but we do hope you will garner a better understanding of the research you read in your studies. Furthermore, this text provides a solid foundation on which to build, should you be interested in doing social science research, whether criminological or criminal justice oriented, in the future. This text will enable you to grasp the importance of scientific research, to read and comprehend the research methodologies employed by researchers, and to develop the basic tools to conduct your own social science research.

Whether research is done by a college student completing a project for his or her degree (or just trying to understand an assigned reading) or by a professor meeting requirements or expectations associated with his or her position, it should be enjoyable and not a chore. The first step is to learn the basics for conducting research. A number of existing textbooks can assist in this

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task, but many make learning about research—let alone conducting it—appear daunting. This text has made every attempt to ease the task of learning how to conduct research and perhaps even to put the prospect of conducting research in a favorable light. To accomplish these aims, this textbook is divided into three sections: Functions, Procedures, and Final Steps. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of what should be learned from its content. Within the text, realistic examples taken from currently published research are provided to enhance understanding of how specific aspects of research are applicable to criminal justice and criminology. Finally, each chapter ends with questions and/or exercises requiring students to apply what has been learned from the chapter.

The text begins by discussing what research is and why and how it is conducted. Chapter 1, Research: What, Why, and How, addresses basic questions: What is criminal justice and criminological research? Why conduct this research? How can this research be completed? In general, this chapter lays the foundation for conducting research.

Because criminal justice research often deals with human behavior, the ethics associated with such research are important. Chapter 2, Research and

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Ethics, discusses the ethics relevant to conducting social science research.

Deciding on what topic to conduct research can often be frustrating. However, there are numerous sources available to assist in making a decision on what to research. Chapter 3, The Beginning Basics, explores what sources to use and the issue of developing the research question, which is often the driving force behind social science research.

In Chapter 4, The Vocabulary of Research, students are introduced to the terminology associated with conducting research, such as theory, hypothesis, population, sample, and variables. Furthermore, it briefly explores the processes required for conducting research.

It would be great if information could be gathered from a complete population, but this is almost impossible in criminal justice and criminological research. Therefore, sampling is an important aspect of research. Chapter 5, Sampling, examines this concept and related issues.

To successfully complete any type of research, it is important to establish a feasible plan or blueprint, known as the research design. Chapter 6, Introduction to Research Design, discusses the various experimental research designs available

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for criminal justice and criminological research: experimental research, including classical, pretest-posttest, posttest-only, and factorial experiment research designs. A brief mention is made of quasi-experimental research design.

The concept of research design is further explored in Chapter 7, Research Designs. This chapter discusses additional research designs available for criminal justice and criminological research, including descriptive, historical, cross- sectional, longitudinal, correlational, and causal– comparative research designs.

There is a long-standing debate as to what is more “academic,” qualitative or quantitative research. Chapter 8, Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs, does not enter the debate but simply explains how both qualitative and quantitative research fit into criminological and criminal justice research.

One of the most popular methods of collecting data is the questionnaire. Although a general rule is to use an established questionnaire, many individuals choose to design their own. Chapter 9, Questionnaire Development discusses the intricacies of designing a questionnaire, including issues of measurement, reliability, and validity.

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In establishing the research design, a key component is how the data is to be collected. The four primary means for collecting data—survey, interview, observation, and secondary data methods—are identified and explored in Chapter 10, Data Collection.

Once the data are collected, the question is what to do with this information. There are a number of statistical techniques from which to choose. This is not a statistics book. However, to assist students in better understanding the role of statistics in the research process, we offer Chapter 11, Data Preparation and Analysis, and Chapter 12, Inferential Statistics.

Now that the data are collected and analyzed, the final step of the research process is to write up the findings. For many, this is a daunting task. To help ease the fear and frustration, Chapter 13, Writing up the Research, takes students through a step-by-step introduction to writing the research.

Finally, to briefly assemble all the information offered throughout this text into a handy reference guide, we offer Chapter 14, Summing Up, an extensive, yet simple review of all the main concepts.

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A final note concerns what this text is not. Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Fourth Edition, is not a statistics book. However, it could be used in conjunction with a criminal justice statistics text. The fact is that separate books are often required to provide students the fullest extent of the knowledge required to conduct research and to analyze the data. This text allows students to learn how to conduct the research, leaving the statistics for another course and text.

We hope you will find this text as useful as it is intended to be. If nothing else, we hope it will help you feel more comfortable about reading or conducting criminal justice and criminological research.

Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice is accompanied by PowerPoint chapter guides, lecture outlines, and a test bank for qualified adopters.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As with each book, first edition, or revisions, there are several people who deserve our recognition and gratitude. We greatly appreciate Marisa Hines, our Acquisitions Editor, for her support and confidence. We are very grateful to Amy Rose, our Production Editor, for her excellent work. We also thank the other editorial staff for their efforts.

We wish to extend our thanks to the following reviewers:

Kenneth Clontz, PhD School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois

Aric W. Dutelle University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Michael Montgomery, PhD Tennessee State University Nashville, Tennessee

We would also like to offer our appreciation to the instructors who have used our book and made it

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possible to do a fourth edition.

Finally, we’d like to thank our families for their love and support throughout this process.

Thank you one and all.

Mark L. Dantzker Ronald D. Hunter Susan T. Quinn

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SECTION I: Functions

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CHAPTER 1: Research: What, Why, and How What You Should Know! Research methods for many graduate and undergraduate students can be misleading, confusing, and frustrating. The subject is often taught or presented in a manner where students may think that they are going to be social science researchers, actually conducting research. In reality, however, most students will be consumers of research and will conduct little to no actual research themselves. Students will read studies conducted by others, perhaps hoping to apply or better understand an area, such as policing, corrections, or courts, with which they may be working. As consumers of research, students must be able to evaluate the quality of the research they are reading. However, before being able to conduct or even evaluate research, one should be able to understand the basics of research. After completing this chapter, the reader should be able to:

1. Discuss tradition and authority as sources of human learning and be able to compare

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and contrast their strengths and weaknesses.

2. Identify and discuss the errors that plague casual observation.

3. Define what is meant by the scientific method. Explain how it seeks to remedy the errors of casual observation.

4. Compare and contrast the inductive and deductive logic processes.

5. Define research and explain the purposes of research.

6. Describe the primary steps in conducting research.

7. Compare and contrast basic, applied, and multipurpose research.

8. Identify and discuss the various types of research.

9. Discuss the reasons for criminal justice and criminological research.

10. Discuss the various factors that influence research decisions.

The Nature of Scientific Inquiry It seems not that long ago that the authors were criminal justice students taking a first course in research methods. Our thoughts were, if we want to be police officers, why do we have to take this course? This is even worse than criminal theory, another useless course. What does it have to do with the real world in which we want to work? Later police experience in that real world taught

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us the value of both theory and research in the field of criminal justice. When we subsequently returned to school for graduate studies, the importance of theory and research was more readily apparent. During our careers, we had learned that scientific investigation is very similar to criminal investigation: the use of a logical order and established procedures to solve real-world problems.

Social Science Research and the Real World As police officers, the authors sought to determine whether a crime had been committed (what occurred and when it occurred); who had done it; how they had done it; and why they had done it. We then sought to use that investigatory knowledge to develop a successful prosecution of the offender. Our endeavors in the field taught us that the theory course that we had grudgingly endured had provided the rationale for human behavior on which the strategies of policing, courts, and corrections were based. We also discovered that those theories were not developed in some esoteric vacuum. They were the products of trial-and-error experiments conducted in policing, the courts, and corrections that had been refined and reapplied to their appropriate subject area. Today’s police- deployment strategies, legal processes, and

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correctional techniques are all solidly based on prior theory and research.

There is an increased focus on evidence-based practices and procedures, which refers to the evaluation of effectiveness of these practices and procedures using sound research practices. For example, a local police department may review studies of police deployment strategies to determine the most effective, as well as cost- effective, strategies. Due to budget constraints, criminal justice agencies are increasingly relying on strategies or elements of strategies that have been previously been proven effective (which may be preferable to throwing darts in the dark and hoping to hit something). The information from this course can help students be a contributing part of this process by developing the skills necessary to evaluate the quality of research studies.

These statements related to theory and research can also be applied to social science research in general. Typical real-world conclusions are often flawed because of a number of issues that cause one’s observations and reasoning to be inaccurate. The scientific method seeks to provide a means of investigation to correct (or at least limit) the inaccuracies of ordinary human inquiry (Adler & Clark, 2007; Bachman & Schutt, 2008; Kline, 2009). How one interprets

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one’s own observations and what one learns from others is based on tradition and authority. Tradition is the cultural teaching, including customs and beliefs, about the real world. It is based on the experiences of members of society who passed their knowledge on to others. “Poisonous snakes are dangerous. Beware of them!” You do not have to be bitten by a rattlesnake to appreciate its hazard. You have been taught by other members of your culture to respect the threat of poisonous snakes. This example is one of learning accurate information from tradition. Unfortunately, knowledge based on tradition is often erroneous. For example: “Women are not suited to be police officers. They are too weak and too emotional.” A multitude of highly competent and professional police officers have proved this sexist stereotype to be a fallacy. It is also important to note that just because a belief is held by a large number of people does not mean that the belief is accurate.

The other source of secondhand knowledge is authority (Kraska & Neuman, 2008; Lavrakas, 2008; Maxfield & Babbie, 2009). Authority refers to new knowledge that is provided from the observations of others whom one respects. The older sibling or cousin who explained the facts of life to you was an authority figure. How accurate his or her explanations were, we leave to you to decide. As you got older, you learned that much

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of the free advice you received was worth what you paid for it and that a great deal of bought advice also had little value. The importance of knowledge gained from authority figures depends on their qualifications relative to the subject being discussed. Therefore, one goes to a physician for help with health problems and hires a plumber to fix a broken water pipe. These individuals are expected to have the expertise and training to provide information that laypersons do not have. Your criminal justice professor may be able to provide accurate information on policing, courts, or corrections but is less likely to be able to do so on the biology of tree frogs. Like tradition, the knowledge gained from dealings with authority figures can be extremely accurate or highly erroneous.

Science Versus Casual Inquiry Casual inquiry is influenced by the sources of knowledge (tradition and authority) discussed in the previous section. In addition, there are other pitfalls that create errors in one’s observations. The information gathered during casual inquiry may be flawed because of inaccurate observation, overgeneralization, selective observation, and illogical reasoning (Kraska & Neuman, 2008; Lavrakas, 2008; Maxfield & Babbie, 2009).

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Inaccurate observation occurs when conclusions are made based on hasty or incomplete observations. As an example, first impressions are made with limited information and are rarely completely accurate. Let us say that you have started a new job and on the first day, one of your new co-workers comes in late looking disheveled. During the course of the day, you notice that the co-worker is constantly on the phone. Based on this information, you may decide that the co- worker is lazy and does not care about his job. However, what you did not know is that this co- worker was dealing with a family member who had a serious illness and had been admitted to the hospital.

Overgeneralization occurs when conclusions are made about individuals or groups based on knowledge of similar individuals or groups. “All lawyers are liars!” is an example. Despite the preponderance of lawyer jokes and any bad experiences one may have had with an attorney, one cannot accurately make that conclusion about all attorneys. There are simply too many attorneys (men and women of honesty and integrity and those of questionable ethics) to make such a conclusion without an individual knowledge of the person.

Selective observation is when one sees only those things that one wants to see. Individuals

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may select observations that support what they already believe while ignoring observations that contradict their beliefs. Racial and ethnic stereotyping is an example of negatively biased selective observation. The attitude that “all whites are racists who seek to oppress” may cause the observer to see what he or she believes in the behaviors of all European Americans with whom the observer encounters. Selective observation may also be positively biased. “My darling, wonderful child has never done anything like that.” Such selective observation can lead to major disappointment, such as when “He’s a wonderful man who caters to my every whim” becomes “He’s a selfish jerk who doesn’t ever consider my feelings.”