College aantekeningen/Lecture notes Criminological Research for Social Science Student (RGBUSTR005)

Index:
Week 1:....................................................................................2
Lecture 1: Introduction to Criminological Research..........................................2
Week 2:....................................................................................6
Lecture 2: Open Interview..................................................................................6
Week 3:....................................................................................9
Lecture 3: Participant Observation.....................................................................9
Notes from Seminar 3:.....................................................................................13
Week 4:..................................................................................13
Lecture 4: Quantitative Research Methods in Criminology.............................13
Van de Veer, E. (2012):....................................................................................17
Week 5:..................................................................................17
Lecture 5: Online Methods...............................................................................17
Lecture 6: Discourse Analysis and Visual Methods........................................21
Week 7:..................................................................................25
Lecture 7: Qualitative Data Analysis...............................................................25
Week 8:..................................................................................28
Lecture 8: Ethnographic Research with Drug Users........................................28
Exam Preparation:............................................................................................30




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,Week 1:
Lecture 1: Introduction to Criminological Research
Criminological research:
 Interdisciplinary science
 Different explanatory models:
o Psychology: why do people do what they do?
o Sociology: how does society react to crime?
o Economy: what can statistics tell us about crime?
 Analysis level:
o Micro level, such as psychological and biological factors.
o Meso level, such as group dynamics and subcultures.
o Macro level, such as political system and cultural values.
 Empirical research:
o Direct and indirect observations or experiences

Quantitative research versus qualitative research:
 Quantitative research has to do with measuring the size of the nature of a
phenomenon, testing theories and hypotheses, and generalization.
o Describes how it happens.
o Quantitative is dominant. It provides broad data.
o N = large.
o Generalization of the findings.
o Examples of quantitative research:
 Survey research, such as large-scale questionnaires.
 Secondary analysis, using existing data.
 Experimental laboratory research.
 Longitudinal study.
 Meta-analysis.
 Qualitative research seeks to understand the deeper meanings and reasons behind
phenomena. It has to do with exploratory research, in-depth interviews, observations,
and media research.
o Explains why it happens.
o Provides in-depth data.
o N = small.
o Content-related.
o Examples of qualitative research:
 In-depth interviews.
 Focus groups.
 Observational studies.
 Ethnography.
 A combination of both methods strengthens the quality of the research.

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,Types of quantitative research:
 Descriptive research: aims to describe the phenomena.  Scope.
 Correlational research: compares phenomena or crime  Development and/or
coherence.
 Experimental research: involves causal relationships and crime  Testing.

Collecting quantitative data about crime:
 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.
o CBS.
o Police monitor.
 Self-report surveys:
o WODC.

Dark number:
 The dark number is the portion of illegal activities that go unreported by authorities.
There is a gap between the actual occurrence of a crime and the number of crimes
officially reported.
 Only a fraction of illegal activities are registered, because of underreporting by
victims, unobserved criminal activities, and inadequate data collection methods.
 A large amount of data is missing.
 Alternatives:
o Combining different sources (self-report, offender surveys, victim surveys).
o Combining research methods (quantitative/qualitative).

Non-response:
 Non-response occurs when individuals selected for a study do not provide data
despite being approached by researchers.
 There is a high non-response in criminological research.
 People refuse to answer a question because of a fear of repercussions, concerns about
confidentiality, or distrust of researchers and authorities.
 The same applies to participation in research.




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, The empirical cycle:
1) Observation:
 An idea arises from observation.
 Something to explore.
 Literature study to determine what is known.
2) Induction:
 Formulate an abstract research question.
 Guiding cause and measurable effect.
 From specific to a generalization or theory.
 Propositions and concepts.
3) Deduction:
 Specify general theory.
 Develop a workable hypothesis.
 From the generalization or theory to the particular.
 Operationalize.
4) Testing:
 Conducting a research.
 Collect the data.
 Analyzing and testing.
5) Evaluation:
 Confirm or reject the hypothesis or theory.
 Sufficient evidence?
 The theory can be...:
o Adjusted
o Expanded
o Improved

Population and sample:
 Population is the collection of all research units, such as all the UU students.
 Sample is a subset of the population.
o Data is collected from all the research units, this group represents the
population.
o The sample size is represented by the letter N.

Selective sampling versus random sampling:
 Random sampling:
o Each member of the subset has an equal probability of being chosen.
 Selective sampling:
o Participants are deliberately selected based on specific criteria that are of
interest to the researcher.




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