Lectures Criminological Research
Inhoud
Lectures Criminological Research...........................................................................................................1
Lecture 1, 25-04-22.............................................................................................................................1
Lecture 2, 02-05-22.............................................................................................................................4
Lecture 3, 09-05-22.............................................................................................................................7
Lecture 4, 16-05-22...........................................................................................................................11
Lecture 5, 23-05-22...........................................................................................................................14
Lecture 6, 30-05-2021.......................................................................................................................17
Lecture 7, 07-06-22...........................................................................................................................20
Lecture 8, 13-06-22...........................................................................................................................22
Lecture 1, 25-04-22
Why do we do research?
- Understand new developments
- Gain new, theoretical insights
- Importance of critical reflection and discussion
Investigative journalism: create awareness
Scientific research: it aims to investigate a problem from different aspects
How do we do research?
1. Interviews
2. (Participatory) Observation
3. Discourse Analysis
4. Online Methods
5. Visual Methods
6. Surveys and questionnaires
7. Statistics
8. Mixed methods
Methodology= concerns the process of examining methods and comparing the kinds of knowledge
they produce
- Ontology
o The theory of “reality”: what is real, facts
o Constructive: we construct, is created through interaction and physical presence
- Epistemology
o The theory of “knowledge”: the way we see reality will determine how we see
knowledge. It is constantly changing.
Quantitative approach
- Descriptive
1
, - Positivistic
- Deductive
- Validity and reliability
- Generalizability
- Large numbers
Measuring the magnitude and nature of a phenomenon; testing theory; generalization
Qualitative approach
- Explorative
- Interpretive
- Constructivist
- Inductive
Exploratory; in-depth
interviews; observations, participant observation; media research
Criminological Verstehen (Ferrell, 1997)
- Immediacy and lived experience of crime
- Sympathetic understanding : what are their explanations for their behavior?
- Share situated logic, meaning and emotion
- Vocabulary of motive
“As all criminologists know, criminality is decided as much by legal and political authorities, and by
their strategies of criminalization, enforcement, and control, as by criminals themselves.”
Cyclical or Iterative Process
- To step back and forth (iterative) between the stages of research, and repeat
- Different from the classic PTO – Problem statement – Theory – Operationalization – from
abstract to measurable observations
o Usually, no hypothesis
o The goal is not to test but to explore, understand
o Not deductive (theory to empiricism) but Inductive (empiricism to theory)
- From theory to framework – to interpret / describe / explain data
Qualitative research designs
2
, - Cross-sectional or snapshot (one moment)
- Comparative (meta-level and parallel studies)
- Longitudinal (more measurements, development)
- Retrospective (biography, life history, perceptions before and after intervention, historical)
- Case study (n=1)
- Ethnographic (small groups, thick descriptions, Verstehen)
Elements of qualitative research
1. Defining the problem and the Research Question
a. Typical subjects: practices, events, interactions, relationships, roles
b. Literature search / information first!
c. Investigability (empirical – ethical)
d. Feasibility (time – money – response / access)
e. Simple and clear
f. Relevant (scientific, social, policy, criminology) and original
g. Balance between focused and broad
h. Who, What, Where, How and Why
i. No YES –NO research questions, better open questions
j. Be careful with Why questions (factors? motives?)
2. Data Collection Methods
a. Interviews, Focus Groups and Collective interviews
i. Semi-structured, unstructured
ii. “Rich” data
iii. Lived experiences
iv. Open ended questions
v. Interviewee at the heart of the conversation
vi. Instead of gaining “truth” the goal is to investigate a person’s / group’s own
reality
b. (Participatory) observation in situations / locations, within groups, networks,
organizations, etc.
i. Under the umbrella of “ethnographic” research
ii. Immersion, participation, observance
iii. (Participant) observation
iv. People, locations, organizations, communities, groups, institutions
c. (Auto)biography / Life histories
i. Oral history
ii. The telling and documenting of one’s own life, an event (social, political,
economic), or place
iii. Used in many disciplines outside of criminology
iv. Multiple discussions
v. Storytelling
vi. Interviews, photographs, videos, documents
d. Discourse analysis of images, sound or art (photos, film, videos, songs, etc.)
i. Visual / audio / textual data
ii. Studying language, imagery, symbols or sounds and their implicit, underlying,
concealed meanings
iii. Examining how meaning is constructed and conveyed
iv. (digital) / online
3
Inhoud
Lectures Criminological Research...........................................................................................................1
Lecture 1, 25-04-22.............................................................................................................................1
Lecture 2, 02-05-22.............................................................................................................................4
Lecture 3, 09-05-22.............................................................................................................................7
Lecture 4, 16-05-22...........................................................................................................................11
Lecture 5, 23-05-22...........................................................................................................................14
Lecture 6, 30-05-2021.......................................................................................................................17
Lecture 7, 07-06-22...........................................................................................................................20
Lecture 8, 13-06-22...........................................................................................................................22
Lecture 1, 25-04-22
Why do we do research?
- Understand new developments
- Gain new, theoretical insights
- Importance of critical reflection and discussion
Investigative journalism: create awareness
Scientific research: it aims to investigate a problem from different aspects
How do we do research?
1. Interviews
2. (Participatory) Observation
3. Discourse Analysis
4. Online Methods
5. Visual Methods
6. Surveys and questionnaires
7. Statistics
8. Mixed methods
Methodology= concerns the process of examining methods and comparing the kinds of knowledge
they produce
- Ontology
o The theory of “reality”: what is real, facts
o Constructive: we construct, is created through interaction and physical presence
- Epistemology
o The theory of “knowledge”: the way we see reality will determine how we see
knowledge. It is constantly changing.
Quantitative approach
- Descriptive
1
, - Positivistic
- Deductive
- Validity and reliability
- Generalizability
- Large numbers
Measuring the magnitude and nature of a phenomenon; testing theory; generalization
Qualitative approach
- Explorative
- Interpretive
- Constructivist
- Inductive
Exploratory; in-depth
interviews; observations, participant observation; media research
Criminological Verstehen (Ferrell, 1997)
- Immediacy and lived experience of crime
- Sympathetic understanding : what are their explanations for their behavior?
- Share situated logic, meaning and emotion
- Vocabulary of motive
“As all criminologists know, criminality is decided as much by legal and political authorities, and by
their strategies of criminalization, enforcement, and control, as by criminals themselves.”
Cyclical or Iterative Process
- To step back and forth (iterative) between the stages of research, and repeat
- Different from the classic PTO – Problem statement – Theory – Operationalization – from
abstract to measurable observations
o Usually, no hypothesis
o The goal is not to test but to explore, understand
o Not deductive (theory to empiricism) but Inductive (empiricism to theory)
- From theory to framework – to interpret / describe / explain data
Qualitative research designs
2
, - Cross-sectional or snapshot (one moment)
- Comparative (meta-level and parallel studies)
- Longitudinal (more measurements, development)
- Retrospective (biography, life history, perceptions before and after intervention, historical)
- Case study (n=1)
- Ethnographic (small groups, thick descriptions, Verstehen)
Elements of qualitative research
1. Defining the problem and the Research Question
a. Typical subjects: practices, events, interactions, relationships, roles
b. Literature search / information first!
c. Investigability (empirical – ethical)
d. Feasibility (time – money – response / access)
e. Simple and clear
f. Relevant (scientific, social, policy, criminology) and original
g. Balance between focused and broad
h. Who, What, Where, How and Why
i. No YES –NO research questions, better open questions
j. Be careful with Why questions (factors? motives?)
2. Data Collection Methods
a. Interviews, Focus Groups and Collective interviews
i. Semi-structured, unstructured
ii. “Rich” data
iii. Lived experiences
iv. Open ended questions
v. Interviewee at the heart of the conversation
vi. Instead of gaining “truth” the goal is to investigate a person’s / group’s own
reality
b. (Participatory) observation in situations / locations, within groups, networks,
organizations, etc.
i. Under the umbrella of “ethnographic” research
ii. Immersion, participation, observance
iii. (Participant) observation
iv. People, locations, organizations, communities, groups, institutions
c. (Auto)biography / Life histories
i. Oral history
ii. The telling and documenting of one’s own life, an event (social, political,
economic), or place
iii. Used in many disciplines outside of criminology
iv. Multiple discussions
v. Storytelling
vi. Interviews, photographs, videos, documents
d. Discourse analysis of images, sound or art (photos, film, videos, songs, etc.)
i. Visual / audio / textual data
ii. Studying language, imagery, symbols or sounds and their implicit, underlying,
concealed meanings
iii. Examining how meaning is constructed and conveyed
iv. (digital) / online
3
