Chapter 2: Researching Crime
Learning Objectives
2.1 Differentiate descriptive and explanatory research in criminology.
2.2 Identify strengths and weaknesses of official crime statistics.
2.3 Describe the uses and limitations of survey and experimental
research in criminology.
2.4 Demonstrate understanding of how and why criminologists
conduct qualitative research and unobtrusive research.
2.5 Describe the ethical concerns in criminological research.
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BASICS OF CRIMINOLOGICAL
RESEARCH: TYPES AND LEVELS
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Criminology Is the
Scientific Study of Crime
• We research crime, victimization, and punishment
• Researchers employ a number of methods
– How much crime?
– What punishment is occurring?
– What predicts change in either?
• We will look at research purpose, kinds of data,
and outcomes examined
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Descriptive vs. Explanatory Research
• Criminological research is either descriptive or explanatory (or
exploratory!)
• Descriptive research: describes extent and/or characteristics of crime
(how much?)
– One variable examined at a time
• Explanatory research: explaining relationships in crime, victimization,
punishment (why?)
– Multiple variables examined at one time (causal)
• Policy research: examines impact of policy changes on crime, victims,
etc.
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Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research
• Research either quantitative or qualitative
– Both descriptive and explanatory can be either (or both!)
• Quantitative relies on statistical evidence
– Numerical data
– Measurement, causality, generalization, replication
• Qualitative uses non-numerical data
– Non-numerical data
– Statements, descriptions, observations, existing content
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Levels of Analysis
• Scale or size of our research focus
– Individual-level research (micro)
– Neighborhood-level research
– Cities, states, nations, regions of world
(macro)
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OFFICIAL CRIME STATISTICS:
REPORTING PROGRAMS
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The Criminal Justice System
Acts as a Funnel
• Dark figure of crime
– Crime that happens without becoming known
to officials
• Cannot focus on the bottom of the funnel
for our crime statistics
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Uniform Crime Reporting
(UCR) Program
• Longest running source of official crime
data in the United States (1920s)
• Originally provided data on seven criminal
offenses, arson later added
– Part 1 offenses
• Murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, auto
theft, burglary, larceny/theft, arson
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Uniform Crime Reporting
(UCR) Program
• Revisions in the 1980s added 21 offense
categories (Part 2 offenses) if arrest made
• Three significant limitations:
– Covered only narrow range of offenses
– Hierarchy rule
– Used aggregate monthly counts
• Other significant limitations
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National Incident-Based
Reporting System (NIBRS)
• Replaced summary reporting system in 2021
– Contains much more detail per crime
• Avoids three major shortcomings
– Reports on more types of crimes
– No hierarchy rule
– Provides more detail than summary of number of
crimes
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National Incident-Based
Reporting System (NIBRS)
• Expanded the crime categories
– 46 Group A plus 10 Group B
• Does not use the hierarchy rule
– Up to 10 offenses included per incident
– Can indicate if multiple offenders/victims
• Is an incident-based data source
– Provides extensive details about incidents
– Reveals consequences of crime for victims
• Does it solve the other problems we discussed?
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Data Reported in NIBRS
• Incident information
– Incident date, incident hour, exceptional clearance, exceptional
clearance date
• Offense information
– Offense code, attempted or completed, offender suspected of being
under influence, location, type and number of premises, type of
criminal activity, weapon/force used, bias motivation
• Property information
– Loss type, property description, value, date recovered, number of
autos stolen/recovered, drug types and amounts
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Data Reported in NIBRS
• Victim information
– Connection to offenses, type of victim,
age/sex/race/ethnicity/resident status, assault and homicide
circumstances, injury types, relationship to offender
• Offender information
– Age, sex, race
• Arrest information
– Arrest date, type of arrest, arrest offense code,
age/sex/race/ethnicity/resident status, disposition of minor
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Understanding Rates
• We measure crime to make comparisons
– Across locations, groups
• Incidence refers to the occurrence or frequency
of criminal events.
• Prevalence refers to the proportion of the
population that engages in (or is a victim of)
crime.
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For Next Time
SURVEYS AND EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH:
DATA AND COLLECTIONS
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Surveys and Experiments
• Both are quantitative research methods
• Surveys are much more common in
criminology than experiments
– Some things we want to study just can’t be
experimented on
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Survey Research in Criminology
• Used to answer both descriptive and explanatory
questions
• Administered in a variety of modes
– Online, phone, face-to-face, mail
• Data are quantitative
– Responses converted to numerical values through coding
– Analyzed using statistical methods
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Survey Research in Criminology
• Representative sample (a subset)
– A population is all the people of interest
– A sample is a subset of the people of interest
• Cross-sectional surveys
– Collecting data at one point in time
– A snapshot
• Longitudinal surveys
– Collecting data over multiple periods of time
– A video
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National Crime
Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• Size of the dark figure of crime varies by
offense
• Most important source of victimization data
– Nationally representative of those 12+
– Administered twice a year
– Face-to-face and phone
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Offender Self-Report Surveys
• NCVS: victim reports
• UCR: police records
• General population vs. known offenders
• General-population self-report surveys ineffective for
serious crimes
• Self-report surveys capture offenses that other sources do
not
– Ex: victimless crimes
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Experimental Research
• What makes a study an experiment?
– Researcher manipulates a condition to observe if it causes a change in
the outcome
• Common focus in criminological research:
– Investigate impact of criminal justice interventions or policy changes on
behavior
• Natural experiments
– Do not require the researcher to do the manipulating as it occurs naturally
– Great for situations where ethically you should not or cannot manipulate
conditions
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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND
UNOBTRUSIVE RESEARCH: PRESENCE
OF THE RESEARCHER
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Qualitative Research
• Aims for depth on a smaller number of cases
– Can describe meaning, culture, social world
• May help to answer “why?”
• Provides Verstehen
– Achieving understanding of an action’s meaning
from the perspective of the actor
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In-Depth Interviews and Ethnography
• In-depth interviews: probing interviews of study
participants
– Range from unstructured to highly structured
– Questions regard emotions, decision-making, identity,
interpretation of experiences
• Ethnography: study of groups of people in their
natural setting
– Extended periods of time (often years)
– Immersive, researchers act as participant observers
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Unobtrusive Research
• Research that does not intrude into the lives of its
subjects
– Surveys, experiments, interviews all require something of
the subjects
• Unobtrusive research can provide Verstehen
• Unobtrusive methods
– include analysis of available (or archival) data, content
analysis, and covert observation
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Unobtrusive Research
• Behavior immune to researcher
– Honesty and unobtrusive methods
– Don’t have to worry about presentation of self,
respondents seeking to please the
researcher, etc.
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ETHICS IN CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCT
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Ethics
• Ethics: moral principles of right and wrong
• In research, we are concerned with
problems that violate a code of proper
research conduct
– Especially given we often have human
subjects and even if doing unobtrusive
research are studying human beings
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Participant Protections
• Researchers must gain approval for their study via
an Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Key Guidelines:
– Not harmed by research (legal, physical, psychological,
personal)
– Participation voluntary (informed consent)
– Granted anonymity or confidentiality
– Not deceived (certain exceptions)
• If used, must alert and debrief after
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Next Time
• Tuesday: Begin Chapter 3
– Common Crime Typologies
• Reminders
– Knowledge Checks
– Chapter 2 Quiz
– Syllabus and Info Card Quiz
– Late work?
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