Transcript Research Methods in Criminology. Theory Construction and

Research Methods in
Criminology
1.
2.
3.
4.
Experiments
Field Studies
Surveys
Existing statistics
Research Methods in Criminology





Experiments
Field research
Survey research
Existing data research
Comparative research
Classic Experiment





At least two groups (control and experimental)
Randomly assign people to groups
Treat the experimental group by manipulation
the independent variable
Observe the effect of the treatment on the
dependent variable in the experimental group
Compare the dependent variable differences in
the experimental and control groups
The Minneapolis Domestic
Violence Experiment (1983)




Goal was to find the most effective strategy
Three groups: two treatment groups and one control
Police officers volunteering to take whatever action
was dictated by a random system: instruction in an
envelope
Three different instructions: (1) arrest the suspect; (2)
separate or remove the suspect from the scene for 8
hours; (3) advise and mediate
Minneapolis Domestic
Violence Experiment
Experimental
group I
Experimental
group II
Control group
Arrest
Separate
Mediate
O1
X1
O2
19%
O1
X2
O2
33%
O2
37%
O1
1. Victims have been interviewed every two weeks for the
next 6 months, police records have been monitored as
well
2. Most influential policy experiment
3. Arrest works more effectively in deterring domestic
violence
Experiments in Criminology




Not always possible (ethical issues)
Quasi-experiments or natural experiments
Example: Effect of the decision to conduct
crackdown on drinking and driving by a local
police force (planned interventions)
Occasionally, natural events (catastrophe or
tornadoes) might substitute planned
interventions
Social Science Experiments



Laud Humphrey’s “Tearoom Trade” (1970)
Stanley Milgram’s “Obedience to Authority”
(1974)
Philip Zimbardo’s simulated prison
experiment (1972-1974)
Laud Humphreys and the “Tearoom Sex Study “




He stationed himself in "tearooms" and offered to serve as
"watchqueen"
He was able to gain the confidence of some of the men he
observed, disclose his role as scientist, and persuade them to
tell him about the rest of their lives and about their motives
Humphreys secretly recorded the license numbers of their
cars
A year later and carefully disguised, Humphreys appeared at
their homes claiming to be a health-service interviewer and
interviewed them about their marital status, race, job, and so
on.
Humphreys' findings destroyed many stereotypes





54% of his subjects were married with kids
38% were neither bisexual nor homosexual: they were
men whose marriages were marked with tension
24 % were clearly bisexual, happily married, well
educated, economically quite successful, and exemplary
members of their community
Another 24 % were single and were covert homosexuals
Only 14 % of Humphreys' subjects were members of
the gay community and were interested in primarily
homosexual relationships
Stanley Milgram’s “Obedience to Authority”




Psychologist at Yale University, conducted a
study focusing on the conflict between
obedience to authority and personal conscience
Character flaw “Readiness to obey authority
without question, no matter what outrageous acts
authority commands”
Everything in the experiment was staged except
one person-subject
Milgram changed a lot in his initial script
because people were obeying too much
Experiment
“Learner” is taken to a room where
he is strapped in a chair and an
electrode is placed on his arm.
The "teacher" is instructed to read a
list of two word pairs and ask the
"learner" to read them back.
If "learner" gets the answer wrong,
the "teacher" is supposed to shock
the "learner" starting at 15 volts
Experiment
The generator has 30 switches
ranging from "slight shock" to
"danger: severe shock“
The final two switches are labeled
"XXX“
The "teacher" automatically is
supposed to increase the shock each
time the "learner" misses a word in
the list
Links



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcvSNg0
HZwk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzTuz0mN
lwU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmFCoocU3Y
Results



“Two-thirds of this study participants fall into
the category of ‘obedient' subjects, and that
they represent ordinary people drawn from the
working, managerial, and professional classes
65% of all of the "teachers" punished the
"learners" to the maximum 450 volts
No subject stopped before reaching 300 volts
Results

The theory that only the most severe monsters
on the sadistic fringe of society would submit
to such cruelty is disclaimed
Zimbardo’s simulated prison experiment




Subjects –males, undergraduate, paid
volunteers
Role of either guard or prisoner
Mock prison was constructed in the basement
of Stanford university
Experiment was to have lasted for two weeks
but Zimbardo cancelled the study after 6 days
because of possible harm
What went wrong?




Individuals became carried away with their
roles
Guards behaved aggressively and
dehumanizing toward prisoners
Prisoners behaved ether passively or were
hostile
Subjects did consent to participate in the
study, but they did not expect the
consequences
Field Study

A piece of research undertaken outside the
laboratory or place of learning, usually in a
natural environment or among the general
public

METHODS: Observations and interviews
Observation

Observation is a research technique in which
a researcher directly observe the behavior of
individuals in their usual social environments,
not in a laboratory
Different strategies



Complete Participant –researcher
goes “undercover” and does not tell
people being observed that he/she is
doing research
Complete Observer –researcher
views things from a distance or oneway mirror
Participant Observer – people
know that they are observed
Interviews


Active offenders - hidden population
Criminals behind bars?
Criminals behind bars…




Unsuccessful criminals
Unskilled criminals
Lacking access to “nice” criminal network
Might not be honest
How to locate active and not
apprehended criminals?

Snowball sampling
 Appropriate when members of a population are
difficult to locate.
 Researcher collects data on members of the target
population she can locate, then asks them to help
locate other members of that population.
 New cases are sampled until there is no additional
information from new cases.
Snowball Sampling
Limitations of the Snowball Sampling

The role of the 1st person sampled is crucial in
determining who else get sampled

Bias may be high since people are more likely
to mention people that are like themselves, i.e.
no variation on the characteristic of interest.
Statistics

Source: The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

Ongoing since 1972, this survey of households interviews about
134,000 persons age 12 and older in 77,200 households each year
about their victimizations from crime.
Life history and case studies



In-depth analysis of one or a few cases
Sutherland’s “The Professional Thief” (1937)
Shaw’s “The Jack-Roller: A Delinquent Boy's
Own Story “
Survey Research


Survey is a series of questions asked of a
number of people and designed to measure
the behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values, and
personality traits
Based on sampling
Unobtrusive Research

Unobtrusive methods are strategies for
studying people’s behavior in ways that do
not have an impact on the subjects
Unobtrusive methods


Use of existing statistics
Content analysis
Triangulation



Every method has both strengths and
weaknesses
Whenever possible researchers use more than
one method to obtain data
Triangulation – methods are combined so that
the strengths of one method overcome the
weakness of another method
Example of Triangulation




Suppose you study the impact of
neighborhood problems on youth
development
Census information (unobtrusive) about
poverty level in neighborhoods
Survey among youth and parents
Observations