Transcript Researching Deviance 3 Primary Sources of Information/Data: 1. Official Data 2. Survey Data

Researching Deviance
3 Primary Sources of Information/Data:
1. Official Data
2. Survey Data
3. Qualitative Data
Official Data Sources
• Reliance on agencies (and their agents) who police/advocate
specific behaviors
• Sample:
– Persons/behaviors that come to attention of official agents/agencies
– Who’s left out?
• Goal/Strengths:
– Uniformity of data
– Generalize-ability to a large population
• Problems:
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Missing data; Consequences of sample bias?
Data may simply be artifacts of reporting procedures
Politics of control agents and clients; inducements/deterrents
Trends may reflect cultural focus of moral panics rather than real change
• How are these reflected in the study of Child Abuse Reporting?
Self-report Surveys
• Mode of Administration:
– Phone, Mail and In-person
• Sample: Probability sample
– representative of (sub)population(s) of interest
– Sample size determined by need for precise estimates
»http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm
– Response rate & sample bias
• Data generated from a questionnaire
– Asking good questions
– Limit sources of measurement error and other response
burdens
Self-report Surveys
• Goal/Strengths of Surveys:
– Generalize to population (external validity);
– Efficiency;
– Uniformity
• Problems/Issues to be aware of:
• Cooperation & Response rate – issues of sample bias?
• Missing data
• Measurement error
– Candor, especially about deviant behavior
– Asking the wrong questions
– Constraining responses
Qualitative Research
• In-depth interviews
• Ethnography
• Goal/Strengths:
– Gathering the viewpoint of subjects/internal
validity;
• M. Weber’s concept of “Verstehen”
(understanding); objectivity
– Thick description of context and behavior
which give life to social meanings
Qualitative Research
• Long-term Observation
• Sample: referral; “snowball”
• Problems/Issues to be aware of :
– Ethical dilemmas; Human subjects (IRB)
• Covert vs. Overt research – informed consent
• Legal issues
– Navigating scientific and deviant subcultural
terrains (at odds);
– Rapport and trust is critical;
– “Going Native”;
– Hawthorne effect?