Criminology Research Methods

Criminology Research MethodsUsing examples from published query, scathingly consider that way that option of need human body might influence enquiry findings and conclusions.A choose build is a fundamental component of any piece of research, providing a structure within which to implement a suit competent methodology for the accumulation and analysis of information and info. The choice of reckon design employed in criminological research leave inevitably influence the findings and conclusions drawn, which whitethorn later on be used to shape the direction of future policies and encumbrances within the battleground of criminal legal expert. This is particularly the case in relation to home(prenominal) help violence, which remains a accessiblely and politically contested area with regards to the extent to which it merits and requires criminalisation. I then intend, with reference to published research, to critically examine how choice of poll design whitethorn yi eld different findings and contributions to contemporary understandings of domestic violence. before considering the various types of study design, it is necessary to can a brief grade of the nature and reflexion of domestic violence. Academics elevatedlight that it is a distinct phenomenon from early(a) forms of conventional violence, often characterised by a series of ongoing ruby episodes as unconnected to one discrete event and a emblematic reluctance on the part of victims to recognise and voice their victimisation (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). criminological research in this area has assumed heightened importance in new-made years payable to shifts in Government policy towards criminalisation1. It is therefore vital that any research in this area necessitates an appreciation of the settingual circumstances within which perpetrators and victims operate.A number of study designs are for sale for the purposes of criminological research, the primary distinction existing bet ween selective information-based and non-experimental designs which implicate randomise control trials, quasi-experiments, cross-sectional and longitudinal designs as well as ethnographic studies. The choice of design will affect the strength of twain the inner(a)2and external3 robustness of the findings and conclusions. Bryman nones that the study design chosen reflects a decision about the priority beingness given to an array of dimensions. These include articulating causal connections, generalising the findings, understanding behaviour in a specific context and having a temporal awareness of social phenomena (200835). In addition, certain designs may lend themselves more easily to quantitative or qualitative data, which may impact upon a researchers choice of design given the fundamentally assorted characteristics of two.4The neat experimental design is often referred to as the gold measuring rod (Bryman, 200838), despite being rarely employed in criminological resear ch (Wesiburd, 2000181) due to its potential to yield findings with strong internal robustness, particularly if randomised control trials are employed. The experimental design involves the manipulation of the independent inconsistent in rear to elicit regeneration in the dependent variable, a classic example being Bushmans (1995) investigation into the impact of violent films on those pre-disposed to aggression. In randomly assigning subjects to control and experimental concourses, he was able to control for rival causal factors, resulting in findings with strong internal validity. sure experiments may be either laboratory experiments5or field experiments6, although it keister be argued that conclusions drawn from laboratory experiments may not have the same(p) level of generalisation due to their artificial setting. However, it is argued that it is the abstractive principles that are being generalised, not the specific characteristics of the sample, setting or measure (Ander son and Bushman, 199722).The experimental design was utilised by Sherman (1984) in investigating the specific deterrent cause of turn around on perpetrators of domestic violence, whereby three types of guard response (arrest, mediation ad separation) were randomly assigned to legally eligible cases. The dependent variable, in this case recidivism, was measured over the course of 6months following legal philosophy intervention using both official data and victim reports. The studys conclusion, that swift imposition of a sanction of temporary incarceration may deter male person offenders in domestic violence cases (Sherman, 1984270), is often cited in support of mandatory arrest policies. However, given that experimental designs are notorious for their weaker external validity7, it is questionable whether Shermans findings lend themselves to such(prenominal) a sweeping generalisation. Indeed, follow up studies in other US cities revealed more mixed results, with some originat or that arrest had negative personal set up for victims (Garner et al. 1995).The findings and conclusions by Sherman have been attacked on a number of grounds. Dobash contends that the experiments were designed and carried out with little knowledge of existing and theoretical positions regarding violence a conglomeratest women (2000254). Indeed, it can be argued that the bring outure to appreciate the possibility that the reason the arrest of perpetrators resulted in less(prenominal)er recidivism was not due to its deterrent effects but a result of the victim failing to call the police again or to report their victimisation to interviewers due to fear of a repeated retaliation by the perpetrator that might have followed the initial arrest. This is particularly since qualitative studies have revealed the extent to which victims reluctance to involve the police are a direct product of their fear that an arrest will lead to an escalation of the violence (Felson et al.2002). In additi on, Fagan highlights that the short follow-up period of 6months failed to adopt into account the episodic and cyclical patterns of family violence (1989382). It therefore appears that Shermans pre-occupation with experimental form, in this case a randomised control experiment, precluded a proper consideration of the nature and contextual characteristics of domestic violence.A variation of the true experimental design is the quasi-experiment, commonly employed in the evaluation of criminal justice interventions due to the ethical difficulties associated with random assignment. such experiments have been used to research the effect of rape law reforms on the number of rapes reported to the police.8However, due to the absence of random assignment, such a design may not yield findings that are considered as strong in terms of their internal validity due to the lack of control over intervening causal variables.The Violent Men Study (Dobash, 2000) employed a non-equivalent control grou p design to evaluate the impact of different criminal justice sanctions on domestic violence, involving the matching of subjects within the different groups. The qualitative data revealed oft higher rates of re-offending than the quantitative arrest records portrayed, leading the authors to remark that these arrant(a) differences cast grave doubt on the veracity of criminal justice statistics as indicators of the levels of violence or of the effectiveness of interventions (Dobash, 2000267). In addition, in furrow to the experimental study of arrest that merely speculated the reasons for reduced levels of recidivism following arrest (Sherman, 1984), the Violent Men Study was able to contribute to an understanding of both how and why certain interventions could lead to a cessation of violence (Dobash, 2000). Such findings were arguably facilitated by the fact that the study design was more attuned to the context and dynamics of domestic violence, such as the fact that it was longit udinal in nature, tracing victims experiences and perpetrators criminal involvement over a period of 12months at regular intervals and drawing a comparison between the two sets of data9. The advantages associated with this design have led to a replication of it in ulterior research.10An example of a non-experimental study design is the cross-sectional, involving the collection of information and data relating to a designated phenomenon at a particular instance in time. A classic example is the investigation of the effects of visible public and social order on evolving crime rates in Chicago (Sampson and Raudenbush, 2001). However, the problems associated with such a design relate to both the internal validity and the ambiguity of the direction of causality, which may therefore significantly influence any conclusions drawn, as was the case in the Chicago study which could not establish whether the high crime rates resulted before or after a variation in social control (Bachman and Schutt, 2007154).A study by Hoyle and Sanders (2000) of victims within Thames Valley police force areas utilised a cross-sectional non-experimental design to investigate victims perceptions of the value of various criminal justice interventions. The non-experimental dimension facilitated a more in-depth exploration of victims experiences and beliefs and a deeper contextual understanding of the nature and effects of domestic violence, with the authors highlighting that the more powerful the controlling behaviour of their partners, the less likely it is women will seek to involve the criminal justice trunk (200021).However, a significant drawback of the cross-sectional design is that it results in findings that inevitably fail to capture the recurring and ongoing nature of domestic violence. By contrast, a longitudinal design, involves the collection of information and data at several points in time, which can also resolve any ambiguity concerning the direction of causal influence. Thus, academics assert that the value of longitudinal data is so great that every effort should be made to develop longitudinal research designs when enamour (Bachman and Schutt, 2007155).A study by Sullivan and Bybee (2004) interviewed 278 women, who has just left a domestic violence shelter, at various intervals for three years. By collecting and analysing data over a substantial period of time, the study was able to provide a greater understanding of the unique flight of stairs of domestic violence. However, the problem of attrition is particularly salient for longitudinal designs, with Bachman and Schutt highlighting that those in superlative need are often the most likely to drop-out (2007159). This has obvious implications for the validity of findings, since a drop-out of the most domestically victimised subjects could mask the extent and earnestness of domestic violence.An interesting study design that is rarely employed, but could nonetheless provide a valuable insight in to the phenomenon of domestic violence, relates to ethnography. The purpose of which is to account more in-depth at the mechanisms underlying a social process and to gain an insight into the interpretations and perceptions of actors (Crow and Semmens, 200837). Such an approach was taken by Websdale, who provided a critical ethnography of how rural patriarchy shapes the perpetration and policing of domestic violence (Adelman, 2004135). Although such findings and conclusions cannot obviously be generalised, ethnographic designs serve to reveal important dilate about the experiences of particular sub-groups of the population, which may not be adequately reflected in the findings of more conventional study designs.In conclusion, it is apparent that choice of study design in criminological research can have a marked influence on the findings and conclusions drawn. In relation to domestic violence, whilst it appears that true experiments yield results with the strongest internal validit y, they nevertheless fail to account for the dynamic processes in operation(p) which trigger the variation in the dependent variable. The context-specific approach taken by other designs may have the potential to fill this gap by affording a greater emphasis on process as opposed to outcome. In addition, longitudinal designs are vital in capturing the intrinsic trajectory nature of domestic violence which is often ignored by cross-sectional designs. However, it is apparent that a deeper and proper understanding of domestic violence, in order to implement effective policies, necessitates the exploitation of the various strengths of both experimental and non-experimental study designs. To conclude otherwise would be to ignore the inherent nature of domestic violence and to relegate it to the status of any ordinary violent crime, from which it is all the way distinct.Word Count 1992