qualitative research topics in criminal justice

6 Chapter 6: Qualitative Research in Criminal Justice

Case study: exploring the culture of ?urban scrounging? 1.

Research Purpose

To describe the culture of urban scrounging, or dumpster diving, and the items that can be found in dumpsters and trash piles.

Methodology

This field study, conducted by Dr. Jeff Ferrell, currently a professor of sociology at Texas Christian University, began in 2002. In December of 2001, after resigning from an academic position in Arizona, Ferrell returned home to Fort Worth, Texas. An avid proponent for and participant in field research throughout his career, he decided to use the next eight months, prior to the 2002 academic year beginning, to explore a culture in which he had always been interested, the urban underground of �scrounging, recycling, and secondhand living� (p. 1). Using the neighborhoods of central Fort Worth as a backdrop, Ferrell embarked, often on his bicycle, into the fife of a dumpster diver. While he was not completely homeless at the time, he did his best to fully embrace the lifestyle of an urban scrounger and survive on what he found. For this study, Ferrell was not only learning how to survive off of the discarded possessions of others, he was systematically recording and describing the contents of the dumpsters and trash piles he found and kept. While in the field, Ferrell was also exploring scrounging as a means of economic survival and the social aspects of this underground existence. A broader theme of Ferrell�s research emerged as he encountered the number and vast array of items he found discarded in trash piles and dumpsters. This theme concerns the �hyperconsumption� and �collective wastefulness� (pp. 5�6) by American citizens and the environmental destruction created by the accumulating and discarding of so many material goods.

Results and Implications

Ferrell�s time spent among the trash piles and dumpsters of Fort Worth resulted in a variety of intriguing yet disturbing realizations regarding not only material excess but also social and personal change. While encounters with others were kept to a minimum, as they generally are for scroungers, Ferrell describes some of the people he met along the way and their conversations. Whether food, clothes, building materials, or scrap metal, the commonality was that scroungers could usually find what they were looking for among the trash heaps and alleyways. Throughout his book, Ferrell often focuses on the material items that he discovered while scrounging. He found so much, he was able to fill and decorate a home with perfectly good items that had been discarded by others, including the bicycle he now rides and a turquoise sink and bathtub. He found books and even old photographs and other mementos meant to document personal history. While discarded, these social artifacts tell the stories of society and often have the chance to find altered meaning when possessed by someone new.

Beyond the things found and people met, Ferrell discusses the boundary shift that has taken urban scrounging from deviant to criminal as lines are often blurred between public access and ownership. Not only do these urban scroungers face the stigma associated with their scrounging activities, those who dive in dumpsters and dig through trash piles can face criminal charges for trespassing. While this makes scrounging more challenging, due to basic survival or interest, the wealth of items and artifacts to be found are often worth the risk. Ultimately, Ferrell�s experiences as an urban scrounger provide not only a description of this subculture but also a critique on American consumption and wastefulness, a theme that becomes more important as Americans and others continue in economically tenuous times.

In This Chapter You Will Learn

To explain what it means for research to be qualitative

To describe the advantages of field research

To explain the challenges of field studies for researchers

To provide examples of field research in the social sciences

To discuss the case study approach

Introduction

In Chapter 2, you read about the differences between quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Whereas methods that are quantitative in nature focus on numerical measurements of phenomena, qualitative methods are focused on developing a deeper understanding regarding groups of people, or subcultures, about which little is known. Using detailed description, findings from qualitative research are generally more sensitizing, providing the research community and the interested public information about these generally elusive groups and their behaviors. A debate rages between criminologists as to which type of research should be achieved and referenced more often. The truth is that both have something valuable to offer regarding the study of deviance, crime, and victimization.

Field Research

Qualitative methodologies involve the use of field research, where researchers are out among these groups collecting information rather than studying participant behavior through surveys or experiments that have been developed in artificial settings. Field research provides some of the most fascinating reading because the researcher is observing closely or acting as part of the group and is therefore able to describe in depth not only the subjects� behaviors, but also consider the motivations that drive their behaviors. This chapter focuses on the use of qualitative methods in the social sciences, particularly the use of participant observation to study deviant, and sometimes criminal, behaviors. The many challenges as well as advantages of conducting this type of research will be discussed as will well-known examples of past field research and suggestions for conducting this type of research. First, however, it is important to understand what sets qualitative field research apart from the other methodologies discussed in this text.

The Study of Behavior

It is common for criminal justice researchers to rely on survey or interview methodologies to collect data. One advantage of doing so is being able to collect data from many respondents in a short period of time. Technology has created other advantages with survey methodology. For example, Internet surveys are a convenient, quick, and inexpensive way to reach respondents who may or may not reside nearby. Researchers often survey community residents and university students, but may also focus specifically on offender or victim samples. One significant limitation of using survey methodologies is that they rely on the truthfulness of the respondents. If researchers are interested in attitudes and behaviors that may be illegal or otherwise controversial, it could be that respondents will not be truthful in answering the questions placed before them. Survey research has focused on past or current drug use (see the Monitoring the Future Program), past victimization experiences (see the National Criminal Victimization Survey), and prison sexual assault victimization (see the Prison Rape Elimination Act data collection procedures conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics), just to name a few. If a student uses marijuana but does not want anyone to know, they may choose to falsify their survey responses when asked about marijuana use. If a citizen or prison inmate has been sexually assaulted but is too ashamed or afraid to tell anyone, they may be untruthful when asked about such victimization experiences on a survey. The point is, although researchers attempt to better understand the attitudes and behaviors of a certain population through the use of surveys, there is one major drawback to consider: the disjunction between what people say and what they actually do. As mentioned previously, a student may be a drug user but not admit to it. Someone may be a gang member, but say they are not when asked directly about it. Someone may respond that they have never committed a crime or been victimized when in fact they have. In short, people sometimes lie and there are many potential reasons for doing so. Perhaps the offender or drug user has not yet been caught and does not want to be caught. Whatever the reason, this is a hazard of measuring attitudes and behaviors through the use of surveys. One way to overcome the issue of untruthfulness is to conduct research using various forms of actual participation or observation of the behaviors we want to study. By observing someone in their natural environment (or, �the field�), researchers have the ability to observe behaviors firsthand, rather than relying on survey responses. These research strategies are generally known as participant observation methods.

Types of Field Research: A Continuum

Participant observation strategies involve researchers studying groups or individuals in their natural setting. Think of participant observation as a student internship. Students may read about law enforcement in their textbooks and discuss law enforcement issues in class, but only through an internship with a law enforcement agency will a student have a chance to understand how things actually happen from firsthand observation. Field strategies were first developed for social science, and particularly crime, research in the 1920s by researchers working within the University of Chicago�s Department of Sociology. The �Chicago School,� as this group of researchers is commonly known, focused on ethnographic research to study urban crime problems. Emerging from the field of anthropology, ethnographic research relies on field research methodologies to scientifically examine human culture in the natural environment. Significant theoretical developments within the field of criminology, such as social disorganization, which focused on the impact of culture and environment, were advanced at this time. For example, researchers such as Shaw and McKay, Thrasher, and others used field research to study the activities of subcultures, particularly youth gangs, as well as areas of the city that were most impacted by crime. These researchers were not interested in studying these problems from afar. Instead, they were interested in understanding social problems, including the impact of environmental disintegration, from the field.

There are various ways to conduct field research, and these can be placed on a continuum from most to least invasive and also from more qualitative to more quantitative. In attempting to understand phenomena from the standpoint of the actors, a researcher may participate fully in the behaviors of the group or may instead choose to observe from afar as activities unfold. The most invasive, and also most qualitative, form of participant observation is complete participation. The least invasive, and also most quantitative, is complete observation. In between these two are participant as observer and observer as participant. Each of these strategies will now be discussed in more detail.

Complete participation, sometimes referred to as disguised observation, is a method that involves the researcher becoming a full-fledged member of a particular group. For example, if a researcher is interested in understanding the culture of correctional officers, she may apply to be hired on as a correctional officer. Once hired on, the researcher will wear the uniform and obtain firsthand experience working in a prison environment. To study urban gangs, a researcher may attempt to be accepted as a member or associate of the gang. In complete participation, the true identity of the researcher is not known to the members of the group. Therefore, they are ultimately just like any other member of the group under study. Not only will the researcher have the ability to observe the group from the inside, he can also manipulate the direction of group activity through participation or through the use of confederates. This method is considered the most qualitative because, as a complete participant, the researcher will be fully sensitized to what it is like to be a member of the group under study, and will fully participate in the group�s activities. The researcher can then share the information he has gathered on the group�s inner workings, motivations, and activities from the perspective of a group member.

Researchers utilizing the participant as observer method will also participate in the activities of the group under study. The difference between the complete participant strategy and participant as observer strategy is that in the participant as observer method, the researcher reveals herself as a researcher to the group. Her presence as a researcher is known. Accordingly, the researcher does not overtly attempt to influence the direction of group activity. While she does participate, the researcher is more interested in observing the group�s activity and corresponding behaviors as they occur naturally. So, if a researcher wanted to examine life as a homeless person, she might go to where a group of homeless persons congregate. The researcher would introduce herself as such but, if safe, stay one or many days and nights out with the homeless she meets in order to conduct observations and participate in group activities.

The third participant observation strategy is observer as participant. As with the participant as observer method, researchers using the observer as participant method reveal themselves to the group as a researcher. Here again, their presence as a researcher is known. What makes this strategy different from the first two is that the researcher does not participate in the group�s activities. While he may interact with the participants, he does not participate. Instead, the researcher is there only to observe. An example of this method would be a researcher who conducts �ride-alongs� in order to study law enforcement behavior during traffic stops. The researcher will interact with the officers, but he will not participate or even exit the car during the traffic stops being observed.

The least invasive participant observation strategy is complete observation. As you will learn in Chapter 7, this is a totally unobtrusive method; the research subjects are not aware that they are being observed for purposes of research. Think of a law enforcement officer being on a stakeout. These officers generally sit in unmarked vehicles down the street as they observe the movements and activities of a certain person or group of people. Researchers who are complete observers work much the same way. While being the least invasive, complete observation is also the least qualitative. Studying an individual or group from afar means that there is no interaction with that individual. Without this interaction, researchers are unable to gain a more sensitized understanding of the motivations of the group. This strategy is considered to be more quantitative because researchers must rely on counts of activities or movements. For example, if you are a researcher interested in studying how many drivers run a stop sign on campus, you may sit near the intersection and observe driver behavior. In collecting the data, you will count how many drivers make a complete stop, how many come to a rolling stop, and how many run the stop sign altogether. Now, although you may have these counts, you will not know why drivers stopped or not. It could be that one driver had a sick passenger who he was rushing to the hospital and that is why he did not come to a complete stop. As with most quantitative research, as a complete observer, questions of �why?� often go unanswered.

FIGURE 6.1 | Differences among Participant Observation Methods

Advantages and Disadvantages of Field Research by Method

As with any particular research method, there are advantages and disadvantages to conducting field research. Some of these are specific to the type of field research a researcher decides to conduct. One general advantage to participant observation methods is that researchers are able to study �hard to reach� populations. A disadvantage is that these groups may be difficult to study for a number of reasons. It could be that the group is criminal in nature, such as a youth gang, a biker gang, or the Mafia. While perhaps not criminal, the individual or group may be involved in deviant behaviors that they are unwilling to discuss even with people they know. An additional disadvantage is that there could be administrative roadblocks to conducting such research. If a researcher wants to understand the correctional officer culture but the prison will not allow the researcher to conduct the study, she may have to get hired on and conduct the research as a full participant. Examples of research involving each of these situations will be discussed later in this chapter.

Another challenge for field researchers is the ability to maintain objectivity. In Chapter 2, the importance of objectivity for scientific research was discussed. If data gathered is subjective or biased in some way, research findings will be impacted by this subjectivity and will therefore not be reflective of reality. While objectivity would be easier to maintain from afar, the closer a researcher becomes to a group and its members, the easier it may be to lose objectivity. This is true particularly for complete participants. For researchers who participate as members of the group under study, it may become difficult not to begin to identify with the group. When this occurs, and the researcher loses sight of the research goals in favor of group membership, it is called � going native. � This is a hazard of field research in which the researcher spends a significant amount of time, perhaps years, within a group. The researcher may begin to see things from the group�s perspective and therefore not be able to objectively complete the intended study. To balance this possible hazard of complete participation is the advantage of not having reactivity. Because the research subjects do not know they are being observed, they will not act any differently than they would under normal circumstances. Researchers therefore avoid the Hawthorne Effect when conducting field research as a complete participant.

There is the possibility that a researcher who incorporates the participant as observer strategy may also go native. Although his presence as a researcher is known, he is interacting with the group and participating in group activities. Therefore, it is possible he may begin to lose objectivity due to an attachment to or identification with the group under study. Whereas complete participants can avoid the Hawthorne Effect, participants as observers do not have this luxury. Even though these researchers may be participating in group activities, because their presence as a researcher is known, it can be expected that the group may in some way alter their behavior because they are being observed. An additional disadvantage to this strategy is that it may take time for a researcher to be accepted by group members who are aware of the researcher�s presence. If certain group members are uncomfortable with the researcher�s presence, they may make it difficult for the researcher to interact with other members or join in group activities.

Researchers on the observing end of the participant observation continuum face some similar and some unique challenges. Those who conduct observer as participant field studies will also face reactivity, or the Hawthorne Effect, because their presence as a researcher is known to the group under study. As in the ride-along example discussed previously, if a patrol officer knows she is being observed, she may alter her behavior in such a way that the researcher is not observing a realistic traffic stop. Additionally, these researchers may face difficulties gaining access or being accepted into the group under study, especially since they are there only to observe and not to participate with the group. In this case, the researcher may be ostracized even further by the group because she is not acting as one of them.

Researchers acting as complete observers to gather data on an individual or group are not limited by reactivity. Because the research subjects are unaware they are being observed, the Hawthorne Effect will not impact study findings. The advantage is that this method is totally unobtrusive, or noninvasive. The main disadvantage here is that the researcher is too far away to truly understand the group and their behaviors. As mentioned previously, at this point, the research becomes quite quantitative because the researcher can only observe and count movements and interactions from afar. Lacking in context, these counts may not be as useful in understanding a group as findings would be from the use of another participant observation method.

Costs One of the more important factors to consider when determining whether field research is the best option is the demand such research may place on a researcher. If you remember from the opening case study, Ferrell spent months in the field to collect information on urban scrounging. Researchers may spend weeks, months, and even years participating with and/or observing study subjects. Due to this, they may experience financial, personal, and sometimes professional costs. Time away from family and friends can take a personal toll on researchers. If the researcher is funding his own research or otherwise not able to earn a salary while undergoing the field study, he may suffer financially. Finally, also due to time away and perhaps due to activities that may be considered unethical, fieldwork can have a negative impact on a researcher�s career. While these demands are very real, past researchers have found ways to successfully navigate the world of field research resulting in fascinating findings and ultimately coming out unscathed from the experience.

Gaining Access Gaining access to populations of interest is also a difficult task to accomplish as these populations are often small, clandestine groups who generally keep out of the public eye. Field research is unlike survey research in that there is not a readily available list of gang members or dumpster divers from which you can draw a random sample. Instead, researchers often rely on the snowball sampling technique. If you remember from Chapter 3, snowball sampling entails a researcher meeting one or a handful of group members and receiving introductions to other group members from the initial members. One member leads you to the next, who then leads you to the next.

When gathering information as an observer as participant, a researcher should be straightforward and announce her intentions to group members immediately. It may be best to give a detailed explanation of her presence and purpose to group leaders or other decision-makers. If this does not happen, when the group does find out a researcher is in their presence, they may feel the researcher was trying to hide something. If the identity of the researcher is known, it is important that the researcher be a researcher, and that she not pretend to be one of the group, as this may also cause problems. It may be disconcerting to group members if an outsider thinks she is closer to the group than members are willing to allow her to be.

While complete participant researchers may be introduced to one or more members, this does not mean that they will be readily accepted as part of the group. This is true even if they are acting as full participants. There are some things researchers can do to increase their chances of being accepted. First, researchers should learn the argot, or language, of the group under study. Study subjects may have a particular way of speaking to one another through the use of slang or other vernacular. If a researcher is familiar with this argot and is able to use it convincingly, he will seem less of an outsider. It is also important to time your approach. A researcher should be aware, as much as possible, about what is happening in the group before gaining access. If a researcher is studying drug dealers and there was just a big drug bust or if a researcher is studying gangs and there was recently a fight between two gangs, it may not be the best time to gain access as members of these groups may be immediately suspicious of people they do not know.

Researchers often must find a gatekeeper in order to join a group. Gatekeepers are those individuals who may or may not know about the researcher�s true identity, who will vouch for the researcher among the other group members and who will inform the researcher about group norms, territory, and the like. Gatekeepers may lobby to have a researcher become a part of the group or to be allowed access to the place where the group gathers. While this is helpful for the researcher, it can be dangerous for the gatekeeper, especially if something goes wrong. If the researcher is attempting to be a full participant but her identity as a researcher is exposed, the gatekeeper may be held responsible for allowing the researcher in. This may be the case even if the gatekeeper was not aware of the researcher�s true identity. If a researcher does not want to enter the group himself, he may find an indigenous observer, or a member of the group who is willing to collect information for him. The researcher may pay or otherwise remunerate this person for her efforts as she will be able to see and hear what the researcher could not. A similar problem may arise, however, if this person is caught. There may be negative consequences to pay if it is found out that she is revealing information about the group. Additionally, the researcher must be careful when analyzing the information provided as it may not be objective, or may not even be factual at all.

Maintaining Objectivity Once a researcher gains access, there is another issue she must face. This is the difficulty of remaining an outsider while becoming an insider. In short, the researcher must guard against going native. Objectivity is necessary for research to be scientific. If a researcher becomes too familiar with the group, she may lose objectivity and may even be able to identify with and/or empathize with the group under study. If this occurs, the research findings will be biased and not an objective reflection of the group, what drives the group, and the activities in which the group members participate. For these reasons, it is not suggested that a researcher conduct field research among a group of which he is a member. If a researcher has been a member of a social organization for many years and is friends, or at least acquaintances, with many of the members, it would be very difficult for her to objectively study the group. The researcher may consider the group and the group�s activities as normal and therefore miss out on interesting relationships and behaviors. This is also why external researchers are often brought in to evaluate agency programs. If employees of that program are tasked with evaluating it, they may�consciously or not�design the study in such a way that findings are sure to be positive. This may be because they feel that a negative evaluation will mean an end to the program and ultimately an end to their jobs. Having such a stake in the findings of research is sure to impact the objectivity of the person tasked with conducting the study. While bringing in external researchers may ensure objectivity, these researchers face their own challenges. Trulson, Marquart, and Mullings 3 offer some tips for breaking in to criminal justice agencies, specifically prisons, as an external researcher. The first two tips pertain to obtaining access through the use of a gatekeeper. The third tip focuses on the development and cultivation of relationships within the agency in order to maintain access. The remaining tips describe how a researcher can make a graceful exit once the research project is completed while still maintaining those relationships, as well as building new ones, for potential future research endeavors.

? Tip #1: Get a Contact

? Tip #2: Establish Yourself and Your Research

? Tip #3: Little Things Count

? Tip #4: Make Sense of Agency Data by Keeping Contact

? Tip #5: Deliver Competent Readable Reports on Time

? Tip #6: Request to Debrief the Agency

? Tip#7: Thank Everyone

? Tip #8: Deal with Adversity by Planning Ahead

? Tip #9: Inform the Agency of Data Use

? Tip #10: Maintain Trust by Staying in for the Long Haul (pp. 477�478)

CLASSICS IN CJ RESEARCH

Youth Violence and the Code of the Street

Research Study

Based on his ethnography of African American youth living in poor, inner-city neighborhoods, Elijah Anderson 2 developed a comprehensive theory regarding youth violence and the �code of the street.� Anderson explains that, stemming from a lack of resources, distrust in law enforcement, and an overall lack of hope, aggressive behavior is condoned by the informal street code as a way to resolve conflict and earn respect. Anderson�s detailed description and analysis of this street culture provided much needed awareness regarding the context of African American youth violence. Like other research discussed in this chapter, these populations could not be sent an Internet survey or be surveyed in a classroom. The only way for Anderson to gain this knowledge was to go out to the streets and observe and interact with the youth himself. To do this, he conducted four years of field research in both the inner city and the more suburban areas of Philadelphia. During this time, he conducted lengthy interviews with youth and acted as a direct observer of their activities. Anderson�s research is touted for bringing attention to and understanding of inner-city life. Not only does he describe the �code of the street,� but, in doing so, he provides answers to the problem of urban youth violence.

Documenting the Experience Researchers must also decide how best to document their experiences for later analysis. There is a Chinese Proverb that states, �the palest ink is better than the best memory.� Applied here, researchers are encouraged to document as much as they can, as giving a detailed account of things that have occurred from memory is difficult. When taking notes, it is important for researchers to be as specific as possible when describing individuals and their behaviors. It is also important for researchers not to ignore behaviors that may seem trivial at the time, as these may actually signify something much more meaningful.

Particularly as a complete participant, researchers are not going to have the ability to readily pull out their note pad and begin taking notes on things they have seen and heard. Even careful note taking can be dangerous for a researcher who is trying to hide his identity. If a researcher is found to be documenting what is happening within the group, this may breed distrust and group members may become suspicious of the researcher. This suspicion may cause the group members to act unnaturally around the researcher. Even if research subjects are aware of the researcher�s identity, having someone taking notes while they are having a casual conversation can be disconcerting. This may make subjects nervous and unwilling to participate in group activities while the researcher is present. Luckily, with the advance of technology, documentation does not have to include a pen and a piece of paper. Instead, researchers may opt for audio and/or visual recording devices. In one-party consent states, it is legal for one person to record a conversation they are having with another. Not all states are one-party consent states, however, so researchers must be careful not to break any laws with their plan for documentation.

WHAT RESEARCH SHOWS: IMPACTING CRIMINAL JUSTICE OPERATIONS

Application of Field Research Methods in Undercover Investigations

Participant observation research not only informs criminal justice operations, but police and other investigative agencies use these methods as well. Think about an undercover investigation. While the purpose of going undercover for a law enforcement officer is to collect evidence against a suspect, the officer�s methods mirror those of an academic researcher who joins a group as a full participant. In the 1970s, FBI agent Joe Pistone 4 went undercover to obtain information about the Bonnano family, one of the major Sicilian organized crime families in New York at the time. Assuming the identity of Donnie Brasco, the jewel thief, Pistone infiltrated the Bonnano family for six years. Using many of the techniques discussed here�learning the argot and social mores of the group, finding a gatekeeper, documenting evidence through the use of recording devices�by the early 1980s, Pistone provided the FBI with enough evidence to put over 100 Mafioso in prison for the remainder of their lives. Many of you may recognize his alias, as Pistone�s experiences as an undercover agent were brought to the big screen with the release of Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp. Depp�s portrayal of Pistone showed not only his undercover persona but also the difficulties he had maintaining relationships with his loved ones. Now, more than 30 years later, people are still interested in Pistone�s experiences as Brasco. As recently as 2005, the National Geographic Channel premiered Inside the Mafia, a series focused on Pistone�s experiences as Brasco. While this is a more well-known example of an undercover operation, undercover work goes on all the time. Whether making drug busts, infiltrating gangs or other trafficking organizations, or conducting a sting operation on one of their own, investigators employ many of the same techniques as field researchers rely upon.

Ethical Dilemmas for Field Researchers

As you can tell, field research poses unique complications for researchers to consider prior to and while conducting their studies. Ethical issues posed by field research, particularly field research in which the researcher�s identity is not known to research subjects, include the use of deception, privacy invasion, and the lack of consent. How can a researcher obtain informed consent from research subjects if she doesn�t want anyone to know research is taking place? Is it ethical to include someone in a research study without his or her permission? When the first guidelines for human subjects research were handed down, they caused a huge roadblock for field researchers. Later, however, it was determined that social science poses less risk to human subjects, particularly those being observed in their natural setting. Because it was recognized that the risk for harm was significantly less, field researchers were allowed to conduct their studies without conditions involving informed consent. The debate remains, however, as to whether it is truly ethical to conduct research on individuals without them knowing. A related issue is confidentiality and anonymity. If researchers are living among study subjects, anonymity is impossible. One way field researchers protect their subjects in this regard is through the use of pseudonyms. A pseudonym is a false name given to someone whose identity needs to be kept secret. In writing up their study findings, researchers will use pseudonyms instead of the actual names of study subjects.

Beyond the ethical nature of the research itself, field studies may introduce other ethical dilemmas for the researcher. For example, what if the researcher, as a participating member of a group, is asked to participate in an illegal activity? This may be a nonviolent activity like vandalism or graffiti, or it may be an activity that is more sinister in nature. Researchers, as full participants, have to decide whether they would be willing to commit the crime in question. After all, if caught and arrests are made, �I was just doing research,� will not be a justification the researcher will be able to use for his participation. Even if not a full participant, a researcher may observe some activity that is unlawful. The researcher will then have to decide whether to report this activity or to keep quiet about it. If a researcher is called to testify, there could be consequences for not cooperating. Depending on what kind of group is being studied, these dilemmas may occur more or less frequently. It is important that researchers understand prior to entering the field that they may have to make difficult decisions that like the research itself, could have great costs to them personally and professionally.

RESEARCH IN THE NEWS

Field Research Hits Prime Time

In 2009, CBS aired a new reality television series, Undercover Boss, 5 in which corporate executives go �undercover� to experience life as an employee of their company. Fully disguised, the executives are quickly thrown into the day-to-day operations of their workplaces. From the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, to the CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, to the mayor of Cincinnati, these executives conduct field research on camera to gain a better understanding of how their company, or city administration, runs from the bottom up. Often, they find hard-working, talented employees who are deserving of recognition, which is given as the episode comes to a close and the executive reveals himself and his undercover activities to his employees. Other times, they find employees that are not so good for business. Ultimately, the experience provides these executives with awareness they did not have prior to going undercover, and they hope to be able to utilize this knowledge to position their workplaces for continued success. Not only has this show benefited the companies and other workplaces profiled, with millions of viewers each week, it has certainly brought the adventures of field research into prime time.

Examples of Field Research in Criminal Justice

If you recall from Chapter 2, Humphreys� Tea Room Trade is an example of field research. Humphreys participated to an extent, acting as a �watchqueen� so that he could observe the sexual activities taking place in public restrooms and other public places. Another study exploring clandestine sexual activity was conducted by Styles. 6 Styles was interested in the use of gay baths, places where men seeking to have sexual relationships with other men could have relatively private encounters. While Styles was a gay man attempting to study other gay men, at the outset his intention was to be a nonparticipant observer. Having a friend vouch for him, he easily gained access into the bath and began figuring out how to best observe the scene. After observing and conducting a few interviews, Styles was approached by another man for sexual activity. Although he was resolved to only observe, this time he gave in. From this point on, he began attending another bath and collecting information as a complete participant. Styles� writing is informative, not only for the description regarding this group�s activity, but also for the discussion he provides about his travels through the world of field research, beginning as an observer and ending as a complete participant. His writing on insider versus outsider research resulted in four main reflections for readers to consider:

There are no privileged positions of knowledge when it comes to scrutinizing human group life;

All research is conditioned by value biases and factual preconceptions about the group being studied;

Fieldwork is a process of building up images from one�s biases, preconceptions, and new information, testing these images against one�s observations and the reports of informants, and accepting, modifying, or discarding these images on the basis of what one observes and what one has been told; and

Insider and outsider researchers will differ in the ways they go about building and testing their images of the group they study. (pp. 148�150)

Reviewing the literature, one finds that field researchers often choose sexual deviance as a topic for their field studies. Tewksbury and colleagues have researched gender differences in sex shop patrons 7 and places where men have been found to have anonymous sexual encounters 8 such as sex shop theaters. 9 Another interesting field study was conducted by Ronai and Ellis. 10 For this study, Ronai acted as a complete participant, drawing from her past as a table dancer and also gaining access as an exotic dancer in a Florida strip bar for the purpose of her master�s thesis research. Building on Ronai�s experiences and her interviews with fellow dancers, the researchers examined the interactional strategies used by dancers, both on the stage and on the floor, to ensure a night where the dancers were well paid for their services. In conducting these studies, these researchers were able to expose places where many are either unwilling or afraid to go, or perhaps afraid to admit they go.

In their study of women who belong to outlaw motorcycle gangs, Hopper and Moore 11 used participant observation methods as well as interviews to better understand the biker culture and where women fit into this culture. Moore provided access, as he was once a member and president of Satan�s Dead, an outlaw biker club in Mississippi. Like Styles, Hopper and Moore discuss the challenges of conducting research among the outlaw biker population. Having to observe quietly while bikers committed acts opposite to their personal values and not being able to ask many questions or give uninvited comments were just some of the hurdles the researchers had to overcome in order to conduct their study. The male bikers were, at the least, distrustful of the researchers, and the women bikers even more so. While these challenges existed, Hopper and Moore were able to ascertain quite a bit about the female experience as relates to their role in or among the outlaw biker culture.

Ferrell has been one of the most active field researchers of our time. He is considered a founder and remains a steadfast proponent of cultural criminology, 12 a subfield of criminology that examines the intersections of cultural activities and crime. Not only did he conduct the ethnography on urban scrounging discussed at the beginning of this chapter, he has spent more than a decade in the field studying subcultural groups who defy social norms. Crossing the United States, and the globe, Ferrell has explored the social and political motivations of urban graffiti artists, 13 anarchist bicycle group activists, and outlaw radio operators, 14 just to name a few. The research conducted by Ferrell, and others discussed here, has been described as edgework, or radical ethnography. This means that, as researchers, Ferrell and others have gone to the �edge,� or the extreme, to collect information on subjects of interest. Ferrell and Hamm 15 have put together a collection of readings based on edgework, as have Miller and Tewksbury. 16 While dangerous and wrought with ethical challenges, their research has shed light on societal groups who, whether by choice or not, often reside in the shadows.

Although ethnographers have spent years studying criminal and other deviant activities, field research has not been limited to those groups. Other researchers have sought to explore what it�s like to work in criminal justice from the inside. In the 1960s, Skolnick 17 conducted field research among police officers to better understand how elements of their occupation impacted their views and behaviors. He wrote extensively about the �working personality� of police officers as shaped by their occupational environment, including the danger and alienation they face from those they are sworn to protect, and the solidarity that builds from shared experiences. Beyond law enforcement, there have also been a variety of studies focused on the prison environment. When Ted Conover, 18 a journalist interested in writing from the correctional officer perspective, was denied permission from the New York Department of Correctional Services to do a report on correctional life, he instead applied and was hired on as an actual correctional officer. In Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, Conover offers a compelling account of his journalistic field research, which resulted in a one-year stint as a corrections officer. From his time in training until his last days working in the galleries, Conover�s experiences provide the reader a look into the challenges faced by correctional officers, stemming not only from the inmates but the correctional staff as well.

Prior to Conover�s writing, Marquart was also interested in correctional work and strategies utilized by prison guards to ensure control over the inmate population. Specifically, in the 1980s, Marquart 19 examined correctional officials� use of physical coercion and Marquart and Crouch 20 explored their use of inmate leaders as social control mechanisms. In order to conduct this field study, Marquart, with the warden�s permission, entered a prison unit in Texas and proceeded to work as a guard from June 1981 until January 1983. He was able to work in various posts within the institution so that he could observe how prison guards interacted with inmates. Marquart not only observed the prison�s daily routine, he examined institutional records, conducted interviews, and also developed close relationships with 20 prison guards and inmate leaders, or building tenders, whom he relied on for their insider knowledge of prison life and inmate control. Based on his fieldwork, Marquait shared his findings regarding the intimidation and physical coercion used by prison guards to discipline inmates. This fieldwork also provided a fascinating look into the building tender system that was utilized as a means of social control in the Texas prison system prior to that system being discontinued.

In the early 1990s, Schmid and Jones 21 used a unique strategy to study inmate adaptation from inside the prison walls. Jones, an offender serving a sentence in a prison located in the upper midwestern region of the United States, was given permission to enroll in a graduate sociology course focused on methods of research. This course was being offered by Schmid and led to collaborative work between the two men to study prison culture. They specifically focused on the experiences of first-time, short-term inmates. With Jones acting as the complete participant and Schmid acting as the complete observer, the pair began their research covertly. While they were aware of Jones�s meeting with Schmid for purposes of the research methods course in which he was enrolled, correctional authorities and other inmates perceived Jones to be just another inmate. In the 10 months that followed, Jones kept detailed notes regarding his daily experiences and his personal thoughts about and observations of prison life. Also included in his notes was information about his participation in prison activities and his communications with other similar, first-time, short-term inmates. Once his field notes were prepared, Jones would mail them to Schmid for review. Over the course of these letters, phone calls, and intermittent meetings, new observation strategies and themes began to develop based on the observations made by Jones. Upon his release from prison and their analyzing of the initial data, Jones and Schmid reentered the prison to conduct informed interviews with 20 first-time, short-term inmates. Using these data, Schmid and Jones began to write up their findings, which focused on inmate adaptations over time, identity transformations within the prison environment, 22 and conceptions of prison sexual assault, 23 among other topics. Schmid and Jones discussed how their roles as a complete observer and a complete participant allowed them the advantage of balancing scientific objectivity and intimacy with the group under study. The unfettered access Jones had to other inmates within the prison environment as a complete participant added to the unusual nature of this study yielding valuable insight into the prison experience for this particular subset of inmates.

Case Studies

Beyond field research, case studies provide an additional means of qualitative data. While more often conducted by researchers in other disciplines, such as psychology, or by journalists, criminologists also have a rich history of case study research. In conducting case studies, researchers use in-depth interviews and oral/life history, or autobiographical, approaches to thoroughly examine one or a few illustrative cases. This method often allows individuals, particularly offenders, to tell their own story, and information from these stories, or case studies, may then be extrapolated to the larger group. The advantage is a firsthand, descriptive account of a way of life that is little understood. Disadvantages relate to the ability to generalize from what may be an atypical case and also the bias that may enter as a researcher develops a working relationship with their subject. Most examples of case studies involving criminological subjects were conducted more than 20 years ago, which may be due to criminologists� general inclination toward more quantitative research during this time period.

The earliest case studies focused on crime topics were conducted in the 1930s. Not only was the Chicago School interested in ethnographic research, these researchers were also among the first to conduct case studies on individuals involved in criminal activities. Shaw�s The Jack Roller (1930) 24 and Sutherland�s The Professional Thief (1937) 25 are not only the oldest but also the most well-known case studies related to delinquent and criminal figures. Focused on environmental influences on behavior, Shaw profiled an inner city delinquent male, �Stanley� the �jack roller,� who explained why he was involved in delinquent behavior, specifically the crime of mugging intoxicated men. Fifty years later, Snodgrass 26 updated Shaw�s work, following up with an elderly �Stanley� at age 70. Sutherland�s case study, resulting in the publication of The Professional Thief, was based on �Chic Conwell�s� account of his personal life and professional experience surviving off of what could be stolen or conned from others. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed numerous publications based on case studies. Researchers examined organized crime figures and families, 27 heroin addicts, 28 thieves, 29 and those who fence stolen property. 30 As with participant observation research, case studies have not been relegated to offenders only. In fact, more recently the case study approach has been applied to law enforcement and correctional agencies. 33 These studies have examined activities of the New York City Police Department, 34 the New Orleans Police Department�s response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 35 and Rhode Island�s prison system. 36

As with field research, the case study approach can provide a deeper understanding of individuals or groups of individuals, such as crime families, who live outside of the mainstream. Case studies inform us about the motivations for why individuals or groups behave the way they do and how those experiences or activities were either beneficial or detrimental for them. The same goes for agency research. One department or agency can learn from the experiences of another department or agency. With more recent research utilizing the case study approach, it could be that this methodology will be seen more often in the criminal justice literature.

Making Critical Choices as a Field Researcher

In conducting field studies, researchers often must make decisions that impact the viability of their research. Sometimes, researchers don�t make the best choices. In the 1990s, Dr. Ansley Hamid was an esteemed anthropologist, well-known for his field research focused on the drug subculture. 31 Based on his previous success as a researcher documenting the more significant trends in drug use and addiction, he, through his position as a university professor, was awarded a multimillion-dollar federal research grant to examine heroin use on the streets of New York. It was not long after the grant was awarded, however, that Hamid was accused of misusing the funds provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, even going so far as to use the funds to purchase heroin for his own use and the use of his research subjects. While the criminal charges were eventually dismissed, Hamid paid the ultimate professional price for his behavior, particularly his use of the drug, which was documented in his handwritten field notes. 32 As of 2003, the professor was no longer connected to John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. In fact, Hamid is no longer working in higher education at all due to the accusations and accompanying negative publicity. Instead, he owns a candle shop in a small Brooklyn neighborhood. He does not plan to stop researching and writing though. His book, Ganja Complex: Rastafari and Marijuana, was published in 2002. This case is a prime example of what can happen when researchers cross the boundary of objectivity. Hamid�s brief experience in the shoes of a heroin user led to his ultimate downfall as an objective and respected researcher.

Chapter Summary

Qualitative research strategies allow researchers to enter into groups and places that are often considered off limits to the general public. The methods and studies discussed here provide excellent examples of the use of field research to discover motivations for the development and patterns of behavior within these groups. These qualitative endeavors offer a unique look into the lives of those who may live or work on the fringes of modern society. As it would be nearly impossible to conduct research on these groups using methods such as experiments, surveys, and formal interviews, participant observation techniques extend the ability of researchers to study activities beyond the norm by participating with and observing subjects in their natural environment and later describing in detail their experiences in the field.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What are the advantages to using a more qualitative research method?

2. Compare and contrast the four different participant observation strategies.

3. What must a researcher consider before conducting field research?

4. What did Styles learn about conducting research as an insider versus an outsider?

5. How has the case study approach been applied to criminal justice research?

case study: In-depth analysis of one or a few illustrative cases

complete observation: A participant observation method that involves the researcher observing an individual or group from afar

complete participation: A participant observation method that involves the researcher becoming a full-fledged member of a particular group; sometimes referred to as disguised observation

confederates: Individuals, who are part of the research team, used to speed up the events of interest when observations are being made

edgework: This refers to researchers going to the �edge,� or the extreme, to collect information on subjects of interest

ethnographic research: Relies on field research methodologies to scientifically examine human culture in the natural environment

field research: Research that involves researchers studying individuals or groups of individuals in their natural environment

gatekeeper: A person within the group under study whom the researcher can use to learn about and access the group

going native: A challenge to field research in which the researcher loses her identity as a researcher and begins to identify more with her role as a member of the group under study

Hawthorne Effect: Based on a study of worker productivity, this term refers to changes in behavior caused by being observed

indigenous observer: A person within the group under study who is willing to collect information about the group for compensation

journalistic field research: Field research conducted by journalists and used to write books or articles about a certain topic of interest

observer as participant: A participant observation strategy in which the researcher is known to the group and is only there to observe

oral/life history: Methods used to conduct case studies; similar to an autobiographical account

participant as observer: A participant observation strategy in which the researcher will participate with the group but his identity as a researcher is known

participant observation strategies: First used for social science in the 1920s, these are research methodologies that involve participation and/or observation with the group under study; there are four such strategies

pseudonym: A false name given to someone whose identity needs to be kept secret

reactivity: The problem of having research subjects change their natural behavior in reaction to being observed or otherwise included in a research study

1 Ferrell, J. (2006). Empire of scrounge: Inside the urban underground of dumpster diving, trash picking, and street scavenging. New York: New York University Press.

2 Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

3 Trulson, C., J. Marquait, & J. Mullings. (2004). �Breaking in: Gaining entry to prisons and other hard-to-access criminal justice organizations.� Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 15(2), 451�478.

4 Lovgren, S. (2005, June 10). �FBI Agent �Donnie Brasco� recalls life in the Mafia.� Retrieved March 7, 2012 from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/34063528 .html.

5 See series website, http://www.cbs.com/shows /undercover_boss/.

6 Styles, J. (1979). �Outsider/insider: Researching gay baths.� Urban Life, 8(2), 135�152.

7 McCleary, R., & R. Tewksbury. (2010). �Female patrons of porn.� Deviant Behavior, 31, 208�223.

8 Tewksbury, R. (2008). �Finding erotic oases: Locating the sites of men�s same-sex anonymous sexual encounters.� Journal of Homosexuality, 55(1), 1�19.

9 Douglas, B., & R. Tewksbury. (2008). �Theaters and sex: An examination of anonymous sexual encounters in an erotic oasis.� Deviant Behavior, 29(1), 1�17.

10 Ronai, C. R., & C. Ellis. (1989). �Turn-ons for money: Interactional strategies of the table dancer.� Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18, 271�298.

11 Hopper, C. B., & J. Moore. (1990). �Women in outlaw motorcycle gangs.� Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18(4), 363�387.

12 Ferrell, J., & C. Sanders (Eds.). (1995). Cultural criminology. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

13 Ferrell, J. (1996). Crimes of style: Urban graffiti and the politics of criminality. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

14 Ferrell, J. (2002). Tearing down the streets: Adventures in urban anarchy. New York: Palgrave Mcmillan.

15 Ferrell, J., & M. Hamm (Eds.). (1998). Ethnography at the edge: Crime, deviance, and field research. Boston: Northeastern University Press

16 Miller, J., & R. Tewksbury (Eds.). (2001). Extreme methods: Innovative approaches to social science research. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

17 Skolnick, J. (1966). Justice without trial: Law enforcement in a democratic society. New York: Wiley & Sons.

18 Conover, T. (2000). Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing. New York: Random House, Inc.

19 Marquart, J. (1986). �Prison guards and the use of physical coercion as a mechanism of prisoner control.� Criminology, 24(2), 347�366.

20 Marquart, J. & B. Crouch. (1984). �Coopting the kept: Using inmates for social control in a southern prison.� Justice Quarterly, 1(4), 491�509.

21 Schmid, T. J., & R. S. Jones. (1993). �Ambivalent actions: Prison adaptation strategies of first-time, short-term inmates.� Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 21(4), 439�463.

22 Schmid, T. J., & R. S. Jones. (1991). �Suspended identity: Identity transformation in a maximum security prison.� Symbolic Interaction, 14, 415�432.

23 Jones, R. S., & T. J. Schmid. (1989). �Inmates� conceptions of prison sexual assault.� Prison Journal, 69, 53�61.

24 Shaw, C. (1930). The jack-roller. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

25 Sutherland, E. (1937). The professional thief. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

26 Snodgrass, J. (1982). The jack-roller at seventy: A fifty year follow-up. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.

27 Abadinsky, H. (1983). The criminal elite: Professional and organized crime. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press.; Anderson, A. (1979). The business of organized crime. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press.; Ianni, F., & E. Reuss-Ianni. (1972). A family business: kinship and social control in organized crime. New York: Russell Sage.

28 Agar, M. (1973). Ripping and running: A formal ethnography of urban heroin users. New York: Seminar Press.; Rettig, R., M. Torres, & G. Garrett. (1977). Manny: A criminal addict � s story. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

29 Chambliss, W. (1972). Boxman: A professional thief � s journal, with Harry King. New York: Harper and Row.; King, H., & W. Chambliss. (1984). Harry King: A professional thief � s journal. New York: Wiley.

30 Klockars, C. (1974). The professional fence. New York: Free Press; Steffensmeier, D. (1986). The fence: In the shadow of two worlds. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield.

31 Forero, J. (1999, November, 1). �Charges unravel drug-use scholar�s career.� The New York Times Archives. Retrieved March 7, 2012 from http://www.nytimes .com/1999/11/01/nyregion/charges-unravel-drug-use-scholar-s-career.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm.

32 Smallwood, S. (2002, October 25). �Crossing the line: A heroin researcher partakes and pays the price.� The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved March 7, 2012 from http://chronicle.com/article /Crossing-the-Line/2839.

33 Travis, L. III (1983). �The case study in criminal justice research: Applications to policy analysis.� Criminal Justice Review, 8, 46�51.

34 Eterno, J. (2003). Policing within the law: A case study of the New York City Police Department. Westport, CT: Praeger.

35 Wigginton, M. (2007). �The New Orleans police emergency response to Hurricane Katrina: A case study.� A Dissertation completed for the University of Southern Mississippi.

36 Carroll, L. (1998). Lawful order: A case study of correctional crisis and reform. New York: Garland.

Applied Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology by University of North Texas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Home » 500+ Criminal Justice Research Topics

500+ Criminal Justice Research Topics

Criminal justice is a complex and critical field that encompasses various aspects of crime prevention, law enforcement, legal proceedings, and punishment. Research plays a crucial role in understanding and addressing the challenges and opportunities in this field. From studying the causes and consequences of crime to exploring the effectiveness of policies and interventions, there is a wide range of fascinating and important criminal justice research topics to explore. Whether you are a student, a scholar, a practitioner, or a curious citizen, delving into the world of criminal justice research can deepen your knowledge, sharpen your critical thinking skills, and contribute to creating a safer and fairer society. In this post, we will introduce some of the most compelling and relevant criminal justice research topics that you may find intriguing and informative.

Criminal Justice Research Topics

Criminal Justice Research Topics are as follows:

• The effectiveness of community policing in reducing crime rates
• The impact of body-worn cameras on police accountability and public trust
• The causes and consequences of police use of excessive force
• The role of race and ethnicity in police-citizen interactions and perceptions
• The effectiveness of diversion programs in reducing recidivism among juvenile offenders
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentencing on crime rates and prison populations
• The challenges and opportunities of restorative justice as an alternative to punitive justice
• The role of mental health and substance abuse treatment in reducing criminal behavior
• The ethics and implications of using predictive policing algorithms
• The impact of private prisons on the criminal justice system and society
• The effectiveness of victim-offender mediation in reducing the harm of crime
• The prevalence and causes of wrongful convictions and the implications for justice
• The role of media in shaping public perceptions of crime and justice
• The effectiveness and fairness of the death penalty as a form of punishment
• The role of international law in addressing transnational crimes such as terrorism and human trafficking
• The impact of the War on Drugs on drug use, drug-related crime, and public health
• The effectiveness of gun control laws in reducing gun violence and crime rates
• The role of technology in enhancing or challenging the criminal justice system, such as DNA analysis or facial recognition software
• The prevalence and causes of domestic violence and the effectiveness of intervention programs
• The impact of sentencing disparities based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status
• The role of plea bargaining in the criminal justice system and the implications for justice
• The effectiveness of sex offender registries and notification laws in reducing sex crimes
• The impact of pretrial detention on defendants’ rights and outcomes
• The role of community-based corrections in reducing recidivism and promoting reentry
• The ethics and implications of using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for surveillance and law enforcement
• The effectiveness and implications of using risk assessment tools in pretrial decision-making
• The prevalence and impact of hate crimes and the challenges of prosecuting them
• The role of eyewitness testimony in criminal trials and the reliability of memory
• The effectiveness of drug courts in reducing drug-related crime and improving outcomes for offenders
• The impact of race and ethnicity on the administration of the death penalty
• The role of juries in the criminal justice system and the factors that affect their decisions
• The effectiveness and ethics of using informants in criminal investigations and prosecutions
• The prevalence and impact of cybercrime and the challenges of investigating and prosecuting it
• The effectiveness of juvenile justice reforms in promoting rehabilitation and reducing recidivism
• The impact of community-based policing on police-citizen relations and trust
• The role of social media in shaping perceptions of crime and justice
• The effectiveness of prison education and vocational training programs in promoting rehabilitation and reducing recidivism
• The prevalence and impact of human rights abuses in the criminal justice system, such as torture or discrimination
• The effectiveness of gang prevention and intervention programs in reducing gang-related crime
• The role of implicit bias in the criminal justice system and its impact on outcomes
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health, behavior, and reentry outcomes
• The impact of police body cameras on public trust and police accountability.
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for juvenile offenders.
• The impact of community policing on crime reduction
• The use of predictive policing in law enforcement
• The impact of decriminalizing marijuana on crime rates
• The role of mental health professionals in the criminal justice system
• The effectiveness of de-escalation training for police officers
• The impact of technology on police surveillance practices
• The relationship between gender and sentencing disparities in the criminal justice system
• The relationship between poverty and crime
• The effectiveness of restorative justice programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of the War on Drugs on mass incarceration
• The use of cognitive-behavioral therapy in offender rehabilitation
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for people with substance use disorders
• The role of implicit bias in jury selection
• The impact of police officer stress on use of force incidents
• The use of big data in criminal investigations and decision-making
• The effectiveness of restorative justice practices in school disciplinary policies
• The relationship between mental illness and homelessness in the criminal justice system
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentences on juvenile offenders
• The role of drug courts in the criminal justice system
• The effectiveness of offender reentry programs for people with disabilities
• The impact of restorative justice programs on victims of crime
• The use of therapeutic jurisprudence in the criminal justice system
• The relationship between race and ethnicity and the use of force by private security personnel
• The effectiveness of educational programs in correctional facilities
• The impact of eyewitness identification procedures on wrongful convictions
• The role of community-based policing in reducing crime rates
• The use of predictive analytics in bail decisions
• The effectiveness of correctional education programs on recidivism
• The impact of immigration enforcement policies on immigrant communities’ trust in law enforcement
• The relationship between mental health and juvenile detention
• The use of biometrics in criminal investigations and identification
• The effectiveness of mental health courts in reducing recidivism among people with co-occurring disorders
• The impact of gender and sexuality on hate crime victimization and reporting
• The role of cultural competence in police training
• The use of risk assessment tools in pretrial detention decisions
• The effectiveness of community supervision programs for people with substance use disorders
• The impact of social and economic policies on criminal justice outcomes
• The relationship between race and ethnicity and criminal case outcomes
• The use of therapeutic communities in correctional facilities
• The effectiveness of specialized courts for domestic violence cases
• The impact of gun violence on public safety and crime rates
• The role of eyewitness memory and recall in criminal investigations and trials
• The use of DNA evidence in criminal investigations and exoneration
• The effectiveness of probation and parole programs for people with disabilities
• The impact of victim impact statements on sentencing decisions
• The relationship between criminal justice policies and racial and ethnic disparities in incarceration rates
• The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in law enforcement
• The effectiveness of community-based restorative justice programs for juvenile offenders
• The impact of public defender workload on criminal case outcomes
• The role of community activism and advocacy in criminal justice reform
• The use of risk assessment tools in school disciplinary policies
• The effectiveness of family-focused interventions in reducing juvenile recidivism
• The impact of police officer race and ethnicity on use of force incidents
• The relationship between race and ethnicity and prosecutorial decision-making
• The use of virtual reality simulations in police training
• The effectiveness of mental health diversion programs for people with traumatic brain injuries
• The impact of juvenile life without parole sentences on individuals and society.
• The use of drones in criminal investigations
• The effectiveness of community-based alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders
• The impact of wrongful convictions on the criminal justice system
• The role of implicit bias in criminal justice decision-making
• The use of risk assessment tools in child welfare investigations
• The effectiveness of offender reentry programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of hate crimes on marginalized communities
• The relationship between mental health and the use of force by police officers
• The use of body language analysis in criminal interrogations
• The effectiveness of community policing strategies in building trust between police and communities
• The impact of race on police use of force and police brutality
• The role of prosecutorial discretion in the criminal justice system
• The use of algorithms in pretrial detention decisions
• The effectiveness of victim-centered approaches to sexual assault investigations
• The impact of domestic violence on child custody decisions
• The relationship between social media and cybercrime
• The use of facial recognition technology in law enforcement
• The effectiveness of police officer training programs on cultural sensitivity and bias reduction
• The impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on youth
• The role of mental health courts in diversion programs
• The use of virtual reality technology in criminal justice education and training
• The effectiveness of crisis intervention teams in responding to mental health crises
• The impact of immigration policies on crime reporting and victimization rates in immigrant communities
• The relationship between police department size and use of force incidents
• The use of predictive analytics in parole and probation supervision
• The effectiveness of juvenile justice system diversion programs for LGBTQ+ youth
• The impact of bail reform on pretrial detention rates and recidivism
• The role of trauma-informed care in the criminal justice system
• The use of artificial intelligence in forensic investigations
• The effectiveness of prison entrepreneurship programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of COVID-19 on the criminal justice system
• The relationship between mental health and incarceration rates
• The use of social network analysis in criminal investigations
• The effectiveness of drug testing and monitoring programs for probationers and parolees
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentences on drug offenses
• The role of the media in shaping public perceptions of crime and the criminal justice system
• The use of body-worn cameras in courtroom proceedings
• The effectiveness of mental health diversion programs for veterans involved in the criminal justice system
• The impact of race and ethnicity on the plea bargaining process
• The relationship between police department diversity and community trust
• The use of crime mapping in law enforcement strategies
• The effectiveness of animal therapy programs in correctional facilities
• The impact of the death penalty on families of victims and offenders
• The role of prosecutorial misconduct in wrongful convictions.
• Racial disparities in the use of capital punishment
• The effectiveness of electronic monitoring as an alternative to incarceration
• The role of restorative justice in reducing recidivism
• The relationship between mental illness and criminal behavior
• The effectiveness of drug courts in reducing drug-related offenses
• The impact of body-worn cameras on police behavior and citizen complaints
• The use of risk assessment tools in sentencing and release decisions
• The effectiveness of boot camp programs for juvenile offenders
• The use of eyewitness testimony in criminal trials
• The impact of victim-offender mediation on the criminal justice system
• The relationship between education level and criminal behavior
• The effectiveness of parole and probation in reducing recidivism
• The use of artificial intelligence in criminal justice decision-making
• The role of public defenders in the criminal justice system
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentences on the prison population
• The effectiveness of therapeutic courts for individuals with substance abuse disorders
• The impact of social media on the reporting of crimes and public perception of crime
• The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in reducing recidivism
• The impact of mental health courts on the criminal justice system
• The role of community service in reducing recidivism
• The relationship between domestic violence and gun ownership
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for individuals with mental illnesses
• The impact of sentencing guidelines on judicial discretion
• The use of police body language in detecting deception during interviews
• The relationship between incarceration and employment opportunities post-release
• The effectiveness of community-based supervision programs for released offenders
• The impact of the war on drugs on the criminal justice system
• The role of race and ethnicity in plea bargaining decisions
• The use of risk assessment tools in juvenile justice
• The effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy in correctional facilities
• The impact of restorative justice on the victims of crime
• The relationship between gun laws and gun violence rates
• The effectiveness of pretrial diversion programs for individuals with mental illnesses
• The role of reentry programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of mandatory arrest policies in domestic violence cases
• The use of polygraph tests in criminal investigations
• The relationship between gang membership and criminal behavior
• The effectiveness of drug treatment courts in reducing recidivism
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health and behavior
• The role of gun buyback programs in reducing gun violence
• The relationship between substance abuse and child abuse
• The effectiveness of victim impact panels in reducing drunk driving
• The impact of juvenile detention on mental health and behavior
• The use of forensic science in criminal investigations
• The relationship between race and wrongful convictions
• The effectiveness of prison education programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of police militarization on community trust and safety
• The relationship between race, ethnicity, and police use of force.
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentencing laws on incarceration rates.
• The effectiveness of community policing in reducing crime rates.
• The relationship between mental illness and criminal behavior.
• The role of gender in criminal justice sentencing and outcomes.
• The impact of the war on drugs on incarceration rates and drug use.
• The effectiveness of restorative justice programs in reducing recidivism.
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health and rehabilitation.
• The relationship between poverty and crime rates.
• The role of technology in modern policing and criminal justice.
• The effectiveness of drug courts in reducing drug-related crime.
• The relationship between immigration and crime rates.
• The impact of mandatory arrest policies in cases of domestic violence.
• The effectiveness of victim-offender mediation in reducing recidivism.
• The role of social media in modern crime and policing.
• The impact of police militarization on community trust and safety.
• The effectiveness of rehabilitation programs for incarcerated individuals.
• The relationship between gun ownership and violent crime.
• The impact of wrongful convictions on individuals and the criminal justice system.
• The role of race and ethnicity in jury selection and decision-making.
• The effectiveness of mental health courts in reducing recidivism.
• The relationship between education and crime rates.
• The impact of body-worn cameras on police officer behavior and decision-making.
• The effectiveness of drug treatment programs in reducing recidivism.
• The relationship between domestic violence and gun ownership.
• The impact of the death penalty on deterrence and sentencing outcomes.
• The role of implicit bias in policing and criminal justice decision-making.
• The effectiveness of community-based reentry programs for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• The relationship between crime rates and social inequality.
• The impact of predictive policing on crime rates and community trust.
• The effectiveness of probation and parole programs in reducing recidivism.
• The relationship between mental health and policing.
• The impact of police unions on police accountability and reform efforts.
• The role of the media in shaping public perceptions of crime and justice.
• The effectiveness of pretrial diversion programs in reducing incarceration rates.
• The relationship between police use of force and police training.
• The impact of mandatory minimum drug sentences on racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
• The effectiveness of juvenile detention alternatives in reducing recidivism.
• The relationship between mass incarceration and economic inequality.
• The impact of police body language on civilian compliance.
• The role of community organizations in crime prevention and intervention.
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for people with disabilities.
• The relationship between mental health and criminal justice reform.
• The impact of immigration policies on community safety and trust.
• The role of prosecutorial discretion in the criminal justice system.
• The effectiveness of job training programs for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• The relationship between race and drug policy.
• The impact of pretrial detention on case outcomes and incarceration rates.
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for offenders with mental health issues
• The prevalence and impact of police corruption and the challenges of rooting it out
• The role of victim impact statements in the criminal justice system and their impact on sentencing
• The impact of social inequality on crime rates and the criminal justice system
• The role of political ideology in shaping criminal justice policy and practice
• The effectiveness of rehabilitation and reentry programs for adult offenders
• The prevalence and impact of sexual harassment and assault within the criminal justice system
• The role of the Fourth Amendment in regulating police searches and seizures
• The effectiveness of restorative justice practices in addressing campus sexual assault
• The impact of mass incarceration on families and communities
• The ethics and implications of using artificial intelligence in criminal justice decision-making
• The role of bail reform in promoting justice and reducing pretrial detention
• The prevalence and impact of police misconduct and accountability mechanisms
• The effectiveness of drug policy reform in reducing drug-related harm and promoting public health
• The impact of globalization on transnational crimes and the challenges of international cooperation
• The role of prosecutorial discretion in shaping criminal justice outcomes
• The prevalence and impact of white-collar crime and the challenges of prosecution
• The role of public defenders in ensuring access to justice for indigent defendants
• The effectiveness of mental health courts in diverting mentally ill offenders from the criminal justice system
• The impact of the criminal justice system on immigrant communities and the challenges of immigrant detention and deportation
• The role of forgiveness in restorative justice and its implications for healing and reconciliation
• The effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution in reducing court congestion and promoting justice
• The prevalence and impact of hate speech and the challenges of regulating it
• The role of public opinion in shaping criminal justice policy and practice
• The effectiveness of community supervision in reducing recidivism and promoting reentry
• The impact of the criminalization of homelessness on vulnerable populations
• The role of community activism and advocacy in promoting criminal justice reform
• The effectiveness of therapeutic jurisprudence in promoting rehabilitation and well-being
• The prevalence and impact of police militarization and its implications for public safety and civil liberties
• The role of eyewitness identification procedures in criminal investigations and the reliability of identification evidence
• The effectiveness of harm reduction strategies in reducing drug-related harm and promoting public health
• The impact of the criminal justice system on Indigenous communities and the challenges of decolonizing justice
• The role of hate crime legislation in promoting justice and reducing hate-motivated violence
• The effectiveness of police training programs in reducing racial and ethnic bias and promoting cultural competence
• The prevalence and impact of gun violence and the challenges of gun control policy
• The role of the Eighth Amendment in regulating cruel and unusual punishment
• The effectiveness of problem-solving courts in addressing complex social issues and promoting justice
• The impact of the criminal justice system on LGBTQ+ communities and the challenges of achieving equality and inclusivity
• The role of victim services in promoting healing and well-being for crime victims
• The effectiveness of drug testing and monitoring programs in promoting rehabilitation and reducing recidivism
• The prevalence and impact of prison gangs and the challenges of managing them
• The role of implicit bias in eyewitness identification and the implications for justice
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for offenders with substance abuse issues
• The impact of social media on crime reporting and law enforcement
• The role of mental health diversion programs in reducing mass incarceration and promoting treatment
• The prevalence and impact of wrongful convictions of innocent people and the challenges of exoneration
• The relationship between immigration and crime rates
• The impact of drug courts on drug-related offenses and recidivism rates
• The use of restorative justice practices in the criminal justice system
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for people released from prison
• The use of polygraph tests in criminal investigations and court proceedings
• The impact of bail amounts on pretrial detention and case outcomes
• The relationship between gun ownership and crime rates
• The effectiveness of mental health screening and assessment for individuals involved in the criminal justice system
• The use of virtual courtrooms in criminal proceedings
• The impact of juvenile detention on mental health and future criminal behavior
• The relationship between poverty and crime rates
• The use of eyewitness identification procedures in criminal investigations and court proceedings
• The effectiveness of community service programs as a sentencing alternative
• The role of racial profiling in law enforcement practices
• The use of risk assessment tools in sentencing and parole decisions
• The impact of mandatory reporting laws on child abuse and neglect cases
• The relationship between parental incarceration and children’s wellbeing
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for drug-related offenses
• The use of cognitive-behavioral therapy in offender rehabilitation programs
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health and recidivism rates
• The relationship between social capital and crime rates
• The use of DNA evidence in criminal investigations and court proceedings
• The effectiveness of crisis response teams in reducing police use of force incidents
• The role of race and ethnicity in jury selection and decision-making
• The impact of court fines and fees on individuals involved in the criminal justice system
• The relationship between education and crime rates
• The use of risk assessment tools in domestic violence cases
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for individuals with substance use disorders
• The impact of court-appointed attorneys on case outcomes and access to justice
• The role of victim impact statements in sentencing decisions
• The use of mental health courts for individuals with co-occurring disorders
• The effectiveness of court-mandated treatment programs for drug offenders
• The impact of gender on the sentencing and treatment of offenders
• The relationship between drug policy and crime rates
• The use of forensic psychology in criminal investigations and court proceedings
• The effectiveness of cognitive interviewing techniques in witness testimony
• The impact of the media on public perceptions of the criminal justice system
• The relationship between neighborhood characteristics and crime rates
• The use of body-worn cameras in police-community interactions
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentences on sentencing disparities
• The role of mental health providers in prisons and jails
• The use of civil asset forfeiture in law enforcement practices
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for individuals with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system
• The impact of police militarization on community trust and police accountability
• The relationship between unemployment and crime rates
• The use of artificial intelligence in identifying and preventing human trafficking
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for individuals with traumatic brain injuries
• The impact of community-based alternatives to policing on public safety and crime rates.
• The impact of the militarization of police on community relations
• The effectiveness of restorative justice practices in reducing recidivism
• The relationship between socioeconomic status and juvenile delinquency
• The impact of police department culture on officer behavior
• The role of community courts in addressing low-level offenses
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for people who were formerly incarcerated
• The impact of body-worn cameras on police officer behavior and community perceptions
• The relationship between mental illness and police use of force
• The use of neuroscience in criminal sentencing
• The effectiveness of gun control policies in reducing gun violence
• The role of alternative dispute resolution in the criminal justice system
• The use of biometrics in criminal investigations
• The effectiveness of gang prevention and intervention programs
• The impact of domestic violence on employment and economic stability
• The use of artificial intelligence in criminal investigations and sentencing
• The role of implicit bias in eyewitness identification
• The use of drug courts in addressing drug addiction and drug-related crimes
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for juvenile offenders
• The impact of social media on crime and victimization
• The relationship between mental health and incarceration of women
• The use of surveillance technologies in correctional facilities
• The effectiveness of victim-offender mediation programs
• The impact of prosecutorial discretion on plea bargaining outcomes
• The role of mental health assessments in competency to stand trial determinations
• The use of biographical information in criminal investigations
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for people with mental illness
• The impact of police body language on community perceptions
• The relationship between criminal justice policies and racial disparities in healthcare
• The use of geospatial analysis in predicting crime patterns
• The effectiveness of community service programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of court fines and fees on people with low incomes
• The role of neuroscience in detecting deception
• The use of technology in victim advocacy and support services
• The effectiveness of juvenile justice diversion programs for LGBTQ+ youth
• The impact of parental incarceration on children and families
• The relationship between race and juvenile justice system involvement
• The use of facial recognition technology in correctional facilities
• The effectiveness of community-based mental health services in reducing incarceration rates
• The impact of prison labor on employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people
• The role of community-based restorative justice in addressing hate crimes
• The use of predictive analytics in child welfare investigations
• The effectiveness of alternative sentencing programs for drug-related offenses
• The impact of immigration enforcement policies on crime reporting in immigrant communities
• The relationship between implicit bias and jury decision-making
• The use of technology in improving language access in the criminal justice system.
• The impact of police body language on citizen perceptions and trust
• The effectiveness of police academy training on officer decision-making in high-pressure situations
• The role of technology in the spread of human trafficking
• The relationship between mental health and probation and parole revocation rates
• The use of community courts in addressing quality of life offenses
• The effectiveness of prisoner reentry programs on family reunification and support systems
• The impact of public defender caseloads on the quality of legal representation
• The role of implicit bias in jury selection and decision-making
• The use of diversion programs for juveniles involved in prostitution
• The effectiveness of community supervision programs for offenders with serious mental illness
• The impact of immigration enforcement policies on the criminal justice system
• The relationship between recidivism rates and prison education and vocational programs
• The use of body-worn cameras in prison settings
• The effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution in reducing court congestion
• The impact of prison labor on reentry and recidivism rates
• The role of risk assessment tools in parole and probation decision-making
• The effectiveness of drug courts in addressing substance abuse and recidivism
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health and behavior in prison
• The relationship between domestic violence and firearm possession
• The use of mental health diversion programs for veterans involved in the criminal justice system
• The effectiveness of juvenile drug court programs on reducing recidivism
• The impact of private prisons on inmate rehabilitation and public safety
• The role of implicit bias in pretrial detention decisions
• The use of GPS monitoring in pretrial release and probation supervision
• The effectiveness of offender education and job training programs in reducing recidivism
• The impact of collateral consequences on reentry and recidivism rates
• The use of crisis intervention teams in responding to mental health emergencies
• The effectiveness of community-based alternatives to detention for juveniles
• The role of public opinion in shaping criminal justice policy
• The effectiveness of police body-worn cameras in reducing police misconduct and excessive use of force
• The impact of incarceration on family dynamics and relationships
• The relationship between access to legal representation and case outcomes
• The use of community supervision and support programs for individuals with substance use disorders
• The impact of pretrial detention on case outcomes and recidivism rates
• The role of prosecutorial discretion in plea bargaining and sentencing
• The use of facial recognition technology in criminal investigations and surveillance
• The effectiveness of problem-solving courts in addressing specialized criminal cases
• The impact of prison privatization on inmate rights and access to services
• The relationship between race, gender, and criminal justice outcomes
• The use of mental health courts in diversion programs
• The effectiveness of community policing strategies in building trust and reducing crime rates
• The impact of police militarization on community perceptions and police-citizen interactions
• The role of forensic evidence in criminal investigations and court proceedings
• The use of artificial intelligence in predicting criminal behavior and recidivism.
• The use of restorative justice in the criminal justice system
• The impact of police militarization on community policing efforts
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for individuals with substance use disorders
• The relationship between economic inequality and crime rates
• The use of artificial intelligence in pretrial risk assessment
• The impact of mandatory minimum sentences on non-violent drug offenses
• The impact of the War on Drugs on communities of color
• The relationship between mental health and probation violations
• The effectiveness of drug courts in reducing recidivism rates
• The role of eyewitness testimony in wrongful convictions
• The use of facial recognition technology in criminal investigations and prosecutions
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for juvenile offenders
• The impact of probation and parole supervision on recidivism rates
• The relationship between police use of force and mental health disorders
• The use of predictive analytics in criminal sentencing
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for individuals with mental illness
• The impact of bail systems on low-income individuals and communities
• The role of implicit bias in sentencing decisions
• The use of social media in criminal investigations
• The impact of mandatory sentencing on judicial discretion
• The relationship between drug addiction and property crime
• The use of predictive analytics in risk assessment for pretrial release
• The effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs in correctional facilities
• The impact of police body-worn cameras on police-citizen interactions
• The role of forensic evidence in wrongful convictions
• The use of drones in border patrol and immigration enforcement
• The effectiveness of community supervision programs for individuals with mental illness
• The impact of mandatory sentencing on the prison population and corrections costs
• The relationship between gang activity and violent crime
• The use of artificial intelligence in criminal investigations and evidence collection
• The effectiveness of juvenile diversion programs for first-time offenders
• The impact of prosecutorial misconduct on wrongful convictions
• The role of implicit bias in police use of force incidents
• The use of risk assessment tools in pretrial detention decisions for juvenile defendants
• The effectiveness of prison education programs in reducing recidivism rates
• The impact of racial profiling on policing practices and community trust
• The relationship between homelessness and criminal behavior
• The use of predictive analytics in identifying and preventing cybercrime
• The effectiveness of mental health treatment programs for incarcerated individuals
• The impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on students of color
• The role of community-based programs in reducing crime rates and recidivism
• The use of neuroscience in criminal investigations and sentencing decisions
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for individuals with co-occurring disorders
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health and recidivism rates.
• The effectiveness of diversion programs for offenders with substance use disorders
• The impact of judicial discretion on sentencing outcomes
• The relationship between access to legal representation and sentencing disparities
• The use of body-worn cameras in reducing police misconduct and brutality
• The impact of bail practices on pretrial detention and racial disparities
• The relationship between police unions and police accountability
• The effectiveness of community supervision in reducing recidivism
• The impact of solitary confinement on mental health outcomes for inmates
• The relationship between criminal justice policies and racial wealth inequality
• The use of risk assessment tools in sentencing decisions
• The effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences in reducing crime rates
• The impact of victim impact statements on sentencing outcomes
• The relationship between criminal justice policies and environmental justice
• The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in law enforcement
• The effectiveness of juvenile justice diversion programs for at-risk youth
• The impact of police militarization on community relations
• The relationship between immigration enforcement and public safety
• The use of artificial intelligence in predicting recidivism risk
• The effectiveness of police training on de-escalation tactics
• The relationship between the criminal justice system and income inequality
• The use of geographic profiling in criminal investigations
• The effectiveness of mental health courts in reducing incarceration rates
• The impact of mandatory arrest policies on domestic violence victims
• The relationship between criminal justice policies and public health outcomes
• The use of body-worn cameras in reducing false accusations against police officers
• The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing domestic violence recidivism
• The impact of race and ethnicity on police use of force during traffic stops
• The use of predictive analytics in parole and probation revocation decisions
• The effectiveness of offender treatment programs for intimate partner violence offenders
• The impact of prison education programs on post-release employment and recidivism
• The relationship between prison labor and modern-day slavery
• The use of predictive modeling to prevent child abuse and neglect
• The effectiveness of community courts in reducing recidivism rates
• The impact of community-based organizations on crime prevention
• The relationship between mental health and substance use disorders in the criminal justice system
• The use of mobile forensic technology in criminal investigations
• The effectiveness of gender-responsive programming in reducing female recidivism rates
• The impact of anti-immigrant sentiment on policing in immigrant communities
• The relationship between police legitimacy and public trust
• The use of data analytics in law enforcement resource allocation
• The effectiveness of reentry programs for people with disabilities
• The impact of police misconduct on wrongful convictions
• The relationship between restorative justice and school discipline
• The use of location tracking technology in the criminal justice system
• The effectiveness of anti-bias training for law enforcement officers
• The impact of drug decriminalization on public safety and health.

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Traditions and innovations in qualitative criminological research methods

• Published: 25 April 2024
• Volume 81 , pages 447–450, ( 2024 )

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• Olga Petintseva   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9187-4253 1 , 2 &
• Rita Faria   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0093-0550 3  

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In recent years, qualitative research methods in criminology have experienced a notable resurgence. This is evidenced by various scholarly endeavors, including the publication of works such as ‘Qualitative Research in Criminology: Cutting-Edge Methods’ (edited by Faria & Dodge, 2022 ), ‘ Liquid Criminology. Doing imaginative criminological research ’ (edited by Hviid Jacobsen & Walklate, 2016 ), ‘The Routledge Handbook of Qualitative Criminology ’ (edited by Copes & Miller, 2015 ), ‘ Qualitative Research in Criminology’ (Treadwell, 2019 ). The establishment of journals such as Qualitative Criminology and initiatives like the Working Group on Qualitative Research Methodologies and Epistemologies at the European Society of Criminology, or the the Qualitative Research Network in Criminology & Criminal Justice (QRN-CCJ) also signify a renewed recognition of the importance of qualitative approaches in understanding complex criminologically relevant phenomena. More recently, the CrimRxiv Consortium started a curation hub on qualitative criminology aimed at spotlighting studies based on non-numeric data.

Diverse criminological subfields such as global and green criminology, cultural criminology, and narrative criminology, have not only enriched our understanding of the respective topics but have also paved the way for innovative qualitative methodologies. Creative, reflexive and interventionist epistemologies and methodologies proved to be prerequisite, in order to imaginatively (Mills, 1959 ; Young, 2011 ) understand the contemporary social harms of dislocation, surveillance, incarceration, impoverishment, mind-numbing consumerism, experiences of uprooting and existential uncertainty, environmental degradation, global pandemics, the dynamics of social movements, and polarization. Moreover, research into the ever more present online world and online identities, the call for new approaches to data collection and analysis, the use of sensory methods, co-creation strategies, appeals to sensitivity to diversity and reflexivity from researchers - all of this has influenced greatly the panorama in qualitative research, particularly so in the study of crime and deviance, victimization and harm, crime control and related topics.

However, despite many innovations, qualitative researchers continue to grapple with numerous challenges. This includes navigating ethical considerations and the relatively recent data protection regulations, accessing and recruiting participants for studies on sensitive topics, and overcoming difficulties in publishing (Dodge & Parker, 2023 ). Qualitative research remains labor-intensive and requires tailor-made approaches. Numbers still push policy, the field of criminology still suffers from ‘methodological fetisjism’ and is easily seduced by actuarial tendencies, in which dominant research methods contribute to mystification of social realities and the politics of everyday life (Ferrell, 2009 ; Young, 2011 ). To complement knowledge produced employing rather detached methods of criminological inquiry, the aim of qualitative approaches is to foreground meaning, performance, unpredictability, engagement, reflexivity, creativity and, eventually, progressive transformations. Of course, such approaches exhibit great variation across different subfields, epistemological traditions, and geographical contexts. This diversity highlights the need to critically interrogate familiar epistemological frameworks and research agendas shaped by Global-North perspectives. Therefore, this special issue of Crime Law and Social Change focuses on qualitative research ‘from the periphery.’

By periphery, we refer not only to marginalized topics and populations within criminological discourse but also to innovative methodological approaches and underrepresented geographic traditions. The collection of papers featured in this special issue embodies this commitment to exploring the ‘periphery’ of qualitative criminological research, explicitly offering broadly relevant methodological insights, drawing on authors’ research experiences. More subtly, it also intends to red flag the peripheric interest that scientific journals have in qualitative research.

The first paper, A farewell to the lone hero researcher: Team research and writing , Sveinung Sandberg and Lucero Ibarra Rojas challenge the archetype of the lone hero researcher and advocate for collaborative approaches to qualitative research. Drawing upon their experiences in Mexico and Norway, the authors argue for the importance of team research and writing, as a means of addressing power differentials and promoting diversity.

In Rich scholar, poor scholar: inequalities in research capacity, “knowledge” abysses, and the value of unconventional approaches to research David Rodriguez Goyes and May-Len Skilbrei examine material inequalities in research capacity and propose unconventional approaches to data collection. Their paper highlights the global disparities in knowledge production and advocates for innovative methods that democratize access to meaningful data, using examples from their research in Colombia and Russia.

Janeille Zorina Matthews’ contribution titled Creating the Demand for Better Crime Policy: Qualitative Frame Analysis as a Vehicle for Social Transformation explores the potential of Qualitative Frame Analysis (QFA) as a tool for shaping crime discourse and informing policy. By analyzing framing strategies in Antigua and Barbuda, Matthews demonstrates the transformative power of qualitative methodologies in challenging dominant narratives.

In Ethnographic semantics and documentary method in criminology. A combination of reconstructive approaches using the example of Municipal Law Enforcement Services Ina Hennen introduces the documentary method and ethnographic semantics as two complementary approaches, based on her research with German Municipal Law Enforcement Services. Through an ethnomethodological design, Hennen illustrates how these methodologies deepen our understanding of security practices in public spaces.

Next, in their Mapmaking as visual storytelling: The movement and emotion of managing sex work in the urban landscape , Sara Jordenö and Amber Horning-Ruf foreground visual storytelling methods. Their interdisciplinary approach combines psychogeography and mapmaking to elucidate the emotional and spatial dynamics of sex work in urban landscapes, offering insights into the lived experiences and social relations of sex workers.

Finally, an original approach is presented in Lorenzo Natali’s The social perception of environmental victimization. A visual and sensory methodological proposal . Natali proposes a visual and sensory methodology for studying environmental victimization, highlighting the perspectives of those affected by environmental harm and employs photo elicitation and itinerant soliloquy to deepen our understanding and challenge familiar perspectives.

The reality in which we set up our inquiries is ever evolving and so does the need to understand and respond to the current complexities of crime, control, conflicts, and threats. From the specter of totalitarianism to the existential threat of global warming, radicalization, and the challenges of artificial intelligence, the current sociopolitical landscape underscores the urgency of mobilizing engaged qualitative research to understand and address pressing issues. The ever-shifting nature of current social, political, and technological phenomena needs to be addressed by qualitative methods which, by their nature, are especially well-suited to offer new theories and explanations based on detailed and nuanced accounts of complex phenomena. In that sense, discussions of critical and creative qualitative methodologies such as the ones presented in this special issue serve, in the first place, as meeting spaces for researchers working on seemingly distant topics, as fora for addressing epistemological and ethical questions and reimagining the boundaries of qualitative criminological research. Only last and least as mere methodological-technical discussions.

Data availability

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Copes, H., & Miller, J. M. (Eds.). (2015). The Routledge handbook of qualitative criminology . Routledge.

Dodge, M., & Parker, J. (2023). What now and how? Publishing the qualitative journal article. In R. Faria, & M. Dodge (Eds.), Qualitative Research in Criminology. Cutting-edge methods (pp. 241–253). Springer.

Faria, R., & Dodge, M. (Eds.). (2022). Qualitative Research in Criminology. Cutting-edge methods . Springer.

Ferrell, J. (2009). Kill method. A provocation. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology , 1 (1), 1–22.

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Hviid Jacobsen, M., & Walklate, S. (Eds.). (2016). Liquid Criminology. Doing imaginative criminological research . Routledge.

Mills, C. W. (1959). The sociological imagination . Oxford University Press.

Treadwell, J. (2019). Qualitative Research in Criminology, In P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, A. Cernat, J.W. Sakshaug, & R.A. Williams (Eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526421036847209 .

Young, J. (2011). Criminological imagination . Polity.

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Vrije Universiteit Brussel, CRiS (Crime in Society Research Group), Brussels, Belgium

Olga Petintseva

National Institute for Criminology and Criminalistics, Brussels, Belgium

CIJ – Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Justice, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

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This is an editors’ introduction to the special issue ‘Traditions and innovations in qualitative research in criminology’, edited by Rita Faria and Olga Petintseva.

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Petintseva, O., Faria, R. Traditions and innovations in qualitative criminological research methods. Crime Law Soc Change 81 , 447–450 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10153-x

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Accepted : 19 April 2024

Published : 25 April 2024

Issue Date : July 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10153-x

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The Top 10 Most Interesting Criminal Justice Research Topics

Are you writing a research paper and having a hard time finding good criminal justice research topics? Thankfully, we have compiled a list of 10 of the best criminal justice research paper topic ideas. We’ve also included several criminal justice research questions and examples of criminal justice research topics to help you write your best paper.

Criminal justice is a great field for both those wanting a greater understanding of the US justice system and those who want to know what it is like to be a lawyer . If you want to write the best criminal justice paper you can, this article is for you.

Find your bootcamp match

What makes a strong criminal justice research topic.

Strong criminal justice research papers consist of a focused question to answer and a specific area of criminal justice like forensic science, serial killers, substance abuse, sexual offenders, cyber criminology, corporate crime, juvenile justice, or criminal behavior. Most educational institutions have guidelines that must be followed for picking criminal justice topics for your criminology research paper, and this list will give you a great place to start researching.

Tips for Choosing a Criminal Justice Research Topic

• Follow the guidelines of your institution. If you are studying criminal justice at any university like Loyola University, Cornell University, Walden University, or even Harvard University, your professor has probably given you guidelines to stick to.
• Keep it focused. When you’re writing a criminal justice research paper it is best to keep a tight focus on your topic. Keep your research focused and remember to stay on task by using study tips, taking breaks, and improving on and practicing your writing skills daily.
• Choose a narrow topic. When choosing your topic the scope of your criminal justice research paper mustn’t be too broad. Ask and answer one question or use one thesis statement that is clear and well-defined.
• Choose a topic that is well-researched. When writing a paper on criminal justice, many topics are too new to have solid research. Pick a topic that has many cases related to it, or is focused on a common issue.
• Choose a topic you are passionate about. There is nothing worse than being stuck writing about a topic you have no interest in. That’s why you should make sure your topic is something that you want to write about. If it ignites your passion, write about it.

What’s the Difference Between a Research Topic and a Research Question?

The difference between a research topic and a research question is that research topics are the broad area of study and research that is used to answer the research question. Research questions are what you are attempting to answer by researching your criminal justice topic.

Criminology topics can encompass areas of study like crime mapping, crime rates, crime prevention, female crimes, experimental criminology, homegrown crimes, or even criminal psychology. Research questions should be very narrow and like do certain criminal justice laws reduce crime? Do criminal justice practitioners engage in critical criminology? Does education in prison reduce reincarnation?

How to Create Strong Criminal Justice Research Questions

When writing a strong criminal justice research question you should ask three questions. Does this question have sufficient research to reference? Is the question narrow and focused? Am I passionate about this topic? If you ask these questions and use our guide to help you get started, you’ll be well on your way to writing a great criminal justice research paper.

Top 10 Criminal Justice Research Paper Topics

1. bad living conditions and access to justice.

In the criminal justice system, sometimes where you live may have an impact on your access to justice. In 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago alleging that the Chicago police department had slower response times in areas of the city with poor living conditions. The case was settled in 2021 with a plan to improve.

2. White-Collar Crimes Compared to Working-Class Criminals Punishments

White-collar crimes are generally finance-related crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, or money laundering. According to Cornell University School of Law, white-collar crime costs over $300 billion annually in the US. However, white-collar criminals are prosecuted less severely than their working-class counterparts.

3. False Accusation, False Confessions, and Plea Bargaining

This area of criminal behavior is interesting, as our justice system actually allows for admissions of guilt even if the party did not commit the crime. Sometimes sentences can be reduced if a guilty plea is entered even if the party did not commit the crime.

4. Restorative Justice Efforts on Youthful Offenders

Juvenile and youth offenders have many different rules and avenues for justice. One of these unique approaches to keeping young people from their delinquent behavior employed by problem-solving courts is the concept of restorative justice. Restorative justice is a process that helps offenders make amends with the person or community they hurt with their deviant behaviors.

5. Criminal Justice Reform in Hate Crimes

Hate crimes are crimes that are motivated by hatred of someone or a group of people’s immutable characteristics. In recent years, many states have adopted the federal bias categories as outlined by the Department of Justice. These categories are not adopted by every state, which creates several directions for research questions.

6. Organized Crime and the Social Class Criminal Behavior of Members

Organized crime has been around for centuries, but can be prevalent in communities that see crime as a way of life and family. It can be a robust topic to try and understand the influences that family and community have on organized crime.

7. Criminal Justice Agencies and International Crime Investigation Efforts

One thing that is not often talked about is the relationship between criminal justice agencies that work together across countries. Many agencies work together, and many are made jointly. The most notable agency that does this is Interpol which, in 2021, arrested 1,003 alleged criminals and closed 1,660 cases in just one investigation .

8. Impacts of Wildlife Crime and Environmental Crime

Two little written about criminal justice topics in this scientific field are the topics of environmental and wildlife crime. Pollution, littering, dumping, poaching, and wildfire started by humans are all areas that could be a great place to use your analytical skills and nab a decent grade.

9. Relationship Between Crime and Eyewitness Testimony

Eyewitness testimonies are a staple of modern justice. Many violent crime convictions hinge on the ability of eyewitness testimony to convince a jury of what occurred. Sometimes eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, or the multiple witnesses can testify something different from one another resulting in a wrongful conviction. Many crimes like drunk driving or theft can rest on this method of testimony.

10. Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is a topic that has received a lot of coverage and is one of the major criminal justice issues of today. Human rights careers deal with the impact of racial and social issues in the US. There are many areas in which law enforcement has to improve in the area of social science. This is a broad topic with many implications for criminal justice ethics and the area of distributive justice.

Other Examples of Criminal Justice Research Topics & Questions

Criminal justice research topics.

• Jury nullification
• Online predators
• Drunk drivers
• Gun control
• Campus crime

Criminal Justice Research Questions

• Does restorative justice reduce incarceration rates in juveniles?
• Do drug courts engage with racial profiling in the criminal justice system?
• Are environmental crimes underreported in the criminal justice field?
• Can organized criminal behavior be reduced by new crime control measures?
• Does mental illness cause more false confessions?

Choosing the Right Criminal Justice Research Topic

If you take these criminal justice research topic ideas and start researching, you’ll find a topic that strikes your creativity and deals with current justice issues. If college courses seem like they may not be for you, you can always use your knowledge to get a job in criminal justice without a degree .

As we stated earlier, two important parts to finding a great topic for criminology studies or criminal justice is to follow your institution’s guidelines and find a topic that you’re passionate about. Difficult topics like child abuse, victim services, jury selection, sexual violence, or any other of the wide range of topics are important and you can do them real justice and care in your paper.

Criminal Justice Research Topics FAQ

A good criminal research topic should be a broad area with lots of research and case studies behind it. It follows your institutional guidelines and that you are passionate about.

Controversial topics in criminal justice include issues that the court is not settled on or ones that disrupt long-standing positions in the courts. Issues like private prisons, gun control, reproductive rights, and criminal court reform could all be considered controversial.

Feminist criminology started in the late 60s and early 70s to bring attention to both female criminals and victims. The movement started because of the male-focused approach to criminal psychology with little to no regard for how a woman may be psychologically different.

Current issues in the criminal justice system include topics like racial justice, social justice, police reform, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. Many of these topics are being discussed in both state and federal courts.

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Criminal justice research topics.

This collection provides overviews of   nearly 100 key criminal justice research topics comprising traditional criminology and its more modern interdisciplinary outgrowths. These topics are divided into six thematic parts:

• Criminology
• Correlates of Crime
• Criminology Theories
• Crime Research
• Types of Crime
• Criminal Justice System

Criminology and Criminal Justice Research Topics

Research topics in criminology:.

• Criminology as Social Science .
• Criminology and Public Policy .
• History of Criminology .

Research Topics in Crime and Victimization:

• Age and Crime .
• Aggression and Crime .
• Citizenship and Crime .
• Education and Crime .
• Employment and Crime .
• Families and Crime .
• Gender and Crime .
• Guns and Crime .
• Immigration and Crime .
• Intelligence and Crime .
• Mental Illness and Crime .
• Neighborhoods and Crime .
• Peers and Crime .
• Race and Crime .
• Religion and Crime .
• Social Class and Crime .
• Victimization .
• Weather and Crime .

Research Topics in Criminology Theories:

• Biological Theori es.
• Classical Criminology .
• Convict Criminology .
• Criminal Justice Theories .
• Critical Criminology .
• Cultural Criminology .
• Cultural Transmission Theory .
• Deterrence and Rational Choice Theory .
• Feminist Criminology .
• Labeling and Symbolic Interaction Theories .
• Life Course Criminology .
• Psychological Theories of Crime .
• Routine Activities Theory .
• Self-Control Theory .
• Social Construction of Crime .
• Social Control Theory .
• Social Disorganization Theory .
• Social Learning Theory .
• Strain Theories .
• Theoretical Integration.

Research Topics in Criminology Research and Measurement:

• Citation and Content Analysis .
• Crime Classification Systems .
• Crime Mapping .
• Crime Reports and Statistics .
• Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) and Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) .
• Edge Ethnography .
• Experimental Criminology .
• Fieldwork in Criminology .
• Program Evaluation .
• Quantitative Criminology .

Research Topics in Types of Crime:

• Campus Crime .
• Child Abuse .
• Cybercrime .
• Domestic Violence .
• Elder Abuse .
• Environmental Crime .
• Hate Crime .
• Human Trafficking .
• Identity Theft .
• Juvenile Delinquency .
• Organizational Crime .
• Prostitution .
• Sex Offenses .
• Terrorism .
• Theft and Shoplifting .
• White-Collar Crime .
• Wildlife Crime .

Research Topics in Criminal Justice System:

• Capital Punishment .
• Community Corrections .
• Crime Prevention .
• Criminal Courts .
• Criminal Justice Ethics .
• Criminal Law .
• Criminal Specialization .
• Drug Courts .
• Drugs and the Criminal Justice System .
• Felon Disenfranchisement .
• Forensic Science .
• Juvenile Court .
• Juvenile Justice .
• Mass Media, Crime, and Justice .
• Offender Classification .
• Offender Reentry .
• Police–Community Relations .
• Prison System .
• Problem-Solving Courts .
• Public Health and Criminal Justice .
• Racial Profiling .
• Restorative Justice .
• Sentencing .
• The Police .
• Victim Services .
• Wrongful Convictions .
• Youth Gangs .

Because just listing suggestions for criminal justice research topics will be of limited value we have included short topical overviews and suggestions for narrowing those topics and divided them into 6 parts as in the list above. If you’re interested in some topic in the list follow the links below for more information.

Example   criminal justice research papers   on these topics have been designed to serve as sources of model papers for most criminological topics. These research papers were written by several well-known discipline figures and emerging younger scholars who provide authoritative overviews coupled with insightful discussion that will quickly familiarize researchers and students alike with fundamental and detailed information for each criminal justice topic.

This collection begins by defining the discipline of criminology and observing its historical development (Part I: Criminology ). The various social (e.g., poverty, neighborhood, and peer/family influences), personal (e.g., intelligence, mental illness), and demographic (e.g., age, race, gender, and immigration) realities that cause, confound, and mitigate crime and crime control are featured in   Part II: Correlates of Crime . The research papers in this section consider each correlate’s impact, both independently and in a broader social ecological context. The sociological origins of theoretical criminology are observed across several research papers that stress classical, environmental, and cultural influences on crime and highlight peer group, social support, and learning processes. Examination of these criminological theory research papers quickly confirms the aforementioned interdisciplinary nature of the field, with research papers presenting biological, psychological, and biosocial explanations and solutions for crime (Part III: Criminology Theories ).

Part IV: Criminology Research provides example research papers on various quantitative and qualitative designs and techniques employed in criminology research. Comparison of the purposes and application of these research methods across various criminal justice topics illustrates the role of criminologists as social scientists engaged in research enterprises wherein single studies fluctuate in focus along a pure–applied research continuum. This section also addresses the measurement of crimes with attention to major crime reporting and recording systems.

Having established a theoretical–methodological symmetry as the scientific foundation of criminology, and increasingly the field of criminal justice,   Part V: Types of Crime   considers a wide range of criminal offenses. Each research paper in this section thoroughly defines its focal offense and considers the related theories that frame practices and policies used to address various leading violent, property, and morality crimes. These research papers also present and critically evaluate the varying level of empirical evidence, that is, research confirmation, for competing theoretical explanations and criminal justice system response alternatives that are conventionally identified as best practices.

Ostensibly, an accurate and thorough social science knowledge base stands to render social betterment in terms of reduced crime and victimization through the development of research–based practices. This science–practitioner relationship is featured, advocated, and critiqued in the research papers of the final section,   Part VI: Criminal Justice System . Here, the central components of criminal justice research paper topics (law enforcement, courts, and corrections) are presented from a criminology–criminal justice outlook that increasingly purports to leverage theory and research (in particular, program evaluation results) toward realizing criminal justice and related social policy objectives. Beyond the main system, several research papers consider the role and effectiveness of several popular justice system and wrap-around component initiatives (e.g., specialty courts, restorative justice, and victim services).

See also: Domestic Violence Research Topics and School Violence Research Topics .

The Quantitative-Qualitative Divide in Criminology: A Theory of Ideas’ Importance, Attractiveness, and Publication

Qualitative research is published in criminology journals at a frequency far smaller than that of quantitative research. The question is ‘Why?' After reviewing existing theories of the discrepancy, this article draws on the paradigm of Blackian sociology, Jacques and ...

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Qualitative research is published in criminology journals at a frequency far smaller than that of quantitative research. The question is ‘Why?' After reviewing existing theories of the discrepancy, this article draws on the paradigm of Blackian sociology, Jacques and colleagues' theory of method, and Black's theory of ideas to propose a new theory: compared to quantitative research-based ideas, qualitative ones are evaluated as less important and therefore published less often in journals because they place the subject closer in cultural distance to the source and audience, though for that same reason they are also evaluated as being more attractive. Implications for criminology are discussed.

Introduction

The quantitative-qualitative divide is one of the most salient methodological issues in criminology. 1 Each method’s prominence—or lack thereof—affects knowledge development; impacts the assessment and (dis)continuation of criminal justice policies and practices; and shapes scholars’ publication success, tenure, promotion, and more. The scientific benefits and limits of quantitative and qualitative research have been described at great length (see, e.g., King, Keohane, & Verba, 1994: 46; Laub & Sampson, 2003: 251-2; Small, 2009). Some scholars maintain that both methods are good, albeit at different tasks: quantitative research is best for theory testing, whereas qualitative research is most useful for theory development. As such, the methods are not foes but rather companions. Another common camp holds quantitative research as being far superior due to its reliance on statistical inference. From this perspective, claiming both methods have value is like comparing a dollar to a dime. 2

One way the quantitative-qualitative divide has become tangible is the respective prevalence of these two methods in criminology journals. Statistically speaking, qualitative research is insignificant in these outlets; far more articles are based on quantitative research (Buckler, 2008; Kleck, Tark, & Bellows, 2006; Tewksbury, Dabney, & Copes, 2010; Tewksbury, DeMichele, & Miller, 2005). Does this discrepancy simply reflect the scientific advantages of quantitative research over its qualitative counterpart or are other factors at work? The answer is important because it will help criminologists determine the actual utility of research methods and products by disentangling this evaluation from the social and psychological forces that may misshape judgment.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new theory of why there is much more quantitative than qualitative research published in criminology journals. Toward that end, first existing explanations of the discrepancy are reviewed. That is followed with a description of the new theory’s foundation: Blackian sociology (Black, 1995), Jacques and colleagues’ theory of method (see, e.g., Jacques & Wright, 2008), and Black’s (2000) theory of ideas. Then the new theory is presented. Finally, implications for the criminological enterprise are discussed.

The Discrepancy and Existing Theories of It

Quantitative research has demonstrated that qualitative research is published less often in criminology journals. For instance, Tewksbury, DeMichele, and Miller (2005) find qualitative research appeared in about six percent of articles published in five leading criminology journals, whereas nearly three-quarters of articles were based on quantitative methods (see also Kleck et al., 2006). This pattern also applies to less prestigious journals. Buckler (2008) shows that in top tier and lower tier journals, respectively, quantitative findings are roughly nine and six times more common. Perhaps the most comprehensive study is that of Tewksbury, Dabney, and Copes (2010). They analyze articles published between 2004 and 2008 in sixteen American and international criminology journals. Mirroring the results of other studies, they find approximately a tenth of articles are based on qualitative research. They also reveal, for one, “criminology” and “criminal justice” journals are largely similar in the rate at which they publish qualitative research; second, non-U.S. journals publish qualitative articles at a greater rate than do U.S. journals; and yet, third, qualitative articles comprise just a third of publications in even the most qualitatively-receptive journals. In short, qualitative research is published less frequently than quantitative research in criminology and criminal justice journals, at the top and lower tier, in the U.S. and other countries. 3

A variety of theories have been proposed for why qualitative research is published infrequently in criminology journals relative to quantitative research. One is that qualitative research-based manuscripts are submitted less often to journals and thus have fewer opportunities to find their way into print (Buckler, 2008). If that is true then there is not necessarily a bias against qualitative research, as studies are perhaps being published in proportion to their submission rate.

The alternative position is that qualitatively-oriented manuscripts are harder to have accepted for many reasons. One such reason relates to the diminutive agreement among criminologists on how to appraise the execution and products of qualitative research (Buckler, 2008). Whereas quantitative methods have a mathematical basis, the proper way to collect, analyze, and present qualitative data is more up in the air (Small, 2009). This lack of consensus makes publishing qualitative research more difficult to the extent editors rely on unanimity in reviewers’ positive evaluations.

Another reason why manuscripts based on qualitative research receive a rougher ride in the review process is its products are deemed less rewarding (Buckler, 2008; DiCristina, 1997). Many American criminologists, at least, espouse quantitative research because they prefer the systemization, precision, and objectiveness that goes along with it (Worrall, 2000), though sometimes those qualities are more illusion than reality (Best, 2001; Huff, 1954).

Tied to the above argument is that the origins and modern practice of (normal) science are grounded on a culture that prefers exact and predictable understanding because this facilitates control of everything from health to the economy and offenders (see Merton, 2002 [1938]). This cultural preference may help to account for why quantitative research is published more often in criminology journals than qualitative research, as the latter does not provide numerical summaries and predictive probabilities (Worrall, 2000). 4

Still another theory is that criminologists have latched onto quantitative research because they are attempting to mimic scholars in other fields who have achieved higher standing in academia and broader society (DiCristina, 1997). For instance, hard scientists (e.g., physicists, chemists) and economists are widely stereotyped as quantitative researchers who have produced more important insights into reality than criminologists and, therefore, are of higher status, which comes with greater salaries, funding, admiration, and other benefits. The theory goes that for criminologists to do the same they should adopt those more successful researchers’ quantitative methods. Criminologists who do so are rewarded with acceptance letters; those who do not are punished with “I am sorry to inform you …”.

If quantitative methods are more rewarding in the aforementioned ways then why would any criminologist conduct qualitative research? Are they irrational or stupid? Though somewhat insulting, people have not been shy to affirm the latter by drawing, somewhat ironically, on their personal qualitative experiences. As said by one journal editor and criminologist interviewed by Buckler (2008):

People who are quantitatively trained tend to think that qualitative research is conducted by people who cannot do statistics and that when you have researchers who don’t have any skills in any respect they do qualitative research … In the Ph.D. program I completed, methods is statistics. Yes, there was an opportunity to take qualitative courses, but it seemed to me that they were taken by the people who were just overwhelmed by statistics and couldn’t handle it. So they became qualitative researchers, by default. (p. 392)

The implication of the above is that the lack of qualitative research in criminology journals is attributable to this method being conducted by inferior scholars. It certainly does not help qualitative criminologists that most receive negligible training in their method. Studies of curricula consistently demonstrate that quantitative courses are required in far greater amounts and instructors spend substantially less time on qualitative research (Buckler, 2008; DiCristina, 1997; Sever, 2001; Sullivan & Maxfield, 2003). Thus, the latter method’s humble place in the journal literature could be due to curriculua being dominated by lessons in quantitative research.

As mentioned above, it could be that qualitative research is submitted to journals in smaller amounts and therefore published less often. That too would require explanation. Qualitative researchers argue their method takes more time, the outcome of which is fewer publications (Buckler, 2008; Pogrebin, 2010; Tewksbury, Dabney, & Copes, 2010). This effect is exacerbated by the somewhat contradictory sentiments that qualitative data is, from the collectors’ perspective, too valuable to share, and, from another perspective, basically useless for secondary analysis (Wright, Jacques, & Stein, In press).

Potential evidence for the notion that qualitative research takes more time is derived from a study that quantified how often qualitative researchers publish in criminology journals; only 11 of 362 authors had three or more articles over a five year span, and the most productive author, Richard Wright, published only seven manuscripts (Tewksbury, Dabney, & Copes, 2010); this rate of publishing is small relative to that of quantitative researchers (Tewksbury, DeMichele, & Miller, 2005). Another suggestive finding comes from a separate study of scholarly productivity that concluded “[o]verwhelmingly, those at the tops of each rank”—referring to assistant, associate, and full professors—“rely primarily on quantitative methods” (Copes, Khey, & Tewksbury, 2012). Assuming that quantitative and qualitative researchers have similar “abilities” and work equally hard, the relative infrequency of publishing by the most prolific qualitative researchers suggests their method does take more time to profit from. 5 To the extent criminologists arrive at that conclusion and concern themselves with the consequences of publishing (e.g., tenure, promotion) then it could be expected that they will choose to conduct quantitative research.

Qualitative research may not only entail more time per publication but also more risk. Qualitative criminologists have been threatened, stalked, robbed, and murdered for reasons stemming from their research with active offenders (see, e.g., Jacobs, 1998, 2006; Lee, 1995; Williams et al., 1992; Sluka, 1990) and prisoners (see, e.g., Athens, 1997: 133-6). This problem is not limited to offender-based research, as criminologists who “ride-along” with police—or even join the force—place themselves in one harrowing encounter after another (see, e.g., Moskos, 2008). With that said, being a qualitative or quantitative researcher is not inherently dangerous or safe; for instance, the mortality surveyors who went household to household in Iraq during wartime (Roberts et al., 2004) must have been in tremendous jeopardy. With that understood, it seems safe to assert that qualitatively-oriented criminologists—especially ethnographers—more frequently find themselves in compromising situations than do their quantitative colleagues, many of who need not venture outside their office to obtain valuable data. If criminologists perceive qualitative research to be riskier then they may be absolutely or restrictively deterred (see Gibbs, 1975) from conducting it, which, in turn, could result in fewer qualitative publications (see Jacobs, 2006).

Finally, it could be that the lack of qualitative research-based articles in criminology journals is due to a “snowball effect in reverse,” or what might be termed a “melting snowball.” The theory is that the quantity of published qualitative research further depreciates as any of the factors outlined above gains weight because each is likely to feed on the others. For instance, if criminologists increasingly deem qualitative research as less rational then it will be taught less, which will lead qualitative researchers to be less capable of producing valuable products, which will lead these scholars to be viewed as even lower in status, which will lead to fewer people adopting the method, all of which will lead to less research of this kind being disseminated and published. That is just one example of a melting snowball; there could be a variety of causal links between the various reasons for why so little qualitative research is published in criminology journals.

To summarize, criminologists have provided a whole host of plausible theories of why qualitative research appears infrequently in criminology journals. These theories include that it is infrequently disseminated; there is a lack of agreement on how to evaluate its worth; it is less rational because its products are less rewarding (in part signified by its absence in higher status fields), it is riskier to conduct, and not in line with a widespread cultural preference for predictability and precision; conducted by less capable scholars; not taught as much; and experiencing a snowballing effect in reverse.

Paradigmatic and Theoretical Foundation

This paper proposes a new explanation of why there is so little qualitative research by drawing on Blackian sociology, Jacques and colleagues’ theory of method, and Black’s (2000) theory of ideas, described in turn.

Blackian Sociology

Paradigms orient us toward what to study and how (Homans, 1967; Kuhn, 1977). There are a plethora of paradigms that could be used to theorize the prevalence of qualitatively- and quantitatively-oriented articles in criminology journals. Blackian sociology, or “pure sociology,” is the approach adopted here. This paradigm is designed to explain social behavior as a function of social geometry (see Black, 1976, 1995, 1998). “Social behavior” is a catchall term that covers a variety of actions tied to wealth, community, organization, culture, and social control. Research methods and publishing are facets of culture.

How people behave is affected by the social status of and social distance between every actor involved in a case—i.e., “social geometry.” An actor’s social status is their place in a hierarchy; it increases concomitantly with gains in wealth, community involvement, organization, conventionality, and sophistication, or with less subjection to social control. Social distance is the intimacy and cultural similarity between two or more actors; more familiarity and similarity equates to closer social distance.

The goal of Blackian sociologists is to determine how variation in social status and social distance lead to patterned differences in social behavior. This framework has been used to explain a number of behaviors, including welfare (Michalski, 2003), medicine, and art (Black, 1998). As relates more closely to criminology, the paradigm has been used to study drug sales (Jacques & Wright, In press), predation (Cooney, 2006) and many types of social control, including law (Black, 1976, 1980, 1989, 1998; Cooney, 2009), vigilantism (Black, 1983; Cooney, 1998, 2009; Phillips, 2003; Phillips & Cooney, 2005), lynching, rioting (Senechal de la Roche, 1996), genocide (Campbell, 2010), and terrorism (Black, 2004).

The uniqueness of Blackian sociology stems from its breadth (described above) and, ironically, from what it omits (Black, 1995). For one, Blackian sociology is “pure” in that it does not attend to non-sociological concepts, such as emotions. Second, this paradigm is nonteleological, as it does not recognize a goal set. And third, it is less focused on persons than social life; in other words, it concentrates on variation in action rather than differences between individuals or groups. The scientific benefit of non-subjective, non-teleological, and non-anthropocentric approaches is that they potentially increase the value of theory by making it more testable, general, simple, and original (Black, 1995).

Theorizing Method

Jacques and colleagues have sought to develop a sociological theory of method nested in the Blackian paradigm. In the first article of this kind, Jacques and Wright (2008) draw on their own and others’ experiences in studying unincarcerated offenders to propose that criminals who have had more contact with recruiters and researchers—i.e., closer in relational distance—are more likely to be recruited for research, receive less remuneration, and provide more valid data. In a separate article, Jacques and Wright (2010a) used a similar analytic process to theorize that scholars have smaller odds of being violently victimized in the course of conducting research when they are closer in relational distance to offenders and recruiters.

In another line, those authors suggest that one form of social status, namely normative status, affects the research process. Normative status decreases as an actor is subjected to more social control; for example, criminals are of lower status when incarcerated rather than free. Jacques and Wright (2010b) theorize that unincarcerated offenders are less likely than institutionalized offenders to be recruited for research but—when they do participate—receive greater remuneration and provide more valid data. That theory was subsequently extended by suggesting lower status generally—not just normative status—has those effects; for example, offenders who are poor, unemployed, uneducated, or racial minorities are more likely to be recruited, remunerated less, and provide less valid information than persons of higher status (Jacques & Wright, 2010c). However, and somewhat paradoxically, there is also evidence to suggest that Institutional Review Boards are more disapproving of—i.e., apply more social control to—studies involving lower status offenders (Jacques & Wright, 2010d).

Within this body of work on theorizing method, the least amount of attention has been given to the effect of cultural distance on the research process. The one study to do so is that of Jacques, Lindegaard, and van Gelder (2011). Based on the latter two authors’ fieldwork in South Africa and Argentina, respectively, they propose that cultural differences between researchers and participants affect what is said in interviews. Specifically, they theorize that as these actors become further in cultural distance, what is communicated by a participant increasingly reflects that individual’s assumptions about the researcher’s culture, decreasingly reflects the participant’s own culture, and is stated in a more righteous language.

In the pages to come, this paper will contribute to the ongoing effort to theorize method by drawing on the concept of cultural distance and Black’s theory of ideas to explain why qualitative research is published infrequently in criminology journals compared to quantitative research.

Theorizing Ideas

In the sociological sense of the term, an idea is a statement about the nature of reality that is said, written, or otherwise communicated (Black, 2000). Two ways that ideas differ are in importance and attractiveness. An idea’s importance is the degree to which actors claim it is significant (in the non-statistical sense of the term), whereas attractiveness is the amount of attention it receives. 6

Black’s (2000) theory of ideas suggests how social geometry affects these qualities. The social geometry of each idea is comprised of its source, audience, and subject. The source communicates, or expresses, the idea. The audience receives the communication. The subject is what the idea is about. Black posits that an idea’s importance and attractiveness are affected by the social status of and social distance between the source, audience, and subject. His propositions are outlined below.

An idea’s importance increases as the social distance between the audience and source decreases; the source’s social status relative to that of the audience increases; the subject’s status decreases; and, is a curvilinear function of the source’s and audience’s social distance from the subject. This predicts, for instance, that the better acquainted are a student and professor then the more likely is either of their ideas to be deemed important when told to the other; but the idea of a professor told to a student is more likely to succeed than vice versa; and both of their ideas are more likely to be deemed important if they are about a low status stranger (e.g., a criminal) than a high status individual they both know well (e.g., another professor or police chief).

The attractiveness of an idea increases as the social distance from the source or audience to the subject decreases; and, the subject’s status increases. This predicts that an idea about insects is less likely to be attractive than an idea about humans because the latter subject is higher status and also closer in social distance to sources and audiences.

To be clear, an idea’s importance and attractiveness is not necessarily indicative of its actual scientific value (e.g., validity, falsifiability, generality, simplicity, originality). As Black (2000) puts it, “[t]he sociology of knowledge, including the sociology of science, implies nothing about whether any idea deserves special credibility or prestige” (p. 351, emphasis added).

A Blackian Theory of Methods’ Publication Frequency

Black’s (2000) theory of ideas provides the basis for an original theory of why there is less qualitative than quantitative research published in criminology journals. Before presenting this theory, however, it is important to explicitly address the question of what exactly is the dependent variable? In other words, how are “criminology,” “journal publications,” “qualitative research” and “quantitative research” defined? Sutherland (1937) gives the definition of criminology: the study of law making, law-breaking, and responding to law-breaking. Journal publications are peer-reviewed manuscripts that appear in periodicals. Answering the question of what are qualitative research and quantitative research may seem obvious, but in fact there is disagreement on the topic. While people may define anything as they please, for a concept to be useful in research its definition must be clearly specified, as to do otherwise invites a host of problems revolving around misinterpretation (Homans, 1967; Popper, 2002 [1959]). Given that concern, this paper now turns to specifying a simple and general definition of qualitative research and quantitative research, which will be used in the theory to come.

What Are Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research?

A scientific research method is a strategy of collecting and analyzing data represented as concepts, which typically—though not always—are used as independent and dependent variables in theories. There are many ways to conceptually divide the broad concept that is “research method” into smaller parts. One is to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative methods; they are often are defined by the kind of data collection procedures involved and objective of doing so. For instance, a report based on a workshop involving preeminent qualitative researchers concluded that their method consists of “in-depth, case-oriented study of a relatively small number of cases”; “seeks detailed knowledge of specific cases, often with the goal of finding out ‘how’ things happen (or happened)”; and for which “researchers’ primary goal is to ‘make the facts understandable’, and often place less emphasis on deriving inferences or predictions from cross-case patterns” (NSF, 2004: 10).

This paper takes a different stance. While qualitative research may be correlated with those procedures and goals, they do not distinguish it from quantitative research. The amount or depth of cases does not determine whether research is qualitative or quantitative; a single interview of one minute can be qualitative, for instance. Nor does the amount of detail on cases or the research focus (e.g., “‘how’ things happen”) define these methods; a study with few details on any topic can be qualitative or quantitative. And all scientific methods are tools for increasing knowledge because this is the goal of science (Homans, 1967; Kuhn, 1977) and thus a defining feature of all methods, quantitative and qualitative alike.

There are three key aspects of research methods: strategy; procedure; and, style. A strategy is a way of accomplishing a goal. A procedure is a way of facilitating a strategy. A style is a way of expressing something. What fundamentally distinguishes quantitative and qualitative methods is their respective style, as they have the same strategy and do not necessarily entail different procedures.

Research methods do not vary in strategy because all of them seek to increase understanding of reality by providing information that informs knowledge through the collection and analysis of data. And while there are many different kinds of procedures used to generate data, and some are highly correlated with quantitative and qualitative methods (e.g., random vs. snowball sampling), the procedure does not ultimately determine whether research is quantitative or qualitative. For example, qualitative interviews can be done with persons who are randomly sampled, and surveys can be done with persons who are snowball sampled.

What makes a method quantitative or qualitative is the style in which the data on a subject are communicated by researchers (i.e., the source) to an audience. Qualitative research employs a non-numerical language; quantitative research uses a numerical language. These two styles, to be clear, are best thought of as resting at opposite sides of a language continuum, not as a dichotomy. This is because every datum is originally in a qualitative form and, therefore, numbers simply reflect the amount of a qualitative property. In other words, quantitative research is based on qualitative data that have been translated into numerical form (see Tewksbury, 2009). For example, the survey question, “How many fights have you been in?” requires a respondent to first recall events from their life that fit some qualitative definition of “fight” and then sum the number of times involved in such an event. Put plainly, then, qualitative and quantitative research are distinguished and defined—at the most basic level—by the style in which their data are expressed: the former method has a non-numerical style, and the latter has a numerical style.

Research Styles as Cultural Distance

Words and numbers are symbols of a deeper, richer reality. Symbols are how actors communicate with each other. As detailed above, the essential difference between qualitative and quantitative research is they rely on, respectively, non-numerical and numerical symbols.

Now recall that social distance refers to actors’ intimacy and cultural similarities, with more of either equating to smaller distance (Black, 1976, 1998). One aspect of cultural distance is language. For example, two people who only speak different languages, such as English and Dutch, are further in cultural distance than two people who speak the same language. There also are degrees of differences as evident by, say, how Chinese is less similar to English than Dutch because the latter two both partially evolved from German.

The use of different languages does not necessarily entail different ideas about the nature of reality. For example, the Dutch word for police is “politie,” but this word does not reflect or cause differences in what police/politie are in the U.S. and Netherlands; at a fundamental level, any given thing—or what Black (2000) refers to as a subject—“is what it is” regardless of what it is called. 7 Yet it cannot be ignored that things are to some extent a social construction, or a cultural artifact (Berger & Luckmann, 1967). This does not mean that the “thing” does not exist in any real way, as it certainly does on at least a physical level. What it does mean is that some portion of that thing’s existence is inextricably tied to social life—a reality of its own (Berger & Luckmann 1967; Hacking 2000). Street offenders, for example, know what “police” means and what police are in the typical sense of the word but also call them insulting names such as “pig” that are indicative of a slightly altered conception laden with a normative evaluation of the police’s role in the community. This example is intended to demonstrate that in studying a subject, it is important to distinguish between what the subject is at the fundamental level (e.g., police vs. politie) and the symbol/s used to represent that thing (e.g., police/politie vs. pigs).

The implication of the above is that an idea’s content is somewhat separable from the symbol/s used to communicate the idea. Quantitative and qualitative research express ideas in different styles. What quantitative research requires is for qualitative data to be translated into numerical form. Because translation is key, it logically follows that qualitative and quantitative research “findings” can be the same despite being expressed in different styles. Stated differently, quantitative and qualitative research may arrive at the same conclusion about reality but use different symbols to state that idea. Of course these two methods do not always produce the same findings, but neither do quantitative researchers nor qualitative researchers always agree amongst themselves.

All of this is important because it suggests the style in which an idea is expressed may affect evaluations of its importance and attractiveness. 8 With one exception detailed below, when a given idea is communicated in qualitative style it is closer in cultural distance to the source and audience than when expressed in quantitative style. The reasoning behind this assertion is practically all people communicate more often in words and depictions (e.g., body language) than in numbers. Though people use numbers when speaking and writing to each other, the vast majority of communication involves purely qualitative information (e.g., what to order at a restaurant; plans for the weekend; feelings about colleagues). Even among people who are quantitatively sophisticated, the vast majority of their communication takes a qualitative form; statisticians, for instance, do not speak in formula to their family and neighbors. The ubiquity of the qualitative style in day-to-day communication means that practically everyone is more familiar with it than quantitative communication. For that reason, to express an idea in a non-numerical fashion places it in more familiar terms—i.e., closer in cultural distance.

The exception—or rather the caveat—that proves the rule is the following: persons who do not speak the same language, such as an English and Dutch speaker, but who are both quantitatively trained will be better able to communicate with numbers because they are culturally closer in that regard than in written and spoken word. To be more exacting, then, a subject is closer in cultural distance to a source or audience when it is expressed in what is for them a more familiar form. Thus, a single idea about a subject is closest in cultural distance to a source or audience when communicated in a language with which they are familiar or, better yet, fluent; the idea is further in cultural distance when communicated numerically; and the idea is furthest away in cultural distance when expressed in a foreign language, assuming they are at least somewhat familiar with communicating in numbers.

Recall that Black (2000) theorizes an idea’s importance and attractiveness to be affected by the social status of and social distance between the source, audience, and subject. Because the fundamental difference between qualitative and quantitative research is the style of expression—a facet of culture—the theory presented below will focus solely on how ideas are affected by cultural distance to a subject. Black proposed two propositions that focus on this aspect of ideas’ social geometry.

One of the propositions is that an idea’s importance is a curvilinear function of the source and audience’s cultural distance from the subject. Stated differently, Black proposes that an idea’s importance increases as a subject becomes less culturally familiar to the source and audience up to a point when the cultural distance is so far as to diminish the idea’s importance.

When combined with the conceptualization of qualitative and quantitative research presented above, this proposition helps to explain the prevalence of articles based on these methods in criminology journals. According to the above reasoning, persons should be found to evaluate an idea as more important when stated in a quantitative than qualitative style because the former is further away in social distance than the latter. Therefore, journal editors and reviewers are more likely to recommend publication of quantitative- than qualitative-based manuscripts reporting the same idea; see figure 1.

--FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE--

An important issue to quickly deal with is the role of curvilinearity in the above proposition. The argument here is that while quantitative research is more likely to be published in journals because it places greater cultural distance between the subject and audience or source, manuscripts written in a language with which these actors are not fluent puts the subject too far away in cultural distance and thereby undermines the likelihood of publication. This seems so self-evident as to require no data on the point. One example, then, should suffice: in the field’s flagship journal, Criminology, quantitative research dominates; qualitative research is rare; but articles written in anything but English are nonexistent.

However, and as mentioned above, there is a paradox in which the most important ideas are also destined to be the least attractive. The second proposition of Black (2000) concerned with the source and audience’s cultural distance from a subject posits that as it increases then an idea’s attractiveness decreases. In other words, a source or audience will give a subject more attention when they are more culturally familiar with it. This proposition predicts that among persons who speak the same language, they will evaluate ideas as less attractive when stated in a quantitative than qualitative style because the former is further in social distance than the latter; see figure 2.

--FIGURE 2 ABOUT HERE--

Black defined an idea’s attractiveness as the amount of attention it receives (Black, 2000; see also Davis, 1971). One way to operationalize this concept is as citation counts. For instance, an analysis could compare the respective impact factors of articles based on quantitative and qualitative research; the proposition concerning attractiveness predicts that qualitative articles should have a higher citation rate. Unfortunately, no study specifies which kind of articles are more often cited, though the available evidence suggests that quantitatively-oriented articles are the winner because quantitative researchers are the most widely cited scholars (see Cohn & Farrington, 2011; Copes, Cardwell, & Sloan, 2012). This finding is indicative of two possibilities: the proposition is wrong; and/or, an idea’s importance is more important than attractiveness in determining its citation rate.

Yet a focus on journal articles could confound or hide the respective effects of importance and attractiveness on publishing outcomes. While both journals and books are part of the academic enterprise, it seems plausible to suggest that journal editors are more likely to publish important manuscripts even if they are unattractive because journals obtain prestige based on their impact factor. 9 On the other hand, book editors are more concerned with sales—another measure of attention. 10 They cannot afford to publish unattractive material because doing so can put the press in the red and out of business. Again, there is no available information on whether qualitative- or quantitative-based manuscripts are more often accepted for publication by book publishers or produce more sales. To my knowledge, the closest study of this kind is that of Gans (1999). His survey and analysis of best-sellers by American sociologists uncovered an important pattern: of the 56 titles that had sold over 50,000 copies at that time, “all or just about all of the books are jargon free” (p. 285), and

most of the books on the list are not empirical research reports, but, of those that are, ethnographies outnumber … surveys by a considerable margin. This is not surprising since they are apt to be most readable, to emphasize narrative over abstractions, and to minimize quantitative analysis. Probably the book on the list with the most numbers is William J. Wilson’s Truly Disadvantaged , but more completely quantitative studies have no chance in this competition; also, most are published as articles. (p. 286)

Reinterpreted, what Gans finds is that the books presented in the most culturally familiar style are bought most frequently. It seems unlikely that criminology books—some of which were on this list of sociological best-sellers—would exhibit a different pattern. Nevertheless, it is an open question as to whether qualitatively-oriented criminology book manuscripts are more often accepted for publication than quantitative ones, and whether the former group has better sales—and perhaps more citations too—than the latter. 11

Conclusion and Implications for Criminology

At academic conferences and in articles, some qualitative criminologists openly lament the infrequency at which manuscripts based on their method of choice are published in the field’s journals. This is somewhat understandable. They see that persons like themselves publish far less often than quantitative researchers. They look at their vitas, feel inferior, and suffer the professional consequences, which include everything from low prestige, to low pay, to the denial of tenure and promotion. Rather than take responsibility for the low rate at which qualitative research is published, some of these scholars have opted for making excuses or, more specifically, for finding a scapegoat (Scott & Lyman, 1968). They claim to have difficulty publishing not because of their ideas’ merits but rather due to the audience’s malevolence, ignorance, or discriminatory disposition.

That theory could be valid. But before qualitative researchers scapegoat others, it would be wiser and more civil of them—or rather “us”—to reflect on three questions: (1) Is it problematic to the field that qualitative research is published less often than quantitative research in criminology journals? (2) Have qualitative researchers made choices that reduced the frequency at which their research is published? And, (3) are there sociological or psychological factors that affect the rate at which quantitative- and qualitative-based manuscripts are published? Elsewhere, my colleagues and I suggest that “no” and “yes” are the answers to the first and second questions, respectively (Wright, Jacques, & Stein, In press).

As for the third question, this paper has proposed a Blackian theory of why there is less qualitative than quantitative research published in criminology journals. This theory was developed by first conceptualizing qualitative research and quantitative research as different styles of expressing ideas. Then it was suggested that because people mostly communicate in a qualitative style on a day-to-day basis, ideas are closer in cultural distance to the source and audience when expressed in that manner rather than quantitatively. Those notions were then considered in light of Black’s (2000) theory of ideas, which, in turn, led to the theory that ideas are evaluated as more important when communicated in a manner that is further in cultural distance from (yet still comprehensible by) the audience or source. The implication of that theory is manuscripts employing the quantitative style of expression are more likely to be deemed important and thus accepted for publication in journals—yet perhaps less likely to be found attractive and published as books or widely read—because it places ideas further in cultural distance from the source and audience than does the qualitative style. 12

Put more succinctly, this paper suggests that one reason quantitatively-based manuscripts are published more often in criminology journals is that they communicate findings in a less familiar manner than do qualitative-based manuscripts, which has the effect of making the former type seem more important. Whereas some scholars have argued that quantitative research is published more often because it is different from and better than qualitative research, the theory developed herein suggests there is more to the story. Quantitative research is undoubtedly better suited to some tasks than is qualitative research; the opposite is also true, in my opinion. But there are times when quantitative and qualitative research arrive at and communicate the same basic idea—i.e., posit essentially the same statement about reality. When that happens, however, these identical ideas will not be—according to the theory—evaluated as equally important, despite having the same content; rather, the quantitative version will be deemed more important, and the qualitative one as more attractive.

In closing, it should be pointed out that the potential of Blackian sociology for understanding the quantitative-qualitative divide extends beyond the theory focused on in the present paper. For instance, recall Black (2000) theorizes that higher status persons’ ideas are more likely to be deemed important. A deducible hypothesis is that as quantitative or qualitative researchers gain status—such as prestige or sophistication—then their ideas, including those on how to do research, will become more successful (see, e.g., Collins, 2000; Mullins, 1973). Indeed, that assertion matches some of the existing explanations reviewed earlier as to why there is relatively little qualitative research published in criminology journals. One such idea is that criminologists have overwhelmingly adopted the quantitative method because they are mimicking scientists in higher status fields such as physics, chemistry, and economics (DiCristina, 1997). Another idea is that qualitative researchers are perceived as less capable—including less sophisticated—and therefore their ideas are less successful (Buckler, 2008). These assertions and other social status- or distance-based explanations are subsumable under the Blackian umbrella.

In addition to developing theory—be it Blackian or another type—it is also important to test existing hypotheses. A few theoretically-informed research questions were raised in this paper: Compared to quantitative research, is qualitative research cited less frequently per article? Published more as books? Do those books receive more citations or sell more copies? And to what extent are these realities explained by social geometry or other factors? Are, for instance, citation and publication rates affected by social status and distance? Proportionate to the frequency at which each method is conducted and submitted for publication? Or the outcome of rational decision making, perceptual processes, (dis)agreement on standards of evaluation, discrimination, innate ability, hard work, or training? Among other ways, the theory proposed herein could be tested experimentally by holding constant the subject, source, and audience of an idea but varying its communication in a quantitative and qualitative style to determine if this difference affects evaluations of the idea’s importance and attractiveness. All of these questions lend themselves to scientific analysis; in the immediate future, studies may want to take a quantitative approach because those findings will be evaluated as more important than qualitative ones, though perhaps less attractive.

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Criminal Justice

• Criminology

Criminology is the study of crime and deviant behavior. Scholars who study criminology try to understand how to reform criminal law and the causes of crime including behavioral patterns of criminals. The following resources can help you narrow your topic, learn about the language used to describe criminology topics, and get you up to speed on the major advancements in this field.

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Criminology Databases

Research in criminology utilizes core criminal justice resources, as well as resources in sociology and psychology. You may find it helpful to search the following databases for your criminology topics or research questions, in addition to the core resources listed on the home page.

Criminology Journals

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Criminology Subject Headings

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Criminology is an accepted word for this area of criminal justice, but other ways to talk about this also exist. In this search, we use OR boolean operators to tell the database any of the listed terms or clauses are relevant to our search. We use AND to tell the database when both terms or clauses are required. We use parenthesis to organize our search, and we stem or truncate the words crime, sociology and psychology with the asterisk to tell the database that any ending of the word, as long as the letters root letters are at the beginning of the word, will do. This way, the word crime, criminology, criminal and other related terms will also be included. Where one idea is described with multiple words (criminal justice) we can enclose the words in quotation marks. This is called phrase searching and tells the database that these words are only relevant when they appear together and in that order.

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Criminology Web Resources

• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data The mission of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) is to facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology, through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data; and through specialized training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data.
• Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
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CJ 4880: Qualitative Research Methods in Criminal Justice

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256 Research Topics on Criminal Justice & Criminology

Are you a law school student studying criminal behavior or forensic science? Or maybe just looking for good criminal justice topics, questions, and hypotheses? Look no further! Custom-writing.org experts offer a load of criminology research topics and titles for every occasion. Criminological theories, types of crime, the role of media in criminology, and more. Our topics will help you prepare for a college-level assignment, debate, or essay writing. 

• ⚖️ Criminology vs. Criminal Justice
• 🔬 120 Criminology Research Topics
• 💂 116 Criminal Justice Research Topics

🔦 What Is Criminology?

👮 what is criminal justice, 🔍 references, ⚖️ criminology vs. criminal justice: topics & fields of study.

Criminology. Criminal justice. The terms are often confused even by the people within the field. Nevertheless, criminal justice and criminology are two different spheres. Therefore, these terms are not interchangeable.

Criminology and criminal justice are indeed related. Say, you are pursuing career opportunities in either of the fields. Then, you need to be able to answer the question: what’s the difference between criminology and criminal justice?

To put it simply, criminology studies the anatomy of a crime. More specifically, it explores the causes, costs, and consequences of it. Criminal justice is different from criminology in the sphere it covers. It is the system established for dealing with crimes: the ways of detection, detention, prosecution, and punishment. In short, think of criminal justice as a part of law enforcement.

This chapter just touched on the differences between criminal justice and criminology. If you wish to learn more about the topic, go to chapters IV, and V. Now is the time to move on to criminology research topics!

🔥 Hot Criminology Research Topics

• The role of media in criminology.
• Cultural explanation of crime.
• Benefits of convict criminology.
• Main issues of postmodern criminology.
• Is criminal behavior affected by the politics?
• How does DAWN collect data?
• The limitations of crime mapping.
• Personality traits that trigger criminal behavior.
• Community deterioration and crime rates.
• Does experimental criminology affect social policy?

🔬 120 Criminology Research Topics & Ideas

Here are 100 criminology research topics ideas organized by themes.

General Criminology Research Paper Topics

• Criminology as a social science.
• Criminology and its public policies.
• History of criminology.
• Crime commission: legal and social perspectives .

Criminal Psychology Research Topics

• What is the nature of criminal behavior?
• How does the lack of education affect the incarceration rates?
• Childhood aggression and the impact of divorce
• The effect of the upbringing on antisocial adult behavior
• How do gender and cultural background affect one’s attitude towards drug abuse ?
• Forensic psychology and its impact on the legal system
• What is the role of criminal psychologists?
• Different types of forensic psychological evaluations
• What’s the difference between therapeutic and forensic evaluation?
• Does socioeconomic status impact one’s criminal behavior?

Criminology Research Topics: Theories

• What crimes are typical for what ages?
• How does the type of crime correspond with the level of exerted aggression ?
• What is the connection between citizenship (or lack thereof) and law violation?
• How does education (or lack thereof) correspond with crime level?
• Does employment (or lack thereof) correspond with law violation?
• What is the connection between family status and law violation?
• Does gender affect on the type of law violation?
• How does ownership of firearms correspond with law violation?
• Does immigrant status correlate with law violation?

• Is there a connection between mental health and law violation?
• What are the causes of violence in the society?
• Does the crime rate depend on the neighborhood?
• How does race correspond with the type of crime?
• Do religious beliefs correspond with law violation?
• How does social class correlate with crime rate?
• What are the reasons for the homeless’ improsonment?
• How does weather correspond with law violation?

Criminology Topics on Victimization

• Biological theories of crime: how do biological factors correspond with law violation?
• Classical criminology: the contemporary take on crime, economics, deterrence, and the rational choice perspective.
• Convict criminology: what do ex-convicts have to say on the subject?
• Criminal justice theories: punishment as a deterrent to crime.
• Critical criminology : debunking false ideas about crime and criminal justice.
• Cultural criminology: criminality as the product of culture.
• Cultural transmission theory: how criminal norms are transmitted in social interaction.
• Deterrence theory: how people don’t commit crimes out of fear of punishment.
• Rational choice theory : how crime doing is aligned with personal objectives of the perpetrator.
• Feminist Criminology: how the dominant crime theories exclude women.
• Labeling and symbolic interaction theories: how minorities and those deviating from social norms tend to be negatively labeled.
• Life course criminology: how life events affect the actions that humans perform.
• Psychological theories of crime: criminal behavior through the lense of an individual’s personality.
• Routine activities theory : how normal everyday activities affect the tendency to commit a crime.
• The concept of natural legal crime.
• Self-control theory: how the lack of individual self-control results in criminal behavior.
• Social construction of crime: crime doing as social response.
• Social control theory: how positive socialization corresponds with reduction of criminal violation.
• Social disorganization theory: how neighborhood ecological characteristics correspond with crime rates.
• Social learning theory: how (non)criminal behavior can be acquired by observing and imitating others.
• Strain theories : how social structures within society pressure citizens to commit crime.
• Theoretical integration: how two theories are better than one.

Criminology Research and Measurement Topics

• Citation content analysis (CCA): a framework for gaining knowledge from a variety of media.
• Crime classification systems: classification of crime according to the severity of punishment.
• Crime mapping as a way to map, visualize, and analyze crime incident patterns.
• Reports and statistics of crime: the estimated rate of crime over time. Public surveys.
• Drug abuse warning network (DAWN): predicting trends in drug misuse.
• Arrestee drug abuse monitoring (ADAM): drug use among arrestees.
• Edge ethnography: collecting data undercover in typically closed research settings and groups through rapport development or covert undercover strategy.
• Experimental criminology: experimental and quasi-experimental research in the advancement of criminological theory.
• Fieldwork in criminology: street ethnographers and their dilemmas in the field concerning process and outcomes.
• Program evaluation: collecting and analyzing information to assess the efficiency of projects, policies and programs.
• Quantitative criminology: how exploratory research questions, inductive reasoning, and an orientation to social context help recognize human subjectivity.

Criminology Topics on Types of Crime

• Campus crime: the most common crimes on college campuses and ways of preventing them.
• Child abuse : types, prevalence, risk groups, ways of detection and prevention.
• Cybercrime: cyber fraud, defamation, hacking, bullying, phishing.
• Domestic violence: gender, ways of detection and prevention, activism.
• Domestic violence with disabilities.
• Elder abuse: types, prevalence, risk groups, ways of detection and prevention.
• Environmental crime. Natural resource theft: illegal trade in wildlife and timber, poaching, illegal fishing.
• Environmental crime. Illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances, hazardous waste; pollution of air, water, and soil.
• Environmental crime: local, regional, national, and transnational level.
• Environmental crime: climate change crime and corruption.
• Environmental crime: wildlife harming and exploitation.
• Hate crime: how prejudice motivates violence.

• Homicide: what motivates one person to kill another.
• Human trafficking: methods of deception, risk groups, ways of detection and prevention.
• Identity theft : methods, risk groups, ways of detection and prevention.
• Gambling in America.
• Juvenile delinquency: risk groups, prevention policies, prosecution and punishment.
• Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Effects
• Organizational crime: transnational, national, and local levels. Ways of disrupting the activity of a group.
• Prostitution: risk groups, different takes on prevention policies, activism.
• Robbery: risk groups, ways of prevention, prosecution and punishment.
• Sex offenses: risk groups, types, prevalence, ways of detection and prevention.
• Terrorism: definition, history, countermeasures.
• Terrorism: individual and group activity, ways of detection and prevention.
• Theft and shoplifting : risk groups, ways of detection, prevention policies, prosecution and punishment.
• Counter-terrorism: constitutional and legislative issues.
• White-collar crime: types, ways of detection, prevention policies, prosecution and punishment.

Criminology Topics on Racism and Discrimination

• How systemic bias affects criminal justice?
• How discriminatory portrayal of minority groups in the media affects criminal justice?
• Racial profiling: targeting minority groups on the basis of race and ethnicity.
• Racism and discrimination towards African-Americans.
• Racial profiling: what are the cons? Are there any pros?
• How discriminatory is the UK Court System?
• How discriminatory is the US Court System?

Other Criminology Research Topics

• Corporate crime : the ruling class criminals.
• Genetics: illegal research and its dangers.
• Hate crime: the implications in criminal justice.
• Serial killers : risk groups, ways of detection and prevention.
• Serial killers: portrayal in media.
• Organized crime : how does it affect criminal justice?
• Crime prevention programs.
• Street lighting: does it reduce crime?
• Terrorism prevention technology.
• Identity theft: risk groups, ways of deception, prevention policies.
• Due process model: procedural and substantive aspects.
• Crime control in criminal justice administration.
• Types of drugs: how do they affect the users?
• Smart handheld devices: their function for security personnel.
• Social media: its impact on crime rate.
• Public health: how does criminal justice affect it?
• Psychometric examinations: what is their role in criminal justice?
• National defense in the US.
• National defense in the UK.
• Sexual harassment: the role of activism, ways of responding, prevention and prosecution.
• Substance abuse: military.
• Criminology and criminal justice jobs: a full list.

🌶️ Hot Criminal Justice Topics

• The history of modern police.
• Different types of prison systems.
• Is situational crime prevention effective?
• How to prevent wrongful convictions.
• Challenges faced by crime victims.
• The advantages of community corrections.
• How do ethics influence criminal justice?
• Disadvantages of felony disenfranchisement.
• Does correctional system in the USA really work?
• Possible problems of prisoner reentry process.

💂 116 Criminal Justice Research Topics & Questions

Here are some of the most typical and interesting criminal justice issues to dazzle your professor.

• Prison system : the main problems and the hidden pitfalls.
• The question of gender: why are there more men who receive capital punishment than women?
• Kidnapping and ransom: common features, motifs, behavior patterns.
• Crime prevention : key principles.
• Firing a gun: what helps professionals understand whether it was deliberate or happened by accident?
• Cybercrime : the legal perspective.
• Internet vigilantism: revenge leaks.
• Hate crime on the Internet: revenge leaks, trolling, defamation.
• Crime and justice in mass media.
• Parental abduction laws.
• Sex offender registry: pros and cons.
• The deterrence theory and the theory of rational choice : are they relevant in the modern world?
• Sexual assault in schools and workplaces.
• Jury selection: how is it performed?
• Experimental criminology: the latest innovations.

• Wildlife crime: areas of prevalence, ways of prevention.
• Felony disenfranchisement laws: when do they apply?
• The relation between organized crime and corruption.
• Victim services: what help can a victim of a crime get?
• Prison rape and violence: the psychological aspect, ways of prevention.
• Juvenile recidivism: what are the risk groups?
• Forensic science: role and functions in modern criminal justice.
• Shoplifting: how to prevent theft?
• Witness Protection Program: who is eligible and how to protect them.
• Date rape : what are the ways for the victims to seek legal assistance?
• Substance abuse and crime: correlation or causation?
• Identity theft: dangers and consequences in the modern world.
• Online predators: what laws can be introduced to protect kids? Real-life examples.
• Civil and criminal cases: how to differentiate?
• Domestic abuse victims: what laws protect them?
• Elder abuse: what can be done to prevent it?
• The strain theory : the unachievable American dream.
• Concepts of law enforcement: pursuing criminal justice .
• Ethics and criminal justice: the unethical sides of law enforcement.
• The top problems to be solved by law enforcement today.
• Information sharing technology: how has it helped in the fight against terrorism?
• Terrorism in perspective: characteristics, causes, control.
• Serial killers: types.
• Drug use and youth arrests.
• Aggressive behavior: how does it correlate with criminal tendencies?
• Community corrections : are they effective?
• Sentencing: how does it take place?
• Punishment types and the established terms.
• Unwarranted arrest: when is it acceptable?
• Human trafficking in the modern world.
• Human trafficking: current state and counteracts.
• The role of technology in modern forensics.
• Similarities and differences between homicide, murder, and manslaughter.
• Types of offenders: classification.
• Effects of gun control measures in the United States.
• The role of crime mapping in modern criminal justice.
• Male crimes vs female crimes: are they different?
• Prisons: the problems of bad living conditions.
• Victimization : causes and ways of prevention.
• Victimology and traditional justice system alternatives .
• Rape victims: what are their rights?
• Problem-solving courts: what underlying problems do they address?
• Mandatory sentencing and the three-strike rule.
• Have “three-strikes” laws been effective and should they be continued?
• Criminal courts: what can be learned from their history?
• Hate crimes: what motivates people to commit them?
• Youth gangs: what is their danger?
• Fieldwork: how is it done in criminology?
• Distributive justice: its place in criminal justice.
• Capital punishment : what can be learned from history?
• Humanities and justice in Britain during 18th century.
• Abolition of capital punishment .
• Criminals and prisoners’ rights.
• Crime prevention programs and criminal rehabilitation .
• Campus crime: what laws and precautions are there against it?
• Criminal trial process: how does it go?
• Crimes committed on a religious basis: how are they punished?
• The code of ethics in the Texas department of criminal justice.
• Comparison between Florida and Maryland’s legislative frameworks .
• Fraud in the scientific field: how can copyright protect the discoveries of researchers?
• Prosecution laws: how are they applied in practice?
• The classification of crime systems.
• Cyberbullying and cyberstalking: what can parents do to protect their children?
• Forgery cases in educational institutions, offices, and governmental organizations.
• Drug courts: how do they work?

Controversial Topics in Criminal Justice

Want your work to be unconventional? Consider choosing one of the controversial topics. You will need to present a number of opposite points of view. Of course, it’s acceptable to choose and promote an opinion that you think stands the best. Just make sure to provide a thorough analysis of all of the viewpoints.

You can also stay impartial and let the reader make up their own mind on the subject. If you decide to support one of the viewpoints, your decision should be objective. Back it up with plenty of evidence, too. Here are some examples of controversial topics that you can explore.

• Reform vs. punishment: which one offers more benefits?
• Restorative justice model : is it the best criminal justice tool?
• The war on drugs: does it really solve the drug problem?
• Criminal insanity: is it a reason enough for exemption from liability?
• Juvenile justice system: should it be eliminated?
• Drug testing on the school ground.
• Police brutality in the United States .
• How to better gun control ?
• Why Gun Control Laws Should be Scrapped.
• Pornography: is it a type of sexual violence?
• Whether death penalty can be applied fairly?
• Jack the Ripper: who was he?
• The modern justice system: is it racist?
• A false accusation: how can one protect themselves from it?
• Concealed weapons: what are the criminal codes of various states?
• Race and crime: is there a correlation?
• Registering sex offenders: should this information be in public records?
• Juvenile delinquency and bad parenting: is there a relation?
• Assessing juveniles for psychopathy or conduct disorder.
• Should all new employees be checked for a criminal background?
• Are delinquency cases higher among immigrant children?
• Restrictive housing: can it help decongest prisons?
• Homegrown crimes: is there an effective program against them?
• Prostitution: the controversy around legalization .
• Eyewitness testimony: is it really helpful in an investigation?
• Youthful offenders in boot camps: is this strategy effective?
• Predictive policing: is it effective?
• Selective incapacitation: is it an effective policy for reducing crime?
• Social class and crime: is there a relation?
• Death penalty: is it effective in crime deterrence?
• Extradition law: is it fair?
• Devious interrogations: is deceit acceptable during investigations?
• Supermax prisons: are they effective or just cruel?
• Zero tolerance: is it the best policy for crime reduction?
• Marijuana decriminalization: pros and cons.
• Marijuana legalization in the US .

Now that you have looked through the full list of topics, choose wisely. Remember that sometimes it’s best to avoid sensitive topics. Other times, a clever choice of a topic will win you extra points. It doesn’t depend on just the tastes of your professor, of course. You should also take into account how much relevant information there is on the subject. Anyway, the choice of the topic of your research is up to you. Try to find the latest materials and conduct an in-depth analysis of them. Don’t forget to draw a satisfactory conclusion. Writing may take a lot of your time and energy, so plan ahead. Remember to stay hydrated and good luck!

Now, after we looked through the topic collections on criminology and criminal justice, it is time to turn to the specifics in each of the fields. First, let’s talk more extensively about criminology. If you are training to be a criminologist, you will study some things more deeply. They include the behavior patterns of criminals, their backgrounds, and the latest sociological trends in crime.

In the field of criminology, the specialties are numerous. That’s why it’s difficult to pinpoint one career that represents a typical member of the profession. It all depends on the background of a criminologist, their education, and experience.

A criminologist may have a number of responsibilities at their position. For example, they might be called forth to investigate a crime scene. Participation in autopsies is unpleasant yet necessary. Interrogation of suspects and subsequent criminal profiling is another essential duty.

Some professionals work solely in research. Others consult government agencies or private security companies. Courts and law firms also cooperate with criminologists. Their job is to provide expert opinion in criminal proceedings. Some of them work in the prison systems in order to oversee the rehabilitation of the convicted.

Regardless of the career specialty , most criminologists are working on profiling and data collection. A criminologist is another word for an analyst. They collect, study, and analyze data on crimes. After conducting the analysis, they provide recommendations and actionable information.

A criminologist seeks to find out the identity of the person who committed the crime. The time point of a crime is also important, as well as the reason for it. There are several areas covered by the analysis of a criminologist. The psychological behavior of the criminal or criminals is closely studied. The socio-economic indicators are taken into account. There are also, of course, the environmental factors that may have facilitated the crime.

Some high-profile cases require a criminologist to correspond with media and PR managers extensively. Sometimes criminologists write articles and even books about their findings. However, it should be noted that the daily routine of a professional in the field is not so glamorous. Most criminologists do their work alone, without the attention of the public.

The research a criminologist accumulates during their work is extensive. It doesn’t just sit there in a folder on their desk, of course. The collected statistics are used for developing active criminal profiles that are shared with law enforcement agencies. It helps to understand criminal behavior better and to predict it. That’s why a criminologist’s work must be precise and accurate for it to be practical and useful. Also, criminology professionals must have a good grasp of math and statistics.

Thinking of a career in criminology? You will need to, at the very least, graduate from college. There, you’ll master mathematics, statistics, and, of course, criminology. An associate’s degree may get you an entry-level position. But the minimum entry-level requirement is usually the bachelor’s degree. The best positions, though, are left for the professionals with a master’s degree or a PhD.

Just having a degree is not enough. To succeed as a criminologist, you will require all your intelligence, commitment, and the skill of analyzing intricate situations. An aspiration to better the society will go a long way. You will need to exercise your creative, written, and verbal communication skills, too. An analytical mind will land you at an advantage.

Criminology: Research Areas

Times change and the world of crime never ceases to adapt. The nature of criminal transgression is evolving, and so do the ways of prosecution. Criminal detection, investigation, and prevention are constantly advancing. Criminology studies aim to improve the practices implemented in the field.

There are six unified, coordinated, and interrelated areas of expertise. Within each, the professionals are busy turning their mastery into knowledge and action.

The first research area is the newest worry of criminology – cybercrime. The impact of this type of crime is escalating with every passing day. That’s why it’s crucial for the law enforcement professionals to keep up to date with the evolving technology. Cybercrime research is exploring the growing threat of its subject at all levels of society. Cybercrime may impact people on both personal and governmental levels. Cybercrime research investigates the motivation and methodology behind the offenses and finds new ways to react.

The second research area is counter fraud. Crimes that fall under this category include fraud and corruption. The questions that counter fraud research deals with are many. How widely a crime is spread, what method is best to fight it, and the optimal courses of action to protect people and organizations.

The third research area is that of forensics. The contemporary face of justice has been changed by forensic science beyond recognition. Nowadays, it’s much harder for criminals to conceal their activity due to evolved technologies. The research in forensics is utilizing science in the identification of the crime and in its reconstruction. It employs such techniques as DNA recovery, fingerprinting, and forensic interviewing.

What is forensic interviewing? It helps find new ways to gather quality information from witnesses and crime scenes. It also works on developing protocols that ensure the protection of this human data and its correct interpretation by police.

The fourth research area is policing. Police service is facing a lot of pressing issues nowadays due to budget cuts. At the same time, police officers still need to learn, and there are also individual factors that may influence their work.

The fifth research area is penology. It’s tasked with exploring the role of punishment in the criminal justice system. Does punishment aid the rehabilitation of perpetrators, and to what extent? The answer will help link theory to practice and thus shape how criminal justice practitioners work.

The sixth research area is that of missing persons. Before a person goes missing, they may display a certain pattern of behavior. The study of missing persons helps to identify it. The results will determine the handling of such cases.

Now that we know what criminology is, it’s time to talk about criminal justice.

While criminology focuses on the analysis of crime, criminal justice concentrates on societal systems. Its primary concern is with the criminal behavior of the perpetrators. For example, in the USA, there are three branches of the criminal justice system. They are police (aka law enforcement), courts, and corrections. These branches all work together to punish and prevent unlawful behavior. If you take up a career in criminal justice, expect to work in one of these fields.

The most well-known branch of criminal justice is law enforcement. The police force is at the forefront of defense against crime and misdemeanor. They stand against the criminal element in many ways. For instance, they patrol the streets, investigate crimes, and detain suspects. It’s not just the police officers who take these responsibilities upon themselves. There are also US Marshals, ICE, FBI Agents, DEA, and border patrol. Only after the arrest has been made, the perpetrator enters the court system.

The court system is less visible to the public, but still crucial to the criminal justice system. Its main purpose is to determine the suspect’s innocence or guilt. You can work as an attorney, lawyer, bailiff, judge, or another professional of the field. In the court, if you are a suspect, you are innocent until proven guilty. You are also entitled to a fair trial. However, if they do find you guilty, you will receive a sentence. Your punishment will be the job of the corrections system.

The courts determine the nature of the punishment, and the corrections system enforces it. There are three elements of the corrections system: incarceration, probation, and parole. They either punish or rehabilitate the convicts. Want to uptake a career in corrections? You may work as, including, but not limited to: a parole officer, a prison warden, a probation officer, and a guard.

📈 Criminal Justice: Research Areas

The research areas in criminal justice are similar, if not identical, to those of criminology. After all, those are two very closely related fields. The one difference is that criminal justice research has more practical than theoretical applications. But it’s fair to say that theory is the building blocks that practice bases itself on. One is impossible without the other unless the result you want is complete chaos.

So, the question is – what topic to choose for the research paper? Remember that the world of criminal justice is constantly changing. Choosing a subject for research in criminal justice, consider a relevant topic. There are many pressing issues in the field. Exploring them will undoubtedly win you points from your professor. Just make sure to choose a direction that will give you the opportunity to show off both your knowledge and your analytical skills.

Not sure that your original research direction will be appreciated? Then choose one of the standard topics. Something that is widely discussed in the media. And, of course, make sure that you are truly interested in the subject. Otherwise, your disinterest will translate into your writing, which may negatively affect the overall impression. Also, it’s just more enjoyable to work on something that resonates with you.

What can you do with your research paper? Literally anything. Explore the background of the issue. Make predictions. Compare the different takes on the matter. Maybe there are some fresh new discoveries that have been made recently. What does science say about that?

Also, remember to backup all your arguments with quotes and examples from real life. The Internet is the best library and research ground a student could hope for. The main idea of the paper, aka the thesis, must be proven by enough factual material. Otherwise, it’s best to change your research direction.

And, of course, don’t put it all off till the last minute. Make a plan and stick to it. Consistency and clever distribution of effort will take you a long way. Good luck!

🤔 Criminal Justice Research FAQs

Criminological and criminal justice research are the scientific studies of the causes and consequences, extent and control, nature, management, and prevention of criminal behavior, both on the social and individual levels.

Criminal justice and criminology are sciences that analyze the occurrence and explore the ways of prevention of illegal acts. Any conducted personal research and investigation should be supported by the implemented analytical methods from academic works that describe the given subject.

There are six interrelated areas of criminology research:

• Cybercrime research makes law enforcement professionals keep up to date with the evolving technology.
• Counter fraud research investigates cases of fraud and corruption.
• Forensics research utilizes science: DNA recovery, fingerprinting, and forensic interviewing.
• Research in policing investigates individual factors that may influence the work of police officers.
• Penology explores the role of punishment in the criminal justice system.
• The study of missing persons helps to identify patterns of victims’ behavior.

There are seven research methods in criminology:

• Quantitative research methods measure criminological and criminal justice reality by assigning numerical values to concepts to find patterns of correlation, cause and effect.
• Survey research collects information from a number of persons via their responses to questions.
• Experimental research assesses cause and effect in two comparison groups.
• Cross-sectional research studies one group at one point in time.
• Longitudinal research studies the same group over a period of time.
• Time-series designs study the same group at successive points in time.
• Meta-analysis employs quantitative analysis of findings from multiple studies.

The basis of criminological theory is criminological research. It influences the development of social policies and defines criminal justice practice.

Criminological research doesn’t just enable law students to develop analytical and presentational skills. The works of criminal justice professionals, scholars, and government policymakers dictate the way law enforcement operates. The newest ideas born out of research identify corrections and crime prevention, too.

Here is a step-by-step instruction on how to write a criminal justice research paper:

• Choose a topic
• Read the materials and take notes
• Come up with a thesis
• Create an outline for your work
• Draft the body
• Start with a cover page, an abstract, and an intro
• List the methods you used, and the results you got
• Include a discussion
• Sum it up with a conclusion
• Don’t forget a literature review and appendices
• Revise, proofread, and edit

The most common types of methodologies in criminal justice research include:

• Observation of participants.
• Surveys and interviews.
• Observation of focus groups.
• Conducting experiments.
• Analysis of secondary data and archival study.
• Mixed (a combination of the above methods).

Learn more on this topic:

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• The Differences Between Criminal Justice and Criminology: Which Degree Is Right for You? (Concordia St. Paul)
• Corporate Crime: Britannica
• The Development of Delinquency: NAP
• Databases for Research & Education: Gale
• A CS Research Topic Generator: Purdue University
• A Introduction To The Federal Court System: US Department of Justice
• Criminal Justice Research Topics: Broward College
• Research Topics in Criminology: Cambridge Institute of Criminology
• CRIMINOLOGY: University of Portsmouth
• Research: Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Maryland
• Criminal Justice: RAND
• Research Methods in Criminal Justice: Penn State University Libraries
• Research: School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
• Criminology – Research Guide: Getting started (Penn Libraries)
• Criminology Research Papers: Academia
• The History & Development of the U.S. Criminal Justice System: Study.com
• CRIMINAL JUSTICE & CRIMINOLOGY: Marshall University
• Criminal Justice: Temple University
• Criminal Justice: University of North Georgia
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Criminal Justice

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Empirical Studies

• An empirical study is research derived from actual observation or experimentation.
• The written articles resulting from empirical studies undergo a rigorous review by experts in the field of study prior to being published in journals.
• After passing this review the articles are published in a scholarly, peer-reviewed, or academic journal.
• Empirical study articles will generally contain the following features: Abstract - This is a summary of the article. Introduction - This is often identified as the hypothesis of the study and describes the researcher's intent.            Method - A description of how the research was conducted. Results - A description of the findings obtained as a result of the research. Most often answers the hypothesis. Conclusion - A description of how/if the findings were successful and the impact made as a result. References - A detailed listing of all resources cited in the article that support the written work.

Keywords for Empirical Studies:

empirical, experiment, methodology, observation, outcomes, sample size, statistical analysis, study

Types of Empirical Studies:

There are several types of empirical research, and three common types are  quantitative , qualitative ,  and  mixed methods research ,  which are all explained below. Many empirical studies in the social science use mixed methods to examine complex phenomena.

Quantitative Research

Four Main Types of Quantitative Research Design:

• Descriptive
• Correlational
• Quasi-experimental 
• Experimental

Qualitative Research

Five Main Types of Qualitative Research

• Grounded theory 
• Phenomenology
• Ethnography 
• Historical Research

Mixed Methods Research

Mixed methods research uses strategies from both qualitative and quantitative research processes to provide a greater understanding of the subject matter.

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Clinical research assistant position @ brown university, providence ri.

The IMPACT Lab in the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health is seeking a full-time Clinical Research Assistant to begin in the Summer of 2024. The RA will work 40% on research focused on the development and evaluation of integrated treatments for HIV and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and 60% on research focused on evaluating a leading symptom checkers app in emergency care and ambulatory settings. There may be additional opportunities to assist with other NIH-funded studies as needed. TheRA will work with Principal Investigators Drs. Kirsten Langdon, Tracy Madsen, and Hamish Fraser with opportunities for exposure to co-investigators in psychology, emergency medicine, primary care, infectious disease, and digital health. This could be an ideal opportunity for a recent college graduate who is looking for experiences to help strengthen an application for graduate studies in psychology, medical school, or public health.

Responsibilities

• Assisting the study team in all phases of the studies, including clinical recruitment in outpatient treatment settings, qualitative interviewing, and follow-up procedures. Study tasks will include, but are not limited to, obtaining informed consent, interviewing participants to gather information, preparing and maintaining study records, contacting participants to obtain follow-up data, entering and cleaning data, performing statistical analyses, and cleaning and coding transcripts. Successful

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline
• Highly organized, self-motivated, outstanding attention to detail, and ability to multi-task
• Excellent verbal communication, written communication, and interpersonal skills to effectively interact with patients, hospital staff, and community members
• Ability to think on your feet
• Excellent analytical and computer skills (e.g., Microsoft suite)

Background in health sciences, psychology, social work, and/or public health

Prior experience working with populations diagnosed with substance use disorders, including individuals with a history of criminal justice involvement

Prior experience with clinical research and institutional review boards (IRBs)

Comfort with working in clinical settings (outpatient treatment programs)

Comfort with conducting research in correctional settings

Comfort discussing sensitive topics, including substance use and mental health

Prior experience in substance use disorders intervention research, digital health research, community-based research/engagement, or qualitative research (interviewing and coding)

Familiarity with data collection software (e.g., REDCap, Qualtrics), electronic medical records (e.g. Epic), qualitative software (e.g., NVivo) citation software (e.g., EndNote), and statistical software (e.g., SPSS)

For more information and to apply, please contact the lab coordinator, Ben Seebold, at [email protected] . Required application materials include a copy of your CV/Resume and a cover letter specifying your prior research experience and future career goals. Additional materials may be requested later.

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Health Professions Advising

Clinical research assistant lifespan center for digital health at brown | providence, ri.

Position Title: Clinical Research Assistant Organization: Brown University-Lifespan Center for Digital Health Department: Emergency Medicine Primary Location: Providence, RI Position Type: Full-Time Start Date: Summer 2024; 2-year commitment

Job Description: The IMPACT Lab in the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health is seeking a full-time Clinical Research Assistant to begin in the Summer of 2024. The RA will work 40% on research focused on the development and evaluation of integrated treatments for HIV and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and 60% on research focused on evaluating a leading symptom checkers app in emergency care and ambulatory settings. There may be additional opportunities to assist with other NIH-funded studies as needed. The RA will work with Principal Investigators Drs. Kirsten Langdon, Tracy Madsen, and Hamish Fraser with opportunities for exposure to co-investigators in psychology, emergency medicine, primary care, infectious disease, and digital health. This could be an ideal opportunity for a recent college graduate who is looking for experiences to help strengthen an application for graduate studies in psychology, medical school, or public health.

Under the general supervision of the Principal Investigators and Project Coordinator, the RA will be responsible for assisting the study team in all phases of the studies, including clinical recruitment in outpatient treatment settings, qualitative interviewing, and follow-up procedures. Study tasks will include, but are not limited to, obtaining informed consent, interviewing participants to gather information, preparing and maintaining study records, contacting participants to obtain follow-up data, entering and cleaning data, performing statistical analyses, and cleaning and coding transcripts. Successful candidates are strongly preferred to have prior experience working with populations diagnosed with substance use disorders and individuals with a history of criminal justice involvement. It is also strongly preferred to have experience with qualitative research . The RA will adhere to ethical procedures for subject recruitment and crisis protocols. Finally, they may be responsible for assisting with periodic literature reviews, and for assisting with preparation of abstracts, manuscripts, and presentations.

Qualifications:

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline
• Highly organized, self-motivated, outstanding attention to detail, and ability to multi-task
• Excellent verbal communication, written communication, and interpersonal skills to effectively interact with patients, hospital staff, and community members
• Ability to think on your feet
• Excellent analytical and computer skills (e.g., Microsoft suite)

Preferences:

• Background in health sciences, psychology, social work, and/or public health
• Prior experience working with populations diagnosed with substance use disorders, including individuals with a history of criminal justice involvement
• Prior experience with clinical research and institutional review boards (IRBs)
• Comfort with working in clinical settings (outpatient treatment programs)
• Comfort with conducting research in correctional settings
• Comfort discussing sensitive topics, including substance use and mental health
• Prior experience in substance use disorders intervention research, digital health research, community-based research/engagement, or qualitative research (interviewing and coding)
• Familiarity with data collection software (e.g., REDCap, Qualtrics), electronic medical records (e.g. Epic), qualitative software (e.g., NVivo) citation software (e.g., EndNote), and statistical software (e.g., SPSS)

To Apply: For more information and to apply, please contact the lab coordinator, Ben Seebold, at [email protected] . Required application materials include a copy of your CV/Resume and a cover letter specifying your prior research experience and future career goals. Additional materials may be requested later.

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NCJRS Virtual Library

Fundamentals of criminal justice research, additional details.

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