Full Description
How to think about, conduct, and evaluate research is fundamental to the study and understanding of criminology and criminal justice. Students take methods, statistics, theory, and topic-specific classes, but they struggle to integrate what they learn and to see how it fits within the broader field of criminology and criminal justice research. This book directly tackles this problem by helping students to develop a 'researcher sensibility', and demonstrates how the 'nuts and bolts' of criminal justice research - including research design, theory, data, and analysis - are and can be combined. Relying on numerous real-world examples and illustrations, this book reveals how anyone can 'think like a researcher'. It reveals, too, why that ability is critical for being a savvy producer or consumer of criminological and criminal justice research.
Contents
About the authors; Preface; Part I. Criminological and Criminal Justice Research: 1. Introduction; 2. Science and criminological and criminal justice research; 3. The science and art of conducting, evaluating, and using research: initial observations; Part II. Essential Research Ingredients: Theory, Data, and Analysis: 4. The role of theory in research; 5. The role of data in research; 6. The role of analysis in research; Part III. Types of Criminological and Criminal Justice Research: 7. Basic (science-focused) vs. applied (policy-focused) research; 8. Identifying causal effects; 9. Criminological and criminal justice research areas and topics; Part IV. Chefs in the Kitchen: 10. Criteria for conducting, evaluating, and using research; 11. The science and art of conducting, evaluating, and using research: practical steps; References; Index.
