a) Statement of the problem or the question/issue the proposed research will address (e.g.,
What is the effect of parental attachment on delinquency? Does parental attachment vary
with social class?)
b) Relevance of the proposed question to furthering knowledge in the fields of criminology
or criminal justice (i.e., What contribution will it make to theory, empirical literature,
and/or policy?)
2) Review of the relevant literature including findings and methodology
3) Hypotheses
a) Transformation of the research question into a testable hypothesis/hypotheses
b) Development of null hypothesis/hypotheses
c) Discussion of meaning of rejection of the null hypothesis for the current research
4) Identification of data/sample
a) Discussion of data source or sampling methodology
b) Discussion of advantages and limitations of the data or sample
5) Concepts and variables
a) Discussion of concepts included in the research question
b) Discussion of all variables to be included (i.e., dependent, independent, and relevant
control variables)
c) Discussion of the advantages and limitations of the measures
6) Research Design
a) Discussion of the method proposed
b) Justification of method (i.e., why is it appropriate for your research question)
c) Discussion of the advantages and limitations of the research design
7) Ethical Concerns (if applicable)
Research Designs
There are many different types of research designs that can be employed. Below is a
description of some of these major methods. This discussion is not exhaustive, but should
provide you some direction. The idea isnt to pick a method, but rather to develop a research
question and then to find the method that best answers the research question. Not every method
is appropriate for every inquiry. Different designs can be combined to address your research
topic.
Experimental/Quasi-Experiments
Experiments are what most people think about when they hear research methods.
Experiments are very useful at establishing causality and are desirable when evaluating
programs. However, they can be quite difficult to do effectively. In addition, due to the subject
matter of criminology, many are not feasible due to ethical concerns. If you propose an
experimental or quasi-experimental design, you must think carefully about your design,
measures, and ethical concerns.
Secondary Data Analysis
Many studies use secondary data. This is data that someone else has collected for a
certain purpose. There are a great number of sources of secondary data, one of which is ICPSR
(International Consortium for Political Science Research — this groups keeps many data sets on
file, which researchers can purchase), and from a variety of federal and state agencies. The
Bureau of Justice Statistics also contains a number of data sources including the Uniform Crime
Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey. Data from different agencies can be
combined to answer a research question using this approach. Secondary data can be extremely
useful and provide information on a variety of issues. However, you must be cautious as some
data is not collected for research purposes and may not provide all of the information you need to
answer your research question (e.g., police records are extremely useful, but often do not contain
information on appropriate control variables). If you choose this methodology, you should
discuss the appropriateness of the data to address your inquiry as well as the strengths and
weaknesses of each dataset.
Time Series Data
Time series data are data collected to address a problem over a specific, continuous
period of time (e.g., 1950-1996). Such studies as typically employed by researchers who have an
interest in macro-level explanations of crime and punishment, or the long-term results or impact
of specific policies and programs. Time series data is ordinarily made up of what we call
secondary data, however, they may also be collected independently. If using secondary data, data
from different agencies can be combined to answer a research question using this approach. If
you choose to propose this methodology, you should explore the advantages and limitations of
not only the use of time series data, but also the specific datasets you propose (if applicable).
Surveys/Questionnaires
Surveys can be very useful in measuring behaviors and attitudes, however, not all
research questions can be answered using survey research. Survey research is a complicated
process and we will spend some time discussing how to design and utilize surveys. If you choose
to employ this methodology you are to begin with a questionnaire(s) from previous research
(beginning researchers should never construct their own surveys). You can either use these
questionnaires as is or propose modifications to them to address your inquiry. You are to discuss
the appropriateness of surveys, the advantages and limitations of the questionnaires chosen, and
any modifications you make to them (if applicable).
Comparative Studies
There are three different kinds of comparative studies that you might propose: across
counties, across states, or across countries. Each kind study is useful for answering a different set
of questions. For example, at the level of counties, you could design a study that examines the
effect of laws prohibiting/allowing strip clubs on the level of sex-related offenses; the
relationships between college aged populations, number of colleges, and fraternities on drinking
or sex-offenses in counties. At the level of states, you could examine the effects of three-strike
laws, gun control laws, application of the death penalty on levels of crime across states. At the
level of nations, you can examine differences in criminal penalties and sanctions, amount or
types of crime across developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations. Like the time series
option, comparative research can employ data that has already been collected. If you choose to
propose this methodology, you should discuss the advantages and limitations of this method and
the specific datasets you propose (if applicable).
Qualitative Studies
Qualitative studies are designed to do two things give you an in depth look into the
social processes of an issue and to allow those being studied the opportunity to express their
views in their own words. Although extremely valuable, qualitative studies are difficult and time
consuming. Before proposing this type of design, one should think very carefully through the
implementation and ethical issues. If you choose to employ a qualitative methodology, I strongly
encourage you to consult a qualitative methods textbook to learn more about these methods as
we will not spend a large amount of time discussing them in class.
Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis
GIS is a special application of a cross-sectional method in which the primary variables
are constructed around their geographic distribution. For example, a researcher may be interested
in the distance from offenders homes to their offending locations. Criminologists use different
levels of aggregation to explore geographic distributions and your proposal should discuss the
appropriateness of your level.
Content Analysis
Sometimes researchers are interested in analyzing the products of human behavior and
interaction rather than people themselves (i.e., social artifacts). For example, one might be
interested in the differential distribution of minorities as perpetrators in popular crime shows.
These designs entail all of the considerations of other methodologies and care should be taken to
discuss the sampling method and measurement of variables.
