Criminology CH 2

conflict theory

a theoretical perspective that views crime as a natural product of a society that promotes competition and, hence, social and economic disparity

crime funnel

a metaphor referring to the decreasing number of crimes processed at successive levels of the justice system, from law enforcement, through the courts, to corrections.

empiricism

the principle that knowledge is acquired only through experience

Juristat

a regular publication of the Canadian Centre of Justice Statistics considered the most authoritative source of criminal justice statistics in Canada

left-realism

a theoretical perspective that aims to better understand the implications of crimes control policies rather than the causes of crime

moral panic

widespread exaggerated public concern over issues associated with morality (e.g., prostitution, pornography)

net widening

the process by which the state expands its control over behaviour through changes to sentencing laws and administrative policies

operationalization

defining criminological concepts or phenomena in such a way that they can be observed and measured scientifically

paradigm shift

a fundamental change in the prevailing model of theoretical orientation

random error

an error in data collection that occurs because of an intervening variable that could not have been foreseen

rationalism

the principle that some kinds of knowledge are innate, and others can be acquired through reasoning, independent of experience

reliability

the likelihood that an observed relationship between two or more variables can or will be observed in a consistent manner

sampling

the process of selecting a group of research subjects who are representative of the entire population under investigation

systematic error

an error in data collection that the researcher has been able to anticipate and account for

validity

the likelihood that the relationships observed and measured are real