Criminology midterm - methods to study crime

survey research

• attempts to measure unreported crime

• pro: can get info out quickly and reach a lot of people

• con: lacks context

cohort research: longituindal and retrospective

• observing a group of people who share similar characteristics

• pro: allows researchers to track crime patterns in specific groups, shows how crime changes as people age, can compare different groups

• con: only shows correlation

Experimental Research

• manipulation and intervention techniques

• quasi experimental design 

• pro: shows whether a program actually causes crime reduction, random assignment can reduce bias, see differences in groups 

• con: ethical, costly and time consuming, people may alter behavior if they know they are being studied 

observational/interview Research 

• in depth interviews and observations to gain insight into behavior 

• venkateshs gang leader for a day 

• Pro: real world insight, can reveal things surveys or statistics miss, in depth detail, lets participants explain in their own words 

• con: time consuming, ethical, observer/interviewer bias, small sample sizes

meta analysis and systematic review research

• gathering data from previous studies

• pro: comprehensive, transparent and replicable, precise, can test patterns, quantative summary

• con: time intensive, quality depends on available studies, only studies with stats/number results, if poor quality its bad results, complex