Before assessing the methodologies that can be used to investigate issues in the field of victimology,

we shall first understand what victimology is and why has it been developed (what purpose does it
serve in society?) Victimology, introduced in the 20th century, is as it's name suggest the study of
crimes, but unlike criminology which mainly focuses on criminals and why do they decide to commit
crimes, victimology is a subfield that is primarily concerned with the effects of crimes on the victims
affected by it's occurrence, furthermore establishing what are the aftermath on their lives; physical
injuries which may in serious cases be unrecoverable, psychological traumas, possible financial
losses and how does the criminal justice system advocates for the victims welfare after suffering
from these hardships. In this way, victimology interests itself in the relationship between victims and
society (victims and offenders, the victims and the justice system and moreover on the victims and
their portrayal by medias).  

 Having reviewed the definition of victimology, we shall posit which methods would be more
appropriate to investigate in the issues thereof. When researching in fields within the territory of
social sciences, where human cognition is what is basically at test, two scientific methodologies have
been always used; qualitative and quantitative research methods. These two scientific methods are
in most studies used concurrently since the combination of both gives a more realistic and more
vivid picture of the issues that are being explored in order to find possible answers and remedies. To
get a better understanding of the application of these methodologies in respect to the question, I
shall refer to a few scientific literatures.

As a first example, we shall talk about Inna Levy and Sarah Ben-David who tried to figure out through
their literature review why were victims in matters of rape blamed. This is the issue that was
observed and pointed out by these two researchers as they found out that it was due to the
approach which was taken by the founders of the field of victimology who laid a particular emphasis
on the role and participation of the victims in their assault. By viewing only victim and perpetrator
while omitting bystanders, the victimology theorists implicitly created the cornerstone of the
controversy surrounding the liability for the crime, putting the majority of the blame on the victim.
Moreover, using the findings of different existing studies, they made use of inferential data analysis
method to find certain correlations that led to people blaming victims in rape cases mainly the way
the victim was dressed, the level of insobriety of the victim, the nature of the relationship between
the victim and offender, the gender of the bystander/observer and educational background which is
not only academic but also to the ideologies they were exposed to. Once again, they observed that
the previous researches on the blaming on victims in rape cases was done in a non-exhaustive
fashion mostly focusing on victims themselves. We can see from the above-mentioned example the
starting point of a research; an observation. Through this observation and review of existing studies,
they were able to gain an insight of what had been done while also highlighting what elements are
missing (which was in the case above bystanders, the 3rd variable.) 

The second step after observing, is the formulation of a theory/hypothesis using the information
obtained. In the literature review of Inna Levy and Sarah Ben-David, information were obtained from
previous researches. We should therefore consider related previous researches since it always
carries limitations within it's essence. The limitations and unanswered questions are going to form
the basis of the hypothesis. The following step should therefore be the gathering of data through an
experiment. Two things should be considered when talking about data collection; where to collect
the data and which portion of the population should the sample be taken from. In this regard, the
probability and non-probability method of sampling are the best methods to use. Probability
sampling gives the most realistic result since it takes a random portion of the population that would
still be accurate when amplified to the population level of a whole country. Moreover, there is
another crucial element which needs to be taken into consideration; how to collect the data? Data
collection, which is unequivocally the hardest part in any research due to the complexity of ensuring
that the validity and reliability of the data being collected and it is typically done through surveys,
interviews, documentations and records. Researchers should be cautious about the possible threats
which could tarnish internal validity. An example of a threat to internal validity within the bounds of
victimology may be that victomologists are pro-victims themselves and instead of viewing the issues
from an impartial and non-biased standpoint, they let their own prejudice alter the data. On the
other hand threats to external validity may occur during the data collection process where the
researchers are searching from which part of society should a data be collected. When using the
non-probability method of sampling, the group which is being sampled has been chosen from the
milieu of the researcher (it may include peers and families). Therefore is does not represent the real
view of the population and this will drastically impact the results of the study being conducted.

After the data has been collected, the next step is to analyse it and try to find correlations,
regressions or any kind of fluctuations or link to the subject area while taking into account
dependent and independent variables. An example of dependent variable is location and other
socio-demographic elements. According to the social disorganisation theories of prominent figures
like Edwin Sutherland, taking samples from 'hotspot' areas where most of the people residing there
are low-income earners and where there is significantly less agents of social control,
crime/victimisation rates would be higher in comparison to urban areas with more capable
guardians/witnesses. Issues like this cannot always be prevented this is why it is important to
highlight that every studies or researches have limitations. Moreover, the study/research does not
end at this stage as more test should be carried out over time to test the reliability of the theory. The
theory should first be tested with the same variables to ensure that it still provides the same result
as before. The test of reliability also includes testing it on different groups of people, try parallel
forms which in a more simplistic lexis means to create other versions of a test which should provide
similar results and finally the internal consistency.

Finally the last step is to delineate the result of the research in a suitable format and to state
the extent to which the data collected has bolstered the hypothesis and account for the errors
where the data has refuted the hypothesis.  To conclude, if I had the opportunity and resources to
carry out a research in this field, I would choose the issue raised by Inna Levy and Sarah Ben-David
which is the blaming culture surrounding victimisation with a focus on sexual-victimisation since it is
still a concerning issue that even nowadays, despite the tremendous development in laws and
human rights, still creates a lot of controversies