Foundations

of Criminal
Justice
Research
PROFESSOR JILLIAN E. SNIDER

CJBS 250

JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

 Outline of
Chapter
Introduction
Foundations of Social Science
Differing Avenues for Inquiry
Theory 101
The Traditional Model of Science
An Inductive Illustration
Theory, Research, and Public Policy
 Learning Objectives
• Summarize three fundamental features of social science: theory, data collection, and data analysis.
• Describe why social scientists are interested in explaining aggregates, not individuals.
• Understand that social scientists are primarily interested in discovering relationships that connect
variables.
• Understand the difference between idiosyncratic and nomothetic explanations.
• Distinguish between inductive and deductive forms of reasoning.
• Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative approaches to research.
• Recognize that intersubjective agreement, not objectivity, is a fundamental norm of science.
• Describe the traditional image of social science theory.
• Understand how scientific inquiry alternates between induction and deduction.
• Describe how observations contribute to theory development in grounded theory.
• Discuss how criminological theories draw on other social sciences, and sometimes on the natural sciences.
• Describe how theory and public policy can be closely linked.
 Introduction
Criminal justice in particular, and human behavior in
general, can be studied scientifically

The evolution of social science has brought a greater

emphasis on systematic explanation and a reduced
emphasis on description

Human behavior can be subjected to scientific study

 Studying crime and criminal justice concentrates on
particular types of human behavior

Criminal justice research often examines questions that

cannot easily be reduced to scientific measures
 Foundations of Social Science
The two pillars of science are:
1. Logic or rationality
2. Observation
 The three key aspects of science are:
1. Theory: deals with the logical aspect of science; logically explains
connections between concepts
2. Data collection: deals with the observational aspect of science;
making measurements
3. Data analysis: deals with identifying patterns in what we observe
 Social Science Theory

The purpose of theory Theory can assist us Theory cannot settle

is to explain the in knowing “what is” debates on value or
observable world and “why” worth
 Social Things like
science aims values,
to find norms, and
patterns of laws create
Regularities regularity in
social life
regularity
within society
and It is the job of
Exceptions scientists to
monitor and
Social regularities
represent
probabilistic
explain why patterns
things are • A general pattern
regular and why does not have to be
reflected in 100% of
regularities the observable cases
change to be a pattern
 Aggregates, Not
Individuals
Social scientists study social patterns, not
individual ones
Aggregates are groups of units and are
more often the subject of social science
research
Distinguishes the activities of criminal
justice researchers from the daily routines
of most criminal justice practitioners
 Variables and Attributes
Social scientists study variables and the
attributes that compose them
Attributes: characteristics or qualities
Male
that describe some object Gender
Variables: logical groupings of attributes Female
Example: the variable “gender” includes
the attributes of “female” and “male”
 Variables and
Relationships
Theories describe relationships that might logically be
expected among variables
 This expectation often involves the notion of causation
A person’s attributes on one variable are expected to
cause or encourage a particular attribute on another
variable
Causation is the focus of explanatory research
Important: Correlation does not imply causation; just
because two things are correlated does not necessarily
mean that one causes the other
 Dependent vs. Independent
Variable
Dependent variable (DV): is of primary interest
to the researcher; the goal of research is to
understand, predict, or explain the variability of
this variable
 It responds to the independent variable
 It is the presumed effect

Independent variable (IV): influences the DV in

either a positive or negative way; the variance
in the DV is accounted for by the IV
 It is the presumed cause
Differing Avenues for Inquiry
Social science research is conducted in a variety of ways

Idiographic and Inductive and Quantitative and

Nomothetic Deductive Qualitative Data
Explanations Reasoning
 Idiographic and
Nomothetic Explanations
In our everyday explanations, we engage in two distinct forms of
causal reasoning, although we do not ordinarily distinguish them
Idiographic: an approach to explanation in which we seek to
exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition of event
 “Idio” means unique, separate, peculiar, or distinct
 Limited to the case at hand
Nomothetic: an approach to explanation in which we seek to
identify a few causal factors that generally impact a class of
situations or events
 General rather than idiosyncratic
 “Economical” or “Efficient” as it uses fewest explanatory factors
 Inductive and
Deductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning (induction): the logical model
in which general principles are developed from
specific observations
 Uses patterns to arrive at a conclusion (conjecture)

Deductive reasoning (deduction): the logical

model in which specific expectations of
hypotheses are developed based on general
principles
 Uses facts, rules, definitions, or properties to arrive at a
conclusion
Quantitative and Qualitative
Data
QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE

Numerical data Non-numerical data

Data which can be measured Data can be observed by

not measured
Length, height, area, volume,
weight, speed, time, Colors, textures, smells,
temperature, sound levels, tastes, appearance, etc.
cost, members, ages, etc.
Qualitative Quality
Quantitative Quantity
 Theory 101
Theory and observation go together in science, but sometimes theory
precedes observation, and other times observation comes before
theory
Theory: a systematic explanation for the observed facts and laws that
relate to a particular aspect of life; propositions explaining why events
occur in the manner that they do
 Concepts- abstract elements
 Variables- counterpart of concepts, can be observed and take different values
 Statements- theories are comprised of these
Objectivity and Subjectivity
Objectivity: “independent of mind”; not
utilized
 Rather, we use intersubjective agreement
 Intersubjective agreement: norm of science whereby
different researchers studying the same problem arrive at
the same conclusion
 If several of us agree that something exists, we
treat it as objective (agreement reality)

Subjectivity: depends on the experiences

and tastes of the person who is making a
judgment
 Hypotheses
A hypothesis is a specified expectation about
empirical reality, derived from propositions
 It is an educated guess or prediction that can be
tested

For example: If I study, then I will get a good

grade in Professor Snider’s class
 In this example, the independent variable is
studying, and the dependent variable is your
grade in Professor Snider’s class
 Paradigms
A Paradigm is a fundamental
model or scheme that organizes
our view of something; a lens
through which we view a certain
piece of reality in our world
 It is a structured but broader
way of viewing things that affect
how we approach research
problems
 Offers a way of looking
 As opposed to a theory which
aims to explain what we see
 The Traditional Model of Science
The traditional model begins with theory and then uses
deductive reasoning
Three Main elements:
 Theory: scientist begins with an interest in some aspect
of the real world
 Conceptualization: mental process whereby fuzzy and imprecise notions
(concepts) are made more specific and precise
 Operationalization: specification of the steps, procedures,
operations to identify and measure variables
 Observation: look at the world systematically, develop
theoretical expectations and measures
 Observations aimed at finding out are part of what is
typically called hypothesis testing
 Example: Traditional
Model of Science
Concentric Zone Theory was developed in the 1920’s by Burgess
and Park

It sought to explain the socioeconomic division in and out of the

city
 Social structures extend outward from one central business
area
 Population density decreases towards outward zones
 Transitional zone has highest crime rate

The model was based on Chicago’s city layout

It was the first theory to explain the distribution of social groups
 Example: Traditional
Model of Science
Shaw and McKay adapted work of Park and Burgess’ Concentric Zone Theory

Hypothesized that the amount of crime increased as one moved towards the
center of the city

Zone two, the zone of transition, demonstrated the highest rates of crime

Crime in this zone is dependent on high levels of social disorganization,

structural elements such as:
 Poverty
 Rapid population growth
 Illiteracy
 Lack of schooling
 Unemployment
 Illegitimacy
 Transiency
 Example: Traditional
Model of Science
Tested this hypothesis by examining how measures of
crime were distributed in the different zones of the city
 –Mapped (by hand) the addresses of each delinquent
Found rates of crime by area remained similar regardless
of the ethnic group that lived there
Thus, characteristics of the area, not the people, regulated
levels of delinquency
Shaw and McKay’s work illustrates the deductive reasoning
that underlies the traditional image of science
 The Inductive Approach

RESEARCH ALSO REASONS AN INDUCTIVE APPROACH IS GROUNDED THEORY IS A TYPE

INDUCTIVELY TO BUILD OFTEN USED TO DEVELOP OF INDUCTIVE THEORY BASED
THEORY FROM OBSERVATIONS SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORY ON (OR GROUNDED IN) FIELD
OBSERVATION
 Theory, Research
and Public Policy
Theory in criminal justice guides both research and public
policy
Crime is a social problem; research driven by theory is
linked to public policy
Theory structures research, which, in turn, is consulted to
develop policy
Research guides the ways in which the government and
public respond to crime
Policies often take the form of if-then statements, and are
subject to empirical tests
 Moving from Theory to Policy
Development
If you follow the progression of the “Chicago School”
of Criminology, Concentric Zone Theory contributed to
Social
Concentric Zone
Theory Social Disorganization Theory.
Disorganization
Theory

Ecological theories eventually affected the thinking of

Defensible
Space
architects and city planners, laying the foundation for
the blended concepts of urban design and criminal
justice by Newman (Defensible Space)
Ultimately this led to proposed crime prevention
Situational Crime
Prevention Policies
policies that try and reduce the opportunities for crime
 Clarke’s Situational Crime Prevention
 Social science involves three fundamental aspects: (1) theory, (2) data collection, and
(3) data analysis

Summary Social scientists are interested in explaining aggregates, not individuals

Although social scientists observe people, they are primarily interested in discovering
relationships that connect variables

Explanations may be idiographic or nomothetic

Science is the process involving an alternation of deduction and induction

Data may be qualitative or quantitative

Science is mostly a matter of intersubjective agreement

The traditional image of science includes theory, operationalization, and observation

Social scientific theory and research are linked through two logical models: deduction
and induction

In grounded theory, observations contribute to theory development

Theory in criminology and criminal justice is frequently adapted from other disciplines
in the social and less often, natural sciences

Criminal justice theory, research, and policy are linked in two ways: (1) theory
influences basic research, which may suggest new policy developments, and (2)
policies are formulated like hypotheses and may therefore be subject to empirical tests