Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.
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Transcript of Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.
![Page 1: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Chapter 12Qualitative Research Methods
![Page 2: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Qualitative Research Methods
• In the field of criminal justice, many questions can be answered quantitatively.
• But there are many questions that demand more in-depth and qualitative answers.
• Some of the earliest criminological studies were qualitative.
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Qualitative Research Basics
• Qualitative research is a tradition in scientific inquiry that does not rely principally on numeric data and quantitative measures.
• Instead, it attempts to develop a deeper understanding of human behavior.
• It is more concerned about how and why humans behave as they do, and how and why they interpret the world as they do.
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Types of Qualitative Methods
• Qualitative research methods include three popular methods in criminal justice research.– Case studies, – Ethnography, and – Grounded theory.
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Types of Qualitative Methods
• A case study is a detailed analysis of a single event, group, or person for the purpose of understanding how a particular context gives rise to this event, group, or person.
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Types of Qualitative Methods
• An ethnography is an in-depth study of a culture for the purpose of understanding that culture and its inner workings.
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Types of Qualitative Methods
• In grounded theory research, a researcher uses the inductive reasoning process to develop a theory that explains observed behaviors or processes.
• Grounded theory is more of an approach to qualitative research than a specific method.
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The Benefits of Qualitative Research Methods
• Qualitative methods are effective at;– Providing a nuanced and in-depth picture of a
particular phenomenon,– Understanding how perceptions and meanings
influence human behavior, and/or– Developing a theory for unexplained social
phenomena.
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The Limitations of Qualitative Research Methods
• Qualitative research methods are not effective when;– The researcher wants to generalize the findings of
the research to a larger population, – The research is impractical, and/or– The research process could pose ethical
challenges.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• A Case Study in Qualitative Research (A Study of Crime and Place)– Patricia L. and Paul J. Brantingham, wanted to
know whether the physical environment affected criminal behavior.
– Their study was based on case study and grounded theory research and helped establish a research agenda known as environmental criminology.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• A Case Study in Qualitative Research (A Study of Crime and Place) – cont’d– The Brantinghams made two very important
observations at the beginning of their research. – First, they noticed that most of the attention on
criminal behavior was devoted to explaining individual motivations to commit crime.
– Second, they observed that crime prevention strategies that focused on making changes to physical spaces had a very long tradition.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Asking a Research Question in Qualitative Research– Generally speaking, research questions that get at
subjective meaning, individual perception, and cultural context are best suited for qualitative research.
– Brantingham and Brantingham set out to understand how crime is related to physical space.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Conducting a Literature Review in Qualitative Research– The basic literature review in a qualitative study is
not much different than that required for a quantitative study.
– It is important in either case to review both qualitative and quantitative studies on the subject.
– Indeed, reviewing quantitative research from a qualitative perspective can uncover research opportunities.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Conducting a Literature Review in Qualitative Research – cont’d
• The Brantinghams (1993, p. 5) drew on three areas of research in their literature review:– The complex causes or origins (“etiology”) of crime,– Individual crime patterns and how the physical
environment influences these patterns,– Aggregate crime patterns and how the physical
environment influences these patterns.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Refining the Research Question in Qualitative Research– If the research is intended to produce exploratory
or descriptive information, traditional hypotheses that predict causal relationships are not required.
– Instead, you may want to simply explain what you anticipate finding in the research and/or outline a set of research questions.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Refining the Research Question in Qualitative Research – cont’d– Because the Brantinghams’ approach was more
inductive, they did not formulate initial hypotheses. – Instead, they proposed that a relationship existed
between individual crime patterns, aggregate crime patterns, and the physical environment.
– Their objective was to create a theory that explained this relationship, which subsequent researchers could test through hypothesis-driven research.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Defining Concepts and Creating Measures in Qualitative Research– Qualitative researchers attempt to define concepts
at a deeper and more subjective level. – Brantingham and Brantingham developed
conceptual definitions for;• Crime, • Individual crime patterns, and• Aggregate crime patterns.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research– Case studies require the researcher to do more
than merely report what is happening. We already know what is happening; we want to know why something is happening.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research – cont’d– Ethnographic research attempts to understand
social phenomena within the context or from the perspective of a particular culture or group.
– Ethnographic research is very similar to field research, which relies on observations of people and places in their natural setting.
– Ethnographic researchers move beyond covert observation to become a participant observer.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research – cont’d– Grounded theory research is a methodological
approach whereby the researcher uses qualitative data and inductive reasoning to develop a theory of some human or group behavior.
– It is an inductive technique.– Observations are evaluated, compared and
analyzed to achieve some theoretical explanation of human behavior.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research – cont’d– The Brantinghams’ research has elements of both
case study and grounded theory research. – They draw their data from the published literature
to explore;• why and how people commit crime, • where crime happens, and • whether or not physical spaces affect crime.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research – cont’d– This approach is consistent with grounded theory
in that it all but ignores what we already know about a topic
– It develops theory from the observations. – This approach is a legitimate research method in
situations where researchers do not want to be overly influenced by the previous research on a topic.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative Research– Qualitative data collection requires;• keen observational and interviewing skills, • a great deal of persistence, and • refined notetaking and recording techniques.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative Research – cont’d– In most cases, qualitative researchers analyze
written information rather than numeric data. – Two popular analytic techniques in this regard are • coding, in which the researcher identifies major
themes, and • memoing, in which the researcher reflects on what the
data mean.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative Research – cont’d– Using crime data, the Brantinghams looked to see
if certain areas were more or less susceptible to certain types of crime.
– These data were organized onto crime maps that illustrated community crime patterns.
– These visual representations enabled the researchers to analyze where crime happens and what types of crimes happen where.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative Research – cont’d– Though the researchers do not provide a great
deal of insight into their particular analytical strategies, it is clear that they are using a type of spatial analysis to understand how and where crime takes place.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Interpreting the Results in Qualitative Research– The interpretation of qualitative information
represents the researcher’s informed opinion about what the data mean.
– Another researcher may interpret the same information quite differently.
– The interpretation has to be reasonable and it has to be supported by the data.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Interpreting the Results in Qualitative Research – cont’d– After evaluating the crime maps that they
constructed in the course of their study, the Brantinghams arrived at several conclusions. • An individual’s knowledge of physical spaces influences
their decision on where to commit crimes. • Offenders seem to agree on the best places to commit
crime. • Thus, crime tends to happen in the same place.
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The Qualitative Research Process
• Communicating the Results of Qualitative Research– Rather than rely on charts and graphs to describe
social phenomena, qualitative researchers rely on written narratives and/or storytelling techniques.
– In terms of communicating their major findings, the Brantinghams provide a figure that illustrates the relationship between nodes, pathways and edges to describe where and how crime patterns emerge.
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Getting to the Point
• Qualitative research refers to a broad category of research methods that attempt to produce a more detailed understanding of human behavior, including its meaning and its motivation.
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Getting to the Point
• Some of the more popular qualitative research methods include;– case study research, – ethnographic research, and – grounded theory research.
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Getting to the Point
• A case study is a detailed analysis of a single event, group, or person.
• An ethnography is an in-depth study of a culture.
• Grounded theory is a methodological approach that uses inductive reasoning to develop a theory to explain observed behaviors or processes.
![Page 33: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative research methods are effective when a researcher wants to develop a deeper or more nuanced understanding of a particular phenomenon.
• These methods are effective at determining how perceptions and meanings influence human behavior and for developing theories for previously unexplained social phenomena.
![Page 34: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative research methods are not effective when a researcher wants to generalize findings of the research to a larger or similar population.
• Some qualitative research may not be feasible because of ethical challenges.
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Getting to the Point
• Research questions that require the researcher to probe deeply into social phenomena or to develop new theories for explaining human behavior are best answered using a qualitative research method.
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Getting to the Point
• During the literature review process, qualitative researchers should examine both quantitative and qualitative studies.
• Existing quantitative research could be enhanced by a qualitative look at the phenomenon; existing qualitative research could be enhanced by looking at the phenomenon in a different context.
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Getting to the Point
• Grounded theory is distinguishable from other forms of research because the importance of the literature review is somewhat diminished.
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Getting to the Point
• If the qualitative research is intended to produce exploratory or descriptive information, traditional hypotheses that predict causal relationships between variables are not required.
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Getting to the Point
• The process by which qualitative researchers define concepts is much the same as it is for quantitative researchers, except that qualitative researchers attempt to define concepts at a deeper and more subjective level.
• In terms of measurement, qualitative researchers do not rely on numbers, focusing instead on subjective meanings and experiences.
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Getting to the Point
• Typical case studies focus on cases that are typical or usual.
• Extreme case studies focus on atypical or unusual cases.
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Getting to the Point
• Ethnographic research is very similar to field research, which relies on observations of people and places in their natural setting.
• A major difference is that ethnographic researchers actually live and socialize within the culture they are studying.
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Getting to the Point
• In terms of the actual methods used, grounded theory research is not that different from case study and ethnographic research.
• It involves archival analysis, observations and qualitative interviews.
![Page 43: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative data collection requires;– keen observational and interviewing skills, – a great deal of persistence, and – refined notetaking and recording techniques.
![Page 44: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
Getting to the Point
• In most cases, qualitative researchers analyze written information rather than numeric data.
• Two popular analytic techniques in this regard are;– coding, in which the researcher identifies major
themes, and – memoing, in which the researcher reflects on
what the data mean.
![Page 45: Research Methods in Crime and Justice Chapter 12 Qualitative Research Methods.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022081504/56649c575503460f948fe966/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative researchers can make any number of valid interpretations of their data, so long as the interpretation is reasonable and supported by the evidence.
• But qualitative researchers should be careful not to overreach their findings.
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Getting to the Point
• One of the key advantages of qualitative research is its ability to describe and interpret social phenomena at a level of detail that numeric measures cannot achieve.
• As such, qualitative reports are often longer and more narrative than their quantitative counterparts.
• They tend to ‘tell a story’ about the data.
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Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Chapter 12Qualitative Research Methods