Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology

by Callie Marie Rennison, Timothy Christopher Hart

Overview

Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology connects key concepts to real field research and practices using contemporary examples and recurring case studies throughout the book that demonstrate how concepts relate to students’ lives. Authors Callie M. Rennison and Timothy C. Hart introduce practical research strategies used in criminal justice to show students how a research question can become a policy that changes or influences criminal justice practices. The book’s student-driven approach addresses both the "why" and the "how" as it covers the research process and focuses on the practical application of data collection and analysis. By demonstrating the variety of ways research can be used, and reinforcing the need to discern quality research, the book prepares students to become critical consumers and ethical producers of research. The Second Edition includes two new case studies woven throughout, and new expert profiles to highlight contemporary topics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071815359
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	03/03/2022
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	664
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Callie Marie Rennison is the Director of Equity, and Title IX Coordinator at the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus. In addition, she is a full professor, and former Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver. She earned a Ph D in 1997 in political science from the University of Houston, University Park. Her areas of research interest include investigating the nature, extent, and consequences of violent victimization, with an emphasis on research methodology, quantitative analysis, and measurement. Much of this research focuses on violence against women, violence against minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics, crime data, and victim interaction with the criminal justice system. Callie recently served on a National Academies committee examining domestic sex trafficking of minors in the United States. Her research has appeared in numerous journals, including the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Violence and Victims, and Violence Against Women. Callie has taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, including statistics, research methods, murder in America, crime and the media, and introduction to criminal justice.

Callie was awarded the School of Public Affairs Research and Creative Activities Award in 2013, the Teaching Award in 2011, and the Service Award in 2015. In 2016, she was awarded the American Society of Criminology’s Bonnie S. Fisher Victimology Career Award to recognize significant contributions in the area of Victimology over her lifetime.

Timothy C. Hart is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Tampa. Tim earned his Ph D in criminology and criminal justice from the University of South Florida; and in 1997, he was awarded a Presidential Management Fellowship with the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the US Department of Justice. He has also served as a program analyst for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and as a research analyst for the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office. Tim is also the former Statistical Analysis Centre (SAC) director for the state of Nevada. His areas of interest include survey research, applied statistics, geographic information systems (GIS), and victimization. His scholarship appears in various academic journals, including the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and the British Journal of Criminology. He has also been awarded numerous research grants, including studies funded by the Queensland Police Service, Australian Institute of Criminology, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In 2021, he received the Excellence in Scholarship and Research award from the University of Tampa’s College of Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Education.

Table of Contents

PART I: GETTING STARTED
Chapter 1: Why Study Research Methods?
PART II: SETTING THE STAGE FOR YOUR RESEARCH
Chapter 2: Identifying a Topic, a Purpose, and a Research Question
Chapter 3: Conducting a Literature Review
PART III: DESIGNING YOUR RESEARCH
Chapter 4: Concepts, Conceptualizations, Operationalizations, Measurements, Variables, and Data
Chapter 5: Sampling
PART IV: COLLECTING YOUR DATA
Chapter 6: Research Using Qualitative Data
Chapter 7: Survey Research
Chapter 8: Experimental Research
Chapter 9: Research Using Secondary Data
Chapter 10: GIS and Crime Mapping
Chapter 11: Evaluation Research
PART V: ANALYSIS, FINDINGS, AND WHERE TO GO FROM THERE
Chapter 12: Analysis and Findings
Chapter 13: Making Your Research Relevant
Chapter 14: Research Methods as a Career

Editorial Reviews

This is a great text. It is comprehensive and easy to understand. The illustrations will enable students to learn and remember the information. This is the first research methods text I have read that is actually fun to read.”

Tina L. Freiburger

…This is an informative, reader-friendly, and practice-oriented text designed for lower-level undergraduate students who are new to research methodology. It is loaded with contemporary pedagogies to meet the needs of learners of various backgrounds.”

Qiang Xu

An excellent and well-organized introduction for students to the techniques, strategies, designs, and skills necessary to conduct criminal justice and criminological research for shaping public policy. Students will benefit immensely from the concepts and examples referenced throughout the book by being able to understand how research methods are applied to public safety initiatives. Students will obtain a fresh perspective on the value of the scientific method and how it’s being applied to investigate public safety phenomena. The chapters I reviewed for the Rennison textbook do an amazing and parsimonious job of explaining to both novices and experts that the narrative of crime research is a fundamental component in understanding how crime research has developed historically and how continues to evolve with the growth of technology, software, statistical techniques, big data, and cloud computing power.

Sriram Chintakrindi

A solid book that covers all the key issues that would need to be covered in any introductory research methods course…this book uses a unique approach that will really engage students in a way most other books fail to do”

Kevin M. Beaver

This text is easy to read and understand. The examples given provide all students with the understanding of how these concepts touch their lives each day.

Deborah Laufersweiler-Dwyer

This book makes more use of contemporary research than other criminal justice research methods texts…”

Eileen Ahlin