Criminal Justice Research And Practice

Each semester, thousands of students choose introductory courses in criminology, criminal justice, and sociology. Many are motivated to do so by a strong desire to help others and to make a positive contribution to society. But turning these feelings into postgraduate careers remains a challenge. Some students choose law school, while others become police officers, but there are many other options. This book offers guidance to students interested in working in the broad field of criminal justice, but who are unclear as to what direction to take. Further, it posits that understanding differences between people—race/ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual orientation—is a critical component of any fulfilling career in criminal justice. Essays by leading scholars, practitioners, and advocates delineate the latest feminist and methodological approaches in criminological research and offer a hands-on look at how lawyers, public sociologists, academics, and federal researchers grapple with issues of race, class, and gender in their work. This book exposes students to a greater understanding of the range of career opportunities available in criminal justice and criminology: as researchers, professionals, activists, teachers, and practitioners. Examining diversity across these three dimensions, this anthology will become a standard text for introductory criminal justice, criminology, and sociology courses, as well as an invaluable guide for students and ordinary people interested in a career in the criminal justice field.

We live in an era of mass mobility where governments remain committed to closing borders, engaging with securitisation discourses and restrictive immigration policies, which in turn nurture xenophobia and racism. It is within this wider context of social and political unrest that the contributors of this collection reflect on their experiences of conducting criminological research. This collection focuses on the challenges of doing research on the intersections between criminal justice and immigration control, choosing and changing methodologies while juggling the disciplinary and interdisciplinary requirements of the work’s audience. From research design, to fieldwork to writing-up, this book captures every part of the research process, drawing on a range of topics such as migration control, immigrant detention and border policing. It also reflects on more neglected areas such as the interpersonal and institutional contexts of research and the ontological and epistemological assumptions embedded within data analysis methods. It makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the major developments in current research in this field, how and why they occur and with what consequences. This book seeks to shake off the phantom of undisturbed research settings by bringing to the fore the researchers' involvement in the research process and its products. An interdisciplinary collection, it can be used as a reference not just for those interested in the criminology of mobility but also as a learning tool for anyone conducting research on a highly charged topic in contemporary policy and politics.

The study of research methodologies can be daunting to many students due to complex terminology, mathematical formulas, and lack of practical examples. Now in its second edition, Criminal Justice Research Methods: Theory and Practice offers a straightforward, easy-to-understand text that clarifies this complex subject matter, keeping perplexing research language and associated complexities to a minimum and ensuring that students get a practical grasp of this essential topic. The authors discuss scientific inquiry, establishing a framework for thinking about and understanding the nature of research. They examine various types of research methods in the broad categories of quantitative, qualitative, and evaluation designs and provide coverage of analytical and experimental research designs. The book also examines survey methods, survey instruments, and questionnaires, including wording, organization, and pretesting. It describes the fundamental characteristics of the qualitative approach, setting the stage for an in-depth discussion of the participant observation and case study methods of research. Other topics include ethical standards of conduct, topic selection, literature review, and guidelines for writing a research report or grand proposal. The second edition features updated examples, reworked exercises, additional discussion points, and new research-in-action sections. Defining a clear approach to the study of research, the book enables student experiencing their initial exposure to this subject to be fundamentally prepared to be proficient researchers in criminal justice and criminology.

The Criminal Justice System: Theory, Research, and Practice exposes students to the whole gamut of the business of administering justice in society. This book intends to serve as a comprehensive introduction to criminal justice. The objective is simply to provide an awareness of the issues of crime and justice without overwhelming a novice learner. To accomplish these tasks, the book acts as a survey of a typical criminal justice curriculum to give the readers exposure to the variety of courses that they might encounter throughout their academic careers. The new second edition features: Newly written Chapters 10, 11, and 12. A comprehension check at the end of each chapter, or a set of questions that can be used to examine understanding of the important concepts within the chapter. Several Career Highlights boxes throughout the book to provide more information about various career opportunities in criminal justice and criminology. Added ancillary materials for instructors to aid in using this book to teach introductory courses in criminal justice, which are available online.

Statistics for Criminal Justice and Criminology in Practice and Research—by Jack Fitzgerald and Jerry Fitzgerald—is an engaging and comprehensive introduction to the study of basic statistics for students pursuing careers as practitioners or researchers in both Criminal Justice and Criminology programs. This student-friendly text shows how to calculate a variety of descriptive and inferential statistics, recognize which statistics are appropriate for particular data analysis situations, and perform hypothesis tests using inferential statistics. But it is much more than a "cook book." It encourages readers to think critically about the strengths and limitations of the statistics they are calculating, as well as how they may be misapplied and misleading. Examples of statistics and statistical analyses are drawn from the worlds of the practitioner as well as the policymaker and researcher. Students will also gain a clear understanding of major ethical issues in conducting statistical analyses and reporting results, as well as insight into the realities of the life of researchers and practitioners as they use statistics and statistical analyses in their day-to-day activities.

The authors are proud sponsors of the 2020 SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award—enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop. "Very practical approach to teaching research methods and very student friendly. This text "breathes life" into the research process. —Sherill Morris-Francis, Mississippi Valley State University The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Seventh Edition demonstrates the vital role research plays in criminology and criminal justice by integrating in-depth, real-world case studies with a comprehensive discussion of research methods. By pairing research techniques with practical examples from the field, Ronet D. Bachman and Russell K. Schutt equip students to critically evaluate and confidently conduct research. The Seventh Edition of this best-selling text retains the strengths of previous editions while breaking ground with emergent research methods, enhanced tools for learning in the text and online, and contemporary, fascinating research findings. This edition incorporates new topics like intelligence-led policing, social network analysis (SNA), the evolution of cybercrime, and more. Students engage with the wide realm of research methods available to them, delve deeper into topics relevant to their field of study, and benefit from the wide variety of new exercises to help them practice as they learn. Give your students the SAGE edge! SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of free tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration, keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching and learning.

The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Sixth Edition continues to demonstrate the vital role research plays by integrating in-depth, real-world case studies with a comprehensive discussion of research methods. By pairing research techniques with practical examples from the field, Ronet D. Bachman and Russell K. Schutt equip students to evaluate and conduct research. Covering research findings from critical areas in criminal justice, such as police use of force, cybercrime, and race, this text helps students understand the importance of research, not just the process. The Sixth Edition of this best-selling text retains the strengths of previous editions while breaking ground with emergent research methods, enhanced tools for learning in the text and online, and contemporary, fascinating research findings. Students engage with the wide realm of new research methods available to them, delve deeper into topics relevant to their field of study, and benefit from the wide variety of new exercises to help them practice as they learn.

Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Fourth Edition introduces students to the multifaceted subject of research methods and shows them why research is important in the field of criminology and criminal justice. This brief version of Ronet Bachman and Russell K. Schutt’s successful textbook (The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice) simplifies complex concepts with real-world research examples found in everyday experiences in the criminology and criminal justice professions. The thoroughly updated Fourth Edition of this bestseller reflects the most recent developments in research methods, including the use of big data, increased coverage of crime mapping, evidence-based and web-based research, along with the most current research examples impacting the field. This is an excellent introductory text for undergraduate research courses, and is ideal for students who want to understand how and why criminal justice research is done to become critical consumers of research.