Research Methods For Rural Criminologists

Conducting rural criminological research exposes researchers to concerns such as absence or inadequate official data about crime and superficial rural-urban comparisons, rural isolation and distance from the researchers’ office to the study site, and lack of services or access to justice. This distinct cultural context means that studying rural crime requires creatively adapting existing research methods. Conducting research about or in rural settings requires unique researcher preparation, as everything from defining the space at the conception of a project to collecting and analyzing data differs from urban research. This book explores the various issues, challenges, and solutions for rural researchers in criminology. Integrating state of the art methodological approaches with practical illustrations, this book serves as an internationally comprehensive compendium of methods for students, scholars, and practitioners. While contributing to the growing field of rural criminology, it will also be of interest to those engaged with the related areas of rural health care, rural social work, and rural poverty.

Rural crime is a fast growing area of interest among scholars in criminology. From studies of agricultural crime in Australia, to violence against women in Appalachia America, to poaching in Uganda, to land theft in Brazil -- the criminology community has come to recognize that crime manifests itself in rural localities in ways that both conform to and challenge conventional theory and research. For the first time, Rural Criminology brings together contemporary research and conceptual considerations to synthesize rural crime studies from a critical perspective. This book dispels four rural crime myths, challenging conventional criminological theories about crime in general. It also examines both the historical development of rural crime scholarship, recent research and conceptual developments. The third chapter recreates the critical in the rural criminology literature through discussions of three important topics: community characteristics and rural crime, drug use, production and trafficking in the rural context, and agricultural crime. Never before has rural crime been examined comprehensively, using any kind of theoretical approach, whether critical or otherwise. Rural Criminology does both, pulling together in one short volume the diverse array of empirical research under the theoretical umbrella of a critical perspective. This book will be of interest to those studying or researching in the fields of rural crime, critical criminology and sociology.

Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice is a core text for criminology and criminal justice research methods courses. It strives to offer a general foundation of knowledge that transcends particular topics or subject areas, allowing students to apply research methods and concepts to a multitude of scenarios. Although learning research methods takes effort, this text has been designed to be user-friendly, even when dealing with some fairly complex theoretical and methodological concepts. The most critical points are clearly stated and illustrated with examples from real research chosen to be interesting in their own right. Even though it has been written primarily for criminology and criminal justice majors, there is an underlying recognition that the social and behavioral sciences share essentially all of the same research methods in attempting to better understand social phenomena. Consequently, the text begins by introducing students to each of the social and behavioral sciences, as well as to related disciplines, such as psychiatry, history, and education.

The Encyclopedia of RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE The most comprehensive reference work on research designs and methods in criminology and criminal justice This Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a comprehensive survey of research methodologies and statistical techniques that are popular in criminology and criminal justice systems across the globe. With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, it offers a clear insight into the techniques that are currently in use to answer the pressing questions in criminology and criminal justice. The Encyclopedia contains essential information from a diverse pool of authors about research designs grounded in both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It includes information on popular datasets and leading resources of government statistics. In addition, the contributors cover a wide range of topics such as: the most current research on the link between guns and crime, rational choice theory, and the use of technology like geospatial mapping as a crime reduction tool. This invaluable reference work: Offers a comprehensive survey of international research designs, methods, and statistical techniques Includes contributions from leading figures in the field Contains data on criminology and criminal justice from Cambridge to Chicago Presents information on capital punishment, domestic violence, crime science, and much more Helps us to better understand, explain, and prevent crime Written for undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers, The Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice is the first reference work of its kind to offer a comprehensive review of this important topic.

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Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology is a core text for criminology and criminal justice research methods courses. It strives to offer a general foundation of knowledge that transcends particular topics or subject areas, allowing students to apply research methods and concepts to a multitude of scenarios. Even though the textbook has been written primarily for criminal justice and criminology majors, there is an underlying recognition that research methods and findings are common among all of the social sciences. This text has been designed to be user-friendly, even when dealing with some fairly complex statistical and theoretical concepts. The most critical points are clearly stated and illustrated with examples chosen to be interesting in their own right.

Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology 3e is about how to do research and investigate various types of research questions that arise in criminology and criminal justice. A complete discussion of research ethics-including ethical issues relating to the Nuremberg Code, research sponsorship, rights of human subjects and deception -- helps readers understand their ethical responsibilities as researchers. This book explores the entire criminal justices and criminology research process from beginning to end including: sampling procedures; data collection techniques; measurement, validity and reliability issues; the role of ethics in the research process; and writing and documenting research papers. Presents a practical guide for conducting research in criminal justice and criminology careers.