Controversies in Criminal Justice Research

Richard Tewksbury, University of Louisville
Elizabeth Mustaine, University of Central Florida

This book of original essays presents students with challenging looks at some of the most basic, and sometimes most difficult, decisions faced by criminal justice researchers. Each chapter presents an overview of a foundational question/issue in the conduct of research, and discussions of the options to resolve these controversies.

Buy this

Paperback, 200 Pages

Published: April 2004

Imprint: Anderson Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-58360-547-9

Introductory Chapters
1. Should (Does) Criminal Justice Research Influence Social Policy?
2. The Value of Purely Theoretical Research vs. More "Practical" Research
3. How to Know if a Piece of Research Is Good/Valuable
Quantitative Methods
4. Methodological Yin and Yang: Value of Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Social Science
5. Original vs. Secondary Data Collection: The New Dilemma for Research
6. Does Theory Really Guide Survey Research? Why Is Theory Important in Surveys?
7. Macro and Micro Research Aproaches: Which Makes More Sense?
Qualitative Methods
8. Getting In and Getting On: Entrée Strategies and the Importance of Trust and Rapport in Qualitative Research
9. Interviews as Data Collection Method: But, Which Type Should I Use?
10. Validity of Participant Observational Data/Research
11. Utility of Case Studies

Controversies in Criminal Justice Research

Contents