QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN CRIMINOLOGY

Research Proposal: Quantitative Methods In Criminology

Abstract

Since its beginning as an area of scientific inquiry, criminal justice and criminology investigators and researchers have employed quantitative data to explain and describe social responses to criminal behavior and criminal behavior itself. While other kinds of data have also been employed to play significant role in the research, the quantitative data analysis has got an significant part in the expansion of awareness about crime.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The study of crime has a longstanding and rich history. In its earliest days, criminology was thought to encompass any study that pertained to the problem of crime. This simple description was born out of a fundamental desire to know more about deviant behavior, those actions that violated social norms and mores. Today, criminology is an advanced theoretical field of study pertaining to crime, criminal events, the actors — offenders, victims, and those who respond to crime - the etiology of crime, legal foundations and parameters, and societal reactions to crime. However, the definition, while accurate, is somewhat misleading and seemingly uncomplicated. Reality tells us another story. Criminology is not simply a science left to criminologists. There are a number of related disciplines, with varied interests and perspectives, associated with this particular social science. Criminology is firmly rooted in sociology, but is also studied by anthropologists, biologists, psychologists, economists, political scientists, and legal scholars, among others. Criminology has been described by Eugene McLaughlin, John Muncie, and Gordon Hughes in their edited volume Criminological Perspectives (2003) as “a 'site' of contested meaning where competing theoretical perspectives meet.” Owing to the diverse nature of those involved in the study of crime, the literature is often rich with discussion, debate, and interpretation. (Wootton 2009)

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Modern criminology is faced with multiple areas of focus, thus making it a truly multidisciplinary field of study. The particular focus of criminology is dependent on the perspective taken. Generally speaking, criminology: analyzes describes and the nature, extent, and sharing of the a variety of offenders, victims, and crime; examines reasons of crime with the plan of forwarding hypothetical constructs; evaluates communal reactions to crime; studies the processes of justice, including punishment, police, and adjudication; studies formulation of criminal law; and assesses policy initiatives and responses;. Given the large undertaking, the great task of all criminology, according to John Tierney in his book Criminology: Theory and Context (1996), regardless of which underlying perspective is utilized, is to “unravel, or deconstruct, the concept of crime.”

The study of crime could be said to have originated with theologians, who equated criminal behavior with sin, demonic influences, or witchcraft. Transgressions were investigated and found to have causes firmly rooted in the dark workings of the netherworld. Clergy were the obvious choice to turn to for intervention, becoming responsible for purging society from evil doings (that is crime) by way of very harsh methods, such as exorcisms and trials by fire. After this period of religious influence, came two important ages that formed today's criminology: the the ...