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The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice - International Student Edition
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The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice - International Student Edition

Seventh Edition


May 2019 | 616 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

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.

 

The book is supported by SAGE Edge online resources for instructors and students, including test bank, videos, sample course syllabi, eflashcards, quizzes, access to SAGE journal articles and much more.

 
SECTION I: FOUNDATIONS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
 
Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Research Related to Crime, Criminology, and Social Control
Reasoning About the Social World

 
The Social Science Approach

 
Criminal Justice and Criminological Research in Practice

 
Alternative Research Orientations

 
More on the Role of Values in Research

 
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

 
Highlighting a Few Specific Types of Research Methods

 
Strengths and Limitations of Social Research

 
A Comment on Research in a Diverse Society

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Research Related to Crime and Criminology
Identifying a Research Question

 
Social Research Foundations

 
The Role of Theory

 
Social Research Strategies

 
Social Research Standards

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 3: Ethical Guidelines for Research
Historical Background

 
Ethical Principles

 
Institutional Review Board

 
Research Involving Special Populations: Prisoners and Children

 
Conclusion

 
 
SECTION II: FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH
 
Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement
Concepts

 
Variables and Levels of Measurement

 
Did We Measure What We Wanted to Measure?

 
A Comment on Measurement in a Diverse Society

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 5: Sampling
Sample Planning

 
Sampling Methods

 
Sampling Distributions

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 6: Causation and Research Design
Causal Explanations

 
Criteria and Cautions for Nomothetic Causal Explanations

 
Research Designs and Causality

 
Units of Analysis and Errors in Causal Reasoning

 
Conclusion

 
 
SECTION III: RESEARCH DESIGNS
 
Chapter 7: Experimental Designs
History of Experiments

 
True Experiments

 
Quasi-Experiments

 
Validity in Experiments

 
Factorial Survey Design

 
Ethical Issues in Experimental Research

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 8: Survey Research
Survey Research in the Social Sciences

 
Designing Questionnaires

 
Writing Survey Questions

 
Organization of the Questionnaire

 
The Cover Letter

 
Survey Designs

 
Errors in Survey Research

 
Ethical Issues in Survey Research

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, and Listening
Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods

 
Participant Observation

 
Systematic Observation

 
Intensive Interviewing

 
Focus Groups

 
Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 10: Analyzing Content: Research Using Secondary, Historical, and Comparative Data, and Content Analysis
Analyzing Secondary Data

 
Historical and Comparative Methods

 
Comparative Research

 
Content Analysis

 
Methodological Issues When Using Secondary Data

 
Ethical Issues When Analyzing Available Data and Content

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 11: Social Network Analysis, Crime Mapping, and Big Data
Social Network Analysis

 
Crime Mapping

 
Big Data

 
Ethical Issues When Using Big Data

 
Ethical Issues When Using Big Data

 
 
Chapter 12: Evaluation and Policy Analysis
A Brief History of Evaluation Research

 
Evaluation Basics

 
Questions for Evaluation Research

 
Design Decisions

 
Evaluation in Action

 
Quasi-Experimental Designs in Evaluation Research

 
Nonexperimental Designs

 
Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

 
Policy Research: Increasing Demand for Evidence-Based Policy

 
Basic Science or Applied Research

 
Ethics in Evaluation

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 13: Mixing and Comparing Methods
What Are Mixed Methods?

 
Strengths and Limitations of Mixed Methods

 
Comparing Results Across Studies

 
Ethics and Mixed Methods

 
Conclusion

 
 
SECTION IV: AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED
 
Chapter 14: Analyzing Quantitative Data
Introducing Statistics

 
Preparing Data for Analysis

 
Displaying Univariate Distributions

 
Summarizing Univariate Distributions

 
Cross-Tabulating Variables

 
Regression and Correlation

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 15: Analyzing Qualitative Data
Features of Qualitative Data Analysis

 
Qualitative Compared With Quantitave Data Analysis

 
Techniques of Qualitative Data Analysis

 
Alternatives in Qualitative Data Analysis

 
Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis

 
Ethics in Qualitative Data Analysis

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 16: Summarizing and Reporting Research
Research Report Goals

 
Writing Is Not Easy!

 
Research Report Types

 
Displaying Research

 
Special Considerations for Reporting Qualitative or Mixed-Methods Research

 
Ethics, Politics, and Reporting Research

 
Plagiarism

 
Conclusion

 
 
Appendix A: Questions to Ask About a Research Article
 
Appendix B: How to Read a Research Article
 
Appendix C: How to Use a Statistical Package: IBM SPSS Statistics
 
Appendix D: How to Use a Data Spreadsheet: Excel
 
Appendix E: Data Sets

Supplements

Click for online resources

For instructors

  • Test banks that provide a diverse range of ready-to-use options that save you time. You can also easily edit any question and/or insert your own personalized questions;
  • multimedia content featuring original videos that meet the learning needs of today’s media-savvy students and bring concepts to life;
  • sample course syllabi for semester and quarter courses that provide suggested models for structuring your courses;
  • editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides that offer complete flexibility for creating a multimedia presentation for your course;
  • exclusive access to full-text, influential SAGE journal articles, which have been carefully selected to tie important research and scholarship to chapter concepts; and
  • lecture notes that summarize key concepts by chapter to help you prepare for lectures and class discussions.

For students:

  • eFlashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts;
  • eQuizzes that allow students to practice and assess how much they’ve learned and where they need to focus their attention;
  • chapter summaries with learning objectives that reinforce the most important material;
  • chapter-specific study questions that allow students to engage with the material;
  • exclusive access to influential SAGE journal and reference content that ties important research and scholarship to chapter concepts to strengthen learning; and
  • exercises and meaningful Web links that facilitate student use of Internet resources, further exploration of topics, and responses to critical thinking questions.

For instructors

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ISBN: 9781544371870
£152.00