The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Research Methods

Conducting research into crime and criminal justice carries unique challenges. This Handbook focuses on the application of ′methods′ to address the core substantive questions that currently motivate contemporary criminological research. It maps a canon of methods that are more elaborated than in most other fields of social science, and the intellectual terrain of research problems with which criminologists are routinely confronted. Drawing on exemplary studies, chapters in each section illustrate the techniques (qualitative and quantitative) that are commonly applied in empirical studies, as well as the logic of criminological enquiry. Organized into five sections, each prefaced by an editorial introduction, the Handbook covers: • Crime and Criminals • Contextualizing Crimes in Space and Time: Networks, Communities and Culture • Perceptual Dimensions of Crime • Criminal Justice Systems: Organizations and Institutions • Preventing Crime and Improving Justice Edited by leaders in the field of criminological research, and with contributions from internationally renowned experts, The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Research Methods is set to become the definitive resource for postgraduates, researchers and academics in criminology, criminal justice, policing, law, and sociology. David Gadd is Professor of Criminology at Manchester University School of Law where he is also Director of the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice. Susanne Karstedt has a Chair in Criminology and Criminological Justice at the University of Leeds. Steven F. Messner is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York.

Table of Contents:
Editorial Introduction - David Gadd, Susanne Karstedt, Steven F. Messner PART ONE: CRIME AND CRIMINALS Life Histories and Autobiographies as Ethnographic Data - Neal Shover Self-Report Surveys within Longitudinal Panel Designs - Marvin D Krohn, Terence P Thornberry, Kristin A Bell, Alan J Lizotte, Matthew D Phillips In-depth Interviewing and Psychosocial Case Study Analysis - David Gadd Grounding the Analysis of Gender and Crime: Accomplishing and Interpreting Qualitative Interview Research - Jody Miller Neurocriminological Approaches - Yu Gao, Andrea L Glenn, Melissa Peskin, Anna Rudo-Hutt, Robert A Schug, Yaling Yang, Adrian Raine Gun Prevalence, Homicide Rates and Causality: A GMM Approach to Endogeneity Bias - Tomislav Kovandzic, Mark E Schaffer, Gary Kleck PART TWO: CONTEXTUALIZING CRIME IN SPACE AND TIME: NETWORKS, COMMUNITIES AND CULTURE Multi-level Modeling and Criminological Inquiry - Eric P Baumer amd Ashley N Arnio Examining the Role of the Environment in Crime Causation: Small Area Community Surveys and Space-Time Budgets - Per-Olof H Wikström, Kyle Treiber, Beth Hardie Social Networks and the Ecology of Crime: Using Social Network Data to Understand the Spatial Distribution of Crime - George E Tita and Adam Michael Boessen Using Census Data and Surveys to Study Labor Markets and Crime - Robert D Crutchfield and Suzanna R Ramirez Historical and Archival Research Methods - Barry Godfrey PART THREE: PERCEPTUAL DIMENSIONS OF CRIME Ethnographic Photography in Criminological Research - Cécile Van de Voorde Autoethnography - Jeff Ferrell Interviewing Victims of State Violence - Elizabeth Stanley Questioning Homicide and the Media: Analysis of Content or Content Analysis? - Moira Peelo and Keith Soothill Assessing Crime through International Victimization Surveys - Pat Mayhew and Jan Van Dijk In Search of the Fear of Crime: Using Interdisciplinary Insights to Improve the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Everyday Insecurities - Emily Gray, Jonathan Jackson and Stephen Farrall Measuring Public Attitudes to Criminal Justice - Julian Roberts, Matrina Feilzer, Mike Hough PART FOUR: CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS: ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS Researching Police Culture: A Longitudinal Mixed Method Approach - Janet Chan Quasi-experimental Research on Community Policing - Wesley G Skogan Order in the Court: Using Ethnomethodology to Explore Juvenile Justice Settings - Aaron Kupchik, Joseph De Angelis and Nicole L Bracy Evaluation Research and Probation: How to Distinguish High Performance from Low Performance Programmes - Karin Tusinski Miofsky and James M Byrne Conceptualising and Measuring the Quality of Prison Life - Alison Liebling, Susie Hulley and Ben Crewe Comparing Justice and Crime across Cultures - Susanne Karstedt PART FIVE: PREVENTING CRIME AND IMPROVING JUSTICE Experimental Criminology and Restorative Justice: Principles of Developing and Testing Innovations in Crime Policy - Heather Strang and Lawrence W Sherman Large-Scale Criminological Field Experiments - Manuel Eisner, Tina Malti, Denis Ribeaud Meta-Analysis as a Method of Systematic Reviews - Martin Schmucker and Friedrich Lösel Crime Concentration and Police Work - Ken Pease Assessing the costs of Fraud - Michael Levi The Other Cultural Criminology: The Role of Action Research in Justice Work and Development - Cyndi Banks Feminist Approaches to Criminological Research - Gail Mason and Julie Stubbs Research Ethics in Criminology - Mark Israel and Iain Hay

About the Author :
Steven F. Messner is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Review :
This remarkable collection of essays is criminological methodology like it ought to be. Reflecting the rich, methodological and substantive diversity of the field and the complexity of the criminological subject matter, these essays reveal the stories behind the stories criminologists tell. Essential reading for students and researchers alike Professor Shadd Maruna Queens University, Belfast The Sage Handbook of Criminological Research Methods by David Gadd, Susanne Karstedt and Steven Messner brings together a large group of experienced researchers from across the world to write about a wide range of innovative and important approaches to criminological enquiry. But the handbook is much more than a standard "research methods" book in two significant ways: first, it situates each research methods within its theoretical home. Second, the authors have succeeded in striking the right balance between presenting a necessary textbook approach to using a research method and providing an experienced researcher′s perspective on the ins and outs of actually conducting research. The practical insights provided throughout the book, across a very broad range of criminological inquiry, make for an engaging read Professor Lorraine Mazerolle University of Queensland, Australia Criminology is characterized by a bewildering array of research methods ranging from randomized control experiments to ethnographies. The editors boldly charge into this intellectual thicket and provide some much needed organization and clarity. The 33 substantive chapters, written by some of the most respected criminologists in the field, provide an excellent resource for researchers and will make a welcome addition for both undergraduate and graduate research methods courses Gary LaFree Director, START Center and Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland