NCJ Number
168985
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1997) Pages: 3-23
Date Published
1997
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article proposes that experiential immersion by field researchers in the world of the criminal is an opportunity for partial immersion in the situated logic and emotion that define criminal experience; further, it provides insights into the experiences of crime victims, crime control agents, and others.
Abstract
As formulated by Max Weber (1949, 1978) and developed by later theorists, "verstehen" denotes a process of subjective interpretation on the part of the social researcher, a degree of sympathetic understanding between researcher and subjects of study, whereby the researcher shares, in part, in the situated meanings and experiences of those under scrutiny. This suggests that criminologists must develop a certain intimacy with illegality, a criminological verstehen through which they can begin to feel and understand the situated logic and emotion of crimes. It means that criminologists, as far as possible within the limits of personal responsibility and professional identity, must be there in the criminal moment if they are to apprehend the terrors and pleasures of criminality. Such a methodological orientation is associated with a troubling tangle of ethical contradictions and legal ambiguities. Researchers who pursue a strategy of deep engagement with criminal (or even criminal justice) worlds must be prepared to face numerous personal and professional risks, to confront and acknowledge the human consequences of their research, and to make difficult decisions about personal and professional responsibility. Recent reconsideration of research and researchers' roles, however, emphasize that such difficulties need not disqualify this or other methods from use. 61 references