New Criminologist's Access to Research Support - Open Arms or Closed Doors? (From Rethinking Criminology, P 19-31, 1982, Harold E Pepinsky, ed. - See NCJ-86843)

• NCJ Number: 86844
• Author(s): D R Longmire
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Earlier version presented at the 33rd Annual Meetings of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, D C, November 1981

Annotation

The great majority of criminological researchers surveyed did not report discrimination in research funding or data access, but there was some indication of funding and access barriers in the areas of systems evaluations and political and economic analysis of the system.

Abstract

There have been suggestions that research funding sources and those controlling access to research data withhold support from researchers focusing on controversial areas or espousing radical viewpoints. To test the accuracy of this perception, 211 names of criminological researchers were selected from the 2,112 names listed in the 1978-79 Membership Directory of the American Society of Criminology. The relevant section of the questionnaire asked respondents whether they had, in their opinion, ever been denied funding or access to data 'because the nature of their research was 'radically' different from the mainstream perspectives.' Those who responded affirmatively were asked to describe the nature of the proposed research and the funding or data source involved. A total of 142 completed, usable questionnaires were returned (67 percent return). Twenty-one percent reported that they were not funded because of the nature of their research, and 26 percent felt that the radical nature of their research influenced their not being given access to necessary data sources. Subjects experiencing discrimination in the order of frequency were (1) evaluations of specific components of the criminal or juvenile justice system, (2) studies examining the political or economic structure as an independent variable and some component of the criminal justice system or crime as the dependent variable, (3) studies involving research subjects perceived by the researcher as 'radically deviant' from the more traditionally funded research, (4) research examining the biochemical makeup of criminals or victims, and (5) research involving the use of drug-related treatment experiments. Tabular data and 30 references are provided.