NCJ Number
67002
Date Published
1979
Length
16 pages
Annotation
THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE IS DISCUSSED THROUGH A SURVEY OF RESEARCH THAT PLACES EMPHASIS ON TECHNIQUES--THE DOCUMENT, QUESTIONNAIRE CASE STUDY, INTERVIEW, EXPERIMENT, AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON.
Abstract
THE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVE IS TO UNCOVER UNIFORMITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG REPETITIVE EVENTS. THE SOCIAL SCIENTIST WANTS TO FIND OUT IF ONE EVENT REGULARLY FOLLOWS ANOTHER. THE ASSUMPTIONS OF UNIFORMITY, CAUSALITY, POSSIBILITY OF CORRECT OBSERVATIONS, AND THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE UNDERLIE SCIENCE BUT ARE NOT REALLY PARTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. THERE IS BROAD AGREEMENT, HOWEVER, THAT THE FOLLOWING ARE ESSENTIAL ASPECTS: METHODS, OBSERVATIONS, GENERALIZATIONS, HYPOTHESES, AND THEORIES. RESEARCH MATERIALS INCLUDE THE WRITTEN DOCUMENT OR ANY WRITTEN MATERIAL THAT GIVES THE SOCIAL SCIENTIST INFORMATION, AND THE SURVEY, WHICH COLLECTS INFORMATION FROM A POPULATION OF INDIVIDUALS BY REQUESTING VERBAL OR WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS OR OTHER STATEMENTS. A THIRD METHOD, THE INTERVIEW SURVEY, MAY CONTAIN STANDARDIZED, UNSTANDARDIZED, FOCUSED, AND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS. AN ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUE, FIELD OBSERVATION, OR THE OBSERVATION OF EVERYDAY LIFE OUTSIDE A LABORATORY SETTING, MAY VARY IN STRUCTURE AS DOES THE INTERVIEW. OTHER TECHNIQUES ENCOMPASS THE EXPERIMENT, WHERE THE SOCIAL SCIENTIST PLACES A CONDITION ON THE EVENTS OBSERVED; THE CASE STUDY, CHARACTERIZED BY THE COMPREHENSION, DEPTH, AND COVERAGE OF THE INFORMATION IT PROVIDES; AND THE CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY, IN WHICH INFORMATION IS ACQUIRED IN AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT SOCIETIES AND THEN COMPARED. THESE TECHNIQUES HAVE VARIOUS BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES. THE DOCUMENT, QUESTIONNAIRE, AND INTERVIEW CAN PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED INFORMATION, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT THE RELIABILITY OF THE SOURCE AND INTERPRETATION PROBLEMS CAN INTERFERE WITH THE VALUE OF THE DATA FOR SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS. LIKEWISE, THE RESEARCHER'S VALUES, BELIEFS, AND CONCEPTUAL SCHEMES OFTEN AFFECT FIELD OBSERVATION. DATA COLLECTED THROUGH THESE METHODS CAN BE ANALYZED USING A VARIETY OF STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES INCLUDING VARIABLES, FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS, AND MEASURES OF CONTROL TENDENCY AND VARIATION. STATISTICAL TABLES USUALLY ARE DEVELOPED DURING THESE PROCESSES TO MAKE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EVENTS VISIBLE. AN ANALYSIS OF DATA ON RAPE FOR WICHITA, KANS., IS USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE STEPS TOWARDS DISCREDITING POPULAR MYTHS ON RAPE, AND DETAILS ON THE ABOVE-MENTIONED RESEARCH TECHNIQUES AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES ARE PROVIDED. TABULAR DATA, REFERENCES AND TEST QUESTIONS ARE INCLUDED. (AOP)