NCJ Number
178734
Date Published
1999
Length
77 pages
Annotation
The self-report method in crime research is examined with respect to its usefulness; problems related to sampling and response rates; the conceptualization, definition, and operationalization of delinquency; validity problems; the testing of the reliability of self-report scales, and recommended approaches to improvement.
Abstract
Self-report studies have two main goals: to establish prevalence and incidence rates of crime and delinquency of specific populations, with higher validity than that of official measures; and to search for correlates of offending and test crime causes theories. The use of self-reports raises important methodological issues. These include sampling options; participation and response rates; and validity problems related to participant characteristics, criminal involvement, and memory effects. Other central issues include instrument construction, the conceptualization of the dependent variable, the administration of the instrument, and reliability. The self-report method has improved greatly over the past 50 years. Many of its problems and limitations have been addressed. The self-report method does not replace other measures or methods, but it has become a useful tool for measuring criminal involvement and for testing theory. Footnotes and approximately 250 references (Author abstract modified)