Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Chapter 4
Classifying Research
Why Classify Research?
• Research is often classified into categories.
– To enhance our ability to access the literature
efficiently.
– To enable researchers to evaluate research.
– To understand the limitations of a research
project.
– There are six commonly used schemes for
classifying research.
Why Classify Research?
• Researchers should avoid discounting research
based solely on its classification.
• All classifications of research contribute to our
understanding of social phenomena.
• No single classification of research is ‘better’
than another.
• Instead the quality of research should be
based on how well the researcher adhered to
generally accepted research methods.
Paradigms of Research
• A paradigm is a general organizing framework
for social theory and empirical research.
• A lens through which a person views social
phenomena.
• A paradigm reflects a researcher’s
assumptions about reality.
• There are three commonly used paradigms of
research.
Paradigms of Research
• Positivist social science inquiry relies on empirical
observations and may attempt to establish a
causal relationship between variables.
• Interpretive social science inquiry attempts to
measure human behavior by developing an
understanding of its meaning.
• Critical social science inquiry is based on the
assumption that research is not value free and
that every researcher brings his or her own
particular biases into the research process.
The Purpose of Research
• Research may be classified in terms of its
purpose.
• Every research project has a primary purpose.
• Most research projects have multiple
purposes.
• There are three common purposes of
research.
The Purpose of Research
• Exploratory research attempts to learn
something about a new or emerging social
phenomenon.
• Descriptive research attempts to describe
social behavior or phenomena.
• Explanatory research attempts to explain why
individuals or groups behave the way they do.
The Time Dimension of Research
• Research can be classified in terms of its time
dimension.
• The time dimension of research refers to the
span of time during which the data were
collected.
• There are two commonly used time
dimensions of research.
The Time Dimension of Research
• Cross-sectional research uses data collected at a
single point in time.
• Longitudinal research uses data collected over an
extended time frame.
– Trend studies collect the same data at different times
from different samples of the same population.
– Panel studies collect the dame data at different times
from the same sample.
– Cohort studies collect data from groups of individuals
that share a common characteristic or experience.
The Nature of Data
• Research may be classified by the nature of
the data it uses.
• The nature of the data is defined by how the
concepts are measured.
• There are two common ways that researchers
measure concepts.
The Nature of Data
• Quantitative research measures variables
numerically. It assumes that the social world can
be understood objectively and measured
accordingly.
• Qualitative research examines variables in a
natural social setting and probes the qualitative
meaning of these variables. It assumes that the
social world is best understood subjectively, or
from the perspective of research subjects.
Method of Reasoning
• Research may be classified by the method of
reasoning used by the researcher.
• The method of reasoning is determined by
where the researcher begins the inquiry.
• There are two commonly used methods of
reasoning.
Method of Reasoning
• Deduction or deductive reasoning begins with
a theory and collects data (makes
observations) that either supports or falsifies
the theory.
• Induction or inductive reasoning begins with
data (or observations) and then seeks to
develop a theory that explains that behavior.
Unit of Analysis
• Research may be classified by its unit of
analysis.
• The unit of analysis is determined by the
‘what’ or ‘whom’ from which a researcher
collects data.
• A unit of analysis can be an individual, a
group, an organization or even an entire
nation.
Logical Errors
• An understanding of a research project’s unit
of analysis enables a researcher to identify
potential logical errors.
– An ecological fallacy occurs when a researcher
predicts individual behavior based solely on
observations gathered from a group of similar
individuals.
– Reductionism occurs when a researcher predicts
group behavior based solely on an observation of
an individual from that group.
Getting to the Point
• Research is often organized by different
classification methods in order to help
researchers access it more efficiently and
evaluate its strengths and limitations.
Getting to the Point
• Researchers often approach research
questions from a particular paradigm or
perception of social reality.
• These perceptions affect how the researcher
conducts the research and, in many cases, the
outcome of the research findings.
• The positivist, interpretive and critical
paradigms all contribute to our understanding
of social phenomena.
Getting to the Point
• Research is often conducted for a specific
purpose.
– Exploratory research provides initial insight into new
or emerging social phenomena or behavior.
– Descriptive research describes existing social
phenomena or behavior.
– Explanatory research explains why individuals or
groups behave the way they do.
• It is not uncommon for a single research project
to serve more than one purpose.
Getting to the Point
• Cross-sectional research involves data
collection at one point in time.
• The findings from this research cannot be
used to draw conclusions about change over
time.
• But they can provide a snapshot of a social
condition or population at that point in time.
Getting to the Point
• Longitudinal research utilizes data that are
collected over a period of time.
• The findings from this research indicate how a
social condition or particular population
changes over time.
Getting to the Point
• Quantitative research measures variables
numerically and assumes that the social world
can be understood objectively.
• Qualitative research probes the meaning of
variables and assumes that the social world is
best understood subjectively, often from the
perspective of the research subject.
Getting to the Point
• Deductive reasoning begins with a theory that
explains social behavior and uses observations
to test the theory.
• Inductive reasoning begins with observations
of social behavior and uses those observations
to develop a theory that explains the behavior.
Getting to the Point
• The unit of analysis is the ‘what’ or ‘whom’
about which researchers gather information
during a research project.
• A unit of analysis can be an individual, a
group, a community, a state or even an entire
nation.
Getting to the Point
• An ecological fallacy occurs when a researcher
makes a prediction about how an individual
might behave based on data collected at the
group level of analysis.
• Reductionism occurs when a researcher
makes a prediction about how a group might
behave based on data collected at the
individual level of analysis.
Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Chapter 4
Classifying Research