Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Chapter 12
Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative Research Methods
• In the field of criminal justice, many questions
can be answered quantitatively.
• But there are many questions that demand
more in-depth and qualitative answers.
• Some of the earliest criminological studies
were qualitative.
Qualitative Research Basics
• Qualitative research is a tradition in scientific
inquiry that does not rely principally on
numeric data and quantitative measures.
• Instead, it attempts to develop a deeper
understanding of human behavior.
• It is more concerned about how and why
humans behave as they do, and how and why
they interpret the world as they do.
Types of Qualitative Methods
• Qualitative research methods include three
popular methods in criminal justice research.
– Case studies,
– Ethnography, and
– Grounded theory.
Types of Qualitative Methods
• A case study is a detailed analysis of a single
event, group, or person for the purpose of
understanding how a particular context gives
rise to this event, group, or person.
Types of Qualitative Methods
• An ethnography is an in-depth study of a
culture for the purpose of understanding that
culture and its inner workings.
Types of Qualitative Methods
• In grounded theory research, a researcher
uses the inductive reasoning process to
develop a theory that explains observed
behaviors or processes.
• Grounded theory is more of an approach to
qualitative research than a specific method.
The Benefits of Qualitative Research
Methods
• Qualitative methods are effective at;
– Providing a nuanced and in-depth picture of a
particular phenomenon,
– Understanding how perceptions and meanings
influence human behavior, and/or
– Developing a theory for unexplained social
phenomena.
The Limitations of Qualitative Research
Methods
• Qualitative research methods are not effective
when;
– The researcher wants to generalize the findings of
the research to a larger population,
– The research is impractical, and/or
– The research process could pose ethical
challenges.
The Qualitative Research Process
• A Case Study in Qualitative Research (A Study
of Crime and Place)
– Patricia L. and Paul J. Brantingham, wanted to
know whether the physical environment affected
criminal behavior.
– Their study was based on case study and
grounded theory research and helped establish a
research agenda known as environmental
criminology.
The Qualitative Research Process
• A Case Study in Qualitative Research (A Study
of Crime and Place) – cont’d
– The Brantinghams made two very important
observations at the beginning of their research.
– First, they noticed that most of the attention on
criminal behavior was devoted to explaining
individual motivations to commit crime.
– Second, they observed that crime prevention
strategies that focused on making changes to
physical spaces had a very long tradition.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Asking a Research Question in Qualitative
Research
– Generally speaking, research questions that get at
subjective meaning, individual perception, and
cultural context are best suited for qualitative
research.
– Brantingham and Brantingham set out to
understand how crime is related to physical space.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Conducting a Literature Review in Qualitative
Research
– The basic literature review in a qualitative study is not
much different than that required for a quantitative
study.
– It is important in either case to review both qualitative
and quantitative studies on the subject.
– Indeed, reviewing quantitative research from a
qualitative perspective can uncover research
opportunities.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Conducting a Literature Review in Qualitative
Research – cont’d
• The Brantinghams (1993, p. 5) drew on three
areas of research in their literature review:
– The complex causes or origins (“etiology”) of
crime,
– Individual crime patterns and how the physical
environment influences these patterns,
– Aggregate crime patterns and how the physical
environment influences these patterns.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Refining the Research Question in Qualitative
Research
– If the research is intended to produce exploratory
or descriptive information, traditional hypotheses
that predict causal relationships are not required.
– Instead, you may want to simply explain what you
anticipate finding in the research and/or outline a
set of research questions.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Refining the Research Question in Qualitative
Research – cont’d
– Because the Brantinghams’ approach was more
inductive, they did not formulate initial hypotheses.
– Instead, they proposed that a relationship existed
between individual crime patterns, aggregate crime
patterns, and the physical environment.
– Their objective was to create a theory that explained
this relationship, which subsequent researchers could
test through hypothesis-driven research.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Defining Concepts and Creating Measures in
Qualitative Research
– Qualitative researchers attempt to define
concepts at a deeper and more subjective level.
– Brantingham and Brantingham developed
conceptual definitions for;
• Crime,
• Individual crime patterns, and
• Aggregate crime patterns.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research
– Case studies require the researcher to do more
than merely report what is happening. We
already know what is happening; we want to
know why something is happening.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research –
cont’d
– Ethnographic research attempts to understand
social phenomena within the context or from the
perspective of a particular culture or group.
– Ethnographic research is very similar to field
research, which relies on observations of people
and places in their natural setting.
– Ethnographic researchers move beyond covert
observation to become a participant observer.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research –
cont’d
– Grounded theory research is a methodological
approach whereby the researcher uses qualitative
data and inductive reasoning to develop a theory
of some human or group behavior.
– It is an inductive technique.
– Observations are evaluated, compared and
analyzed to achieve some theoretical explanation
of human behavior.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research –
cont’d
– The Brantinghams’ research has elements of both
case study and grounded theory research.
– They draw their data from the published literature
to explore;
• why and how people commit crime,
• where crime happens, and
• whether or not physical spaces affect crime.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Designing a Method in Qualitative Research –
cont’d
– This approach is consistent with grounded theory
in that it all but ignores what we already know
about a topic
– It develops theory from the observations.
– This approach is a legitimate research method in
situations where researchers do not want to be
overly influenced by the previous research on a
topic.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative
Research
– Qualitative data collection requires;
• keen observational and interviewing skills,
• a great deal of persistence, and
• refined notetaking and recording techniques.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative
Research – cont’d
– In most cases, qualitative researchers analyze
written information rather than numeric data.
– Two popular analytic techniques in this regard are
• coding, in which the researcher identifies major
themes, and
• memoing, in which the researcher reflects on what the
data mean.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative
Research – cont’d
– Using crime data, the Brantinghams looked to see
if certain areas were more or less susceptible to
certain types of crime.
– These data were organized onto crime maps that
illustrated community crime patterns.
– These visual representations enabled the
researchers to analyze where crime happens and
what types of crimes happen where.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Collecting and Analyzing Data in Qualitative
Research – cont’d
– Though the researchers do not provide a great
deal of insight into their particular analytical
strategies, it is clear that they are using a type of
spatial analysis to understand how and where
crime takes place.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Interpreting the Results in Qualitative
Research
– The interpretation of qualitative information
represents the researcher’s informed opinion
about what the data mean.
– Another researcher may interpret the same
information quite differently.
– The interpretation has to be reasonable and it has
to be supported by the data.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Interpreting the Results in Qualitative
Research – cont’d
– After evaluating the crime maps that they
constructed in the course of their study, the
Brantinghams arrived at several conclusions.
• An individual’s knowledge of physical spaces influences
their decision on where to commit crimes.
• Offenders seem to agree on the best places to commit
crime.
• Thus, crime tends to happen in the same place.
The Qualitative Research Process
• Communicating the Results of Qualitative
Research
– Rather than rely on charts and graphs to describe
social phenomena, qualitative researchers rely on
written narratives and/or storytelling techniques.
– In terms of communicating their major findings,
the Brantinghams provide a figure that illustrates
the relationship between nodes, pathways and
edges to describe where and how crime patterns
emerge.
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative research refers to a broad category
of research methods that attempt to produce
a more detailed understanding of human
behavior, including its meaning and its
motivation.
Getting to the Point
• Some of the more popular qualitative research
methods include;
– case study research,
– ethnographic research, and
– grounded theory research.
Getting to the Point
• A case study is a detailed analysis of a single
event, group, or person.
• An ethnography is an in-depth study of a
culture.
• Grounded theory is a methodological
approach that uses inductive reasoning to
develop a theory to explain observed
behaviors or processes.
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative research methods are effective
when a researcher wants to develop a deeper
or more nuanced understanding of a
particular phenomenon.
• These methods are effective at determining
how perceptions and meanings influence
human behavior and for developing theories
for previously unexplained social phenomena.
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative research methods are not effective
when a researcher wants to generalize
findings of the research to a larger or similar
population.
• Some qualitative research may not be feasible
because of ethical challenges.
Getting to the Point
• Research questions that require the
researcher to probe deeply into social
phenomena or to develop new theories for
explaining human behavior are best answered
using a qualitative research method.
Getting to the Point
• During the literature review process,
qualitative researchers should examine both
quantitative and qualitative studies.
• Existing quantitative research could be
enhanced by a qualitative look at the
phenomenon; existing qualitative research
could be enhanced by looking at the
phenomenon in a different context.
Getting to the Point
• Grounded theory is distinguishable from other
forms of research because the importance of
the literature review is somewhat diminished.
Getting to the Point
• If the qualitative research is intended to
produce exploratory or descriptive
information, traditional hypotheses that
predict causal relationships between variables
are not required.
Getting to the Point
• The process by which qualitative researchers
define concepts is much the same as it is for
quantitative researchers, except that qualitative
researchers attempt to define concepts at a
deeper and more subjective level.
• In terms of measurement, qualitative researchers
do not rely on numbers, focusing instead on
subjective meanings and experiences.
Getting to the Point
• Typical case studies focus on cases that are
typical or usual.
• Extreme case studies focus on atypical or
unusual cases.
Getting to the Point
• Ethnographic research is very similar to field
research, which relies on observations of
people and places in their natural setting.
• A major difference is that ethnographic
researchers actually live and socialize within
the culture they are studying.
Getting to the Point
• In terms of the actual methods used,
grounded theory research is not that different
from case study and ethnographic research.
• It involves archival analysis, observations and
qualitative interviews.
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative data collection requires;
– keen observational and interviewing skills,
– a great deal of persistence, and
– refined notetaking and recording techniques.
Getting to the Point
• In most cases, qualitative researchers analyze
written information rather than numeric data.
• Two popular analytic techniques in this regard
are;
– coding, in which the researcher identifies major
themes, and
– memoing, in which the researcher reflects on
what the data mean.
Getting to the Point
• Qualitative researchers can make any number
of valid interpretations of their data, so long
as the interpretation is reasonable and
supported by the evidence.
• But qualitative researchers should be careful
not to overreach their findings.
Getting to the Point
• One of the key advantages of qualitative
research is its ability to describe and interpret
social phenomena at a level of detail that
numeric measures cannot achieve.
• As such, qualitative reports are often longer
and more narrative than their quantitative
counterparts.
• They tend to ‘tell a story’ about the data.
Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Chapter 12
Qualitative Research Methods