Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology

Callie Marie Rennison is the Director of Equity, and Title IX Coordinator at the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus. In addition, she is a full professor, and former Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver. She earned a PhD in 1997 in political science from the University of Houston, University Park. Her areas of research interest include investigating the nature, extent, and consequences of violent victimization, with an emphasis on research methodology, quantitative analysis, and measurement. Much of this research focuses on violence against women, violence against minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics, crime data, and victim interaction with the criminal justice system. Callie recently served on a National Academies committee examining domestic sex trafficking of minors in the United States. Her research has appeared in numerous journals, including the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Violence and Victims, and Violence Against Women. Callie has taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, including statistics, research methods, murder in America, crime and the media, and introduction to criminal justice. Callie was awarded the School of Public Affairs Research and Creative Activities Award in 2013, the Teaching Award in 2011, and the Service Award in 2015. In 2016, she was awarded the American Society of Criminology’s Bonnie S. Fisher Victimology Career Award to recognize significant contributions in the area of Victimology over her lifetime. Timothy C. Hart is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Tampa. Tim earned his PhD in criminology and criminal justice from the University of South Florida; and in 1997, he was awarded a Presidential Management Fellowship with the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the US Department of Justice. He has also served as a program analyst for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and as a research analyst for the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office. Tim is also the former Statistical Analysis Centre (SAC) director for the state of Nevada. His areas of interest include survey research, applied statistics, geographic information systems (GIS), and victimization. His scholarship appears in various academic journals, including the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and the British Journal of Criminology. He has also been awarded numerous research grants, including studies funded by the Queensland Police Service, Australian Institute of Criminology, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In 2021, he received the Excellence in Scholarship and Research award from the University of Tampa’s College of Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Education.

PART I: GETTING STARTED
Chapter 1: Why Study Research Methods?
PART II: SETTING THE STAGE FOR YOUR RESEARCH
Chapter 2: Identifying a Topic, a Purpose, and a Research Question
Chapter 3: Conducting a Literature Review
PART III: DESIGNING YOUR RESEARCH
Chapter 4: Concepts, Conceptualizations, Operationalizations, Measurements, Variables, and Data
Chapter 5: Sampling
PART IV: COLLECTING YOUR DATA
Chapter 6: Research Using Qualitative Data
Chapter 7: Survey Research
Chapter 8: Experimental Research
Chapter 9: Research Using Secondary Data
Chapter 10: GIS and Crime Mapping
Chapter 11: Evaluation Research
PART V: ANALYSIS, FINDINGS, AND WHERE TO GO FROM THERE
Chapter 12: Analysis and Findings
Chapter 13: Making Your Research Relevant
Chapter 14: Research Methods as a Career