NCJ Number
171727
Journal
Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: November 1996 Pages: 111-122
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Field research on gangs, their members, and their behavior patterns is discussed with respect to the representativeness of the samples and the validity and reliability of the data, based on the author's research in Milwaukee.
Abstract
The Milwaukee research has revealed not only that gangs vary by city, neighborhood, ethnicity, age, and gender, but also that differences exist within gangs. Therefore, selectivity in sampling may strongly influence the findings and distort any theoretical conclusions based on those findings. In addition, gang members do not always tell the truth. They present accounts of themselves that project the image they wish to maintain in the views of outsiders. Both snowball sampling and sampling from rosters can produce nonrepresentative samples. Similarly, gang members present many types of realities to others; it is extremely difficult for outsiders to cut through hype or lies in gang interviews. Validity problems exist for both peer interviewers and outsiders. Therefore, the use of multiple methods is still the best way to triangulate and verify data. The Milwaukee research used official statistics, interviews with gang members, surveys of a probability sample of neighborhood residents, interviews with old heads from those neighborhoods, the life experiences of project staff, and the author's participant observation in drug-selling locales. All these methods have contributed to the researchers' emerging interest in strain theory. The findings indicate that most gang members have a conventional orientation, while avoiding romanticizing gang life. The research has also demonstrated the usefulness of collaborative methods that involve gang members in every facet of the research. Finally, it is important to recognize that the reporting of research findings has consequences; researchers must not contribute to the dehumanizing of a segment of the population. Notes and 61 references