Explanations of Homicide Clearances: Do Results Vary Dependent Upon Operationalization and Initial (Time 1) and Updated (Time 2) Data?

• NCJ Number: 239173
• Journal: Homicide Studies Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2012 Pages: 23-40
• Author(s): Richard J. Lundman; Meghan Myers
• Date Published: February 2012
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines homicide clearances.

Abstract

This research examines 4 operationalizations of homicide clearances at 2 time points for 816 homicides in Columbus, OH. The author's goals are to answer two questions: (a) Does how a homicide clearance is operationalized affect explanations of homicide clearances? (b) Do Time 1 explanations of homicide clearances change when Time 2 homicide clearances are part of the analysis? The data show that how a homicide clearance is operationalized does not affect explanations of homicide clearances, with one exception. The data also show that adding Time 2 clearances does not change explanations of homicide clearances. (Published Abstract)