OBSERVING THE LAW - APPLICATIONS OF FIELD METHODS TO THE STUDY OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

• NCJ Number: 30443
• Author(s): G J MCCALL
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 214 pages
• Contract Number(s): ADM 42-74-46
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: CRIME AND DELINQUENCY ISSUES: A MONOGRAPH SERIES

Annotation

THIS MONOGRAPH REVIEWS THE RANGE OF EXISTING FIELD METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH AND DESCRIBES APPLICATIONS OF THESE METHODS, TECHNIQUES, AND RESEARCH DESIGNS TO THE STUDY OF SELECTED TOPICS IN CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE.

Abstract

THE AUTHOR FIRST REVIEWS SUCH METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION AS DIRECT OBSERVATION, INTERVIEWING, TESTS AND QUESTIONNAIRES, AND ANALYSIS OF RECORDS. ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN ARE THEN OUTLINED, AND THE TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGNS - SURVEYS, EXPERIMENTS, PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION, AND JOINT DESIGNS FOR FIELD RESEARCH - ARE DESCRIBED. THE AUTHOR THEN DISCUSSES FIELD RESEARCH METHODS IN RELATION TO OBSERVATION OF CRIMINALS AND THE VICTIM, COMMUNITY, OBSERVATIONS OF THE POLICE, STUDIES OF PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE FUNCTIONS AND PROGRAMS, OBSERVATIONS OF COURT FUNCTIONS, AND INVESTIGATIONS OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)