NCJ Number
53621
Editor(s)
A D BIDERMAN
Date Published
1978
Length
42 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT ON PROPOSED AGENDA FOR RESEARCH ON NATIONAL VICTIMIZATION SURVEY STATISTICS CONSIDERS FACTORS FOR IMPROVING THE STATISTICS' CONCEPTUAL ISSUES, ANALYTIC PROBLEMS, DATA COLLECTION, AND THEIR UTILITY.
Abstract
REDESIGN OF THE NATIONAL CRIME SURVEY (NCS) ENTAIL ALTERATIONS FOR MAKING VARIABLES POLICY-RELEVANT, ADDING SHORT-TERM QUESTIONS ON THE IMPACT OF ANTICRIME POLICIES, AND CONSIDERING EXPOSURE-TO-RISK VARIABLES AND MEASURES TO AFFORD AN UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENTIAL RISK. SURVEY QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED WHICH WOULD ELICIT RESPONSES ON WIDE RANGES OF VICTIMIZATION, SUCH AS VANDALISM, INTIMIDATION, ARSON, AND FRAUD, AND SMALL-SCALE RESEARCH COULD BE DONE TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT ON VICTIMIZATION RATES OF THE DEFINITION OF THE POPULATION COVERED. A SURVEY DESIGN PRODUCING A STREAM OF PANEL DATA COULD BE USED TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING ISSUES FOR DETAILED STUDY: CHANGES IN LIFESTYLES AND FACTORS AFFECTING PRONENESS TO CRIME, CONTACT WITH AND EVALUATION OF COMPONENTS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, LONG-RUN CONSEQUENCES OF VICTIMIZATION, AND THE ISSUE OF MULTIPLE VICTIMIZATION. DATA COLLECTION ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE ADDRESSED INCLUDE THE USE OF BOUNDED VERSUS UNBOUNDED INTERVIEWS, ALTERNATIVE SAMPLING SCHEMES, AND BENEFITS OF FIXED CONTINUOUS INTERVIEWING OF HOUSING UNITS OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS AND OF ONE-TIME CROSS-SECTIONAL SAMPLES OF HOUSING UNITS. FOUR LEVELS OF PRIORITIES SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED IN DESIGNING SURVEYS, I.E., RESEARCH ON THE NCS ITSELF, CRITICAL AND TIMELY POLICY ISSUES OF GENERAL INTEREST TO THE USE COMMUNITY, AND SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT ARE INITIATED BY SINGLE RESEARCHERS. A NEW REVERSE RECORD CHECK STUDY WAS INDICATED AS AN IMPORTANT ITEM FOR THE AGENDA. THE WRAP-UP SESSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE DISCUSSIONS OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING TASK, THE NEED FOR EXTERNAL RESOURCES, THE INTERRELATION OF RESEARCH AND THE ONGOING SURVEY, TRANSITION TO THE REDESIGNED SURVEY SYSTEM, AND METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS. THE AGENDA SCHEDULE IS ATTACHED. (DAG)