Ronet D. Bachman & Russell K. Schutt 
Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice [PDF ebook] 

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
CHAPTER 1 • Science, Society, and Research Related to Criminal Justice and Criminology
What Do We Have in Mind?
Reasoning About the Social World
How the Scientific Approach Is Different
Alternative Research Orientations
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
Highlighting a Few Specific Types of Research Methods
Strengths and Limitations of Social Research
A Comment on Research in a Diverse Society
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 2 • The Process and Problems of Research Related to Crime and Criminology
What Do We Have in Mind?
Identifying a Research Question
The Role of Theory
Social Research Strategies
Research Standards
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 3 • Ethical Guidelines for Research
What Do We Have in Mind?
Historical Background
Ethical Principles
More on the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 4 • Conceptualization and Measurement
What Do We Have in Mind?
Concepts
From Concepts to Variables: Measurement Operations
How Will We Know When We’ve Found It?
How Much Information Do We Really Have?
Did We Measure What We Wanted to Measure?
A Comment on Measurement in a Diverse Society
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 5 • Sampling
What Do We Have in Mind?
Sample Planning
Sampling Methods
Units of Analysis and Errors in Causal Reasoning
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 6 • Causation and Experimentation
What Do We Mean by Causation?
Causal Explanations
Criteria for Nomothetic Causal Explanations
Why Experiment?
What If a True Experiment Isn’t Possible?
What Are the Threats to Internal Validity and Generalizability in Experiments?
The Element of Time in Research
Causality in Nonexperimental Designs
How Do Experimenters Protect Their Subjects?
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 7 • Survey Research
Survey Research in Action: Measuring Victimization
What Is a Survey?
Questionnaire Development and Assessment
Writing Survey Questions: More Difficult Than You Think!
Organization Matters
Survey Designs
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 8 • Qualitative Methods and Data Analysis
What Do We Mean by Qualitative Methods?
Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods
Participant Observation
Systematic Observation
Intensive Interviewing
Focus Groups
Analyzing Qualitative Data
Techniques of Qualitative Data Analysis
Alternatives in Qualitative Data Analysis
Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research
Who Owns the Qualitative Data?
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 9 • Analyzing Content and Police Data: Social-Network Analysis, Crime Mapping, Big Data, and Content Analysis
What Do We Have in Mind?
Analyzing Secondary Data
Social-Network Analysis
Crime Mapping
Big Data
Ethical Issues in Using Big Data
Content Analysis
Methodological Issues When Using Secondary Data
Ethical Issues When Analyzing Available Data and Content
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 10 • Evaluation and Policy Analysis
What Do We Have in Mind?
A Brief History of Evaluation Research
Evaluation Basics
Questions for Evaluation Research
Design Decisions
Evaluation in Action
Strengths of Randomized Experimental Designs in Impact Evaluations
When Experiments Are Not Feasible
Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
Increasing Demand for Evidence-Based Policy
Ethics in Evaluation
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 11 • Mixing and Comparing Methods
What Do We Have in Mind?
What Are Mixed Methods?
Types of Mixed-Methods Designs
Strengths and Limitations of Mixed Methods
Comparing Results Across Studies
Ethics and Mixed Methods
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
CHAPTER 12 • Summarizing and Reporting Research
What Do We Have in Mind?
Research Report Goals
Types of Research Reports
Curbing the Frustrations of Writing
Displaying Data
Special Considerations for Reporting Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Ethics, Politics, and Reporting Research
Communicating With the Public
Plagiarism
Conclusion
Key Terms
Highlights
Exercises
Appendix A. Conducting Literature Reviews and Finding Information
Appendix B. How to Read a Research Article
Appendix C. How to Use a Statistical Package: SPSS
Appendix D. How to Use a Qualitative Analysis Package
Appendix E. How to Use a Data Spreadsheet: Excel
Appendix F. Quantitative Data Analysis
Appendix G. Data Sets
Glossary
References
Index

Russell K. Schutt, Ph D, is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he received the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Service and taught from 1979 to 2022. He is also a Clinical Research Scientist I at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a Lecturer (part-time) in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. He completed his BA, MA, and Ph D degrees at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Sociology of Social Control Training Program at Yale University (where he met Dan). In addition to ten editions of Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and one of Understanding the Social World, as well as coauthored versions for the fields of social work, criminal justice, psychology, and education, his other books include Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness (2011), Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (coedited, 2015), and Organization in a Changing Environment (1986). He has authored and coauthored more than 65 peer reviewed journal articles, as well as book chapters and research reports on homelessness, mental health, organizations, law, and teaching research methods. His currently a Dual Principal Investigator (with Matcheri Keshavan, MD) in randomized comparative effectiveness trial of two socially-oriented interventions to improve community functioning among persons diagnosed with serious mental illness, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). His other recently concluded research includes co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded study of the social impact of the pandemic in Boston, and co-investigator on a Veterans Health Administration-funded study of peer support.  His earlier research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Fetzer Institute, and state agencies. Details are available at https://blogs.umb.edu/russellkschutt/.