Identify and define two categories of purposes for social scientific research. Then, provide an example of a common phenomenon explored in criminological research and how those two categories could be used to examine that phenomenon. Then, using this example, provide a brief overview of how they could be integrated together into one research project.

What will be an ideal response?


Answers will vary. Descriptive and explanatory research. Descriptive is when you are trying describe a phenomenon such as examining frequencies. Explanatory research is when you examine the cause and effect or how a phenomenon changes over time or in response to another phenomenon. The example I will use is youth violence. For the descriptive portion, youth violence could be described in terms of its prevalence, the age of youth who engage in violence, and the common victims of such violence. Then, for the explanatory portion, research could examine why certain ages of youth are more likely to be violent, why common victims of violence are targeted, and the societal factors that influence high rates of violence among youth.

Criminal Justice

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Why was the discipline of victimology slow in developing?

What will be an ideal response?

Criminal Justice

Given that many ordinary citizens fear retaliation from criminal suspects if their identities as a source of information to the police were known, why does the law require more than an anonymous tip to establish probable cause?

What will be an ideal response?

Criminal Justice

Whether a subsequent trial is barred under the Fifth Amendment will depend on whether it is for the same offense, meaning it involves proving the same elements concerning a common course of conduct.

Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

Criminal Justice

Because the juvenile justice system espouses the philosophy of parens patriae, it is less __________ than the adult system

a. formal c. compassionate b. flexible d. discretionary

Criminal Justice