Explain three of the secondary sources of delinquency data provided in the text. Of these, which do you believe to be the most reliable? Provide a rationale for your choice. How do you believe these sources of data compare to "official sources" such as the UCR or NCVS? Explain your position

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Cohort Research Data involves observing over time a group of people who share certain characteristics
o Researchers might select all girls born in Boston in 1970 and then follow their behavior patterns for 20 years
o The research data might include their school experiences, arrests, and hospitalizations, along with information about their family lives
o If the cohort is carefully drawn, it may be possible to accumulate a complex array of data that can be used to determine which life experiences are associated with criminal careers
• Experimental Data refers to controlled experiments to collect data on the cause of crime
o To conduct experimental research, criminologists manipulate, or intervene in, the lives of their subjects to see the outcome or the effect of the intervention
o True experiments usually have three elements:
(1) random selection of subjects,
(2) a control or comparison group, and
(3) an experimental condition
• Observational and Interview Research involves research focusing on relatively few subjects
o Subjects are interviewed in depth or observed as they go about their activities.
o This research often results in the kind of in-depth data that large-scale surveys do not yield
• Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review refers to a meta-analysis that involves gathering data from a number of previous studies
o Compatible information and data are extracted and pooled together
o When analyzed, the grouped data from several different studies provide a more powerful and valid indicator of relationships than the results provided by a single study
o A systematic review involves collecting the findings from previously conducted scientific studies that address a particular problem, appraising and synthesizing the evidence, and using the collective evidence to address a particular scientific question
• Data Mining is a relatively new criminological technique using multiple advanced computational methods, including artificial intelligence (the use of computers to perform logical functions), to analyze large data sets that usually involve one or more data sources
o The goal is to identify significant and recognizable patterns, trends, and relationships that are not easily detected through traditional analytical techniques
• Crime Mapping is used to create graphical representations of the spatial geography of crime
o Computerized crime maps enable criminologists to analyze and correlate a wide array of data to create immediate, detailed visuals of crime patterns
• Student responses will vary