The workshop was designed to share perspectives among researchers and policymakers on promising experimental and quasiexperimental techniques for applied research. Other goals included dissemination and discussion of results and insights of randomized field studies of policing, prosecution, court decisionmaking, and offender supervision; discussion of issues arising in the conduct of such research, including ethical issues, research methods, and data interpretation; and consideration of future directions for such research. Workshop presentations focused both on particular studies and broad topics such as the uses of research results. A central message emerging from the workshop was that changes in crime and the criminal justice system typically reflect commonsense views of reality and that these commonsense perspectives need to be tested and complemented by systematic, reliable knowledge. Themes emerging from the workshops included that research should focus on major issues of concern or procedures in need of improvement, legal and ethical research issues can usually be solved through creative thinking and alternate strategies, random assignment must be rigorously maintained in treatment and control groups, and design should be appropriate to the problem under study. Other themes focused on the need for teamwork, the political and policymaking implications of research, and the need for replication. 16 references.
Randomized Field Experiments in Criminal Justice Agencies
NCJ Number
113666
Date Published
1988
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In March 1987, the National Institute of Justice sponsored a workshop on randomized field research conducted by criminal justice agencies.
Abstract
Date Published: January 1, 1988