NCJ Number
247806
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2014 Pages: 445-466
Date Published
July 2014
Length
22 pages
Annotation
When Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency was first published, criminology was in the midst of an important research stream on the measurement of offending.
Abstract
When Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency was first published, criminology was in the midst of an important research stream on the measurement of offending. This never solidified into a strong subdiscipline akin to psychometrics, however. After briefly discussing the goals of measurement and how they correspond to the explanation of criminal events and behavior, the authors consider how the prevailing methodological paradigm, which relies heavily on analysis of a limited number of data sets via variable-based regression techniques, may constrain measurement progress on the whole. In doing so, they highlight the imbalance between the growing sophistication of analytic models and the relative stagnation of the employed data sets and measures. The article then provides some examples of exceptions to this broad trendboth in terms of data collection and measurement techniques. Finally, the authors consider basic lessons drawn from these innovative approaches to measurement. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage.