LCRM301 Researching Criminology
Topic: Planning
criminological research and
formulating effective
research questions
Acknowledgement of
country
Lecture structure

1. Recap
2. Identifying a research
   topic
3. Formulating effective
   research questions
   Overview – key areas of focus
   We draw from Davies et al. (2011) to consider:
4. How our research interests and ideas can be framed as researchable
   questions
5. The role of research questions in designing effective criminological
   research
6. Key principles of designing social and criminological questions

• how to turn a research topic/area into a viable question
• strategies for formulating effective research questions
  Recap: where have we been & where to next?
  PART ONE: Preparing
  criminological research
  (Weeks 1-5)
  In the first part of the unit, we focus on preparing criminological
  research and decision-making processes. This includes deciding on
  the topic you want to focus on, the kinds of methods to use and
  the types of data to collect. You will
  be introduced to key ideas and concepts and test your
  understanding in the form of an online quiz (Assessment 1)
  learn how to undertake and conduct your own review of existing
  research (the literature review) (Assessment 2)
  consider ethical principles in criminological research
  develop your own research question and begin to lay the
  foundation of your own research proposal (Assessment 3)
  In this unit, you will be asked to propose a research project of
  your choice.
   select the topic
   formulate a research question
   consider what is known about your topic and identify a gap in knowledge (by undertaking a
  literature review)
   select and develop an appropriate research design where you will outline how you will go
  about conducting your research and the methods that you will use
   explain why the research project you’ve proposed is significant and needed
  In this unit, you will be asked to propose a research project of
  your choice.
  Learning outcomes:
   LO1 – Understand and identify key elements of various forms of ethical research design and
  methodology.
   LO2 – Critically evaluate current research to identify gaps in the literature.
   LO3 – Apply knowledge of a current topic in criminology by developing a proposal for future
  research.
  Deciding what to research: picking a research topic
  Researchable
  topics to …
  researchable
  questions.
• What is research?
• What is knowledge?
• What counts as a criminological research topic?
  Revision: what are the key features of criminology?
  Coleman and Norris (2000, pp. 13-14) define the ‘subject matter’ of criminology:
• An attempt to measure the extent of crime and offenders.
• An analysis of the causes of crime
• Understanding how laws are formed
• Understanding how laws are applied
• Understanding issues around punishment
• Crime prevention
• Exploring the impact of crime on victims
• Exploring public attitudes and media presentations of crime
• (Un)intended consequences of policy and law
• Conditions that sustain harm (e.g., via an analysis of the operation of the criminal justice and related
  systems)
  So, what counts as a criminological research topic?
  sentencing practices
  domestic and family violence
  program evaluation
  behaviour change programs & perpetrator intervention programs
  policing practices: stop and search
  COVID-19 and property crimes
  incarceration of young people cybersecurity
  police responses to cybercrime
  workplace supports for domestic and family
  violence victims
  gender differences in public attitudes towards parole
  joyriding amongst young people in Australia
  migrant women and family violence
  workplace sexual harassment
  Picking a topic. What interests you?
• One way to think about this is:
  The subject matter of your degree
  An interesting unit or module, assessment task
  An attractive aspect within that unit or
  module
  A topic that interests
  you (there may be a
  few)
  Sele
  ct 1
  Picking a topic. What interests you?
  Internship: VIRWC (now Multicultural Women Victoria); interested in issues – DFV and forced and servile
  marriage
  A key issue the org was facing at the time: temporary migrant women accessing
  DFV supports; barred from accessing women’s refuges due to migration status.
  Consultation to government – first draft of the National
  Action Plan to address Violence against Women &
  Children; issues facing temporary visa holders a key point
  of advocacy
  Analysis of policy protections for
  temporary migrant women facing
  DFV in Australian context
  TOPIC
  Preparing criminological research

1. What will you study? Identifying the topic and refining the focus
2. What is the purpose of your research? For example, is it to
   o Explore something
   o Describe something
   o Explain something
   o Evaluate something
   Next, we need to consider the purpose of the proposed
   research – goals/aims/objectives

• Purpose of the research: Overarching goal of the research. Broadly, there
  are four categories of purposes of research: exploratory, descriptive,
  explanatory, and evaluation (Rennison & Hart 2023).

1. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

• The purpose or goal of exploratory research is to answer: “What,” “How,” or
  “Where” questions: “What is it?” “How is it done?” “Where is it?”

1. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

• Descriptive research: Focused description of a topic that answers questions such as
  these: “What is it?” “What are the characteristics of it?” “What does it look like?” It
  is similar to exploratory research, but it is narrower given knowledge gained by
  exploratory research.

1. EXPLANATORY RESEARCH

• Explanatory research: Research that provides explanations about a topic by
  addressing question such as these: “Why is it?” “How is it?” “What is the effect of
  it?” “What causes it?” “What predicts it?”

1. EVALUATION RESEARCH

• Evaluation research: Applied systematic assessment of the need for, implementation
  of, or output of a program based on objective criteria. By using the data gathered in
  evaluation research, the researcher can improve, enhance, expand, or terminate a
  program.
  What else do we need to consider?
  The research literature
• Davies et al. (2011) describe the literature review in this way
  o Supports the development of the research strategy
  o Acts as your “springboard” into the field
  o Drawn upon when making sense of the data you collect
  The purpose of your research will dictate what type of
  data you need to collect and analyse to complete your
  project …
  Let’s consider the type of data you need

1. Secondary data? existing data that has been collected (and/or analysed) by
   someone else
2. Primary data? is new data researchers collect themselves
   Let’s consider the type of data you need and the type
   of research you will undertake
3. Quantitative
4. Qualitative
   Qualitative approach

• aim is understanding and the creation of a
  holistic, rich picture
• you may know only roughly in advance what
  you are looking for
• the design emerges as the study unfolds,
  enabling a responsive approach to data
  collection and analysis
• as the researcher you play a subjective role in
  data collection and analysis
• what does the data look like? How is it
  explored and analysed?
  Quantitative approach
• you will know in advance what you are looking
  for (i.e., you will have a working hypothesis)
• you will remain ‘objective’ and distinct from the
  focus of the research and will use the data to
  count, classify or construct statistical models
  to explain your observations
• what does the data look like? How is it
  explored and analysed?
  Qualitative approach
• Data:
• words, pictures, objects
• activities, behaviours, attitudes
• in-depth interviews
• direct observation
• documentation
• artefacts
• time consuming
• less able to generalize
• In exploring the data:
• seeking relationships between identified
  and emerging themes
• relate behaviour or ideas to biographical
  characteristics of respondents
  Quantitative approach
• Data
• numbers and statistics
• efficient in testing hypothesis
• Misses contextual detail
• In exploring the data:
• graphs and charts
• cross-tabulations
• seeking patterns and relationships in the
  data
• comparing means, exploring correlations
  Contextualising the purpose of research
• Describe, monitor and investigate: both qualitative and quantitative research can provide
  evidence, although with different descriptions
• Explore: it depends on the form of exploration, but both quantitative and qualitative research can
  be used, but will produce different exploratory material
• Interpret: qualitative research is especially strong here
• To look behind the surface: usually undertaken using qualitative research
• Evaluate: if it concerns replication and quantification, then quantitative research is appropriate,
  although if the aim is to evaluate perspectives, then qualitative forms can be used
• Explain: both quantitative and qualitative approaches can be used
• Prove: is mostly a quantitative approach, but can involve qualitative approaches
  Purposes contextualized (cont.)
  POLICY-RELATED research
  Concerned with the
  collection of data and the
  presentation of conclusions
  and arguments as aids to the
  formulation of social policies
  INTERVENTION-BASED
  research
  Concerned with evaluating
  the effectiveness of
  interventions (e.g.,
  programs) in producing
  intended outcomes
  Purposes contextualized (cont.)
  THEORETICAL research
• understanding and
  explaining human
  behaviour and social
  action, the workings of
  social institutions, and how
  these connect with
  different dimensions of
  social structure
• primary aim is knowledge
  accumulation
  CRITICAL research
• both theoretical and
  policy-related
• it often addresses
  criminal justice policies
  but in a critical vein rather
  than as a form of
  evaluative research
  Reminder: As we have explored, criminology is a
  diverse discipline. Pick what is of interest to you
  Leading criminologist Sandra Walklate (2005, pp.
  2-3) reminds us that while a key focus in
  criminology is to explain the causes of crime, how
  it
  does so will depend on what type of
  criminologist you are. What binds criminologists
  together is that they share an interest in the same
  subject matter, but importantly do not necessarily
  share the same way of thinking about how to
  study that subject matter.
  Formulating effective research questions
  34 | Directorate | Office | Faculty | School
  Moving from a topic to a research question
• Clearly formulated
• Enable you to tease out the criminological problem you seek to address
• Research question ensures research is feasible and manageable and that the
  research can produce valid conclusions
  What is a research question?
• Research questions are the overarching questions being addressed in a piece of
  research.
• Hypothesis: Testable statement about the expected relationship between variables.
• Theory: Explanation about how things work. A set of interrelated propositions, assumptions,
  and definitions about how the world is expected to work or about how people living in it are
  supposed to behave.
  What is a research question? (Cont.)
• A criminological research question is
  (generally) a question about some aspect of
  crime that you seek to answer through the
  collection and analysis of data
  (primary/secondary; qualitative/quantitative)

Example?
How do police perceptions of their own organization influence their views of the public,
specifically their trust of people in the areas they patrol?
How do women with insecure migration status experience and seek help for family violence
and what are their experiences of accessing support in Australia?

Example?
Question – What is the rate of reported residential burglary in Melbourne CBD during the 2020
COVID-19 lockdowns?
What are the rates of dating violence among Latino victims by gender?

Example?
Question – What is the relationship between residential burglary and COVID-19 lockdowns
in Melbourne? (Relational research question)
Question – Do COVID-19 lockdowns have a positive effect on the number of residential
burglaries committed in Melbourne? (Causal – cause and effect)

Example?

• Intervention (i.e., policing practice): What impact does notification of increased
  risk have on actions taken by residents and their perception of safety?
• Program?

Effective and researchable questions

• are clear (simple is best; no fancy language) and focused on the objectives of the
  research.
• not too broad; not too narrow
• not be too difficult to answer
• researchable; open ended
• analytical, and not too descriptive
• e.g., ‘how’ ‘what’ and not ‘why’ —
  remember: the question defines the scope, scale and conduct of your project.
  Gilbert (2008, p. 512): the research question ‘focuses research design and methods
  towards the provision of evidenced answers’.
  Key takeaways
• The research question
  o narrows the research focus
  o should be capable of being answered in such a way as to allow
  conclusions to be drawn about the question(s)
  o implies what kinds of data need to be collected; units of analysis about
  the data that needs to be collected; the context in which data needs to be
  collected