This book of original essays presents students with challenging looks at some of the most basic, and sometimes most difficult, decisions faced by criminal justice researchers. Each chapter presents an overview of a foundational question/issue in the conduct of research, and discussions of the options to resolve these controversies.

Tewksbury, Richard; Ehrhardt Mustaine, Elizabeth

Introductory Chapters 1. Should (Does) Criminal Justice Research Influence Social Policy? 2. The Value of Purely Theoretical Research vs. More "Practical" Research 3. How to Know if a Piece of Research Is Good/Valuable Quantitative Methods 4. Methodological Yin and Yang: Value of Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Social Science 5. Original vs. Secondary Data Collection: The New Dilemma for Research 6. Does Theory Really Guide Survey Research? Why Is Theory Important in Surveys? 7. Macro and Micro Research Aproaches: Which Makes More Sense? Qualitative Methods 8. Getting In and Getting On: Entrée Strategies and the Importance of Trust and Rapport in Qualitative Research 9. Interviews as Data Collection Method: But, Which Type Should I Use? 10. Validity of Participant Observational Data/Research 11. Utility of Case Studies