Criminal Justice Research

What types of non-public agency records would each agency keep that would be of interest to a criminal justice researcher?

Give an example of a research question that could be answered by access to the non-public agency records. Identify three different types of agencies where records would be important in the criminal justice system.  Discuss the types of published statistics each agency would produce.

What are the specific reliability and validity problems with each? Discuss how researchers determine the unit of analysis when they are researching agency data.

Describe some sampling methods that could be used in researching agency records. What potential validity and reliability problems exist in agency data?

How can these problems be resolved? Suggest a content analysis that could be completed by you.

Discuss the units of analysis and the sampling for this project.  Further, discuss the coding that you would use if you were required to complete this project. What is the difference between manifest content and latent content?  Give examples. What is secondary data?

What are some sources of secondary data?  Compare and contrast evaluation research and problem analysis.

What are the benefits of evaluation research and problem analysis? Describe the role of problem analysis as a planning technique in criminal justice agencies.

How is it similar to program evaluations? What are the special problems involved in evaluation research?  Be sure to include logistical, ethical, and political problems.