Abstract
Criminal justice researchers are increasingly confronted with research questions that require them to use ‘foreign information’ in their analyses. Though it is generally accepted that working with foreign information is challenging, several authors pointed to the lack of serious recent work on comparative methodology. Many researchers therefore avoid comparative research. Based on a literature review and practical experience, the challenges of comparative criminal justice research are uncovered, the strenghts and weaknesses of existing methods identified and a novel method developped. The so-called ‘SPOCs & survey’-method consists of nominating a SPOC (short for a single point of contact) for the countries to be included in the comparative analysis and asking them to fill out a multiple choice based survey, complemented with free text fields and the option to request documents to be attached. To assess the merit of the method, the paper elaborates (1) on the different degrees to which the method can be integrated in various types of research and (2) the extent to which the method is better tailored than existing methods to successfully overcome the challenges of comparative research referred to in literature. Though the method depends on the access to knowledgeable SPOCs, the weakness is counterbalanced by the strengths of its swiftness, reliability and validity.
Highlights
Criminal justice researchers are increasingly confronted with research questions that require them to use ‘foreign information’ in their analyses
Result: The so-called ‘SPOCs & survey’-method consists of nominating a SPOC for the countries to be included in the comparative analysis and asking them to fill out a multiple choice based survey, complemented with free text fields and the option to request documents to be attached
Though the method depends on the access to knowledgeable SPOCs, the weakness is counterbalanced by the strengths of its swiftness, reliability and validity
Summary
The so-called ‘SPOCs & survey’-method consists of nominating a SPOC (short for a single point of contact) for the countries to be included in the comparative analysis and asking them to fill out a multiple choice based survey, complemented with free text fields and the option to request documents to be attached. To assess the merit of the method, the paper elaborates (1) on the different degrees to which the method can be integrated in various types of research and (2) the extent to which the method is better tailored than existing methods to successfully overcome the challenges of comparative research referred to in literature
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.