Qualitative Criminology Research Articles

Introduction to the Special Issue on Qualitative Criminology and Victimology

Crime & Delinquency invited submissions for a special issue on Qualitative Criminology and Victimology in 2021. This double special issue aimed to amplify qualitative methodologies in criminology, criminal justice, and victimology research. The diverse range of articles and commentaries draw on a variety of qualitative methods to advance the discipline.

Shame and Justice: Partners of Individuals on Sex Offense Registries Encourage Policy Reform

Sex offense registration and notification (SORN) policies can contribute to stigma and negative consequences for partners of registered individuals. The present study utilized a self-report questionnaire to ask these partners what they would say to policymakers if given the opportunity. A thematic analysis of the responses revealed three themes which highlight the distinct issues related to registries, describe direct consequences experienced by the partners, and propose changes to existing policy. This study provides valuable insight into the experiences of a hard-to-reach population and can help generate critical discussion around the sweeping impacts SORN policies have on individuals they were not intended to reach. Implications for qualitative criminology and policy are discussed.

Shame and Justice: Partners of Individuals on Sex Offense Registries Encourage Policy Reform

Sex offense registration and notification (SORN) policies can contribute to stigma and negative consequences for partners of registered individuals. The present study utilized a self-report questionnaire to ask these partners what they would say to policymakers if given the opportunity. A thematic analysis of the responses revealed three themes which highlight the distinct issues related to registries, describe direct consequences experienced by the partners, and propose changes to existing policy. This study provides valuable insight into the experiences of a hard-to-reach population and can help generate critical discussion around the sweeping impacts SORN policies have on individuals they were not intended to reach. Implications for qualitative criminology and policy are discussed.

“Snitches get stitches”: researching both sides of illegal markets

PurposeThe question of “taking sides” has received a lot of attention within qualitative criminology. Much of this has focused on the moral-philosophical or value-laden aspects of taking sides, following Becker's 1967 essay “whose side are we on”. However, the question of taking sides also has methodological implications, especially for qualitative researchers who wish to study multiple sides of a criminological problem, such as the perspectives of offenders and law enforcement around a particular illegal activity.Design/methodology/approachThis paper considers some of the practical, ethical and analytical challenges of studying illegal markets from opposing sides – the market participants' perspective on one side and law enforcement on the other. It outlines the advantages of researching both sides: the improved validity and reliability that comes with exploring and trying to reconcile different perspectives and the potential this has for developing theory and policy. It then explores the challenges researchers may face when trying to engage with opposing sides in qualitative fieldwork.FindingsThe paper pays particular attention to some practical and ethical questions researchers may face in this situation: who to research first, whether to be open about researching both sides and whether researchers should ever share information they have received from one side with their participants from the other side.Originality/valueThe authors do not offer absolute answers to these questions. Rather, the authors aim to outline some of the factors researchers may need to consider when juggling qualitative research involving participants on both sides of the law.

Lorana Bartels and Kelly Richards (eds), Qualitative Criminology: Stories from the field.

Lorana Bartels and Kelly Richards (eds), <i>Qualitative Criminology: Stories from the field.</i>

Qualitative Criminology: Stories from the field

Qualitative researchers in the discipline of criminology perform a wide range of challenging tasks. They interview prisoners, police officers, magistrates and judges. They speak with survivors of domestic violence, and drink tea with the mothers of murdered children. They observe courts and communities, investigate the decision-making processes of juries and immerse themselves in the data they collect. They ask ‘big’ questions – ‘how do we criminalise the producers of toxic toys?’ – as well as ‘little’ questions – ‘what should I wear to conduct this interview?’Qualitative Criminology: Stories from the Field brings to life the stories behind the research of both emerging and established scholars in Australian criminology. The book’s contributors provided honest, reflective, and decidedly unsanitised accounts of their qualitative research journeys - the lively tales of what really happens when conducting research of this nature, the stories that often make for parenthetical asides in conference papers but tend to be excised from journal articles.This book considers the gap between research methods and the realities of qualitative research. As such, it aims to help researchers and students who conduct qualitative criminological research reflect upon their role as researchers, and the practical, ideological and ethical issues which may arise in the course of their research. It is also a call to criminologists to make public the ‘failures’ and missteps of their research endeavours so that we can learn from one another and become better informed and more reflexive qualitative criminologists.

Exploring Strategies for Qualitative Criminological and Criminal Justice Inquiry Using On‐Line Data

Qualitative research methods in criminology have been supplanted in recent years by advanced statistical inquiries into various quantitative data sources. There is, however, an emerging body of qualitative analyses using data generated from various sources available on‐line. As the Internet and computer‐mediated communications (CMCs), such as email and instant messaging, are rapidly adopted by all manner of criminals and deviants, it is critical that qualitative criminologists recognize how this data may be examined in order to understand social phenomena. This article considers the utility of the Internet, websites, and various forms of CMCs as a source for traditional qualitative criminology inquiry. Each type is addressed in detail, along with the unique methodological and ethical concerns present in Internet‐based explorations.