Reporting Research Findings

,ffid; ,ffiffit#.$
Objectives
nL. Describe the three basic
goals of research reports.
; Identify unique problems
that must be overcome in
writing student papers,
theses, applied research
reports, and journal articles.
J" List the major sections of a
research article.
,- Describe the eiements that
should be considered in
writing research reports to
ensure adherence to the
ethical standard of honesty.
') Discuss the motivations
for plagiarism and the
ways to avoid suspicions of
plagiarism.
i- Identify major steps in the
review of research reports.
7" Understand the need to
display results without
redundant information

using compressed displays.
Vo, learned in Chapter 2 thatresearch is a circular process, so it
is appropri-
I ate that we end this book where we began. The stage of
reporting research
results is also the point at which the need for new research is
identified. It is the
time when, so to speak, the rubber hits the road-when we have
to make our
research make sense to others. To whom will our research be
addressed? How
should we present our results to them? Should we seek to
influence how our
research report is used?
The primary goals of this chapter are to guide you in writing
worthwhile
reports of your own, displaying findings, and communicating
with the public
about research. This chapter gives particular attention to the
writing process
itself and points out how that process can differ when writing
qualitative ver-
sus quantitative research reports. We highlight the goals of
research reports,
including expanding the discussion of participatory action
research (PAR),
which we introduced in Chapter 1. We will conclude by
considering some of
the ethical issues unique to the reporting process, with special
attention to the
problem of plagiarism.
The goal of research is not only to discover something but to

communi-
cate that discovery to a larger audience-other social scientists,
government
officials, your teachers, the general public-perhaps several of
these audiences.
Whatever the study's particular outcome, if the research report
enables the
intended audience to comprehend the results and learn from
them, the research
can be judged a success. If the intended audience is not able to
learn about the
study's results, the research should be judged a failure no matter
how much it
cost to conduct it, how sophisticated its design, or how much of
yourself you
invested in it.
This conclusion may seem obvious and perhaps a bit
unnecessary. After
all, you may think that all researchers write up their results for
other people
to read. But the fact is that many research projects fail to
produce a research
report. Sometimes the problem is that the research is poorly
designed to begin
with and cannot be carried out in a satisfactory manner;
sometimes unantici-
pated difficulties derail a viable project. But too often, the
researcher just never
gets around to writing a report. And then there are many
research reports
that are very incomplete or poorly written or that speak to only
one of several
interested audiences. The failure may not be complete, but the
project's fuIl
potential is not achier.ed.

47:',z
SUMMARIZI NG AND
REPORTING RESEARCH
RESEARCH REPORT GOALS
The research report will present research findings and
interpretations in a way that reflects some combination
of the researcher's goals, the research sponsor's goals, the
concerns of the research subjects, and perhaps the con-
cerns of a wider anticipated readership. Understanding
the goals of these different groups will help the researcher
begin to shape the final report even at the start of the
research. In designing a proposal and in negotiating access to a
setting for the research, com-
mitments often must be made to produce a particular type of
report or at least cover certain
issues in the final report. As the research progresses, feedback
about the research from is
participants, sponsoring agencies, collaborators, or other
interested parties may suggest the
importance offocusing on particular issues in the final report.
Social researchers tradition-
ally have tried to distance themselves from the concerns of such
interested parties, payrng
attention only to what is needed to advance scientific
knowledge. But in recent years, some
social scientists have recommended bringing these interested
parties into the research and the
reporting process itself.
Advance Scientifi c Knowled ge

Most social science research reports are directed to other social
scientists working in the area
of study so they reflect orientations and concerns that are
shared within this community of
interest. The traditional scientific approach encourages a
research goal to advance scientific
knowledge by providing reports to other scientists. This
approach also treats value consid-
erations as beyond the scope of science: "An empirical science
cannot tell anyone what he
should do but rather what he can do and under certain
circumstances what he wishes to do"
(Weber 19+9,5+).
The idea is that developing valid knowledge about how society
is organized or how we
live our lives does not tell us how society should be organized
or howwe should live our lives.
There should, as a result, be a srict separation between the
determination of empirical facts
and the evaluation of these facts as satisfactory or
unsatisfactory (Weber 1949). Social scien-
tists must not ignore value considerations, which are viewed as
a legitimate basis for selecting
a research problem to study. After the research is over and a
report has been vritten, many
scientists also consider it acceptable to encourage govefilment
offrcials or private organiza-
tions to implement the findings. During a research project,
howeveq value considerations are
to be held in abeyance.
Shape Social Policy
As we highlighted in our discussion of applied research in

Chapter 12, many social scientists
seekto influence social policy bywriting abouttheir research.
Bynow,you have been exposed to
examples ofseveral such studies in this text, including all the
evaluation research (Chapter 12).
These particular studies, like much policy-oriented social
science research, are similar to
those that aim stricdy to increase knowledge. In fact, these
studies might even be considered
CHAPTER 16 . SUMMARIZING AND REPORTTNG
RESEARCH 473
Participatory action
research (PAR):
&i,;p* *i, r***arch in ',vhich
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fr r t} ilt t z*ti rs t e il m * r*ls t r';
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tli* rsr*a*iruii*n.
contributions to lnowledge first and to social poliry debate
second. What distinguishes the
reports of these studies from stricdy academic reports is their
attention to policy implications.
Other social scientists who seek to influence social policy
explicidy reject the tradi-

tional scientific, rigid distinction between facts and values
(Sjoberg and Nett 1968). Bellah
et al. (1985) have instead proposed a model of "social science
as public philosophy," in which
social scientists focus explicit attention on achieving a more
just society. Social science makes
assumptions about the nature of persons, the nature of society,
and the relation between
persons and society. It also, whether it admits it or not, makes
assumptions about good per-
sons and a good society and considers how far these conceptions
are embodied in our actual
society.
Social science as public philosophy, by breaking tlrough the
iron curtain between the
social sciences and the humanities, becomes a form of social
self-understanding or
self-interpretation. . . . By probing the past as well as the
present, by looking ato'val-
ues" as much as at "facts," such a social science is able to make
connections that are not
obvious and to ask difEcult questions. (301)
This perspective suggests more explicit concern with public
poliry implications when
reporting research results. But it is important to remember that
we all are capable of distorting
our research and our interpreations ofresearch results to
cor:respond to our own value prefer-
ences. The temptation to see what we want to see is enormous,
and research reports cannot be
deemed acceptable unless they avoid this temptation.
Organize Social Action-Participatory Action Research
For the same reasons that value questions are traditionally set

apart from the research process,
many social scientists consider the application of research a
nonscientific concern. Whyte
(1943), whose Street Corner Society studyyottencountered in
Chapter 9, has criticized this belief
and proposed an alternative research and reporting strategy he
calls participatory action
research (PAR). 4ryte (1991) argues that social scientists must
get out of the academic rut
and engage in applied research to develop a better
understanding ofsocial phenomena.
In PAR, the researcher involves some members of the setting
studied as active partici-
pans. Both the organizational members and the researcher are
assumed to lyant to develop
valid conclusions, to bring unique insighs, and to desire change,
but Whyte (1991) believed
that these objectives were more likely to be obained if the
researcher collaborated actively
with the persons he studied. PAR can bring researchers into
closer contact with participans in
the research setting through groups that discuss and plan
research steps and then ake steps to
implement research findings. Kemmis and McTaggart (2005)
summarize the key features
of PAR research as o'a spiral of self-reflecting rycles" involving
o planning a change,
o acting and observing the process and consequences ofthe
change,
o reflectingon these processes and consequences,
. replanning, and
. actingandobservingagain.
In contrastwith the formal reporting ofresults at the end of a

research project, these rycles
make research reporting an ongoing part ofthe research process.
414 sECTroN v . AFTER THE DATA ARE coLLECTED
CASE STUDY
Seeking Higher Education for lnmates
While prison populations in the United States have been
significandy increasing, access to
college programs within prisons has been essentially eliminated.
Primarily because of the
"tough on crime" policies of the 1990s, by 1995 , only eight of
the previously existing 3 50 col-
lege programs in prisons remained open nationwide (Torre and
Fine 2005). To remedy this
situation, Jbrre and Fine became involved in PAR to facilitate a
college and college-bound
program at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (BHCF), a
maximum-security women's
prison in NewYork. Jb conduct a study of the effects of the
program, Fine was the principal
investigator, along with four prisoner researchers and four
researchers from the Graduate
Center of the City University of Nevr York. This participatory
research team asked several
questions: (a) Who are the women in the college program? @)
What is the impact of the
college experience on inmate students and their children? (c)
What is the impact of the col-
lege experience on the prison environment? (d) What is the
impact of the college experience
beyond college on recidivism? (e) What is the cost of such a

program to taxpayers? The
researchers used a triangulated methodology employing
quantitative analysis of recidivism
rates and costs of the program along with in-depth interviews
with the participants; focus
groups with inmates, faoalty, children, and college presidents;
and surveys of faculty who
aught in the program. Although they were not using a
randomized experimental design,
Torre and Fine, along with their coinvestigators, tracked
participants in the college program
after release and found that women who had not participated in
the program were four times
more likely to be returned to custody than women who
participated.
The narratives from the interviews with college inmates also
illuminated the benefits of
the education. One inmate college student said,
Because when you ake somebody that feels that they're not
gonna amount to anything,
and you put them in an environment, like, when you're in
college it takes you away from
the prison, . . . it's like you're openingyour mind to a whole
different experience. (582)
The positive impact of college on the inmates was also
transferred to their children. The
cost+enefit analysis of the program indicated that the savings
based on decreased recidivism
rates for those who attended the college far outweighed the
initial cost of the program iself.
In sum, with a small grant from a private foundation, the PAR
team brought together univer-
sities, prisoners, churches, community organizations, and prison

administrators to resurrect a
college at BHCEThe authors concluded, "Key elements of this
program include broad-based
community involvement, strong prisoner participation in design
and governance, and the
support of the prison administration" (591). fu you can see,
PAR has the potential to be life
changing for all involved!
Dialogue With Research Subjects
Guba and Lincoln (1989) have carried the notion of involving
research subjects and others in
the design and reporting of research one step firrther. What they
call the constnrctivist para-
digm is a methodology that emphasizes the importance of
exploring how different stakehold-
ers in a social setting construct their beliefs. As we noted in
Chapter 1, this approach rejecs
the assumption that there is a reality around us to be studied and
reported on. Instead, social
scientists operating in the constructivist paradigm try to develop
a consensus among partici-
pants in some social process about how to understand the focus
of inquiry which is often a
Constructivist paradiUm:
f'!,eth*rful*ilv i: a g * d t n
r*'iy*lir:* *t b*li*f in
a* *v.i*r*al r*alit',i; it
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*itt*r**t stak*hfi ld€ r$ i rT fi.

scrial scttinU coilstruct thsir
hrli*f s.
CHAPTER 16 o SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 475
social program that the scientist is evaluating. A research report
will then highlight different
views ofthe social program and explain how a consensus can be
reached.
The constructivist approach provides a usefirl way of thinking
about how to best make
sense of the complexity and subjectivity of the social world.
Other researchers write reports
intended to influence public policy, and often, their findings are
ignored. Such neglect would
be less common if social researchers gave more attention to the
different meanings attached
by participants to the same events in the spirit of constructivist
case reports. The philosophlr
ofthis approach is also similar to the utilization-based
evaluation research approach advanced
by Patton (1997; see Chapter 12) that involves all stakeholders
in the research process.
WRITING IS NOT EASY!
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the
people. It will keep you
cramped and insane your whole life and it is the main obstaile
b"ttr"".r yoo ,rd ,
shitty first draft. (I-amott 1994,28)

We often hear lamentations from students such as, "It is
impossible to know where to
begin" or o'I have a hard time getting started." To this we say
"Begin wherever you are most
comfortable but begin early!" You do not have to start with the
introduction; start in the method
section if you prefer. The main point is to begin somewhere and
then keep typing, keep typing,
and keep typinsl It is always easier to rewrite a paper than it is
to write the first draft. The fine
art of writing is really in the rewritingl
Those of you who began with a research proposal have a head
start; you will find that
the final report is much easier to write. It is very disappointing
to discover that something
important was Ieft out when it is too late to do anything about
it. We do not need to point
out that students (and professional researchers) often leave final
papers (and reports) until
the last possible minute (often for understandable reasons,
including other course work and
job or family responsibilities). But be forewarned: The last-
minute approach does not work!
Successful research reporting requires both good writing and a
proper publication out-
let. We will first review guidelines for successful writing before
we look at particular types of
research publications.
Consider the following principles formulated by experienced
writers @ooth, Colomb,
andWlliams 1995):
Respect the complexity of the task and dont expect to write a

polished draft in a linear
fashion. Your thinking will develop as you write, causing you to
reorganize and rewrite.
Leave enough time for dead ends, resafts, revisions, and so on,
and accept the fact
that you will discard much of what you write.
Write as fast as you comforably can. Don't wory about spelling,
grammar, and so on
until you are polishing things up.
fuk anyone whom you trust for reactions to what you have
written.
Write as you go along, so you have notes and report segments
drafted even before
you focus on writing the repoft.
It is important to oudine a report before writing it, but neither
the report's organization
nor the first written draft should be considered fixed. As you
write, you will get new ideas about
how to orgarizethe report. Try them out. As you review the first
draft, you will see many wals
to improve your *riting. Focus particularly on how to shorten
and clarifi, your statements.
SECTION V . AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED476
Make sure that each paragraph concerns only one topic.
Remember the golden rule of good
writing: Writing is revisingl

You can ease the burden ofreport writing in several ways:
o .Draw on the research proposal and on project notes.
. (Jse a word processing program on a computer to facilitate
reorganizing and editing.
. Seek criticism from friends, teachers, and other research
consumers before turning in
the final product.
We often find it helpfirl to use reverse oudining After you have
rritten a complete first
draft, oudine it on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis, ignoring the
actual section headings you used.
See if the paper you vrote actually fits the outline you planned.
How could the organization be
improved? Most importandy, leave yourself enough time so
thatyou can revise, several times if
possible, before turning in the final draft. Revision is essential
until complete clarity is achieved.
For more suggestions about writing, see Becker (1986), Booth
et al. (1995), Cuba (2002),
Strunk and White (2000), and Tirabian (1996).
RESEARCH REPORTTYPES
Research projects designed to produce student papers and
theses, applied research reports,
and academic articles all have unique features thatwill influence
the final research report. For
example, student papers are written for a particular professor or
for a thesis committee and
often are undertaken with almost no financial resources and in
the face of severe time con-
straints. Applied research reports are written for an organization

or agency that usually also
fieverse outlining:
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tliJ-,. iri...it lzt(ilt:,)l tj'.AllJLULIUii,ii ii) r' :rL.r.: 1rr LL( r.
CHAPTER 16 . SUMMAR]ZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 477
Mitchell B e zziln.a, B S, Gyb ers ecurity G on sultant
Nditchell Bezzina has
been a computer foren-
sic examiner for over 15
years. He has conducted
investigations centered
on many areas of inquiry
including intellectual
property theft, employee
misconduct, fraud inves-
tigations, cross-border
investigations, court
orders, and regulatory
inquiries. This work has spanned multiple jurisdic-
tions and countries. With hands-on experience in

security and digital investigations of every kind, he has
designed, developed, and implemented operational
and procedural policies for digital forensics, e-discov-
ery and engineering departments to gain production
efficiencies and comply with business requirements.
While knowledge of computers is a must for
the kind of work Bezzina does, the cyber world
is constantly changing, so the main thing you
need to have is curiosity and motivation to learn.
Bezzina believes there are several career paths for
someone interested in his line of work, includ-
irg digital forensics, e-discovery, and incident
response/threat intelligence. From there, lour
path is defined by your interests, as you will be
investing more than 40 hours per week and doing
what you love.
His advice to students is that they take as many
computer and data analysis courses as possible and
never stop learning. If you go into the consultingbusi-
ness, you also have to be able to communicate with
several different stakeholders in both business and
government. For this reason, it's also important to be
able to communicate effectively, both verbally and in
writing.
7a
Ti
Source: Courtesy of
Mitchell Bezztna
li

has funded the research and has expectations for a particular
type ofreport.Journal articles
are written for the larger academic community and will not be
published until they are judged
accepable by some representatives of that community (e.g., after
the article has gone through
extensive peer review).
These unique features do not match up so neady with the
specific types ofresearch prod-
ucts. For example, a student paper that is based on a research
project conducted in collabora-
tion with a work organizadonmay face some of the same
constraints as a project designed to
produce an applied research report. An academic article may
stem from an applied research
project conducted for a goverlrment agenry. An applied research
report often can be followed
by an academic article on the same topic. In fact, one research
study may lead to all three
types ofresearch reports, as students write course papers or
theses for professors who write
both academic articles and applied research reports.
Student Papers and Theses
What is most distinctive about a student research paper or thesis
is the audience for the final
product a professor or, for a thesis, a committee of professors.
In light of this, it is important
for you to seek feedback early and often about the progress
ofyour research and about your
professor's expectations for the final paper. Securing approval
ofa research proposal is usually

the first step, but it should not be the last occasion for seeking
advice prior to writing the final
paper. Do not become too anxious for guidance, however.
Professors require research projects
in part so that their students can work through, at least
somewhat independendy, the many
issues they confront. A great deal ofinsight into the research
process can be gained this way.
So, balance your requests for advice with some independent
decision making.
Most student research pro;'ects can draw on few resources
beyond the student's own time
and effort, so it is important that the research plan not be overly
ambitious. Keep the paper
deadline in mind when planning the project, and remember that
almost every researcher
tends to underestimate the time required to carry out a project.
Group Projects
Pooling your resources with those of several students in a group
project can make it possible
to collect much more data but can lead to other problems. Each
student's role should be
clarified at the outset and written into the research proposal as a
formal commitrnent. Group
members should try to help each other out rather than competing
to do the least work pos-
sible or to receive the most recognition. Complaints about other
group members should be
made to the professor when things cannot be worked out among
group members. Each group
member should have a clear area of responsibilitywith respect to
writing the final report, and
one may want to serve as the final editor.

TheThesis Committee
Students who are preparing a paper for a committee, usually
during the senior year ol a
bachelor's degree or at the masters or PhD level, must be
prepared to integrate the multiple
perspectives and comments of committee members into a plan
for a coherent final report.
(The thesis committee chair should be the primary guide in this
process; carefirl selection of
faculty to serve on the committee is also important.) As much as
possible, committee mem-
bers should have complementary areas of expertise that are each
important for the research
project: perhaps one methodologist, one specialist in the
primary substantive area of the the-
sis, and one specialist in a secondary area. Theses using data
collected by service agencies or
other organizations often benefit if an organizational
representative is on the commiftee.
It is very important that you work with your committee
members in an ongoing man-
ner, both individually and collectively.In fact, it is vitally
important to have a group meeting
AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED478 SECTION V O
with all committee members at the beginning of the project to
ensure that everyone on the
committee supports the research plan. Doing this will avoid
obstacles that arise due to mis-
communication later in the research process.

JournalArticles
It is the peer review process that makes preparation of an
academic journal article most
unique. In a process similar to a grant review; the journal's
editor sends submitted articles to
two or three experts (peers) who are asked whether the paper
should be accepted more or less
as is, revised and then resubmitted, or rejected. Reviewers also
provide coilrments, sometimes
quite lengthy, to explain their decision and to guide any
required revisions. The process is an
anonyrnous one at most journals; reviewers are not told the
author's name, and the author is
not told the reviewers'names. Although the journal editor has
the final say, editors' decisions
arenormally based on the reviewers' comments.
This peer review process must be anticipated in designing the
final report. Peer review-
ers are not pulled out ofa hat. They are experts in the field or
fields represented in the paper
and usually have published articles themselves in that field. It is
critical that the author be
familiar with the research literature and be able to present the
research findings as a unique
contribution to that literature. In most cases, this hurdle is
extaordinarily hard to jump: Most
leading journals have a rejection rate of over 90%. Of course,
there is also a certain luck of the
draw in peer review. One set of two or three reviewers may be
inclined to reject an article that
another set of reviewers would accept. But in general, the
anonymous peer review process
results in higher-quality research reports because articles are

revised prior to publication in
response to the suggestions and criticisms of the experts.
Criminological and criminal justice research is published in a
myriad of journals within
several disciplines, including criminology, law; sociology,
pqychology, and economics. As a
result, there is no one formatting style that all criminological
literature abides by. If, for
example, you are submitting your paper to a psychology-related
journal, you must abide by
the formatting style dictated by the Publication Manual of the
American Prycbohgical,*sociation
(American Psychological Association 2009). The easiest way to
determine how to format a
paper for a particular journal is to examine recent volumes of
the journal and format your
paper accordingly. To give you a general idea ofwhat a journal
article looks like, an article
in its entirety has been reprinted in Appendix B, along with an
illustration of how to read a
journal article. There are also numerous articles available on the
Student Study Site.
Despite the slight variations in style across journals, there are
typically seven standard
sections within a journal article in addition to the tide page (see
Exhibit 16.1).
Applied Reports
Unlike journal articles, applied reports are usually
commissioned by a particular govefirment
agency, corporation, or nonprofit organization. For this reason,
the most imporant problem
that applied researchers confront is the need to produce a final

report that meets the fund-
ing organization's expectations. This is called the bired-gun
problem. Of course, the extent
to which being a hired gun is a problem varies gready with the
research orientation ofthe
frrnding organization and with the nature ofthe research
problem posed. The ideal situation
is to have few constraints on the nature of the final report, but
sometimes research reporB
are suppressed or distorted because the researcher comes to
conclusions that the firnding
organization does not like.
Applied reports that are written in a less highly charged
environment can face another
problem-even when they are favorably received by the funding
organization, their conclu-
sions are often ignored. This problem can be more a matter of
the organization not really
knowing how to use research findings than a matter of not
wanting to use them. And this is
CHAPTER 16. SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 479
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not merely a problem of the funding organization; many
researchers are prepared only to
present their findings, without giving any thought to how
research findings can be translated
into organizational policies or programs.
An Advisory Committee
An advisory comminee can help the applied researcher avoid the
problems of incompatible
expectations for the final report and insufficient understanding
of how to use the research
reiults, without adopting the more engaged strategy of Whyte's
(1991) PAR or Guba and
Lincoln's (1989) constructivist inquiry. An advisory commiftee
should be formed before the
start of the project to represent the various organizational
segments with stakes in the out-
comes of the resea.ch. The researcher can use the committee as
a source of intelligence about
how particular findings may be received and as a sounding
board for ideas about how the

SECTION V . AFTER THE DATA IRE COLIE.TED480
Exhibit 16.1 General Sections of a lournal Article
organization or agency can use research findings. Perhaps most
importandy an advisory com-
mittee can help the researcher work out many problems in
research design, implementation,
and data collection. Because an advisory committee is meant to
comprise all stakeholders,
it is inevitable that conflicts will arise among advisory group
members. In our experience,
however, these conflicts almost invariably can be used to
strateglze more effectively about the
research design and the final product.
Advisory committees are particularly necessary for research
investigating controversial
issues. For example, after a study conducted n 1999 found that
several death row inmates had
been wrongly convicted of their crimes, the governor of Illinois
placed a moratorium on all
death sentences in the state. Other results of the study suggested
that the death penalty was
handed down unfairly; it found that proportionally more
minority and poor offenders were
sentenced to death than whites and those who could afford hired
legal counsel. This caused
a great deal ofmedia attention and led to calls for other states
that practiced the death pen-
alty to institute similar moratoriums. As a consequence of this
attention, other states began
to examine their implementation of the death penalty. Maryland
is one such state. In 2001,

the state legislature in Maryland commissioned Paternoster
(Paternoster, Brame, Bacon, and
Ditchfield 2004) at the University of Maryland to conduct a
study of its practice of the death
penalty. The primary goal of the study was to determine
whether the administration of the
death penalty in the state was affected by the race of the
defendant or victim.
As you can imagine, when the study was released, it was
controversial. To make sure all
interests were represented, Paternoster et al. Q004) set up an
advisory committee before
undertaking the study. The advisory committee consisted of a
gtoup of prosecutors and
defense counsel who had experience in capital cases. They
advised Paternoster on several
critical issues, including the years that the study should cover,
the sources where information
could be found, and the particularly important variables related
to sentencing outcomes. Not
only did the advisory committee provide substantive input into
the research, but by having a
broad spectrum of the legal community on board, it also
provided credibility for the study's
findings.
DISPLAYING RESEARCH
You learned in Chapter 14 about some of the statistics that are
useful in analyzing and report-
ing data, but there are some additional methods of presenting
statistical resul* that can
improle research reports. Combined and compressed displays
are used most often in applied
research reports and government documents, but they can also

help communicate findings
more effectively in student papers and journal articles.
In a combined frequency display, the distributions for a set of
conceptually similar
variables with the same response categories are presented
together, with common headings
for the responses. For example, you could identify the variables
in the lefrnost column and
the value labels along the top. Exhibit 16.2 is a combined
display reporting the frequency
disributions in percentage form for responses to the question,
"HolM worried are you that
you or someone in your family will become a victim of
terrorism?" for the years 2002 through
2013. From this table, you can infer several pieces
ofinformation besides the basic distribu-
tion of attitudes. Except for the high blip in early October
wherc 24o/" of the population was
very worried, for the most part, about 1 in 10 people have been
very worried throughout the
entire time period. llowever, during this time there has been a
noticeable increase in the
percentage of the population who are not worried at all.
Compressed frequency displays can also be used to present
cross-tabular data and
summary statistics more efficiendy, by eliminating unnecessary
percentages (such as those
corresponding to the second value of a dichotomous variable)
and by reducing the need
Combined frequency display:
ri l^!^1^ )-1.,-t
11 !,1i111, 1|t;-1 I ttl r';i1!,:ti

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display:
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- - -
l- I -
CHAPTER 16 . SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 481
Sept. 21-22,2001
Oct. 5-6, 2001
June, 2005
July, 2005
July, 2007
September, 2008

December, 2009
January,2010
April, 2013
0% 107" 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
ffi Very Worried ffi Somewhat Worried
ffi Not Too Worried ffi Not Worried at All
Source: gnivsrsity at Albany, Hindelang Criminal Justice
Research Center, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice
Statistics. Teble 2.29.2073. Available:
http://www.albany.edu./sourcebooVpdf/A292013.pdf.
for repetitive labels. Exhibit 16.3 presents a compressed display
used to highlight the per-
centages of students in Grades 9 through 12 who reported using
marijuana at least once in
the past 30 days by select student characteristics and year. It
took many cross-tabulations
SECTION V . AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED
Oct. 1 1-1 4, 2001
Oct. 19-21 ,2001
Nov. 2-4,2001
Nov. 26-27,2001
March, 2002
April, 2OO2

May, 2002
September,2002
February, 2003
March, 2003
August, 2003
December, 2003
January,2004
February,2004
October,2004
482
Exhibit 16.2 Combined Frequenry Distribution of Responses to
Question
About Fear of Terrorism,2001-2013
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RESEARCH
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Source: Musu-Gillette, et al. z}l8.Indicators of Scho ol Crime
and Safety: 20'J-7 ,Table 1,6,1..
484 SECTION V . AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED
to create this display, but not all of the percentages are
presented*only those percent-
ages necessary to convey the bivariate distribution are
presented. With this display, read-
ers can easily compare the likelihood of different students
smoking marijuana over time.
Interestingly, despite the fact that several states have now
legalized recreational marijuana
use (although it typically does not apply to those under the age
of 2l), the percentage of
students using marijuana does not appear to have changed much
over the past 20 years.
Combined and compressed statistical displays present a large
amount of data in a rela-
tively small space. To the experienced reader ofstatistical
reports, such displays can convey
much important information. They should be used with caution,
howeveq because people
who are not used to them may be baffled by the rows of
numbers. Graphs can also provide
an efficient tool for summarizing relationships among variables.
A good example of the use of
graphs is also reported inlndicators dSchool Crime and. Safety:
2017 (M,ast-Gillette et aI.2018).
Exhibit 16.4 presens the number of student, staff, and other

nonstudent school-associated
violent deaths and the number of homicides and suicides of
youth aged 5 to 19 at school from
1992 through 2015 (Musu-Gillette et al. 2018). As you can see,
compressed displays in both
table and graph form can be very illuminating!
Special Considerations for Reporting Qualitative or
Mixed-Methods Research
The requirements for good research reports are similar in many
respects for quantitative
and qualitative research projects. Every research report should
include good writing, a clear
statement of the research question, an integrated literature
review, and presenation of key
Number
48 48 91 48
11
3
1992- i99g- i994- i99s- 1996- 1 997- 1 998- 1 999- 2ooo- 2oo1-
2ooz- 2oog- 2oo4- 2005- 2006- 2007- 2oog- 2oo9- 2010- zoli-
2012- zolg- 2ou-
93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 01', 02' 03', 04' 05', 06', 07' 08', 09',
'10', 'I1', 12' 13', 14' 15',
School year
Number of student, staff, and other nonstudent school-
associated violent deaths2

Homicides of youth ages 5-18 at school
-
Suicides of youth ages 5-18 at school
Exhibit 16.4 Number of Student, Staff, and Other Nonshrdent
School-Associated Violent Deaths
and the Number of Homicides and Suicides ofYouth Aged 5 to
19 At School ByYear
,A 53
37 34 " 96. _ _q0
findings with related discussion, conclusions, and limitations.
The general sections of a quan-
titative article @xhibit 16. 1) may also be used by some audrors
of qualiative research reports.
Iloweveq the differences between qualitative and quantitative
research approaches mean that
it is often desirable for research reports based on qualitative
research to diverge in some
rbspects from those reflecting quantitative research.
Reports based on qo"litrtirr" research should be enriched in
each section with elements
that reflect the more holistic and reflexive approach of
qualitative projects. The inmoduc-
tion should include background about the development of the
researcher's interest in the
topic, whereas the literature review should include some
attention to the gpes of particular
qualitative methods used in prior research. The methodology
section should describe how the

researcher gained access to the setting or individuals studied
and the approach used to man-
age relations with research participants. The presentation of
findings in qualitative studies
may be organized into sections reflecting different themes
identified in interviews or obser-
vational sessions. Quotes from participants or from
observational notes should be selected
to illustrate these themes, although qualitative research reports
differ in the extent to which
the researcher presents findings in summary form or uses direct
quotes to identi$z key issues.
The findings sections in a qualitative report may alternate
between presentations of quotes or
observations about the research participants, the tesearcher's
interpretations of this material,
and some commentary on how the researcher reacted in the
setting, although some qualita-
tive researchers will limit their discussion of their reactions to
the discussion section.
Reports on mixed-methods projects should include subsections
in the methods section
that introduce each method and then distinguish findings from
qualiative and quantitative
analyses in the findings section. Some mixed-methods research
reports may present analy-
ses that use both qualitative and quantitative data in yet another
subsection, but others may
discuss implications of analyses of each gpe for the overall
conclusions in the discussions
and conclusions sections (Dahlberg, Wittink, and Gallo 2010).
When findings based on each
method are presented, it is important to explicidy consider the
ways in which the specific
methods influenced findings obtained with those methods and to

discuss the implications of
findings obtained using both methods for the overall study
conclusions.
ETHICS, POLITICS,AND REPORTING RESEARCH
It is at the time of reporting research results that the
researcher's ethical duty to be honest
becomes paramount. Here are some guidelines:
. Prwide an honest atcuunting of haw the research was caried.
oat and wbere the initial researclt
deign had n be changed. Readers do not have to know about
every change you made
in your plans and each new idea you had, b-ut they should be
informed about major
changes in hypotheses or research design. If important
hypotheses were not supported,
acknowledge this rather than conveniendyforgettingto mention
them @rown and
Hedges 2009). If a different approach to collecting or analyzing
the data could have
led to different conclusions, this should be aclarowledged in the
limitations section
@ergman 2008).
o Honestl! eaaluate the strmgths and weaknesses of your
research design. Systemadc
evaluations suggest that the stronger the research design from
the standpoint of
establishing internal (causal) validity, the weaker the empirical
support that is likely
to be found for hypothesized effects (compare Weisburd, Lum,
and Petrosino 2001).
Finding support for a hypothesis tested with a randomized

experimental design is
stronger evidence than support based on correlations
amongvariables measured in a
cross-sectional survey.
CHAPTER 16 O SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 485
Refer to prir research and intayret yourfindings witbin tbe body
of literaru.re renbingfrorn
that prior research. Your resuls are Iikely to be only the latest
research conducted to
investigate a research question that others have studied. It
borders on unethical practice
to presentyour fiodi"Sr as if they are the only empirical
informationwithwhich to
answer your research question, yet many researchers commit
this firndamental misake
@ergman 2008). For example, a systematic ev"aluation of
ciation frequencyin articles
reporting clinical trial results in medical journals found that on
average, only 2lo/o of
the available prior research was cited (for trials with at least
three prior articles that
could have been cited) @obinson and Goodman 201 1). The
result of such omission
is tlatreaders mayhave no ideawhetheryour own research
suppors a larger bodyof
evidence or differs from it-and so should be subject to even
greater scrutiny.
Maintain a full record of the research projea so that questims
can be artrwered if thel

arise. M*ty deails will have to be omitted from all but the most
comprehensive
reports, but these omissions should not make it impossible to
track down answers
to specific questions about research procedures that may arise
during data analysis
or presentation. Tests of relationships that were conducted but
not included in the
report should be acl,rnowledged.
Aooid "lyingwitb statistits" or raing graphs n mislead.There is a
more subde problem
to be avoided, which is cherry-picking which result you will
present. Although some
studies are designed to test only one hlpothesis involving
variables that are each
measured in only one way, many studies collect data that can be
used to test many
hlpotheses, often with alternative measures. If many possible
relationships have been
examined with the data collected and only those found to yield a
statistically significant
result are reported, the odds of capitalizing on chance findings
are multiplied.This is a
major temptation in research practice and has the unfornrnate
result of most published
findings not being replicated or not sta:nding up to repeated
tests over time (Lehrer
2010). Every statistical test presented can be adequately
understood only in light ofthe
entire body ofstatistical analyses that led to that particular
result.
Acknowledge tbe sponsorc of the researcb. This is imporant
pardy so that others can
consider whether this sponsorship may have tempted you to bias

your results in some
way. Whether you conducted your research for a sponsor or
together with members
of an underserved community, grve research participants an
opportunity to comment
on your main findings before you release the findings to the
public. Consider revising
your report based on their suggestions or, ifyou disagree with
their suggestions,
include their comments in foomotes at relevant poins in your
report or as an
appendix to it @ledsoe and Hopson 2009).
Tbnnk staffwho ntade major contibutions.Thts is an ethical as
well as a political
necessity. Let's maintain our social relations!
Be v.r.re tbat the arder of aatborchip for coauthored reports is
d.isatssed. in adaance ond reJlem
agreed-on principles.Be sensitive to coauthors' needs and
concefiN.
Ethical research reporting should not mean ineffective
reporting. You need to tell a coher-
ent story in the repoft and avoid losing track of the story in a
thicket of minuscule details. You do
not need to repoft every twist and tum in the conceptualizaton
ofthe research problem or the
conduct ofthe research. But be suspicious ofreports that dont
seem to admit to the possibility of
any room for improvement. Social science is an ongoing
enterprise in which one research report
makes its most valuable conribution by laying the groundwork
for another, more sophisticated
research project. Highlight important findings in the research
report, but also use it to point out

what are likely to be the most productive directions for future
researchers.
SECTION V . AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED486
Communicating With the Public
Even following appropriate guidelines such as these, howeveq
will not prevent controversy
and conflict over research on sensitive issues. Does tlds mean
that ethical researchers should
avoid political controversy by sidestepping media oudets for
their work? Many social scien-
tists argue that the media offer one of the best ways to
communicate the practical application
of sociological knowledge and that when we avoid these
opportunities, "some of the best
sociological insights never reach policy makers because
sociologists seldom take advantage of
usefirl mechanisms to get their ideas out" (Wilson 1998,+35).
The sociologistWilliamJulius Wilson (1998) urges the following
principles for engagng
the public through the media:
1. Focus on issues of national concern, issues that are high on
the public agenda.
2. Develop creative and thoughtfrrl arguments that are
clearlypresented and devoid of
technical language.
3. Present the big picture whereby the arguments are organized
and presented so that

the readers can see how the various parts are interrelated.
Illtimately, each researcher must make a decision about the
most appropriate and impor-
tant oudets for his or her work.
CHAPTER 16 o SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 487
For Further Thought:
1,. The article finds that top-tier journals are
as likely as lesser publications to retract
articles. Beyond peer review, what measures
should be taken to reduce this misconduct?
2. If research is funded by afederal agency,
there is an expectation that the data will
be made publicly available if doing so does
not compromise the confidentiality of
research participants. Should all scientists
be compelled to turn over their data for
replication? Should journals put all papers
through a plagiarism checker, as most
universities now do with student papers?
Plagiarism:
Fr*sentinil frs *t1rj'* *w*t?t*
irJras *i'wt:rd* af an*iher
ilor$t:i"r or p*rs*n.s frr
a*arl ern i t rva I ualt*n,,ruith * ui

p rr] il# r a*k**u:led U rn* nt,
PLAGIARISM
It may seem depressing to end a book on research methods with
a section on plagiarism, but it
would be irresponsible to avoid the topic. Of course, you may
have a course syllabus deailing
instructor or university policies about plagiarism and specilring
the penalties for violating that
policy, so we're not simply going to repeat that kind of warning.
You probably realize that the
practice of selling tenn papers is revoltingly widespread (our
search of terru paperc on Google
returned over 2 million websites onJune 3,2015), so we're not
going to repeat that academic
dishonesty is widespread. Instead, we will use this section to
review the concept of plagiarism
and to show how that problem connects to the larger issue of the
integrity of social research.
When you understand the dimensions of the problem and the
way it affects research, you
should be better able to detect plagiarism in other work and
avoid it in your own.
You learned in Chapter 3 that maintaining professional
integrity-honesty and open-
ness in research procedures and results-is the foundation for
ethical research practice.
When it comes to research publications and reports, being
honest and open means avoiding
plagiarism-presenting as onet own the ideas or words of another
person or persons for aca-
demic evaluation without proper acknowledgment (Hard,
Conway, and Moran 2006).

An increasing body ofresearch suggests that plagiarism is a
growing problem on col-
lege campuses. Stephens and his colleagues (Stephens,Young,
and Calabrese 2007) found in
a web-based survey of self-selected students at two universities
that one-quarter acknowl-
edged having plagiarized a few sentences (24.7"/"), while a
much smaller fraction admitted
plaglaizrnga complete paper (.3%) in courseworkwithin the
pastyear. (Many others admit-
ted to other forms of academic dishonesty, such as copymg
homework.) Hard et al. (2006)
conducted an anonymous survey in selected classes in one
university, with almost all stu-
dens participating, and found much higher plagiarism rates:
60.6Y" reported that they had
copied "sentences, phrases, paragraphs, tables, figures or data
direcdy or in slighdy modified
form from a book, article, or other academic source without
using quotation marks or giving
proper acknowledgment to the original author or source", and
39-4o/" rcported that they had
"copied information from Internet websites and submitted it as
[their] work" (1069).
So, the plagiarism problem is not only about purchasing term
papers-although that is
really about as bad as it gets (Broskoske 2005); plagiarism is
also about what you do with the
information you obtain from a literature review or an inspection
of research reports. And
rest assured that this is not only about student papers; it is also
about the work of established
scholars and social researchers who publish reports that you
want to rely on for accurate infor-
mation. Several noted historians have been accused

ofplagiarizing passages tha.t they used in
popular bools; some have admitted to not checking the work of
their research assistants, to
not keeping track of their sources, or to being unable to retrieve
the data they claimed they
had analyzed. Whether the carxe is cutting corners to meet
deadlines or consciously fudgrg
fac6, the effect is to undermine the trustworthiness of social
research.
Now that you are completing this course in research methods,
it's time to think about
how to do your part to reduce the prevalence of plagiarism. Of
course, the first step is to
mainain carefirl procedures for documenting the sources that
you rely on for your own
research and papers, but you should also think about how best
to reduce temptations among
bthers. After all, what people believe about what others do is a
smong influence on their own
behavior (Ilard et
^1.2006).Reviewing the definition of plagiarism and how it is
enforced by your discipline's profes-
sional association is an important first step. These definitions
and procedures reflect a collec-
tive effort to help social scientists maintain standards
throughout the discipline. Awareness
is the first step (American Sociological fusociation [ASA]
1999). In addition, your college or
unirrersity also has rules that delineate its definition of and
consequences for plagiarism.
Researchers have an obligation to be familiar with their
institution's code of ethics, other
applicable ethics codes, and these codes' application to

sociologists' work. Lack of awareness
AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTED488 sECTloN v o
or misunderstanding of an ethical standard is not, in itself, a
defense to a charge of unethical
conduct.
ASAb (1999) code of ethics, which is used by the American
Society of Criminology,
includes an explicit prohibition of plagiarism:
14. Plagiarism
(a) In publications, presentations, teaching, practice, and
service, sociologists explicitly
identify, credit, and reference the author when they take data or
material verbatim
from another person's vritten work, whetler it is published,
unpublished, or
electronically available.
(b) In their publications, presentations, teaching, practice, and
service, sociologists
provide acknowledgment of and reference to the use of others'
work, even
ifthe work is not quoted verbatim or paraphrased, and they do
not present
others'work as their own whether it is published, unpublished,
or electronically
available. (16)
The next step toward combating the problem and temptation of
plagiarism is to keep

focused on the goal of social research methods: investigating
the social world. If researchers
are motivated by a desire to learn about social relations, to
undersand how people understand
society, and to discover why conflicts arise and how they can be
prevented, they will be as con-
cerned with the integrity of their research methods as are those,
like yourself, who read and use
the results oftheir research. Throughout this text, you have been
learning how to use research
processes and practices that yield valid findings and trustworthy
conclusions. Failing to report
honesdy and openly on the methods used or sources consulted
derails progress toward that goal.
It worls the same as with cheating in school. When students are
motivated only by the
desire to ace their tests and receive better grades than others,
they are more likely to plagia-
rize and use other illicit means to achieve that goal. Students
who seek first to improve their
undersanding of the subject matter and to engage in the process
of learning are less likely to
plag1aize sources or cheat on exams (Kohn 2008). They are also
building the foundation tor
becoming successful social researchers who help others
understand our world.
CONCLUSION
Good critical skills are essential when evaluating research
reports, whether your own or those
produced by others. There are always weak points in any
research, even published research. It
is an indication of strength, not weakness, to recognize areas
where one's own research needs

to be or could have been improved. And it is not merely a
question of sharpening our knives
and going for the jugular. You need to be able to weigh the
strengths and weaknesses of par-
ticular research results and to evaluate a study in terms ofits
contribution to understanding
its particular research question, not whether it gives a definitive
answer for all time.
But this is not to say that anlthing goes. Much research lacks
one or more of the three
legs of validity-measurement validity, causal validity, and
generalizability-and sometimes
contributes more confusion than understanding about particular
issues. Top journals generally
maintain very high standards, pardy because they have good
critics in the review process and
distinguished editors who make the final acceptance decisions.
But some daily newspapers
do a poor job of screening, and research reporting standards in
many popular magazines, TV
shows, and boo[s are often abysmally poor. Keep your standards
high and your view critical
when reading research reports, but not so high or so critical that
you turn away from stud-
ies that make tangible contributions to the literature, even if
they do not provide definitive
CHAPTER 16. SUMMARIZING AND REPORTING
RESEARCH 489
answers. And dont be so intimidated by the need to mainain
high sandards that you shrink
from taking advantage ofopportunities to conduct research

yourself.
The growth of social science methods from infanry to
adolescence, perhaps to young
adulthood, rants as a key intellectual accomplishment of the
20th century. Opinions about
the causes and consequences of crime no longer need depend on
the scattered impressions
of individuals, and criminal justice policies can be shaped by
systematic evidence of their
effectiveness.
Of course, social research methods are no more usefrrl than the
commitrnent of the
researchers to their proper application. Research methods, like
all knowledge, can be used
poorly or well, for good purposes or bad, when appropriate or
not. A claim that a belief is
based on social science research in itself provides no extra
credibility. As you have learned
throughout this book, we must first learn which methods were
used, how they were applied,
and whether interpretations square with the evidence. To
investigate the social world, we
must keep in mind the lessons of research methods
).,,,Review, key: terms w,ith, eFl,a:shcards.
C onebiiled fr e $u enw... diS pla, Xr,., .,.....,. ..4 8,1,,.,
.C6,fi 65s6d'...frqquenC$.,1.diS.ptrbg...,r::.:::iri4:8X
Participatory action research e'AR) q:7+'
Plasiarism 488, c) : ..
B ef$ie.... tlinin$,..,..,11....111477
Proposal writing should be a time for clariffrg

the research problem, reviewing the literature, and
thinking ahead about the report that will be required.
Relations with research subjects and consumers should
be developed in a manner that achieves key research
goals and prepares for an effective research report.
The traditional scientific approach of minimizing the
involvement of research s,rbjects and consum.rrln
research decisions has been challenged bv proponents
of PAR and adherents of the constructivist paradigm.
Different types of reports typically pose different
problems. Authors of student papers must be guided in
part bv the expectations of their professor. Thesis writers
have to meet the requirements of different committee
members but can benefit greatly from the areas of
expertise represented on a typical thesis commiffee.
Applied researchers are constrained by the expectations
of the research sponsor; an advisory committee from the
applied setting can help avoid problems. Journal articles
must pass a peer review by other social scientists and
often are much improved in the process.
Research reports should include an introductory
statement of the research problem, a literarure review, a
SECTION V " AFTER THE DATA ARE COLLECTEDil,0,

Crime mapping:
fimUraphiral n"rappinU
*lrat*{t}ies u$*d i* visr.raliz* a
n i: rn i:r r *f th i rrg*, inr,l*rJing
't*t:ttirs*,tl i gtiln * t, an d
paitcrns *f *rim* a*tlrh*ir
t;*rr*lat**,
Geographic information
system (GIS):
Th* srfnvar*tts*llhnl
lsx.* nadrt *rir** r*xpfiirt#
i n * r *,o,*tn *t,l au ail aYsl * t*
r***arther* sitrc* ihe i*#**,
The size of the shapes in the graphs (e.g., circles, diamonds)
indicate the degree of between-
ness centrality. The highest-scoring individual at the beginning
of the investigation was Melvyn
Foster, who is represented by the square containing the large
diamond in the Exhibit 1 1.3A. By
18 months, however, Gary Leon Ridgway becomes more
noticeable (depicted by the shaded
triangle in the second box). Unfortunately, the task force did
not focus on Ridgeway but contin-
ued to focus exclusively on Foster. Bichler and her colleagues
concluded,
It is hard to know in hindsight if these results would sway the

organization momenflrm
that led investigators to focus on Foster to the exclusion of
Ridgway. . . . It might have
prevented the working hypothesis from solidiiring so early on in
the investigation by
encouraging members of the Green River Killer Task Force to
pay greater attention
to GaryLeon Ridgway.
While this research cannot predict what would have happened
had SNA been available
then, it cerainly highlights the utility of SNA for investigative
purposes today. We move on
next to a research technique that is frequendy being used for
predictive purposes in law enforce-
ment.
CRIME MAPPING
Many of us have adopted an image of crime mapping that
involves a police precinct wall
with pushpins stuck all over it identif.ing the location of crime
incidents. Shows such as
Tlte Wire, Tlte Dimict, and episodes of CSI have also presented
the drama behind the use of
crime mapping in generating crime counts within various police
beats. Crime mapping for
intelligenceJed policing has been increasing in the past few
decades, but crime mapping for
research purposes has a very long history; it is generally used to
identifiz the spatial distribu-
tion of crime along with the social indicators such as poverty
and social fisorganization that
are similarly distributed across areas (e.g., neighborhood,
census tract). Boba (2009) defines
crime mapping as 'othe process of using a geographic

information s,'stem (GIS) to conduct
special analysis of crime problems and other police-related
issues" (7). She also describes the
three main functions of crime mapping:
1 . It provides visual and statistical analyses of the spatial
nature of crime and other
events.
2. It allows the linkage of crime data to other data sources, such
as census information
on poyerty or school information, which allows relationships
among variables to be
esablished.
l. It provides maps to visually communicate analysis results.
Although applied crime mapping similar to this has been used
for over one hundred years
to assist the police in criminal apprehension and crime
prevention, the advent of computing
technology has enabled crime mapping to become an advanced
form of statistical data analysis.
The geographic information system (GIS) is the software tool
that has made crime mapping
increasingly available to researchers since the 1990s.
Today, crime mapping is being used by the majority of urban
law enforcement agen-
cies to identifiz crimg hot spots (Caplan and Kennedy 2015).
Hot spots are geospatial loca-
tions within jurisdictions where crimes are more likely to occur
compared to other areas.
Being able to understand where crime is more likely to occur
helps agencies deploy resources
more effectively, especially for crime prevention purposes.

These hot spots can be specific
addresses, blocts, or even clusters of blocks @ck et al. 2005).
Of course, crime mapping data
with insight from criminological theory is the ideal. fu Eck and
his colleagues explain, "Crime
TOPICAL RESEARCH DESIGNS334 SECTION IV
theories are critical for useful crime mapping because they aid
interpreation of daa and
provide guidance as to vrhat actions are most appropriate" (3).
This is important because the
ability to undersand why crimes are occurring has a great deal
to do with underlying factors
related to the environment in which they occur. Kennedy,
Caplan andPiza (2012) provide a
very illuminating example:
A sole analytical focus on crime hotspots is like observing that
children frequently play
at the same place every day and then calling that place a hotspot
for children playing,
but without acknowledging the presence of swings, slides, and
open fields-features of
the place (i.e., suggestive of a playground) that attract children
there instead of other
locations absent such entertaining feattres. Q4546)
Through various qrmbols, maps can communicate a great deal of
information. Exhibit
11.4, which was published by the National Institute ofJustice,
displays some common symbols
used by crime analysts (Eck et al. 2005). As the map shows,
dots (A) point to specific places

where crime is likely to occur, a crime site @ and C) indicates
where crime is equally likely to
occur within a panicular site, and a crime gradient (D) indicates
that the probability of crime is
most likely inside the site and decreases as you move toward the
edge of the site.
CHAPTER 11 . SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS, CRIME
MAPPING, AND BIG DATA 335
fennifer A. Herbert, MA, Grime Intelligence Analyst,
Grime Analysis and Strategic Evaluation Unit
Source: Courtesy of
Jennifer A. Herbert
Jennifer Herbert gradu-
ated with a double
maj or in political sci-
ence and justice stud-
ies from James Madison
University in 2007 .
She had aspirations of
becoming a police offi-
cer and eventually a
detective. She was hired
as a police officer after
graduation, but she real-
ized while at the police academy that she wanted to
pursue the crime analysis career path in law enforce-
ment. She became a crime analyst at Chesterfield
County Police Department in Virginia. While work-
ing full time as an analyst, Jennifer pursued a mas-
ter's degree in intelligence at the American Military
University. She then accepted a promotion to crime

intelligence analyst at Henrico County Police Division.
After working as a crime analyst for six years, Jennifer
cannot imagine doing anything else.
Every day is different when working as a crime
intelligence analyst. Some days, Herbert analyzes
phone records and maps a suspect's whereabouts dur-
ing the time of a crime. Other days, she maps the lat-
est residential burglary trend and predicts where the
next burglary will occur. She also completes research
projects that examine quality-of-life issues for the
community, including estimating crimes per 1,000
residents by neighborhood. Herbert's role as a crime
analyst is equally important in preventing crime and
in helping patrol officers to apprehend offenders. She
thinks the most rewarding part of her job is helping
people who have been victimi zed by ,pprehending
offenders and improving the quality of life for county
residents. Jennifer has some good advice for students
interested in careers involving analysis:
If crime analysis interests you, ask your local
police department if you can do an intern-
ship (paid or unpaid) to gain experience. Be
sure to network with other crime analysts
and let them know you are interested in
pursuing a career in crime analysis. Courses
in all forms of data analysis and GIS (geo-
graphic information systems) are almost
essential to a career in crime analysis. Even
if you did not take GIS classes during your
undergraduate studies, many community
colleges offer introductory and advanced
classes in GIS. Other qualifications that wilt
help you stand out as an applicant include

competency in basic statistics and profi-
ciency in data analysis programs, including
Microsoft Excel, Access, and SPSS.
Chance of crime
being part of pattern
is high at site, but
zero at other places.
Everywhere outside
the chance of being a
crime site that is part
of the pattern is zero.
Everywhere inside is
equally Iikely to be a
crime site that is part
of the pattern.
Chance of a site being Part
of the pattern changes
radically at the edge.
Source: Eck et al. 2005, Exhibit 3.
CASE STUDY
Gradient indicates that the
probability of being a crime
site that is part of the Pattern
varies from low near the edge
to high near the center.
Chance of crime site

being part of pattern
is equal anywhere along
street segments, and
zero elsewhere.
Social Disorganization and the Chicago School
fu we noted earlier, crime mapping for general research
purposes has a long history in crimi-
nological research. Although they were not the first to use crime
mapping, Shaw and McKay
1tl+i; conducted a landmark analysis in criminology on juvenile
delinquency in Chicago
neighborhoods back in the 1 93 0s. These researchers mapped
thousands of incidents of iuve-
nll. d"li.,qo"ncy and analyzed relationships between
delinquenry and various social condi-
tions such as social disorganization. After analyzing rates of
police arrests for delinquenry,
Shaw and McKayused police iecords to determine the names and
addresses of those arrested
in Chicago between L927 and 1935. They observed a striking
pattern that persisted over the
years, as shown in Exhibit 11.5.
Exhibit 11.5 displays one of the maps Shaw and McKay (1942)
created that illumi-
nates the spatial disuibution of delinquenry within concentric
circles of Chicago that
spread out io the suburbs from the city's center. As noted in
Exhibit 11.5, there is a linear
dicrease in rates of delinquenry as the distance from the Loop
(city center) increases.

When rares of other community characteristics were similarly
mapped (e.g', infant mor-
taliry tuberculosis cases, percentage of families who own their
own homes, percentage of
TOPICAL RESEARCH DESIGNS336 SECTION IV
ExhibitTL.4 Symbols Used in Grime Maps
foreign-born residents, percentage of families on relief), the
conclusions rilr'ere obvious.
Shaw and McKay concluded,
It may be observed, in the first instance, that the variations in
rates of officially
recorded delinquents in communities of the city correspond very
closely with varia-
tions in economic status. The communities with the highest
rates of delinquents are
occupied by these segments of the population whose position is
most disadvantageous
in relation to the distribution of economic, social, and cultural
values. Of all the com-
munities in the city, these have the fewest facilities for
acquiring the economic goods
indicative of status and success in our conventional culture. . . .
In the low-income
areas, where there is the greatest deprivation and frustration,
where, in the history
of the city, immigrant and migrant groups have brought together
the widest variety
ofdivergent cultural traditions and institutions, and where there
exists the greatest

disparity between the social values to which the people aspire
and the availability of
facilities for acquiring these values in conventional ways, the
development of crime as
an organized way of life is most marked. (3 18-19)
6.6
4.3
3.9
6.1
LL
J
I
T
F
:f
o
U)
tr
o
LL
U)
LU
F
E,
B. Zone rates of police arrests, 1927
Source: Shaw and McKay 1942.

Exhibit 11.5 Zone Rates of Police Arrests in Ghicag or 1937
W
ENTIRE
| 7.8
I rr
FOR
4.3
ilt
I ntelligence-led policing:
iJsing data, anal'ysis, anrl
r:rininal tfuer"rry t* uuirJ*
# *ii r: * ali * r:'ati * n anr|
decisi*n making,
CASE STUDY
Predicting Break and Entries (BNEs)
Contemporary researchers and law enforcement ofEcials
interested in issues related to crime
and criminology have access to more sophisticated computer
technology that allows for the
creation of more enhanced crime maps. In fact, the easy
availability of mapping tools, includ-
ing mobile GIS technology, is providing many more
opportunities for intelligence-led

policing, which includes using "data, analysis, and criminal
theory . . . to guide police alloca-
tion and decision making" @itterer, Nelson, and Nathoo 2015,
l2l). The purpose of crime
maps, however, remains the same: to illuminate the relationship
between categories of crime
and corresponding characteristics such as poverty and
disorganization across given locations.
Break and entries (BNE ) are one type of crime that are
patterned; in facg one of the
things we know about them is that the probability of a repeat
BNE increases for either the
original BNE site andlor for homes near it for several weels
after the original BNE. To deter-
mine the effectiveness of mapping in predicting residential and
commercial BNEs, Fitterer
and her colleagues (2015) used daa from the Vancouver Police
Districts (VPD) alongside
data on other characteristics ofthe districts, including variables
such as population density,
property values, dominant housing types, and street Iight
density.
UsingBNEdatabylocation,hour,day,month,andyearfrom200l
to2}l2,rheresearch-
ers then created a map of the Vancouver area composed of 200m
by 200m grids, placing the
data within each grid. For example, Exhibit 11.6 displays the
map depicting residential BNE
hot spots for the time period. The goal of their research,
however, was not merely to describe
the BNE data but to use data from the early time period to
predict later occurrences of BNEs.
For example, Fitterer and her colleagues found that the
probability of a repeat BNE occur-

ring up to 850m from the originating BNE increased 53"/" for
the next 24 hours after the
first event. While there was still an increase in the likelihood of
near BNEs over time, this
increased risk decreased to 24% after a week of the original
BNE. Imporandy, the propor-
tion of historical crime did significandy predict future crime.
The authors concluded,
We found [that] both residential and commercial crimes had a
strong spatial cluster-
ing over short time periods, suggesting a near-repeat offense
dynamic . . . [indicating]
that perpetrators prefer to reoffend where they have local
knowledge about residents'
routine activities, possessions, and can confirm successful
property entry. (130)
Residential BNE Hot Spots
Quadratic Density * 100,000
ffio-21
w22- 46
Effi47 - 82
w83 - 138
E 139 - 247
Source: Adapted from Fitterer et aI. (2015), Figure 9, page 129.
338 SECT!ON !V . TOPICAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
Exhibit 11.6 Vancouver's 2OOL-2O11, Break and Enter Hot
Spot Map for
Residential Break-Ins

CASE STUDY
Using Google Earth to Track Sexual
Offending Recidivism
While the GIS software that was utilized by Fitterer et al.
(2015) has many research advan-
tages for displaying the spatial distributions of crime, other
researchers have begun to take
advantage of other mapping tools, including Google Earth. One
such endeavor was con-
ducted by Duwe, Donnay, and Tewksbury (2008), who sought to
determine the effects of
Minnesota's residency restriction statute on the recidivism
behavior of registered sex offend-
ers. Many states have passed legislation that restricts where sex
offenders are allowed to live.
These policies are primarily intended to protect children from
child molesters by deterring
direct contact with schools, day care centers, parls, and so on.
Most of these statutes are
applied to all sex offenders, regardless oftheir'offendinghistory
or perceived risk ofreoffense.
The impact of such laws on sexual recidivism, however, remains
unclear. Duwe et al.
(2008) attempted to fill this gap in our ftnowledge. They
examinedZ}4 sexaffenders who had
been reincarcerated for a new sex offense between 1990 and
2005 and asked several research
questions, including "Where did offenders initially establish
contact with their victims, and
where did they commit the offense?" and "What were the
physical distances between an
offender's residence and both the offense and first contact
locations?" (488). The research-

ers used Google Earth to calculate the distance between an
offender's place of residence, the
place where first contact with the victim occurred, and the
location of offense.
Duwe and his colleagues (2008) investigated four criteria to
classifir a reoffense as pre-
ventable: (1) the means by which offenders established contact
with their victims, (2) the
The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice
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