"This volume investigates the significant role qualitative research plays in expanding and refining our understandings of crime and justice. It features seventeen original essays that discuss the relationship between methodology and theory. The result is a theoretically engaged volume that explores the approaches of qualitative scholars in the collection and treatment of data in criminological scholarship.Among the key issues addressed in the volume are methodological rigor in qualitative research; movement between method, theory building, theoretical refinement and expansion; diversity of qualitative methodologies, from classic field research to contemporary innovations; and considerations of the future of qualitative criminological research.Qualitative research use has expanded rapidly in the last twenty years. This latest volume of Advances in Criminological Theory presents a cogent appraisal of qualitative criminology and the ways in which rigorous qualitative research contributes to theorizing about crime and justice."

For several decades qualitative research has been under-represented in criminological and criminal justice research. This book is designed to promote the understanding of qualitative research designs and to encourage their use among those seeking answers to questions about crime and justice. To this end a number of top qualitative scholars have been assembled to provide their insights on the topic. The chapters that appear delve into the state of qualitative methods in the discipline, the potential ethical and physical hazards of engaging in ethnographic research, how to make sense of and interpret participants’ stories, innovative ways to collect data, the value of using mixed methods to understand crime and justice issues, effective strategies for teaching fieldwork, and the inherent rewards of a career spent speaking with others. This book will be an ideal introduction for students and scholars of Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Sociology, regardless of whether their primary methodology is qualitative or quantitative. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.

Bringing together detailed reflexive accounts of authors' experiences of conducting research, this book critically reviews how qualitative methods can be effectively deployed in the area of criminology.

Criminological Research offers a comprehensive guide to both the theory and practice of qualitative criminological research. Through a detailed yet concise explanation, the reader is shown how a variety of methods and approaches work and how their outcomes may be interpreted.

Criminological research lies at the heart of criminological theory, influences social policy development, as well as informs criminal justice practice. The ability to collect, analyse and present empirical data is a core skill every student of criminology must learn. Written as an engaging step-by-step guide and illustrated by detailed case studies, this book guides the reader in how to analyse criminological data. Key features of the book include: o Guidance on how to identify a research topic, designing a research study, accounting for the role of the researcher and writing up and presenting research findings. o A thorough account of the development of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and data analysis within the field of criminology. o Relevant and up-to-date case studies, drawn from internationally published criminological research sources. o Clear and accessible chapter content supported by helpful introductions, concise summaries, self-study questions and suggestions for further reading. Understanding Criminological Research: A Guide to Data Analysis in invaluable reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in criminology and criminal justice.

Conducting research into crime and criminal justice carries unique challenges. This Handbook focuses on the application of ′methods′ to address the core substantive questions that currently motivate contemporary criminological research. It maps a canon of methods that are more elaborated than in most other fields of social science, and the intellectual terrain of research problems with which criminologists are routinely confronted. Drawing on exemplary studies, chapters in each section illustrate the techniques (qualitative and quantitative) that are commonly applied in empirical studies, as well as the logic of criminological enquiry. Organized into five sections, each prefaced by an editorial introduction, the Handbook covers: • Crime and Criminals • Contextualizing Crimes in Space and Time: Networks, Communities and Culture • Perceptual Dimensions of Crime • Criminal Justice Systems: Organizations and Institutions • Preventing Crime and Improving Justice Edited by leaders in the field of criminological research, and with contributions from internationally renowned experts, The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Research Methods is set to become the definitive resource for postgraduates, researchers and academics in criminology, criminal justice, policing, law, and sociology. David Gadd is Professor of Criminology at Manchester University School of Law where he is also Director of the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice. Susanne Karstedt has a Chair in Criminology and Criminological Justice at the University of Leeds. Steven F. Messner is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York.

This volume introduces innovative and inspired qualitative methods through topics on crime commission, victimisation and crime control. It highlights how qualitative methods offer significant insights that frame our understanding of the narratives, events, theoretical perspectives, and realities of the social world. This book includes chapters discussing cutting-edge methods, which demonstrate how qualitative research can expand beyond traditional approaches. It offers diversity in research, including gender, race, and geographic sensitivities. The volume addresses a multitude of approaches for using qualitative methodologies, including innovative uses of technology mediums—such as social media, participatory videos, Zoom interviewing, and photographic visual methods—as means of collecting and co-producing relevant data on meaning. Ultimately, this book illustrates how qualitative criminology allows for deeper and more nuanced understandings of local and regional specificities in a globalized world, and how social interactions are influenced by individual interpretations, social interactions, and collective decision making. This volume is an essential read for graduate students and researchers in criminology and other social science disciplines interested in qualitative empirical research and informed policy making.