This book addresses the need for policing scholarship to strengthen its empirical cumulative knowledge base by replicating and reproducing earlier studies. The chapters in this volume advance policing research by replicating and reproducing earlier studies, investigating the generalizability of research findings, and making data and research methods available to other researchers to encourage scientific exploration of previous research findings. Each chapter addresses important scientific goals of validity, reliability, and generalizability, which build our cumulative knowledge of what is known in policing research, ultimately informing policymaking. The book offers insights into why replicating and reproducing policing scholarship is critical; from emphasizing the importance of making data and study material publicly available to facilitate replications and reproductions, to reproducing studies in new contexts and cautioning against making policy-making decisions based on studies that have not been replicated. This volume highlights the immense value in shifting researchers’ priorities – even slightly – to focus less so on originality and innovation to make room for replications and reproductions, thereby shedding light on how true, empirical knowledge on policing and police practice is dependent on it. This book was originally published as a special issue of Police Practice and Research.

Over the past ten years, the field of evidence-based policing (EBP) has grown substantially, evolving from a novel idea at the fringes of policing to an increasingly core component of contemporary policing research and practice. Examining what makes something evidence-based and not merely evidence-informed, this book unifies the voices of police practitioners, academics, and pracademics. It provides real world examples of evidence-based police practices and how police research can be created and applied in the field. Includes contributions from leading international EBP researchers and practitioners such as Larry Sherman, University of Cambridge, Lorraine Mazerrolle, University of Queensland, Anthony Braga, Northeastern and Craig Bennell, Carelton University.

When it comes to adopting evidence-based approaches, does the size of an organization really matter? This practical guide brings leading police and sociology experts together to demonstrate how police forces of all sizes can successfully embed evidence-based methods by using their strengths and limitations to their advantage. Drawing on experiences of policing in North America, it proposes new ways of strategizing and harnessing the talents of ‘change champions’. Building on the authors’ widely adopted first book on evidence-based policing, this is essential reading for practitioners, aspiring leaders, students and policy-makers.

Scientific research is fundamental to addressing issues of great importance to the development of human knowledge. Scientific research fuels advances in medicine, technology and other areas important to society and has to be credible, trustworthy and able to command confidence in the face of inevitable uncertainties. Scientific researchers must be trusted and respected when they engage with knowledge acquisition and dissemination and as ethical guardians in their education and training roles of future generations of researchers. The core values of scientific research transcend disciplinary and national boundaries and approaches to the organisation and oversight of research systems can impact significantly upon the ethics and conduct of researchers. This book draws upon legal expertise to critically analyse issues of regulation, conduct and ethics at the important interface between scientific research and regulatory and legal environments. In so doing it aims to contribute important additional perspectives to the existing literature. Case studies are engaged with to assist with the critical analysis of the current position and the consideration of future possibilities. The book will be of interest to academics in the fields of science, law and policy; science and law students; and scientific researchers at more advanced stages of their careers. Research professionals in government and the private sector and legal practitioners with interests in the regulation of research should also find the work of interest.

The Encyclopedia of RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE The most comprehensive reference work on research designs and methods in criminology and criminal justice This Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a comprehensive survey of research methodologies and statistical techniques that are popular in criminology and criminal justice systems across the globe. With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, it offers a clear insight into the techniques that are currently in use to answer the pressing questions in criminology and criminal justice. The Encyclopedia contains essential information from a diverse pool of authors about research designs grounded in both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It includes information on popular datasets and leading resources of government statistics. In addition, the contributors cover a wide range of topics such as: the most current research on the link between guns and crime, rational choice theory, and the use of technology like geospatial mapping as a crime reduction tool. This invaluable reference work: Offers a comprehensive survey of international research designs, methods, and statistical techniques Includes contributions from leading figures in the field Contains data on criminology and criminal justice from Cambridge to Chicago Presents information on capital punishment, domestic violence, crime science, and much more Helps us to better understand, explain, and prevent crime Written for undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers, The Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice is the first reference work of its kind to offer a comprehensive review of this important topic.

Designing Experiments for the Social Sciences: How to Plan, Create, and Execute Research Using Experiments is a practical, applied text for courses in experimental design. The text assumes that students have just a basic knowledge of the scientific method, and no statistics background is required. With its focus on how to effectively design experiments, rather than how to analyze them, the book concentrates on the stage where researchers are making decisions about procedural aspects of the experiment before interventions and treatments are given. Renita Coleman walks readers step-by-step on how to plan and execute experiments from the beginning by discussing choosing and collecting a sample, creating the stimuli and questionnaire, doing a manipulation check or pre-test, analyzing the data, and understanding and interpreting the results. Guidelines for deciding which elements are best used in the creation of a particular kind of experiment are also given. This title offers rich pedagogy, ethical considerations, and examples pertinent to all social science disciplines.

Reflecting the latest advancements in the field and complete DSM–5 criteria, Robert Weis’ Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology provides students with a comprehensive and practical introduction to child psychopathology. The book uses a developmental psychopathology approach to explore the emergence of disorders over time, describe the risks and protective factors that influence developmental processes and trajectories, and examine child psychopathology in relation to typical development and children’s sociocultural context. The fully revised Fourth Edition includes a new chapter on research methods, a greater emphasis on the ways social-cultural factors affect each disorder covered, and recent research findings on topics such as autism spectrum disorder and adolescents’ use of nicotine and marijuana vaping products.