crim 4384 statistics

Clarke Iakovakis | Research & Instruction Librarian | UHCL Neumann Library

Library Research for CRIM 4384: Statistics

Crime image courtesy Sivi Steys on Flickr. Licensed under CC-BY-SA

http://libguides.uhcl.edu/CRIM-SOCI4385

For me, the hardest part of research is…

a. Getting started

b. Finding relevant information

c. Writing the paper

d. Citing sources

e. None – research is easy

Outline for Today• Research is Inquiry• Determining Authority• Principles of Good Searching • BREAK• Finding articles & statistics• Citing sources

Section 1: Research is Inquiry

Screenshot from Sherlock © British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved from Tumblr

Research is an open-ended exploration and engagement with informationAnxiety is normal!Be open-minded—seek divergent perspectives and information that challenges your beliefs, and be skeptical

Curiosity Rover Self-Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems. Public Domain.

A literature review is part of the published work referencing related research, theory, and background information

A review of the literature (literature search) may be conducted to…◦ understand a topic◦ help you form a problem statement◦ provide confirmation of an already

existing hypothesis◦ analyze and interpret your own data◦ gain exposure to past, current, and

ongoing research about a subject you are exploring for research of your own

Reviewing literature

Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

•Primary sources are the “raw material” or first-hand evidence•Secondary sources describe and interpret information from primary sources•Tertiary sources compile and summarize primary and secondary sources

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. (1883). The Arrest.

Data vs. Statistics: What’s the difference?

DATA Collected as part of a study

CSV or Excel files, text, XML, databases

Contain individual observations

Come with documentation to understand

Often require preparation (also called “cleaning”)

Used as the “raw ingredients” for generating statistics

STATISTICS Results of data analysis

Tables, charts, maps, graphs

May describe what the data shows ◦ Frequency◦ Mean◦ Median

May go beyond the immediate data to find inferences

◦ Regression◦ Analysis of variance

Statistics or data?

A. Statistics

B. Data

Houston Police Department. (2014). May 2014 monthly uniform crime report by street. Retrieved from http://www.houstontx.gov/police/cs/xls/may14.xls.

Statistics or data?

B. Data

A. Statistics

Houston Police Department. (2014). May 2014 monthly uniform crime report city-wide summary. Retrieved from http://mycity.houstontx.gov/crime/ucrPage.aspx.

Section 2: Determining Authority

Benito Mussolini. Public domain image retrieved from Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives collection.

Authority is constructed and contextual“Authority” is a type of influence recognized or exerted in a communityDisciplines have acknowledged authorities—scholars, publications & processesApproach all information (“authoritative” or not) with informed skepticism.

What are some indicators you can use to help determine if information is valid?

CRAAP: Currency

Relevance

Authority

Accuracy

Purpose

Craps table image courtesy Lisa Brewster on Flickr. Licensed under CC-BY-SA

What is peer review? A process for establishing authority of scholarly research Experts review the original ideas to certify the accuracy, validity, and value of the results

Chubin, D. E., & Hackett, E. J. (2005). Peer Review. In C. Mitcham (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics (Vol. 3, pp. 1390-1394). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uhcl.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3434900491&v=2.1&u=txshracd2589&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=67e06d81c0d758521a67ba637722e45c

Periodicals (journals, magazines)

Peer-reviewedRefereedScholarlyAcademic

TradeProfessiona

lPractitione

rIndustry

General

Popular

Author credentials (usually universities; sometimes industry or government)

Journal information (name, volume, issue, year)

Abstract

Literature Review

Methodology

Anatomy of a scholarly articleTables and/or graphs

Establishing the validity of data is a bit trickier• Data are not typically “peer reviewed”—most journals do not require researchers to submit the full dataset

• Apply the CRAAP test

• Review the research methodology• Data collection• Data analysis• Data interpretation

When interpreting statistics, consider:

What is your research question or topic?

What is being measured (the unit of observation)?◦ Individual? Family? Household? Race? Nation? World?◦ Pay attention to the unit of measurement

What is the space? Are you comparing geographic areas?◦ County? State? World?

What is the time period?◦ 10 years ago? Today? Snapshot vs. across time (“longitudinal”)? Future?

Section 3: Principles of good searching

On the Scent. Image licensed CC-BY on Flickr by stephen bowler.

• Determine your research question1•Identify the key concepts2•List alternate keywords, synonyms, and related words3• Join terms and concepts with appropriate Boolean operators4•Make use of database’s limiters & suggested subject terms 5•Organize and cite your sources6

Search Process

One •What are some factors that play a role in shaping teenagers’ attitudes toward police officers?

Two •How do socio-economic status, neighborhood crime, education level, and previous interactions with police officers shape teenagers’ attitudes toward police officers?

Three •What is the influence of individual teenagers’ past contact with police officers on their attitudes toward police?

1. Determine your research question

2. Identify the key concepts

Teenagers Police Attitudes Police contact

What is the influence of individual teenagers’ past contact with police officers on their attitudes toward police?

Teenagers

Adolescents

YouthJuveniles

Delinquents

3. List alternate keywords, synonyms, and related words

OR

What is the influence of individual teenagers’ past contact with police officers on their attitudes toward police?

Police

Law enforcemen

t

Peace officersCops

CorrectionsOR

3. List alternate keywords, synonyms, and related wordsWhat is the influence of individual

teenagers’ past contact with police officers on their attitudes toward police?

Police contact

Police interaction

Police-commun

ity relations

Arrest

Questioning OR

interrogationOR

3. List alternate keywords, synonyms, and related wordsWhat is the influence of individual

teenagers’ past contact with police officers on their attitudes toward police?

ANDOR

NOT

4. Join terms and concepts with appropriate Boolean operators

juvenilesteenagers adolescents

M EOR

teenagers OR juveniles OR adolescents

Police OR law enforcement OR corrections

teenagers OR juveniles OR adolescents

AND

AND

Which statement below will generate more search results?

A.

B.

Which search will find FEWER results?

A.B.

OR

teenagers

teenagers

police

police

ANDORem

Using a wildcard (*) will find a larger number of results

interrogate

interrogates

interrogating

interrogation

interrogator

interrogators

interrogat* * Search Tip

• State your research topic1•Identify the key concepts2•List alternate keywords, synonyms, and related words3• Join terms and concepts with appropriate Boolean operators4•Make use of database’s limiters & suggested subject terms 5•Organize and cite your sources6

Search Strategies

BreaktimePlease be back in 10 minutes

Image courtesy Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library

Section 4: Research Databases & Library Catalog

Screenshot from Wargames © United Artists. Retrieved from Tumblr

Why use a library when I have Google?

But wait…

tumblr

.gov Wikipedia

Subscription databases

Password-protected websites

restricted access

$$$

free

access

Illegal content

Classified documents

Surface Web

Deep Web

Amazon

cnn

Google

ads

What are some sources of scholarly information?BooksReference worksPeer-reviewed journal articlesGray literatureReports (government,

non-governmental organizations)Theses & dissertationsConference proceedings

Archival resourcesResearch Data & Statistics

Portrait of a Scholar – RembrandtPublic Domain Image courtesy Wikimedia

Three

• What is the influence of individual teenagers’ past contact with police officers on their attitudes toward police?

Access a Criminology database (Criminal Justice Abstracts or Criminology: SAGE Journals) to find an article related to the following research question:

Currency

Relevance

Authority

Accuracy

Purpose

Sources for statistics Studies & research reports by non-governmental organizations

Official statistics collected by the government Polling organizations Peer reviewed journal articles Data repositories Textbooks & encyclopedias Newspapers & magazines (both print and online)

Which state executed the most prisoners in the last 35 years (1977-2011)?

E. Colorado D. VirginiaC. OklahomaB. FloridaA. Texas

Jury designed by Luis Prado from the Noun Project

Which state executed the most prisoners in the last 35 years (1977-2011)?

• Texas – 477

• Florida - 71

• Oklahoma - 96

• Virginia - 109

• Colorado - 1

Source: Bureau of Justice StatisticsRetrieved from Statistical Abstract of the United StatesLink

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

To connect to library databases from home

Log in using your UHCL ID and last name

Log in using your eservice account

Call the library and ask for a password

Google it

Log in using your Library barcode and last name

Section 5: Citing Sources

Dissect this citation Carr, P. J., Napolitano, L., & Keating, J. (2007). We never call the cops and here is why: A qualitative examination of legal cynicism in three Philadelphia neighborhoods. Criminology, 45(2), 445-480. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2007.00084.xWhat is the…

Journal name Volume number Issue number Authors

Article title Page number range Year of publication DOI

Enter article title

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