Capturing Crime: The Qualitative Analysis of Individual Cases for Advancing Criminological Knowledge

Kevin Wright, Leana A. Bouffard

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    15 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    The qualitative analysis of individual cases has a prominent place in the development of criminological theory, yet progression in the scientific study of crime has largely been viewed as a distinctly quantitative endeavor. In the process, much of the theoretical depth and precision supplied by earlier methods of criminological knowledge production have been sacrificed. The current work argues for a return to our criminological roots by supplementing quantitative analyses with the qualitative inspection of individual cases. We provide a specific example of a literature (i.e., criminal specialization/versatility) that has become increasingly quantitative and could benefit from the use of the proposed approach. We conclude by offering additional areas of research that might be advanced by our framework presented here.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)123-145
    Number of pages23
    JournalInternational Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
    Volume60
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Feb 1 2016

    Keywords

    • criminological theory
    • knowledge production
    • offender specialization/versatility

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
    • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
    • Applied Psychology

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