Theory and Criminal Justice Research 

Criminology, as a body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as social phenomena, examines various theoretical perspectives on the correlates of deviant behavior. These theories, by themselves, are nothing more than ideas about the nature of such behavior and a rationale for addressing the root cause of criminal activity. What makes them useful tenets of social science (and thus part of a criminology course) is that these theories have been rigorously tested using the scientific method we will be discussing in this lesson.

In the discussion of common errors in native human inquiry, we noted that an idea or hypothesis by itself is an ex post facto hypothesis, or one person's subjective opinion about a phenomenon. What separates useful theory from ex post facto hypothesis is this testing using scientific principles. The Traditional Model of Science has four major parts: theory (or ideas), hypothesis building, observation, and data analysis. We'll go over those components briefly.

This scientific model is utilized, in some form, in every disciplinary field. The components of the model allow researchers to identify what information is to be collected, how the data collection will proceed, and what conclusions can be drawn from the data to refute, support and eventually modify the original theory that began the inquiry. In criminal justice research, The Traditional Model of Science is a continual cycle of investigation and inquiry that allows social scientists to refine and build upon the already existing knowledge base to try and answer issues related to deviant behavior and society's response to it.

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to

• diagram, define, and explain the components of the traditional model of obtaining scientific information;
• explain the ancillary issues pertaining to the Traditional Model of Science; and
• differentiate between deductive and inductive logic.

Please complete the assignments and readings outlined on the course schedule for this week.