ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an introduction to the development and practice of empirical research on crime and criminal justice. Throughout the chapter, we highlight both the diverse influences on criminological research and identify some of the key issues which criminologists need to consider when conducting research. In particular, we attempt to identify whether the issues criminological researchers are confronted with are distinctive. We begin by elucidating the foundations of qualitative and quantitative research traditions within criminology and draw links between these approaches to research and theoretical perspectives in criminology. Blurring the boundaries between qualitative and quantitative research traditions, we emphasise the importance of combining methodologies, where appropriate, in contemporary criminological studies. The influences of macro and micro political processes on criminological research are then documented. We acknowledge the diversity of responses to the question – is criminological research political? – and argue that criminological research can never be anything but political. To support our argument, we draw attention to the influence of political contexts on shaping the research process, from the generation of the research problem to the stages of publication and dissemination of findings.
