ABSTRACT
Several methods of data collection are available to criminal justice researchers, with the most suitable method depending on a number of issues, including whether the research questions will most effectively be answered with qualitative or quantitative research. Qualitative research methods have been applied in criminal justice research to provide in-depth, context-specific information about issues, such as:
reasons why people seek employment in corrective services (Biggs, 2011);
the nature of the contemporary police culture in a specific national context (Chataway, 2014);
the experience of occupational stress experienced by police (Toch, 2002); and
barriers to achieving positive health outcomes among correctional employees (Morse et al., 2011).
This chapter first discusses the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research, accompanied by suggestions for when one or the other may be required. The remainder of the chapter provides an overview of how to conduct focus groups, which is one of the most commonly applied methods for collecting qualitative data in criminal justice occupations.