The first section of the book provides an introduction to criminal justice research, discussing criminal justice and scientific inquiry, theory and criminal justice research, and causation and validity. In discussing how to structure a criminal justice inquiry, the text explores general issues in research design, concepts and measurement, experimental and quasi- experimental design, and ethical issues. The chapter covering modes of observation used in criminal justice research discusses data collection and sampling issues, survey research, field research, and agency records and secondary data. The final chapter addresses program evaluation and policy analysis and the interpretation of data; some annotated examples of criminal justice research projects are provided. 5 appendixes