INTENDED FOR EXPERTS IN THE AREAS OF DELINQUENCY AND CRIMINOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS STUDENTS, THIS TEXTBOOK CONSIDERS THE NATURE OF METHODOLOGICAL CRITICISM, CAUSAL ANALYSIS, MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, AND CONCEPTUALIZATION AND INFERENCE, WITH EMPHASIS ON THEIR APPLICATION TO DELINQUENCY CAUSE RESEARCH. PUBLISHED ANALYSES OF QUANTITATIVE DATA ON DELINQUENCY ARE USED TO IDENTIFY AND ILLUSTRTE THE KINDS OF PROBLEMS CONFRONTED IN THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH. IT IS GENERALLY CONCLUDED THAT STRICT ADHERENCE TO METHDOLOGICAL RULES LEAVES NO ROOM FOR THE FLEXIBILITY REQUIRED BY THE COMPLEXITIES AND AMBIGUITIES OF SOCIOLOGICAL DYNAMICS. A SET OF ALTERNATIVE ATTITUDES IS URGED FOR THE RESEARCH ANALYST: OBJECTIVITY (FREEDOM FROM BIAS IN METHOD AS WELL AS VIEWPOINT), VIGILANCE (SENSITIVITY TO ERROR), AND SYMPATHY (ACCEPTANCE OF MISTAKES AS A NATURAL PART OF ANY ENTERPRISE). FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION OF THIS DOCUMENT, ENTITLED 'PRINCIPLES OF SURVEY ANALYSIS,' SEE NCJ-14018. --IN FRENCH...ELW