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SOME ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH IN CRIMINOLOGY

NCJ Number
62188
Author(s)
J JUNGER-TAS
Date Published
1978
Length
36 pages
Annotation
CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH IN CRIMINOLOGY MAY MAKE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD BY SPELLING OUT CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS VARY.
Abstract
A PAPER PRESENTED AT A MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY SUGGESTS THAT THE RENEWED INTEREST OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY IN CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH, AND THE RESULTS OF SUCH RESEARCH, MAY BE BASED ON PHENOMENOLOGY, SYMBOLIC INTERACTION, LABELING THEORY, AND ETHNOMETHODOLOGY. ANOTHER FACTOR IS THE CHANGING POSITION OF AMERICAN SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINOLOGY. CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH COMPARES THE RESULTS OF A STUDY TO STUDIES DONE IN DIFFERENT CULTURES. THE AIM IS TO FIND NOT ONLY DIFFERENCES, BUT ALSO WHAT ASPECTS HAVE UNIVERSAL RELEVANCE. THE BEST DESIGN FOR THIS IS THE REPLICATION STUDY CONDUCTED IN ONE COUNTRY AND REPEATED IN ANOTHER. DIFFICULTIES IN CONDUCTING SUCH STUDIES ARE OUTLINED, INCLUDING DIFFERENCES IN DEFINITIONS OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE IN AREAS SUCH AS HOMOSEXUALITY, ABORTION, DRUG USE, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, RAPE, AND VENDETTA OR BLOOD REVENGE, AND DIFFERENCES IN JUDICIAL PROCEDURES, SUCH AS THE USE OF THE PROSECUTORIAL SYSTEM IN SOME COUNTRIES AND NOT IN OTHERS. SOME OF THE THEORIES THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES ARE REVIEWED. THESE INCLUDE ANOMIE THEORY, DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION AS SEEN IN GANG DELINQUENCY, DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THEORY AS STATED BY CLOWARD AND OHLIN, AND SOCIAL CONTROL OR SOCIAL INTEGRATION. RIGOROUS CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES SHOULD CONTROL UNIT DEFINITIONS, SAMPLING, DATA PAUCITY, VALIDITY, AND OTHER FACTORS. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED ARE THOSE RELATED TO DIFFERENT LEGAL PROCEDURES AND CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIMES; PROBLEMS RELATED TO DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF CRIME; PROBLEMS IN EXECUTING RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY WHEN ETHNOCENTRICITY MAY BLIND A RESEARCHER TO DIFFERENT MEANINGS IN CONCEPTS; AND ACCESS TO COUNTRIES, LOCAL ACADEMICS, AND ADEQUATE LOCAL RESEARCH HELP. SUGGESTIONS FOR A CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH MODEL ARE DELINEATED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY DRAWN FROM INTERNATIONAL SOURCES COMPLETES THE TEXT. (RFC)