AFTER A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD OF VICTIMOLOGY, THIS VOLUME FEATURES TWO ESSAYS THAT DISCUSS METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES. THE FIRST EXAMINES THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS (UCR) AND THE NATIONAL CRIME SURVEY (NCS) MEASURES ARE HIGHLY RELATED, A MATTER OF CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE INFERENCES MADE ON THE BASIS OF COMPARING THE UCR AND NCS ARE LEGITIMATE ONLY IF IT IS KNOWN TO WHAT EXTENT THEY ARE MEASURING THE SAME CRIMES. USING AN ECONOMIC APPROACH, THE SECOND ESSAY APPLIES THE UTILITY MAXIMIZATION THEORY IN AN ANALYSIS THAT EXPLAINS CRIME AS A RATIONAL PROCESS BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF PROFITABILITY. NEXT, FIVE STUDIES ILLUSTRATE SPECIAL GROUPS OF VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS; THEY INCLUDE EXAMINATIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOUSEHOLD VICTIMIZATION AND HEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTERISTICS, THE PROCESSES BY WHICH THE ELDERLY AND FEMALES ACQUIESCE IN VICTIM ROLES, A COMPARISON OF VICTIMS OF FEMALE OFFENDERS WITH VICTIMS OF MALE OFFENDERS, URBAN STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THE VICTIMIZATION OF JUVENILES, AND AN ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION GAINED FROM INTERVIEWS WITH RAPISTS. FINALLY, THE RESPONSES OF VICTIMS OF CRIMES AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THEIR ADJUSTMENT ARE EMPHASIZED. MULTIVARIATE ANALYSES ARE USED TO ASCERTAIN THE RELATIONS BETWEEN SCHOOL-RELATED VICTIMIZATION, FEAR OF CRIME, AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSES AMONG HIGH-SCHOOL-AGE VICTIMS. THE RELATIONS AMONG INJURY AND VICTIM CHARACTERISTICS, OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS, AND SITUATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE EXPLORED, INCLUDING AND ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF WEAPONS POSSESSION BY OFFENDERS AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF SELF-PROTECTIVE MEASURES BY VICTIMS. ALSO PRESENTED ARE A MODEL OF FEAR AND THE CONDITIONING FRAMEWORK WHICH EXPLAINS DEVELOPMENT OF FEARS AND PHOBIAS IN VICTIMS OF RAPE. TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED, AND EACH ARTICLE IS INDIVIDUALLY REFERENCED. (PRG)