IT IS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF FOUR MONOGRAPHS ON FEDERAL CRIMINAL SENTENCING IN THE UNITED STATES BORN OUT OF THE BELIEF THAT A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF EXPERIENCE IS A NECESSARY PRELUDE TO PRODUCTIVE REFORM. NOTING THAT PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE TENDED TO FOCUS ON ONLY ONE OR TWO DIMENSIONS OF A MULTIFACETED PHENOMENON, THE AUTHOR DESIGNS AN ANALYTIC MODEL THAT ENABLES THE COMPARISON OF SENTENCING PATTERNS FOR EIGHT DIFFERENT OFFENSES, ACROSS DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, OVER TIME, AND FOR VARIOUS OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS. FURTHERMORE, WHEREAS MOST STUDIES HAVE VIEWED SENTENCING AS INVOLVING A SINGLE DECISION, THE AUTHOR DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN THE JUDGE'S DECISION ABOUT THE LENGTH OF INCARCERATION AND HIS EQUALLY IF NOT MORE VITAL DETERMINATION OF WHETHER TO INCARCERATE AN OFFENDER AT ALL. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH DESIGN ALSO EMPLOYS DATA PERTAINING TO TYPE AS WELL AS TO LENGTH OF SENTENCE. APPENDED MATERIALS INCLUDE BRIEF EXPLANATIONS OF THE 23 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES USED IN THE ANALYSIS AND A FLOWCHART OF THE FEDERAL CRIMINAL SENTENCING PROVISIONS FOR BOTH ADULT AND JUVENILE OFFENDERS. FOR THE OTHER MONOGRAPHS IN THE SERIES, SEE NCJ-36884-86. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED) (SNI ABSTRACT)