A Mixed Methods Analysis of Methodological Orientation in National and Regional Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals

Abstract

The current study uses a mixed methods design to examine the so-called methodological divide in criminology and criminal justice and the extent to which mixed methods are being employed within the discipline. The authors content analyzed research articles from two national and four regional journals to determine the type and frequency of various methodologies. A sample of journal article authors was then surveyed to gain a better understanding of the methodological and publication pressures experienced by researchers. Findings indicate that although quantitative methods still dominate, the use of mixed methods appears to be increasing. Differences between national and regional journals are also discussed.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jeremy Sparks and Robert Zuchowski for their assistance with data collection.

Notes

1. The following 18 methods of data collection categories were used: 1 = face-to-face survey/questionnaire; 2 = mailed survey/questionnaire; 3 = Internet survey/questionnaire; 4 = telephone survey/questionnaire; 5 = macro official statistics (e.g. UCR, NCVS, and Census); 6 = micro archival/agency data; 7 = meta-analysis; 8 = pure/classic experiment; 9 = quasi and pre-experiment; 10 = content analysis; 11 = face-to-face open-ended interview; 12 = mailed open-ended interview; 13 = Internet open-ended interview; 14 = phone open-ended interview; 15 = focus groups; 16 = observation; 17 = simulation; and 18 = case study.

2. The Carnegie Classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in US higher education for the past four decades. The classifications were updated in 2010 producing 32 classification categories. See http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/. For our purposes, we collapsed the 32 categories into 13: RU/VH: research universities/very high research activity; RU/H: research universities/high research activity; DRU: doctoral/research universities; Master’s L: master’s colleges and universities (larger programs); Master’s M: master’s colleges and universities (medium programs); Master’s S: master’s colleges and universities (smaller programs); Bac/A&S: baccalaureate colleges—arts & sciences; Bac/diverse: baccalaureate colleges—diverse fields; Bac/Assoc: baccalaureate/associate’s colleges; Assoc/Pub-R-S: associate’s—public rural—serving small; Assoc/Pub-R-L: associate’s—public rural—serving large; not a university; and foreign university.