CRIM 220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Research Question, School Violence, Property Crime

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Criminology
• Course: CRIM 220
• Professor: Stephanie Wiley

Document Summary

Criminology 220 - lecture 2 (jan. 15: empirical research: observation. From experience: methodology: study of methods used to understand something, second hand knowledge: tradition (what everybody knows) and authority ( Review the common errors of personal inquiry discussed in this chapter. Searching the internet or newspaper, find an article about crime that illustrates one or more of those errors. Discuss how a social scientist would avoid making that error. Inaccurate observation: overgeneralization, selective observation, social scientific inquiry is a conscious activity. Illogical reasoning conscious observations and stay alert: social scientific inquiry is a more careful process than casual efforts. Two realities: empirical research, experiential reality: knowledge based on experience, agreement reality: knowledge based on what we"ve been told, usually tends to be based on agreed upon beliefs. Importance of: legal authority, training and experience. Important to know who is doing the telling and whether they are a recognized authority figure or not: human error.