CJ 220 Lecture Notes - Biosocial Theory, National Crime Victimization Survey, Germ Plasm
Document Summary
Criminology notes spring semester 2014 (cj 220) Chapter one context and consequences of theory. A scientific study of crime (observation, theory, prediction, experiment) Inductive starts with observations, generalizations, and then forms a theory. Deductive starts with a theory, makes predictions and then experiments. Legalistic: any act that violates the law (why do we have certain laws?) Consensus vs. conflict perspectives (laws because most people agree on what"s right and wrong vs. conflict between different societal groups) Finds a lot of crime missing from statistics. Theory: a set of abstract, empirically falsifiable statements about reality . Good theories are parsimonious (straight forward), broad in scope (explains a lot), logically consistent, testable, and empirically validated (makes sense). Covariation: change in x results in change in y. Nonspurious: change in y is caused by x, not z. Statements: propositions (abstract, hypotheses (concrete, statements containing concepts. Understanding why crime occurs is a prelude to developing strategies to control the behavior.
