Qualitative Criminology's Contributions to Theory

Hochstetler, Andy; Copes, Heith

doi:10.1002/9781118512449.ch25

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Ethnography can make the researcher feel vulnerable, exposed. Similar to reflections from earlier criminological studies, emphasized by Hochstetler and Copes (2016), I found poachers in Russia are generally not social outcasts or introverts. They are part of the hunting subculture community and are usually gregarious individuals.…”

Section: Gaining Access and Entering The Criminal Worldsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…The two academic disciplines traditionally associated with ethnography are anthropology and sociology (Adler and Adler, 1987); however, much criminological theory developed from ethnographic research during the early 20th century, especially the Chicago school of criminology and sociology (e.g. Atkinson et al, 2001;Hochstetler and Copes, 2016;Park et al, 1925). Criminological research during the second half of the 20th century was fundamentally positivist and reliant on quantitative data.…”

Section: Historical Use Of Ethnography and Its Applicability To The Rfe And Wildlife Crimementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generalizations, a goal of quantitative methods, can be tangential to exposing the critical details in understanding the nuances of wildlife crime. Ethnography, by placing emphasis on the constant comparison between what participants say and do across interviews demonstrates great potential to contribute to theory and inform contextspecific policy solutions (Hochstetler and Copes, 2016).…”

Section: Historical Use Of Ethnography and Its Applicability To The Rfe And Wildlife Crimementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The best way to get participants to talk is to simply let them-another strength of criminological ethnography, as these methods are best for the discussion of sensitive or complex topics. Structured questionnaires, frequently used in quantitative studies, impose artificial categories on questions that are a reflection of the researcher's own bias and ideology, and also constrain responses (Drury et al, 2011;Hochstetler and Copes, 2016). I chose to conduct semi-structured interviews, a method that necessitates openness and flexibility during conversations (Davies and Francis, 2011).…”

Section: Establishing An Identity and Discussing Illegal Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Uncovering the nuances of criminal motivations and modus operandi in the Russian Far East: A wildlife crime case study

Skidmore

2021

Methodological Innovations

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Wildlife crime is a relatively new line of inquiry for scholars of criminology; traditionally it has been the purview of conservation science. However, as conservation is fundamentally about changing human behavior, the value of a criminological perspective to understand both the theoretical underpinnings of wildlife crime commission and practical mitigation strategies is being increasingly recognized. Based on an ethnographic case study on the poaching and trafficking of Amur tigers in the Russian Far East, this article reflects upon the use of criminological ethnographic methods to understand the complexity and subtleties of wildlife crime by directly interviewing the poachers, middlemen, buyers, and smugglers involved. The article seeks transparency on how qualitative methods can be successfully employed to engage in fieldwork with active criminals in peripheral settings.

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Section: Gaining Access and Entering The Criminal Worldsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Historical Use Of Ethnography and Its Applicability To The Rfe And Wildlife Crimementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historical Use Of Ethnography and Its Applicability To The Rfe And Wildlife Crimementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Establishing An Identity and Discussing Illegal Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Uncovering the nuances of criminal motivations and modus operandi in the Russian Far East: A wildlife crime case study

Skidmore

2021

Methodological Innovations

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“…This study adopted a qualitative approach to explore the experiences, behaviours and feelings (Holloway and Wheeler 2010) of elite male athletes who have committed criminal offences. Despite not being the dominant methodology within criminology, qualitative methods serve a crucial role in the understanding of crime (Hochstetler and Copes 2016). Helfgott (2008) states that the dominance of quantitative criminology means that the motivations, meanings and experiences of criminal behaviour, and the factors that shape an offender's decision-making processes are not well understood.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life at the edge: exploring male athlete criminality

2020

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Involvement in sport is not a barrier to negative behaviours, and athletes, like others in society, become involved in criminality. There is a relative paucity of research into the experiences of athletes who commit crimes. Whilst previous links exist between involvement in sport and violent and sexual crimes, a more significant body of empirical evidence is lacking. This paper utilises the concept of elite interviewing to explore the stories of ten male athletes who committed criminal offences either during or immediately after their athletic careers. Key emerging themes include the restrictive nature of sport, the need for excitement, risk appetite, and the impact of social influence. Male athlete behaviour is considered within the model of edgework, and themes are analysed as potential paths to edgework activities. The findings suggest the nature of both sport and male athletes can result in them seeking edgework experiences, and committing crimes as a consequence.

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Revisiting the tautology problem in rational choice theory: What it is and how to move forward theoretically and empirically

Steinmetz,

Pratt

2024

European Journal of Criminology

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Criminological rational choice theory is blighted by tautology—that if a crime occurs, then by definition the benefits must exceed the costs. The current analysis details the nature of this tautology as well as its theoretical and philosophical implications concerning the circumstances under which offenders make rational (thoughtful and reflective) or irrational (habitual, intuitive, or instinctual) choices. In short, rational choice theorists appear to side-step the problems presented by this tautology by attempting to coerce observations and theorizing to conform with assumptions about cost–benefit rationality. This essay concludes by setting forth an agenda for the continued empirical investigation of the rational choice perspective—one where the perceived cost/benefit analysis itself for criminal behavior is treated as the outcome of interest.

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Qualitative Criminology's Contributions to Theory

Cited by 3 publications

References 49 publications

Uncovering the nuances of criminal motivations and modus operandi in the Russian Far East: A wildlife crime case study

Uncovering the nuances of criminal motivations and modus operandi in the Russian Far East: A wildlife crime case study

Life at the edge: exploring male athlete criminality

Revisiting the tautology problem in rational choice theory: What it is and how to move forward theoretically and empirically

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