This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Vigderhous, G. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Methodological Problems Confronting Cross-Cultural Criminological Research Using Official Data

Department of Sociology, Concordia University, Montreal; Survey Research Group, Room 1110, 620 Belmont Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The major aim of this paper is to present and discuss some of the methodological problems involved in utilizing cross-cultural criminal statistics and to examine the reliability of international homicide rates. The major problem criminologists face in comparative research is the problem of comparability. This problem could be examined in light of the discrepancy which might exist between the operational and nominal definitions of various types of crime. The major sources of international crime statistics are Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) and WHO (World Health Organization). Analysis of the comparability of these sources with regard to homicide revealed zero-order correlation of r = .95 for 33 countries. A longitudinal analysis correlating homicide data from the two sources revealed mixed results. The correlation between the two sources varied for different countries between .04 and .90. Analysis of homicide rates extractedfrom WHO revealed a high level of stability and reliability. It is suggested that the question of reliability and validity of official crime statistics should be studied by means of an empirical analysis rather than through a general conceptualization of the problems involved.

Human Relations, Vol. 31, No. 3, 229-247 (1978)
DOI: 10.1177/001872677803100303


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. H. Marshall and C. R. Block Maximizing the Availability of Cross-National Data on Homicide Homicide Studies, August 1, 2004; 8(3): 267 - 310. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. L. Neapolitan Homicides in Developing Nations: Results of Research Using a Large and Representative Sample Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol, December 1, 1997; 41(4): 358 - 374. [Abstract]

				J. Neapolitan Differing Theoretical Perspectives and Cross-National Variation in Thefts in Less Developed Nations International Criminal Justice Review, May 1, 1995; 5(1): 17 - 31. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Shichor Crime Patterns and Socioeconomic Development: A Cross-National Analysis Criminal Justice Review, May 1, 1990; 15(1): 64 - 78. [Abstract]

				T. F. Hartnagel and M. Mizanuddin Modernization, Gender Role Convergence and Female Crime: A Further Test International Journal of Comparative Sociology, January 1, 1986; 27(1-2): 1 - 14. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. R. Bennett and S. B. Bennett Police Personnel Levels and the Incidence of Crime: A Cross-National Investigation Criminal Justice Review, September 1, 1983; 8(2): 32 - 40. [Abstract]