Extent of Crime and Measurement Problems in Criminology

The University of Texas at Dallas

CRIM 6307/SOC 6301, Spring 2011
Thursday, 7pm – 9:45pm
SLC 2.202

Professor: J.C. Barnes, Ph.D.

Email: jcbarnes@utdallas.edu
Phone: (972) 883-2046
Office: GR 2.206
Office hours: Thursday 2 – 4pm and by appointment

It is easiest to reach me via email. I do not always check my office voicemail, but I do check
email daily.

Course Description

The validity of criminological research rests on scholars’ ability to properly measure the
dependent variable (i.e., criminal acts/behaviors). For centuries, statisticians, economists,
sociologists, and criminologists have wrestled with trying to determine the best way to measure
crime. Their efforts have resulted in two different, but equally important, measurement
strategies: official arrest statistics and self-reported criminal behavior. Official statistics are
typically collected by government agencies and often reflect criminal acts that are reported to
authorities (e.g., police). Self-reported behavior is primarily gleaned from personal interviews
with individual members of the population.

This course will unfold in three parts. First, the different ways in which government authorities
gain information about crime (i.e., official statistics) will be examined. Compilation of the
Uniform Crime Reports, for example, will be discussed as will the shortcomings of official
statistics. The second part of the course will focus on self-report methods for measuring crime.
In this section, various topics related to survey design are covered. There are good and bad ways
to write survey questions; we will discuss both. Additionally, several prominent (and readily
available) datasets will be spotlighted with the intention of giving students a solid foundation for
using secondary data in their own research. The third part of the course will address statistical
issues surrounding the measurement of crime. During this part, myriad statistical techniques that
assist researchers in determining how “good” their measures are will be introduced. Specific
attention will be given to the various factor analytic techniques, reliability analysis, and item
response theory.

Required Reading

*A bundled package including all books is available at the UTD Bookstore for a price cheaper
than buying each book individually.

1) Converse, Jean M., and Stanley Presser. 1986. Survey questions: Handcrafting the
standardized questionnaire. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN: 0-8039-2743-6
2) DeVellis, Robert F. 2003. Scale development: Theory and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage. ISBN: 978-0-7619-2605-4

3) Folwer, Floyd J. 2002. Survey research methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN:
0-7619-2191-5

4) Kremelberg, David. 2011. Practical statistics: A quick and easy guide to IBM, SPSS, Stata,
and other statistical software. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN: 978-1-4129-7494-3

5) Spector, Paul E. 1992. Summated rating scale construction: An introduction. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage. ISBN: 0-8039-4341-5

6) Research articles (see Course Schedule below)

Course Requirements & Grading

Your grade will be determined based on your performance on three (3) assignments, your
performance on one (1) examination, and in-class participation. Each assignment will be worth
20 points, meaning that the assignments will make up 60 percent of your grade. You will have
one (1) week to complete each assignment. More details about the assignments will be provided
in class as their due dates approach. The final exam will be composed completely of essay
questions and will be worth 35 percent of your grade. In-class participation will account for 5
percent of your grade.

Your final grade will be determined using the following rubric and grading scale (I do not offer
extra credit):

Percent of Total Item

20 Assignment 1
20 Assignment 2
20 Assignment 3
35 Final Exam
5 In-class Participation

Grading Scale
A+ = 97 - 100
A = 90 - 96
B+ = 87 - 89
B = 80 - 86
C = 70 - 79
F = 0 - 69

Course Policies
Attendance is required if you wish to receive a passing grade. If you miss a class, I strongly
encourage you to borrow one of your classmate’s notes and then talk with me if you need
additional clarification. I do not provide students with my notes nor will I post notes/slides to the
internet.

If you miss an exam or an assignment you must: (1) notify me within 24 hours AND (2) provide
me with an acceptable excuse. Note that I may request written documentation. If you do not
follow this procedure you will receive a zero on the examination or the assignment.

Technical Support

If you experience any problems with your UTD account you may send an email to:
assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD Computer Helpdesk at 972-883-2911.

University Policies

http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies
Course Schedule and Assigned Readings

PART 1: Official Statistics

Dates:
1/13 – 1/27 – Lecture
2/3 – ASSIGNMENT 1 (data management & fact sheet)

Readings:
-Blumstein & Wallman (2000)*
-Mosher et al. (2011)*

Topics:
-BJS data
-Uniform Crime Reports
-National Incident Based Reporting System
-The “Dark Figure” of crime
-Obtaining and using the data

PART 2: Self-report Surveys

Dates:
2/3 – 3/24 – Lecture
3/3 – No Class – ACJS Meetings
3/17 – No Class – Spring Break
3/31 – ASSIGNMENT 2 (question wording & sampling)

Readings:
-Baumer & Lauritsen (2010)*
-Canor & Lynch (2000)*
-Converse & Presser (1986 – entire book)
-Dillman (2000)*
-Fowler (2002 – entire book)
-Rossi et al. (1983)*
-Thornberry & Krohn (2000)*

Topics:
-Theoretical issues
-Sampling
-Question writing
-Conducting a survey (mail, personal interview, ACASI, telephone, & internet)
-Existing survey data
-National Crime Victimization Survey & National Crime Survey
-National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health)
-National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY)
 -National Youth Survey (NYS)

PART 3: Measurement Issues

Dates:
3/31 – 4/28 – Lecture
4/28 – ASSIGNMENT 3 (scale creation)
5/5 – FINAL EXAM

Readings:
-Bendixen et al. (2003)*
-DeVellis (2003 – entire book)
-Monahan & Piquero (2009)*
-Piquero et al. (2000)*
-Spector (1992 – entire book)

Topics:
-Operationalizing crime, delinquency, & antisocial behavior
-Variety scales
-Frequency scales
-Summated scales
-Standardized scales
-Factor analysis (CFA, EFA, IRT)
-Reliability
-Item response theory

*Posted to eLearning
Note: This schedule is not a binding contract. I reserve the right to make changes at any time
and it is your job to stay abreast of these changes.