Research on Violent Crimes

Read the Three Page Research Brief from the Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment https://cebcp.org/wp-content/onepagers/PhiladelphiaFootPatrol_Ratcliffe.pdf

The document discusses police patrol effectiveness in violent crime

Assignment Instructions:
Following the guidelines in the section “How to Read Scholarly Research” from Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology, identify the following: (Instructions below)

Abstract
Summary and conclusions
Headings, tables, and graphs
At least two passages that you might quote in a literature review of foot patrols

How to Read Scholarly Research
You don’t read a social research report the same way you’d read a novel. You can, of course, but it’s not the most effective approach. Journal articles and books are laid out somewhat differently, so here are some initial guidelines for reading each. Reading a Journal Article In most journals, each article begins with an abstract. Read it first. It should tell you the purpose of the research, the methods used, and the major findings. The abstract serves two major functions. First, it gives you a good idea as to whether you’ll want to read the rest of the article. If you’re reviewing the literature for a paper you’re writing, the abstract tells you whether that particular article is relevant. Second, the abstract establishes a framework within which to read the rest of the article. It may raise questions in your mind regarding method or conclusions, thereby creating an agenda to pursue in your reading. After you’ve read the abstract, you might go directly to the summary and/or conclusions at the end of the article. That will give you a more detailed picture of what the article is all about. Jot down any new questions or observations that occur to you. Next, skim the article, noting the section headings and any tables or graphs. You don’t need to study any of these things in your skimming, though it’s fine to review anything that catches your attention. By the end of this step, you should start feeling familiar with the article. You should be pretty clear on the researcher’s conclusions and have a general idea of the methods used in reaching them. If you decide to carefully read the whole article, you’ll have a good idea of where it’s heading and how each section fits into the logic of the whole article. Keep taking notes. Mark any passages you think you might like to quote later on. After carefully reading the article, it’s a good idea to skim it quickly one more time. This way you get back in touch with the forest after having focused on the trees. If you want to fully grasp what you’ve just read, find someone else to explain it to. If you’re doing the reading in connection with a course, you should have no trouble finding someone willing to listen. However, if you can explain it coherently to someone who has no prior contact with the subject matter, you’ll know you have an absolute lock on the material.

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