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Measurement issues in criminal justice
96
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
forts to impose the death penalty fairly in the decade after Furman and adds to the evidence on the effect of capital punishment on homicide rates. Chapter 6 traces the enactment of new capital statutes throughout the United States. Data from those states responsible for most of the death sentences levied in the first five years after Furman are used in Chapter 7 to consider the question of fairness of application. Chapters 8 and 9 treat the issue of deterrent utility. Chapter 10 attempts to ascertain whether unfairness is concentrated in sentencing or whether it pervades the entire process. Chapter 11 offers final conclusions on the death punishment. The book includes a list of tables; a list of figures; two appendixes, “Executions Under State Authority: An Inventory” and “Legislative and Judicial Actions of Capital Punishment since Furman: An Inventory”; a bibliography; and an index.
Measurement Issues in Criminal edited by Gordon P. Waldo.
Justice
Sage Publications, Inc. (275 South Drive, Beverly Hills, California 1983, 136 pp., hardcover-$16.95.
Beverly 90212),
The readings in this volume constitute an addition to the literature on methodological issues, techniques, and strategies in criminological research. The editor alerts us in his introduction that measurement is defined here in a broad sense, to include not merely “the assignment of numerals to objects or events according to rules” (Stevens, 1951) but the entire research process. For example, the development of concepts and constructs and the attendant development of operational definitions are important issues in measurement. The proper techniques to use in selecting samples and items, data collection, and data analysis are also discussed in this volume. In addition to the methodological issues addressed, most of the articles treat substantive areas of criminology as well. Chapters include: “Measuring Offense Seriousness: Testing a Perceptually Based
ABSTRACTS
Scale”; ‘*Response Bias in Self-Report Surveys: Evaluating Randomized Responses”; “Measurement Error and SelfReported Delinquency: An Examination of Interviewer Bias”; “Social Status and Delinquency: Do Self-Reports and Official Reports Match”; “Statistical versus Substantive Signifigance: Evaluating Research on Race and Class Bias in Sentencing”; “National vs. Local Data Sources in the Study of Homicide: Do They Agree?“; and “Dimension Reduction in Criminology: A Comparison Between Ridge Regression and Principal Components Regression.” A reference section concludes each article, and information about the authors is provided.
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Volumes l-4 edited by Sanford H. Kadish. Macmillan Publishing Company (866 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022), 1983, 1790 pp., hardcover-$300.00. The Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice is a comprehensive, non-specialist guide to the nature, causes. and types of criminal behavior; the punishment and treatment of offenders; crime prevention; the criminal justice system; and the bodies of law that define criminal behavior and govern the application of criminal law. It is an interdisciplinary effort, offering 286 original, signed articles that fall into seven broad categories: criminal law. criminal procedures. the criminal justice system, criminal behavior, and social responses to crime. Special features include: compound entries, which provide thorough coverage of major topics: cross references and blind entries; extensive legal citations and a guide to their use; a glossary of terms; a legal index; a general index; and reading lists following each article. The Encyclopedia was edited by Sanford H. Kadish, a professor of law and a former dean of the law school at the University of California at Berkeley. He was assisted by an editorial board of five well-known scholars in the fields of crime and justice, each from a major university.
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
forts to impose the death penalty fairly in the decade after Furman and adds to the evidence on the effect of capital punishment on homicide rates. Chapter 6 traces the enactment of new capital statutes throughout the United States. Data from those states responsible for most of the death sentences levied in the first five years after Furman are used in Chapter 7 to consider the question of fairness of application. Chapters 8 and 9 treat the issue of deterrent utility. Chapter 10 attempts to ascertain whether unfairness is concentrated in sentencing or whether it pervades the entire process. Chapter 11 offers final conclusions on the death punishment. The book includes a list of tables; a list of figures; two appendixes, “Executions Under State Authority: An Inventory” and “Legislative and Judicial Actions of Capital Punishment since Furman: An Inventory”; a bibliography; and an index.
Measurement Issues in Criminal edited by Gordon P. Waldo.
Justice
Sage Publications, Inc. (275 South Drive, Beverly Hills, California 1983, 136 pp., hardcover-$16.95.
Beverly 90212),
The readings in this volume constitute an addition to the literature on methodological issues, techniques, and strategies in criminological research. The editor alerts us in his introduction that measurement is defined here in a broad sense, to include not merely “the assignment of numerals to objects or events according to rules” (Stevens, 1951) but the entire research process. For example, the development of concepts and constructs and the attendant development of operational definitions are important issues in measurement. The proper techniques to use in selecting samples and items, data collection, and data analysis are also discussed in this volume. In addition to the methodological issues addressed, most of the articles treat substantive areas of criminology as well. Chapters include: “Measuring Offense Seriousness: Testing a Perceptually Based
ABSTRACTS
Scale”; ‘*Response Bias in Self-Report Surveys: Evaluating Randomized Responses”; “Measurement Error and SelfReported Delinquency: An Examination of Interviewer Bias”; “Social Status and Delinquency: Do Self-Reports and Official Reports Match”; “Statistical versus Substantive Signifigance: Evaluating Research on Race and Class Bias in Sentencing”; “National vs. Local Data Sources in the Study of Homicide: Do They Agree?“; and “Dimension Reduction in Criminology: A Comparison Between Ridge Regression and Principal Components Regression.” A reference section concludes each article, and information about the authors is provided.
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Volumes l-4 edited by Sanford H. Kadish. Macmillan Publishing Company (866 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022), 1983, 1790 pp., hardcover-$300.00. The Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice is a comprehensive, non-specialist guide to the nature, causes. and types of criminal behavior; the punishment and treatment of offenders; crime prevention; the criminal justice system; and the bodies of law that define criminal behavior and govern the application of criminal law. It is an interdisciplinary effort, offering 286 original, signed articles that fall into seven broad categories: criminal law. criminal procedures. the criminal justice system, criminal behavior, and social responses to crime. Special features include: compound entries, which provide thorough coverage of major topics: cross references and blind entries; extensive legal citations and a guide to their use; a glossary of terms; a legal index; a general index; and reading lists following each article. The Encyclopedia was edited by Sanford H. Kadish, a professor of law and a former dean of the law school at the University of California at Berkeley. He was assisted by an editorial board of five well-known scholars in the fields of crime and justice, each from a major university.