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Understanding Comparison in Criminal Justice Research: An Interpretive Perspective

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 22:15 authored by Maxwell TraversMaxwell Travers
This article explores some implications of interpretive philosophies of social science, developed by thinkers such as Max Weber and Peter Winch, for conducting comparative research in criminal justice. These address the meaningful character of human activities but, unlike constructionism and postmodernism, respect the objective and constraining character of institutional realities. Drawing on American empirical studies that employ qualitative methods to explain statistical variation, the article shows how interpretive traditions often find it difficult freeing themselves from positivist assumptions and fall short of investigating how social actors understand and engage in comparison in their everyday lives. A discussion of data collected in an ethnographic study of children's courts in Australia demonstrates how a more thorough-going and consistent approach to comparison is possible within this interpretive framework. © 2008 Georgia State University.

History

Publication title

International Criminal Justice Review

Volume

18

Issue

4

Pagination

389-405

ISSN

1057-5677

Department/School

School of Social Sciences

Publisher

Sage

Place of publication

London

Rights statement

Copyright 2008 Georgia State University

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Criminal justice

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