Cross-Sectional Research Designs in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Criminology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James V. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Temporal Order ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Criminal Career ◽  
Individual Change ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Criminology And Criminal Justice ◽  
Over Time

Cross-sectional research allows researchers to study a phenomenon or the relationship between variables at one point in time. In cross-sectional research data are collected once for each case (e.g., individual, neighborhood, city, state) at a single point in time. Cross-sectional research is most appropriate for studies that have descriptive or exploratory aims and in many cases are inadequate to assess causal processes due to an inability for researchers to establish temporal order—a necessary but not sufficient condition for causality. However, in some cases cross-sectional research may be adequate or even preferable to assess mediational models such as when the mediator variable is contemporaneous. Due to the nature of cross-sectional research, it is also not possible to utilize this approach to examine patterns or within-individual change in behavior over time. Alternatively, longitudinal designs typically follow the same cases over time and make observations (e.g., surveys, interviews) for each case at multiple time points. This approach allows for researchers to establish temporal order and assess both between and within-individual change over time. There is an ongoing debate among criminologists, particularly those interested in developmental processes and theories, regarding the worth of cross-sectional designs over longitudinal designs. This debate largely stems from the relationship between age and crime in what is typically referred to as the age-crime curve and the criminal career paradigm. That is, traditional cross-sectional research has found that crime peaks in mid- to late adolescence and then gradually declines across adult age groups. Despite the criticisms waged against cross-sectional research and the benefits of longitudinal research to establish temporal order, cross-sectional research designs still dominate criminology and criminal justice research. This may be due to some of the advantages of cross-sectional research and disadvantages of longitudinal research. For instance, cross-sectional research is relatively quick and affordable to carry out, making it a fairly accessible research design to conduct without funding and enables production of timely findings. Most importantly, researchers have developed unique methods of data collection and statistical analyses to overcome concerns of causality in cross-sectional research including retrospective or life history analyses, experimental survey designs, and repeated cross-sections or trend data. While these “fixes” do not allow researchers to assess within-individual change in outcomes (e.g., behaviors, attitudes, personality), they do address issues of temporal order and nonspuriousness within the cross-sectional design. The following article presents works that address various aspects of cross-sectional research and some examples of research utilizing this design.

The influences of interdependence, opportunism and technology uncertainty on interfirm coopetition

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 948-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linlin Chai ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Thomas Clauss ◽  
Chanchai Tangpong
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Contextual Condition ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents and the conditions of coopetition at the inter-organizational level. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on survey research methodology and analyzes the data from 138 companies regarding the antecedents and the conditions of their coopetition. Findings The results indicate that the interdependence between partners (i.e. the antecedent) positively affects interfirm coopetition, and that this relationship is contingent on the joint occurrence of opportunism (a behavioral condition) and technology uncertainty (a contextual condition). Specifically, highly interdependent firms are more likely to be involved in a coopetitive relationship when both opportunism and technology uncertainty are high. Interestingly, the authors’ data also show that opportunism or technology uncertainty alone may not be adequate in moderating the interdependence–coopetition relationship. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the current literature in two meaningful ways. First, it empirically examines interdependence as a potential antecedent of interfirm coopetition. Second, it improves our understanding of the behavioral and contextual conditions that facilitate the formation of coopetitive relationships by examining the moderating roles of opportunisms and technology uncertainty in the relationship between interdependence and interfirm coopetition. The limitations of this study lie in its confined method of cross-sectional survey from the focal firm’s perspective. Future research may advance beyond this study through experimental and/or longitudinal research designs. Practical implications This study provides managers with two important practical insights in coopetition management. First, the findings suggest a two-step approach to help a firm assess and manage the level of coopetition in its relationship with a business partner. In addition, the findings provide a counterintuitive suggestion to managers that the joint conditions of high opportunism and high technology uncertainty indeed prime the relationship for the rise of coopetition, provided that managerial efforts are made to somewhat increase the level of interdependence in the relationship. Originality/value Despite the growing number of studies on coopetition, research still lacks knowledge about the antecedents and the conditions of inter-organizational coopetition, and this study aims to fill this gap.

Minding the Time: A Critical Look at Longitudinal Design and Data Analysis in Quantitative Public Management Research

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin M. Stritch
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
The Many

Public management scholars are looking to longitudinal research designs and data to help overcome the many limitations associated with cross-sectional research. However, far less attention has been given to time itself as a research lens for scholars to consider. This article seeks to integrate time as a construct of theoretical importance into a discussion of longitudinal design, data, and public management research. First, I discuss the relative advantages of longitudinal design and data, but also the challenges, limitations, and issues researchers need to consider. Second, I consider the importance of time as a theoretical construct of interest in the pursuit of longitudinal public management research. Third, I offer a brief look at the use of longitudinal design and panel data analyses in the current public management literature. The overview demonstrates a notable absence of public management research considering the attitudes, motives, perceptions, and experiences of individual public employees and managers. Finally, I consider why there are so few longitudinal studies of public employees and point out the issues public management researchers interested in individual employee-level phenomena need to consider when advancing their own longitudinal research designs.

scholarly journals The relationship between chronic diseases and number of sexual partners: an exploratory analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Grabovac ◽  
Lee Smith ◽  
Lin Yang ◽  
Pinar Soysal ◽  
Nicola Veronese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Sexual Partners ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lifetime Number ◽  
Number Of Sexual Partners ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Diagnosis Of Cancer ◽  
The Relationship

BackgroundWe investigated sex-specific associations between lifetime number of sexual partners and several health outcomes in a large sample of older adults in England.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from 2537 men and 3185 women aged ≥50 years participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants reported the number of sexual partners they had had in their lifetime. Outcomes were self-rated health and self-reported limiting long-standing illness, cancer, coronary heart disease, and stroke. We used logistic regression to analyse associations between lifetime number of sexual partners and health outcomes, adjusted for relevant sociodemographic and health-related covariates.ResultsHaving had 10 or more lifetime sexual partners was associated with higher odds of reporting a diagnosis of cancer than having had 0–1 sexual partners in men (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.83) and women (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.51), respectively. Women who had 10 or more lifetime sexual partners also had higher odds of reporting a limiting long-standing illness (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.35). No other statistically significant associations were observed.ConclusionsA higher lifetime number of sexual partners is associated with increased odds of reported cancer. Longitudinal research is required to establish causality. Understanding the predictive value of lifetime number of sexual partners as a behavioural risk factor may improve clinical assessment of cancer risk in older adults.

On the use of structured time-series to detect and test hypotheses about within-lakes relationships

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves T. Prairie ◽  
C. Tara Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Single System ◽  
Empirical Relationships ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Apparent Relationship ◽  
Field Season ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentrations

Aquatic scientists using empirical relationships developed from point measurements or averages from different lakes often assume that these relationships also apply to individual lakes over time. However, this assumption is difficult to test because the extent of variation within a single system is generally much smaller and the relationship accordingly less defined than across a number of systems. We present a new method to extract empirical relationships from the internal structure of a time-series within a single lake. When we applied the method to an extreme simulation, we were able to recover accurately the parameters of the relationship in spite of the absence of any apparent relationship between the variables. When applied to empirical data for phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations collected daily over one field season, the estimated structural relationship was nearly identical to that estimated from cross-sectional data even though the empirical trend appeared much shallower and very weak.

Psychological distress and circulating inflammatory markers in healthy young adults

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 2079-2087 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Goldman-Mellor ◽  
L. Brydon ◽  
A. Steptoe
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Hdl Cholesterol ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Relationship

BackgroundAlthough a substantial body of research points to a link between psychological distress and inflammatory responses in middle-aged and older adults, particularly those with cardiovascular disease, the relationship between inflammation and distress in young, healthy individuals has not been established. This study was designed to investigate the cross-sectional association between psychological distress and inflammatory proteins in a young, healthy representative population of English adults.MethodParticipants were 1338 individuals aged 16–34 years from the 2006 Health Survey for England (HSE). Blood samples to measure plasma fibrinogen and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), as well as measures of psychological distress (using the General Health Questionnaire 12-item scale, GHQ-12) and covariates, were collected during home visits. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between psychological distress and fibrinogen and hsCRP.ResultsHigher self-rated distress was positively associated with fibrinogen level in this young population, independently of age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, smoking, and alcohol and medication use (β=0.024, p<0.01). Psychological distress was not related to hsCRP.ConclusionsPsychological distress may negatively impact inflammatory processes in young adulthood before the onset of chronic health problems such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Longitudinal research is needed to elucidate the relationship between distress and inflammation in young adults and its significance for later disease states.

The Malevolent Side of Human Nature

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Muris ◽  
Harald Merckelbach ◽  
Henry Otgaar ◽  
Ewout Meijer
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Personality Factor ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Normal Personality ◽  
Analytic Review ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

The term dark triad refers to the constellation of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Over the past few years, the concept has gained momentum, with many researchers assuming that the dark triad is a prominent antecedent of transgressive and norm-violating behavior. Our purpose in this meta-analytic review was to evaluate (a) interrelations among narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy; (b) gender differences in these traits; (c) how these traits are linked to normal personality factors; and (d) the psychosocial correlates of the dark triad. Our findings show that dark triad traits are substantially intercorrelated, somewhat more prevalent among men than women, predominantly related to the Big Five personality factor of agreeableness and the HEXACO factor of honesty-humility, and generally associated with various types of negative psychosocial outcomes. We question whether dark triad traits are sufficiently distinct and argue that the way they are currently measured is too simple to capture the malevolent sides of personality. Because most research in this domain is cross-sectional and based on self-reports, we recommend using a cross-informant approach and prospective, longitudinal research designs for studying the predictive value of dark triad features.

scholarly journals Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization in Youth: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Marciano ◽  
Peter J Schulz ◽  
Anne-Linda Camerini
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Cyberbullying perpetration (CP) and victimization (CV) are prevalent issues in adolescent development. However, previous meta-analyses focused only on cross-sectional findings. The present study aims to meta-analytically summarize 56 longitudinal studies on CP, CV, and related factors in children and adolescents. Forty meta-analyses on CP and CV as both predictors and outcomes of person-related, Internet activity-related, and contextual factors were performed. Additional moderator analyses took into account study design, sample population, and quality of the studies. Results highlight reciprocal longitudinal effects among CP, CV, and both traditional bullying and victimization: CP causes externalizing problem behaviors over time, whereas CV constitutes a risk factor of internalizing problems, such as depression and anxiety. Conversely, behavioral problems and increased Internet use predict involvement in CP, while depression, anxiety, and Internet use also predict CV over time. Further longitudinal research is needed to provide empirical evidence on understudied concepts.

What if They Are All High-Risk for Attrition? Correlates of Retention in a Longitudinal Study of Reentry from Prison

2020 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2096793
Author(s):  
Kendra J. Clark ◽  
Meghan M. Mitchell ◽  
Chantal Fahmy ◽  
David C. Pyrooz ◽  
Scott H. Decker
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Projection Data ◽  
Prevention Techniques ◽  
Criminology And Criminal Justice

Longitudinal data are essential to research in criminology and criminal justice. Despite attrition’s implications for validity, understanding its sources is underexplored empirically. We examine the correlates of retention using covariates organized into domains of prediction, prevention, and projection. Data from the LoneStar Project, a three-wave longitudinal reentry study of 802 males recently released from prisoners in Texas, were analyzed to examine the correlates of proximal, distal, and any study retention. The best correlates of study retention are prevention techniques used by researchers to reduce attrition. In contrast, only a few covariates traditionally associated with attrition and no covariates used for attrition projection were related to retention. What researchers do matters more for retention than the characteristics of individuals they are trying to retain. The findings underscore how researchers can improve study retention in longitudinal research while also correcting for non-random attrition in current longitudinal data sources.

Developmental Trajectories of Sensorimotor and Cognitive Control in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-237
Author(s):  
Shu-Chen Li ◽  
Roxane Dilcher ◽  
Alexander Münchau
Keyword(s):  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Clinical Course ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Perception Action ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract. The relationship between tics and preceding urges in Tourette syndrome suggests that abnormal internal monitoring is reflected in abnormal perceptual, attentional, and response selection. This article uses the theory of event coding to conceptualize Tourette syndrome as a disorder of the integration of perception and action. Given that Tourette syndrome is a prototypical neurodevelopmental disorder with a characteristic clinical course in childhood and early adolescence, we focus on reviewing developmental trajectories of perception-action binding and their neural correlates in Tourette and healthy controls with a view toward the dopaminergic system. Future cross-sectional and longitudinal research systematically comparing typical development and Tourette-related alterations of neurophysiological correlates underlying perception-action binding may shed light on individual differences in the clinical course in adolescence and adulthood.

Toepassing van richtlijnen voor depressiezorg in verpleeghuizen en door professionals ervaren competentie, autonomie en verbondenheid

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Psychosocial Needs ◽  
Depression Care ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

Depression is highly prevalent in nursing homes residents and affects their quality of life. Both prevalence and impact of depression may decrease when effective guidelines or depression care programs are used, but this appears to be a challenging task. The Self Determination Theory postulates that the realization of complex tasks is being facilitated by meeting three basic human psychosocial needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness to others. This cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between the experienced autonomy, competence and relatedness and the extent to which depression care is given according to guidelines in 46 doctors, 49 psychologists and 53 nurses from 71 Dutch nursing homes. Although autonomy and competence were significantly related to depression care according to guidelines, hierarchical multiple regression analyses with all three basic needs showed a statistically significant result for competence only. The associations don’t allow conclusions about causal relationships, longitudinal research will shed light on the direction of the association for competence.

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