The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Web Exercises
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1. You have been assigned to write a paper on domestic violence and the law. To start, you would like to find out what the American Bar Association’s stance is on the issue. Go to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence’s website at www.abanet.org/domviol/.
What is the American Bar Association’s definition of domestic violence? How does it suggest one can identify a person as a victim of domestic violence? What does it identify as “basic warning signs”? Write your answers in a one- to two-page report.
2. Go to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/. Go to “Publications.” Browse the list of publications for topics related to domestic violence. List the titles of all publications focusing on violence between intimate partners. Choose the most recent publication. How does the BJS define “intimate partners”? What are some of the characteristics of intimate partner violence? What trends are identified in the report?
3. Access the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) website at www.nij.gov. Locate a recent final report and read the abstract. What is the hypothesis of the study? What variables are included?
4. Go to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Abstracts Database https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/AbstractDB/AbstractDBSearch.aspx. Search for articles on the topic of juvenile delinquency. What key words did you use? How many articles were identified? Did you use any filters (e.g., language, date range)? Why or why not?
5. Visit the CrimeSolutions.gov website (www.crimesolutions.gov). Select a program or practice that has been rated as effective. Write a brief paragraph about the program and how it proposes to impact some aspect of crime. What types of policy can be derived from this program? How can this information be translated into effective practice in the criminal justice field?