Quantitative Methods in the Study of Deviance and Crime

Abstract

Insofar as the sociology of deviance is a field of study, its practitioners incline more toward qualitative methods than quantitative. This chapter discusses some of the most misunderstood and confusing aspects of quantitative methods and their differences from qualitative designs as they apply to the study of crime and deviant behavior. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each method and common misperceptions, while adhering to the advice of Travis Pratt. Quantitative scholarship generally focuses on finding differences between and among various social categories rather than attempting to explain all cases within each category. Quantitative methodologists gradually came to believe that the very nature of crime and deviance was largely probabilistic rather than deterministic. Researchers use probabilistic reasoning in quantitative methods because they believe that most human behavior, especially crime and deviance, is inherently probabilistic.