Questioning the measurement of the 'fear of crime'. Findings from a major methodological study

Research upon the fear of crime has grown substantially in recent years. From its very inception, this field has relied almost exclusively upon quantitative surveys, which have suggested that the fear of crime is a prevalent social problem. However, doubts about the nature of the instruments used to...

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Beteiligte: Farrall, Stephen (BeteiligteR) ; Bannister, Jon (BeteiligteR) ; Ditton, Jason (BeteiligteR) ; Gilchrist, Elizabeth (BeteiligteR) ; Farrall, Stephen 1969-
Medienart: Druck Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 1997
In: The British journal of criminology
Jahr: 1997, Band: 37, Heft: 4, Seiten: 658-679
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Bestand in Tübingen:In Tübingen vorhanden.
IFK: In: Z 7
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
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Zusammenfassung:Research upon the fear of crime has grown substantially in recent years. From its very inception, this field has relied almost exclusively upon quantitative surveys, which have suggested that the fear of crime is a prevalent social problem. However, doubts about the nature of the instruments used to investigate this phenomenon have cumulatively raised the possibility that the fear of crime has been significantly misrepresented. Dealing with the epistemological, conceptual, operational and technical critiques of quantitative surveys in general and of fear of crime surveys in particular, this article suggests that our understanding of the fear of crime is a product of the way it has been researched rather than the way it is. As the aim of the research project under which this data was collected was to develop and design new quantitative questions, the article ends with some possible solutions to the epistemological, conceptual, operational and technical problems discussed which may improve future quantitative research in this field
ISSN:0007-0955