Research on Criminal Justice Organizations

The Sentencing Process

Bernard Cohen, S. H. Leinen

ResearchPublished 1976

Addresses the key problems and issues in conducting research on criminal justice organizations. Considers the following topics from the point of view of what an R&D-funding agency can do to improve research quality: (1) problems in research on criminal justice organizations; (2) key issues in research relating to sentencing, prosecution, and arrest; (3) selection of a research topic; (4) initiation of the research; (5) design of a research project; and (6) recommendations for conducting future research. Different facets of the sentencing process are used as illustrative topics, with the focus on decisionmaking. Sentencing was selected because it is a critical issue, but the research methodology may be applied to many other areas in the criminal justice system (e.g., arrest, prosecution, parole). The problems of developing a collaborative relationship between researchers and criminal justice organizations are discussed and several alternatives suggested.

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Cohen, Bernard and S. H. Leinen, Research on Criminal Justice Organizations: The Sentencing Process. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1976. https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R2018.html.
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