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Methodological Issues in the Study of Victimization

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Abstract

Victimization surveys collect data on criminal incidents through interviews with their participants. This use of self-reports of past events raises important measurement issues. Participants in a victimization survey are more akin to observers than to respondents in traditional opinion surveys. We assume that people may or may not have been involved in events which have inter-subjective meaning, about which independent observers could agree. The task of interviewers is to elicit accurate reports of those occurrences.

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© 1986 Ezzat A. Fattah

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Skogan, W.G. (1986). Methodological Issues in the Study of Victimization. In: Fattah, E.A. (eds) From Crime Policy to Victim Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08305-3_5

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