Abstract
Objectives
The challenges of conducting a field experiment in a correctional setting.
Methods
This paper discusses the issues related to planning, design, and completion of a randomized control study of a correctional boot camp including the difficulties confronted and how these were or were not overcome.
Results
At the beginning, correctional administrators were interested in and supportive of the study and this greatly facilitated our initial work. However, as described in this paper, during the course of the research obstacles and difficulties arose. Using the boot camp experiment as an example, we review the trials and tribulations of trying to do a field experiment in corrections. The importance of collecting quantitative and qualitative in order to understand the experiences of both the control and experimental groups is emphasized, as is the need to examine the theoretical mechanisms hypothesized to lead to changes in outcomes.
Conclusion
Some of the challenges confronted in this randomized control trial are those facing anyone attempting to conduct a field experiment, others relate to the particular issues faced by those who are conducting experiments in correctional settings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues confronting researchers who are doing field experiments in corrections.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akers, R. L. (2000). Social Learning and Social Structure: A General Theory of Crime and Deviance. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.
Berk, R. (2005). Randomized experiments as the bronze standard. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 6, 417–433.
Boruch, R. F. (1997). Randomized Experiments for Planning and Evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
California Youth Authority. (1997). LEAD: A boot camp and intensive parole program: The final impact evaluation. Sacramento, CA: Department of the Youth Authority.
Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. C. (2005). Randomized experiments in criminology: What have we learned in the last two decades? Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1, 9–38.
Gendreau, P., Little, T., & Goggin, C. (1996). A meta-analysis of the predictors of adult offenders recidivism: What works? Criminology, 34, 575–607.
Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2002). Gender, crime, and desistance: Toward a theory of cognitive transformation. The American Journal of Sociology, 107, 990–1064.
Lipsey, M. W., & Pollard, J. A. (1989). Driving toward theory in program evaluation: More models to choose from. Evaluation and Program Planning, 12, 317–328.
MacKenzie, D. L. (1991). The parole performance of offenders released from shock incarceration (boot camp prisons): A survival time analysis. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 7(3), 213–236.
MacKenzie, D. L. (2006). What Works in Corrections? Reducing the Criminal Activities of Offenders and Delinquents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Armstrong, G. S. (Eds.). (2004). Correctional Boot Camps: Military Basic Training as a Model for Corrections. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Brame, R. (1995). Shock Incarceration and positive adjustment during community supervision. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 11(2), 111–142.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Donaldson, H. (1996). Boot Camp Prisons for Women Offenders. Criminal Justice Review, 21(1), 21–43.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Parent, D. G. (1991). Shock incarceration and prison crowding in Louisiana. Journal of Criminal Justice, 19(3), 225–237.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Piquero, A. (1994). The impact of shock incarceration programs on prison crowding. Crime & Delinquency, 40(2), 222–249.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Shaw, D. W. (1993). The impact of shock incarceration on technical violations and new criminal activities. Justice Quarterly, 10, 463–487.
MacKenzie, D. L., & Souryal, C. (1995). Inmate attitude change during incarceration: A comparison of boot camp with traditional prison. Justice Quarterly, 12(2), 325–354.
MacKenzie, D. L., Brame, R., McDowall, D., & Souryal, C. (1995). Boot camp prisons and recidivism in eight states. Criminology, 33(3), 401–430.
MacKenzie, D. L., Wilson, D. B., & Kider, S. B. (2001a). Effects of Correctional Boot Camps on Offending. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 578, 126–143.
MacKenzie, D. L., Wilson, D. B., Armstrong, G. S., & Gover, A. R. (2001b). The impact of boot camps and traditional institutions on juvenile residents: Perception, adjustment and change. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(3), 279–313.
MacKenzie, D. L., Bierie, D., & Mitchell, O. (2007). An experimental study of a therapeutic boot camp: Impact on impulses, attitudes and recidivism. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 3(3), 221–246.
Nagin, D. S., Cullen, F. T., & Jonson, C. L. (2009). Imprisonment and reoffending. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and Justice: A Review of the Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
O’Neill, L., MacKenzie, D. L., & Bierie, D. (2007). Educational Opportunities within Correctional Institutions: Does Facility Type Matter? The Prison Journal. 2007.
Peters, M., Thomas, D., & Zamberlan, C. (1997). Boot camps for juvenile offenders. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Program Summary).
Sampson, R. J. (2010). Gold standard myths: Observations on the experimental turn in quantitative criminology. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 10, 489–500.
Styve, G. J., MacKenzie, D. L., Gover, A., & Mitchell, O. (2000). Perceived conditions of confinement: A national evaluation of boot camps and traditional facilities. Law and Human Behavior, 24(3), 297–308.
Vieraitis, L., Kovandzic, T. V., & Marvell, T. B. (2007). The criminogenic effects of imprisonment: Evidence from state panel data, 1974–2002. Criminology and Public Policy, 6(3), 589–622.
Weisburd, D. (1993). Design sensitivity in criminal justice experiments. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and Justice: A Review of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Weisburd, D. (2003). Ethical practice and evaluation of interventions in crime and justice: The moral imperative for randomized trials. Evaluation Review, 27(3), 336–354.
Wilson, D. B., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2006). Correctional boot camps and offending. In B. C. Welsh & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Preventing Crime: What Works for Children, Offenders, Victims, and Places. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MacKenzie, D.L. Challenges of conducting field experiments in correctional settings: boot camp prison study as an example. J Exp Criminol 8, 289–306 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-012-9149-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-012-9149-9