Undertaking the Research

Abstract

This chapter outlines my approach to the study, detailing the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the research. The chapter starts by considering the characteristics of the samples in other, similar studies of white-collar crime, then moves onto examine the various methodologies that can be used to undertake such research, paying particular attention to interviewing as a technique for collecting data. Finally, the data collection for the present study is detailed — outlining all the processes gone through, from selecting the target population to the finalisation of the sample, the characteristics of the latter are then described in detail. Throughout this book, the offences for which individuals were convicted are described both in their legal terminology and in the more general terminology found in criminological and socio-logical texts. For example ‘theft from employer’ may also be referred to at times, as ‘embezzlement’.