Preaching to the Choir: A Comparison of the Use of Integrated Data Sets in Criminology Journals in Australia, England and the United States

Abstract

Empirical analyses of crime increasingly rely on integrated data. This paper considers advantages and limitations of integrated data sets, comparative uses of such data in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, British Journal of Criminology and Criminology, as well as speculations based on these findings. Integrated data analysis has amplified methodological issues. The reliability of secondary data analysis is both supported and challenged. Relevant questions include how crime is associated with actuarial measures and which measures are most reliable. The more difficult question is whether actuarial measures are valid indicators. One extreme empirical orientation, positivism, relies on empirical, often quantitative, data, and scientific method to derive conclusions and guide policy (Young, 1992a). The other extreme relies on discourse and persuasion. Implications of relying on or rejecting actuarialism are discussed in the context of integrated data research published in the above-mentioned criminology journals.