Hypothesis-Based Research:

Abstract

This article describes the research and implementation programmes associated with the development of the notion of repeat victimization as a means of preventing crime. A number of separate projects are briefly described with emphasis upon the way in which one led to another through an iterative, hypothesis-driven process. The discussion covers some implications for the way in which government-funded social science research is commissioned and the expectations of policy advisers, practitioners and social researchers if current aspirations to evidence-based policy and practice are to be delivered.