HU Credits: 4

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: criminology

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr Barak Ariel

Coordinator Email: Barak.ariel@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: 09:00-10:00

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Barak Ariel

Course/Module description:
In recent years there has been an increase in the popularity of experimental criminology and the number of studies that use this method of research is growing steadily. Experimental approach is considered as the most reliable research method for showing causation, compared to other existing scientific methods. In law and Criminology, as in other disciplines (medicine, agriculture, psychology or education), randomized controlled trials are groundbreaking and policy-driven, both in understanding criminal behavior and as a way of dealing effectively with crime and delinquency. As part of evidence based policy, it is commonly agreed that experimental approach is the gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of intervention programs. The course will present to advanced students how experiments are designed, implemented and interpreted.

Course/Module aims:
The course aims to introduce students to experimental criminology

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Evaluate, compare, critique and understand experimental criminology

Attendance requirements(%):
75

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: seminar, laboratory, presentation of paper, writing a paper

Course/Module Content:
1. Introduction
2. Quasi experiments, experiments and causality
3. The stages of an RCT
4. RCTs in criminology
5. Data collection, analysis and dissemination

Required Reading:
None

Additional Reading Material:
• Angrist, J. D. (2006). Instrumental variables methods in experimental criminological research: what, why and how. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2(1), 22-44
• Apel, R. and Sweeten, G. (2010). Propensity Score Matching in Criminology and Criminal Justice. In A. Piquero and D. Weisburd (Eds.) Handbook of Quantitative Criminology, pp. 542-562. Springer.
• Ariel B. Sherman, L and Vila J. (2012) “Random Assignment without Tears: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Cambridge Randomizer.” Journal of Experimental Criminology 8(2): 192-208.
• Ariel, B. (2011) “Tax Compliance in Israel: An Experiment.” Eyunei Mishpat - Tel-Aviv University Law Review 24: 292-426.
• Ariel, B. (2012) “Deterrence and moral persuasion effects on corporate tax compliance: findings from a randomized controlled trial.” Criminology 50(1): 27-69.
• Ariel, B., and Farrington, D. (2010) “Randomised Block Designs.” In David Weisburd and Alex Piquero (Eds.) Handbook of Quantitative Criminology. New York: Spring Verlaag.
• Boruch, R., Victor, T., and Cecil, J. (2000). “Resolving Ethical and Legal Problems in Randomized Experiments.” Crime and Delinquency 46(2): 200-252.
• Campbell D. And Ross, L. (1968). “The Connecticut Crackdown on Speeding: Time-Series Data in Quasi-Experimental Analysis.” Law & Society Review 2(1): 22-54.
• Cohen, J. (1998). Statistical Power Analysis for Behaviour Sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Academic Press.
• Cook, T. and Campbell, D. (1979). Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Boston, MA: Houghton Milfflin Company.
• Craft, A. (1998). "The first randomised controlled trial." Archives in Disease in Childhood 79: 410
• Durlauf, S. and Nagin, D. (2011). "The Deterrent Effect of Imprisonment." PP. 42-94 in Cook, P., Ludwig, J. and McCrary, J. (eds.) Controlling Crime: Strategies and Trade-offs. NBER Books.
• Faul, Franz, Edgar Erdfelder, Albert-Georg Lang, and Axel Buchner. 2007. G*Power 2: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods 29:175-91
• Garner, J. H., Fagan, J. A., and Maxwell, C. D. (1995). “Published Findings from the Spouse Assault Replication Program: A critical review.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 11(1): 2-28.
• Gill, C. and Weisburd, D. (forthcoming). Increasing equivalence in small sample place‐based experiments: Taking advantage of block randomization methods. In B.C. Welsh, A.A. Braga, and G.J.N. Bruinsma (eds.). Experimental Criminology: Prospects for Advancing Science and Public Policy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Haviland, A., Nagin, D., and Rosenbaum, P. (2007). "Combining Propensity Score Matching and Group-Based Trajectory Analysis in an Observational Study." Psychological Methods 12(2): 247-267.
• Horney, J., Osgood, W., Marshall, I. (1995). “Criminal Careers in the Short Term: Intra-Individual Variability in Crime and Its Relation to Local Life Circumstances.” American Sociological Review 60(5): 655-672.
• Mills, L., Barocas, B., Ariel, B. (2012) “The Next Generation of Court-Mandated Domestic Violence Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Restorative Justice.” (Journal of Experimental Criminology).
• Nagin, D. S., & Tremblay, R. E. (2005). What has been learned from group-based trajectory modeling?: Examples from physical aggression and other problem behaviors. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 602, 82-117.
• Roman, J. K., Reid, S., Reid, J., Chalfin, A., Adams, W., & Knight, C. (2008, April). DNA Field Experiment: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Use of DNA in the Investigation of High-Volume Crimes. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. (NCJ 244218)
• Sampson, Robert J. (2010) "Gold Standard Myths: Observations on the Experimental Turn in Quantitative Criminology." Journal of Quantitative Criminology 25 (2010): 489-500.
• Shadish, W, Cook, T. and Campbell D. (2001). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Houghton Mifflin Company: New York
• Sherman, L. (2009). “Evidence and Liberty: The Promise of Experimental Criminology.” Criminology and Criminal Justice 9(1): 5–28.
• Sherman, L. (2010). “An Introduction to Experimental Criminology.” Pp. 299-426 in A. Piquero and D. Weisburd, eds., Handbook of Experimental Criminology. NY: Springer.
• Sherman, L. and Weisburd, D. (1995). "General Deterrent Effects of Police Patrol in Crime Hot Spots: A Randomized, Controlled Trial." Justice Quarterly 12(4): 625-648.
• Strang, H., Sherman, L., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D., and Ariel, B., (2012). Restorative Justice Conferencing: Effects of Face-to-Face Meetings on Offenders and victims: A Systematic Review for Campbell Collaboration. Campbell Collaboration.
• Sugerman, D. B., and Boney-McCoy, S. (2000). “Research synthesis in family violence: The art of reviewing the research.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma 4(1): 55-82.
• Weisburd, D. (2002). “Ethical Practice and Evaluation of Interventions in Crime and Justice: The Moral Imperative for Randomized Trials.” Evaluation Review 27(2): 226-254.
• Weisburd, D., Lum, C., and Petrosino, A. (2001). “Does Research Design Affect Study Outcomes in Criminal Justice?” Annals of the American Academy of Social and Political Sciences 578: 50-70.
• Weisburd, D., Lum, C., and Yang, S-M. (2002). “When Can We Conclude That Treatments or Programs ‘Don’t Work’?” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 587: 21-48.
• Weisburd, D., Petrosino, A. and Mason, G. (1992). “Design Sensitivity in Criminal Justice Experiments”. In Crime and Justice: A Review of Research 17: 227-279.
• Weisburd, D., Shoham, E., Ariel, B., Menspeizer, M., Gideon, L. (2010). ”Can we decrease recidivism rates of addicted prisoners using a Therapeutic-Community based prison? Lessons from a quasi-experimental study in Israel.” Megamot (2): 226-252.
• Weisburd, D., Taxman, F. (2000). “Developing a Multi-Center Randomized Trial in Criminology: The Case of HIDTA.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 16(2): 215-240.
• Wilson, D. Practical Meta-Analysis Effect Size Calculator, George Mason University http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/resources/effect_size_input.php
• אבישי אנטונובסקי (1999). "שקר החן והבל ה-p: מה מובהק במבחני מובהקות סטטיסטית?" מגמות לח 599.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 20 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 80 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information: