Researching Neighbourhood Change, Crime and Disorder

Abstract

This chapter explores the process of researching neighbourhood change, crime and disorder in the study areas. It begins with an examination of the relationship between the study’s theoretical concerns and empirical questions. A discussion of the way the study areas were selected and data was gathered then follows. Since the ‘experience’ of data collection in the two main study sites is worthy of discussion, the practical, political and ethical issues met during the research process are considered. The chapter may be of particular interest to academic researchers and policy-makers planning to undertake locality-based research following the Crime and Disorder Act, and some emphasis is therefore placed upon the factors that facilitated, and those that frustrated, the research, and the strategies employed by the author to overcome them.