Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice

Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Fourth Edition is an introductory statistics text for undergraduate criminology and criminal justice students. Written for students with a basic background in algebra but who have had little or no exposure to the study of statistics, the text provides step-by-step illustrations and amply opportunities to apply and practice those concepts using real data. The overarching goals of the book are to offer students a foundational knowledge of statistics that helps them make logical connections within and across concepts, and to demonstrate to students the importance and utility of statistics in criminal justice. The Fourth Edition reflects societal changes of recent years including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the #MeToo and racial justice movements that challenged the antiquated beliefs that had justified mistreatment of women and people of color by the criminal-legal system; the growth of artificial intelligence and its ability to disrupt labor markets and further the spread of misinformation, fraud, and predatory cybercrime; mass-casualty events that have become almost routine, and the true-crime genre has firmly embedded itself as a cultural phenomenon.

List of contents

Preface to the Third Edition
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part I: Descriptive Statistics
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Use of Statistics in Criminal Justice and Criminology
Science: Basic Terms and Concepts
Types of Scientific Research in Criminal Justice and Criminology
Software Packages for Statistical Analysis
Organization of the Book
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Chapter 2: Types of Variables and Levels of Measurement
Units and Levels of Analysis
Independent Variables and Dependent Variables
Correlation versus Causation
Levels of Measurement
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Chapter 3: Organizing, Displaying, and Presenting Data
Data Distributions
Graphs and Charts
Grouping Data
SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 4: Measures of Central Tendency
Distribution Shapes
The Median
The Mean
Using Means and Medians to Determine Distribution Shape
Deviation Scores and the Mean as the Midpoint of the Magnitudes
SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 5: Measures of Dispersion
The Variation Ratio
The Range
The Variance
The Standard Deviation
The Standard Deviation and the Normal Curve
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Part II: Probability and Distributions
Chapter 6: Probability
Discrete Probability: The Binomial Probability Distribution
Continuous Probability: The Standard Normal Curve
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 7: Population, Sample, and Sampling Distributions
Empirical Distributions: Population and Sample Distributions
Theoretical Distributions: Sampling Distributions
Sample Size and the Sampling Distribution: The z and t Distributions
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 8: Point Estimates and Confidence Intervals
The Level of Confidence: The Probability of Being Correct
Confidence Intervals for Means with Large Samples
Confidence Intervals for Means with Small Samples
Confidence Intervals with Proportions
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Part III: Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 9: Hypothesis Testing: A Conceptual Introduction
Sample Statistics and Population Parameters: Sampling Error or True Difference?
Null and Alternative Hypotheses
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 10: Hypothesis Testing with Two Categorical Variables: Chi-Square
The Chi-Square Test of Independence
Measures of Association
SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 11: Hypothesis Testing with Two Population Means or Proportions
Two-Population Tests for Differences Between Means: t Tests
Two-Population Tests for Differences Between Proportions
SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 12: Hypothesis Testing with Three or More Population Means: Analysis of Variance
ANOVA: Different Types of Variances
When the Null Is Rejected: A Measure of Association and Post Hoc Tests
SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 13: Hypothesis Testing with Two Continuous Variables: Correlation
Beyond Statistical Significance: Sign, Magnitude, and Coefficient of Determination
SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Chapter 14: Introduction to Regression Analysis
One Independent Variable and One Dependent Variable: Bivariate Regression
Adding Independent Variables: Multiple Regression
Alternatives to Ordinary Least Squares Regression
Ordinary Least Squares and Logistic Regression in SPSS
Chapter Summary
Thinking Critically
Review Problems
Key Terms
Glossary of Symbols and Abbreviations Introduced in This Chapter
Appendix A. Review of Basic Mathematical Techniques
Appendix B. Standard Normal (z) Distribution
Appendix C. t Distribution
Appendix D. Chi-Square (?2) Distribution
Appendix E. F Distribution
Glossary
Learning Checks Answer Key
Review Problems Answer Key
References
Index

About the author

Jacinta M. Gau, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. She received her doctorate from Washington State University in 2008. Her primary areas of research are policing and criminal justice policy, and she has a strong quantitative background. Dr. Gau's work has appeared in journals such as Justice Quarterly, British Journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Crime & Delinquency, Criminology & Public Policy, Police Quarterly, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, and the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. In addition to Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice, she is author of Criminal Justice Policy: Origins and Effectiveness (Oxford University Press) and co-author of Key Ideas in Criminology and Criminal Justice (SAGE Publications). Additionally, she co-edits Race and Justice: An International Journal, published by SAGE.
 

Product details

• Authors: Jacinta M. Gau
• Publisher: Sage Publications
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 14.01.2026
• EAN: 9781071816653
• ISBN: 978-1-0718-1665-3
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political administration; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Statistics, Crime and criminology, Crime & criminology, Social research and statistics, Research methods: general, For undergraduate education and equivalents, Textbook, coursework