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Advancing the Usefulness of Research for Victims of Crime

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Ekaterina Archakova

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Most researchers who study victimization are interested in finding ways to make their work more useful. The articles in this issue discuss how the practice of research can be better linked to policy making, how hard-to-reach victims might be better served, how risk is correlated across various domains and tied to broader structural conditions, and how legal remedies might better serve victims of crime. In this article, the authors examine some of the practical matters that have made it difficult to build a solid empirical foundation on which to base effective policies. These practical challenges include the very large and diverse literatures and disciplinary perspectives and the unique set of methodological difficulties associated with research on victims of crime. Several ways in which these challenges might be overcome are discussed, including multidisciplinary literature reviews, coordinated assessments of methodological approaches and findings, and greater dialogue among those with specialized understandings of different forms of victimization.

Key Words: victimization • policy • interdisciplinary approach • empirical challenge

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