| The argument is made that we are rarely precise about the level of scale we are addressing in our theory or research, and the question is raised whether this is a conceptual problem or merely linguistic looseness. In fact, rather than analyzing "crime" we most often are dealing with crime rates, criminal situations, or criminal behavior. Attempting to develop theory, particularly integrative theory, without openly addressing this problem and then maintaining an ongoing awareness of the problem of level of scale produces disjointed results. We suggested that there are four abstract levels at which our work really focuses: societal, structural, interactional, and individual, and we discuss the ramifications of that idea for our work and for policy. Resolving this problem improves our theorization, our teaching of theory, and particularly the applicability of theory to practice. |
Updated 05/20/2006