A Weight-Activated Main Path Analysis of Policing and Life Course Scholarship

Abstract

Abstract Criminology is a constellation of many different interrelated subfields that study the various institutions constituting and person(s) involved in the criminal justice system. While the researchers that contribute to these subfields are independent, the contributed research is inherently interdependent. Sub-disciplinary collaboration is an essential catalyst of innovative research that can be translated into effective, evidence-based interventions. Using life-course and policing scholarship as a prominent example, we aim to further understanding of cross-pollination between subfields. We propose weight activated main path analysis (WAMPA), a synthesis of topic modeling and main path analysis, to analyze criminology and criminal justice peer-reviewed research published between 2001 and 2020 ( N = 31,257). WAMPA uses topic modelling output to guide MPA towards life-course and policing research. Stochastic actor-oriented modelling is then used to further investigate aggregate cross-citation between life-course and policing research. We map influential policing and life-course literature from the last two decades, examining citations that connect the two concurrently developing bodies of work. We find little cross-citation between the main paths of policing and life-course criminology, almost exclusively received by flagship publications. We further find that cross-citation between all policing and life-course scholarship is, on average, less likely than cross-citation with other topics. Life-course criminology and policing scholarship have evolved independently. This limited (or lagged) communication has the potential to obfuscate redundant research and overlook integrative opportunities. The development of evidence-based, developmentally informed policing practices that address the complexity of criminal behavior over the life-course would benefit from increased communication and collaboration.