Big Data offers a plethora of promising opportunities in different areas of society. This introductory article focuses on the opportunities of Big Data in scientific research. The central question addressed in this article is: ‘What can Big Data offer in the context of scientific research?’ In order to answer this question, the following topics are discussed: what is Big Data, what is new about Big Data, which applications are there for Big Data in scientific research, and what are the pros and cons of the use of Big Data in scientific research? The conclusion is that Big Data offers some opportunities for scientific research that were previously impossible and, therefore, can be useful for researchers. However, the use of Big Data also has its limitations and the added value may depend on the research questions that are addressed.

Online search behavior, stored by search engines such as Google, is a type of Big Data that allows researchers and policymakers to screen and scan the effects of implemented (e)interventions. This contribution uses the implementation of a specific anti-piracy intervention as a case study in order to test the usability of online search behavior as an indicator of the effects of an intervention. The data demonstrates that changes in online search behavior have occurred following implementation. The main issue that emerges is the attribution of the findings presented. One way to approach this attribution issue is by performing a counterfactual. Though this alleviates the attribution issue somewhat, it does not solve it in its entirety. Overall, it is suggested that the described usage of Big Data serves as a novel tool to quickly and easily screen the potential effects following the implementation of policy before selecting more resource-consuming methods.

This article describes the developments in the use of analytical methods and technics for criminological research in the Netherlands since the beginning of the eighties. The author focuses on quantitative research methods. While classical multivariate technics like (M)AN(C)OVA, canonic correlation analysis and LISREL were dominant until the beginning of the new century, new multivariate analytical methods appeared from 2005 onwards. Especially the analysis of life course trajectories of criminal offenders caught on. The author also discusses various methods to measure the size of crime, like randomized response and capture-recapture, as well as methods identifying the causes of crime. In this latter field the use of fixed-effects methods and the propensity score matching technic has expanded considerably in the last couple of years. When it comes to explaining why people commit crime, quantitative methods do not suffice. The author argues that thorough quantitative methods can reveal the context in which criminal acts occur. The wider use of so-called mixed methods (quantitative as well as qualitative) could contribute to a deeper understanding of crime and stimulate theoretical development. In doing so these methods contribute considerably to understanding why people commit crime.

This article draws on three years of ethnographic research into the embeddedness of crime and identity of the Rollin 200 Crips, a Dutch ‘gang’ from the city of The Hague. During the course of this fieldwork the possibilities of social media were explored. Posts and pictures on social media can be used by criminologists as a relative easy way to collect data, but social media can also be used as a platform to communicate and contact informants. The central argument in this article is that ethnographers should somehow try to incorporate these offline practices in their fieldwork to better deal with the fact that boundaries between being online and offline are becoming increasingly interwoven and blurred. But like forms of offline ethnography, there is also a need to reflect on the usage of this data, particularly in terms of selectivity and ethics.

New technologies such as social media, smartphones, GPS, the internet, sensors, and virtual environments are quickly becoming an increasingly influential part of our daily lives. While very relevant, and often highly accessible and user-friendly, criminologists have been slow to capitalize on the research potential of these technologies. CRIME Lab is a research initiative that promotes the use of new technologies and innovative methods to do cutting-edge crime research. In this article, the author discusses three different CRIME Lab research projects that all make use of virtual reality (VR), which, it is argued, can become a highly useful research method for criminologists in the coming years. The author demonstrates how the use of VR in these projects allows for answering research questions that are hard to address using conventional methods.

How many hours a night do I sleep? What is my average resting heart rate? How physical active am I during the day? Self-monitoring with help of technological devices, including smartphones, mobile applications and electronic sensors, allow individuals to quantify biometrics that they never knew existed. During the last decade, the ‘quantified-self’ movement has become popular among hobbyists, but also among professionals in the medical field. In this article the authors explore the potentials of quantified-self devices for the criminal justice setting. Could, for example, skin conductance measurements help to improve self-awareness among aggressive patients? And could biofeedback intervention with help of a mobile application serve as an alternative intervention program for those who are currently not responsive to traditional correctional therapy? On the other hand, what are the limitations and perhaps ethical concerns when implementing quantified-self devices in the criminal justice setting?

Visual research methods aren’t magic. Yet, they do work. In this article, different reasons and methods are described, based on the author’s own experiences as well as on the literature. Visual methods refer to the visual as a data source, employing visuals in the data collection or using visuals when presenting and expressing social scientific knowledge. The reasons to use visual methods can be divided into two broad categories. First, visual methods enhance the data and the data collection and second, they can facilitate the participation of and collaboration with research participants. Examples of visual methods are presented, such as the use of photographs in interviews as well as some dilemmas a researcher (similar to legal professionals) can face when employing them. Visual methods are still developing, and the author concludes that there’s still a lot to learn.

The practical relevance of police-related research is a much debated issue. In the debate there has not been much attention to the methodological design of research and the effect the design has on relevance. In this article two research designs are discussed that pay special attention to increasing the practical relevance of the research: design-based research and action research. Both designs are uncommon in Dutch police-related research. The two designs are each illustrated with an example and pros and cons are discussed. It is concluded that these designs are useful for improving the impact of police-related research, either when used separately or in combination.