Dan Waldorf

Bio: Dan Waldorf is an academic researcher from Pacific Institute. The author has contributed to research in topics: Addiction & Criminal justice. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 16 publications receiving 4939 citations.

Snowball Sampling: Problems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling

Abstract: In spite of the fact that chain referral sampling has been widely used in qualitative sociological research, especially in the study of deviant behavior, the problems and techniques involved in its...

Natural Recovery from Addiction: Some Social-Psychological Processes of Untreated Recovery:

Abstract: This is a report of an exploratory in-depth study of the social-psychological processes of untreated recovery. Data for the study comes from focused interviews with a sample of 201 ex-addicts (half...

Drifting into dealing: Becoming a cocaine seller

Abstract: This paper describes a study of eight ex-cocaine sellers located via chain referral from eight different levels of sales. To be eligible for the study respondents must have sold cocaine steadily for at least a year and have stopped selling for at least six months. The authors describe modes and levels of entree into cocaine sales, and the subtle transformation of identity that occurs when a person moves from a user to a dealer. The interviews suggest that entry into social worlds of cocaine sales is a fluid process akin to Matza's notion of drift (1964). Five basic ways in which people begin to sell cocaine are identified. The first is to become a go-between, a seller who starts out buying only for friends and only later envisions the profit possibilities. The second mode is to become a stash dealer, a person who sells small amounts in order to better afford their own cocaine use. The third style, the connoisseur, is characterized by the user's desire to buy high quality drugs through wholesale purchases. The fourth mode of entree may be called apprenticeship, trainee-style relationships where the novitiate lives with an established seller, learns the ropes, shares the dope, and eventually takes over all or part of the experienced dealer's business. Finally, there is product line expansion, wherein dealers start outselling other drugs, usually marijuana, and move into cocaine sales when it becomes available.

Snowball Sampling: Problems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling

Abstract: In spite of the fact that chain referral sampling has been widely used in qualitative sociological research, especially in the study of deviant behavior, the problems and techniques involved in its...

Snowball Sampling—I

Abstract: Snowball sampling is a recruitment method in which an investigator enlists the help of a research subject in identifying, and possibly recruiting, additional subjects. It is useful when the investigator may not have access to a population of potential subjects who meet inclusion criteria, which may often be stigmatizing. There are two different approaches to snowball recruitment. In the first method, the investigator asks a person to inform potential subjects about the research project and share the investigator's contact information. It is then up to the potential subjects to contact the investigator. The informed consent process should make it clear that agreeing to contact others is not a requisite for participating in the research. Also, the researcher should not offer a reward or a " bounty " for recruiting subjects. This method rarely presents ethical issues for the IRB. The second method is more common but problematic. The investigator asks the first recruited subject for contact information about potential subjects and then contacts them directly. The major ethical issue is that the first subject may be divulging information about other people that they would prefer to be kept confidential. And it is especially problematic when the referring individual is a person of authority in the community. The IRB would evaluate very carefully the context in which this approach to recruitment is occurring. The Boise State University IRB has a good discussion of snowball sampling. For additional discussion, see he discussion on the NSF site.

Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives

Abstract: Can hardened criminals really reform? "Making Good" provides resounding proof that the answer is yes. This book provides a fascinating narrative analysis of the lives of repeat offenders who, by all statistical measures, should have continued on the criminal path but instead have created lives of productivity and purpose. This examination of the phenomenology of "making good" includes an encyclopedic review of the literature on personal reform as well as a practical guide to the use of narratives in offender counseling and rehabilitation.The author's research shows that criminals who desist from crime have constructed powerful narratives that aided them in making sense of their pasts, finding fulfillment in productive behaviors, and feeling in control of their future. Borrowing from the field of narrative psychology, Maruna argues that to truly understand offenders, we must understand the stories that they tell - and that in turn this story-making process has the capacity to transform lives. "Making Good" challenges some of the cherished assumptions of various therapy models for offenders and supports new paradigms for offender rehabilitation. This groundbreaking book is a must read for criminologists, forensic psychologists, lawyers, rehabilitation counselors, or anyone interested in the generative process of change.

Outsiders Studies in the Sociology of Deviance.

Abstract: This 1966 paperback edition of a publication which first appeared in 1963 has by now been widely reviewed as a worthy contribution to the sociological study of deviant behavior. Its current appearance as a paperback is a testimonial both to the quality of the work and to the prominence of deviant behavior in this generation. In general the author places deviance in perspective, identifies types of deviant behavior, considers the role of rule makers and enforcers, and some of the problems in studying deviance. In addition, he develops a sequential model of deviance relying on the concept of career, a concept originally developed in studies of occupations. In his study of a particular kind of deviance, the use of marihuana, the author posits and tests systematically an hypothesis about the genesis of marihuana use for pleasure. The hypothesis traces the sequence of changes in individual attitude

Sampling in Interview-Based Qualitative Research: A Theoretical and Practical Guide

Abstract: Sampling is central to the practice of qualitative methods, but compared with data collection and analysis its processes have been discussed relatively little. A four-point approach to sampling in qualitative interview-based research is presented and critically discussed in this article, which integrates theory and process for the following: (1) defining a sample universe, by way of specifying inclusion and exclusion criteria for potential participation; (2) deciding upon a sample size, through the conjoint consideration of epistemological and practical concerns; (3) selecting a sampling strategy, such as random sampling, convenience sampling, stratified sampling, cell sampling, quota sampling or a single-case selection strategy; and (4) sample sourcing, which includes matters of advertising, incentivising, avoidance of bias, and ethical concerns pertaining to informed consent. The extent to which these four concerns are met and made explicit in a qualitative study has implications for its coherence, tran...