Doing Qualitative Research

The field of children's testimony is in turmoil, but a resolution to seemingly intractable debates now appears attainable. In this review, we place the current disagreement in historical context and describe psychological and legal views of child witnesses held by scholars since the turn of the 20th century. Although there has been consistent interest in children's suggestibility over the past century, the past 15 years have been the most active in terms of the number of published studies and novel theorizing about the causal mechanisms that underpin the observed findings. A synthesis of this research posits three "families" of factors--cognitive, social, and biological--that must be considered if one is to understand seemingly contradictory interpretations of the findings. We conclude that there are reliable age differences in suggestibility but that even very young children are capable of recalling much that is forensically relevant. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of expert witnesses.

Suggestibility of the child witness: A historical review and synthesis.

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Netnography. Doing ethnographic research online

About the Author.Series Preface.Preface.Acknowledgments.Introduction. PART I: INTERROGATIONS AND CONFESSIONS. Interrogation Tactics and Techniques. Interrogation in Britain. Persons at Risk During Interviews in Police Custody: the Royal Commission Studies. The Identification and Measurement of 'Oppressive' Police Interviewing Tactics in Britain. Why do Suspects Confess? Theories. Why do Suspects Confess? Empirical Findings. Miscarriages of Justice and False Confessions. The Psychology of False Confession: Research and Theoretical Issues. The Psychology of False Confession: Case Examples. PART II: LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS. The English Law on Confessions. The American Law on Confessions. The Psychological Assessment. Suggestibility: Historical and Theoretical Aspects. Interrogative Suggestibility: Empirical Findings. PART III: BRITISH COURT OF APPEAL CASES. The Effects of Drugs and Alcohol Upon the Reliability of Testimony. The Court of Appeal. The 'Guildford Four' and the 'Birmingham Six'. Psychological Vulnerability. Police Impropriety. Misleading Special Knowledge. PART IV: FOREIGN CASES OF DISPUTED CONFESSIONS. Four High Profile American Cases. Canadian and Israeli Cases. Murder in Norway: a False Belief Leading to a False Confession. References. Appendix. Index.

The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook

The credibility of children's testimony is a hotly debated topic in America's courtrooms, universities and professional organisations. Are children more suggestible than adults, and if so, what are the implications for those who work with child witnesses? This work examines real life cases in which children were key witnesses in criminal chid abuse trials. Written in accessible language by experts in the field, this text should be useful for expert witnesses and all those who work with child witnesses, including therapists, social workers, law enforcement personnel and lawyers.

Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony

This paper is concerned with the associations between the characteristics of a suspect and case and a suspect's decision to admit or deny having committed an offence. It outlines a model to illustrate how such characteristics have a bearing on interviewing styles and thus a direct and indirect effect on suspect behavior. A random sample of 1,067 cases from nine Metropolitan Police stations was examined. In each case the suspect was interviewed by a detective. The decision to admit an allegation during questioning was primarily associated with three factors: strength of evidence, legal advice, and the criminal history of the suspect. The results are discussed in relation to the effects of different interviewing strategies on suspect behaviour.

The effects of case characteristics on suspect behaviour during police questioning

Eyewitness researchers have long argued that children's testimony is unreliable because of their excessive suggestibility. The present study is an examination of two factors thought to explain some of the apparent suggestibility of children: (1) the emphasis placed on giving a classifiable answer to every question asked; (2) the effects of repeated questioning within an interview.A total of 72 children, from three age groups (6, 8 and 10 years) was questioned about a staged event they had witnessed earlier. It was found that telling children that they could say 'Don't know' to questions increased the number of such responses, but with no effect on the overall proportion of correct or incorrect responses. Even subjects who had not been instructed in the use of this response were prepared to say 'Don't know' to the experimenter's questions. Repeated questioning resulted in a decrease in the number of correct responses given, but had no effect on the number of incorrect re sponses.

The suggestibility of children in interview studies

This paper describes some of the basic questioning techniques employed in contemporary tape recorded interviews of suspects in criminal investigations. First it shows how detectives attempt to question for information and/or confessions. Two basic questioning strategies are identified, in which the aim is either to gather information or a confession. The implications of each strategy are discussed, for example, certain confession oriented strategies may invite defences based on the suggestibility of the suspect. The second part of the paper shows how detectives cope with suspects who use their right of silence. Five distinct strategies are identified, ranging from avoidance, where officers terminate questioning immediately after silence is encountered, to rationalization, where officers argue directly against the use of silence in interviews. The questioning techniques are discussed in relation to the need for officers to receive training in interviewing skills.

Police questioning techniques in tape recorded interviews with criminal suspects

The final frontier of anti-doping: A study of athletes who have committed doping violations

This paper is in three parts: (1) the incidence of the use of the right to silence in the Metropolitan Police and the case characteristics (such as offence severity and use of legal advice) statistically associated with its use; (2) the effects of silence on the decision to charge or release suspects; and (3) the effects of silence on the conviction of suspects. The data are derived from a study of over 1000 cases in which suspects were questioned by police officers. Silence was used in about 16% of cases; however, it had very little effect on the prosecution and conviction of suspects. Contrary to expectations, suspects who used silence were more likely to be charged than suspects who did not exercise the right. This may be due to the possibility that police officers appear to equate the use of silence with perceived guilt. The use of silence did not affect the chances of conviction in court; however, it was linked to how suspects pleaded in court. Suspects who had earlier used their right to silence were more likely to plead guilty at the outset of a trial than those who had not used this right.

Stephen Moston

Papers

The effects of case characteristics on suspect behaviour during police questioning

The suggestibility of children in interview studies

Police questioning techniques in tape recorded interviews with criminal suspects

The final frontier of anti-doping: A study of athletes who have committed doping violations

The incidence, antecedents and consequences of the use of the right to silence during police questioning