Free-text comments as a tool for developing the self-report method: Parents’ responses to a survey on violence against children
| Author | Noora Ellonen,Tarja Pösö,Monica Fagerlund |
| Date | 01 March 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865816671381 |
| Published date | 01 March 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2018, Vol. 51(1) 58–75
!The Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0004865816671381
journals.sagepub.com/home/anj
Article
Free-text comments as a tool
for developing the self-report
method: Parents’ responses
to a survey on violence
against children
Noora Ellonen
University of Tampere, Finland
Monica Fagerlund
Police University College, Finland
Tarja Po
¨so
¨
University of Tampere, Finland
Abstract
Self-report measures are used to study the degree of victimisation in children that have
experienced violence. Very little methodological attention is, however, paid to development
of these measures. In this article, we will analyse parents’ free-text comments in response to
a self-report survey of their own violent behaviour towards their children. Themes presented
by parents concerning violence against children as a phenomenon will be analysed and meth-
odological input of these free-text comments in a self-report survey will be examined.
Analysis is based on survey data collected in Finland in 2011 (N ¼3170) including 2047
free-text comments. Based on the thematic analysis of those comments, four themes were
phrased: making sense of the responses, defining violence, children and violence in society and
experiencing exclusion. Parents’ comments with respect to these themes reflected the com-
plexity of what actually constitutes violence against children. Analysis also showed that free-
text comments are a valuable and ethically sound tool for developing the self-report measure.
Keywords
Free-text comments, self-report measure, survey, victimisation, violence against children
Date received: 26 October 2015; accepted: 22 August 2016
Corresponding author:
Noora Ellonen, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Tampere, 33014 Tampere, Finland.
Email: noora.ellonen@uta.fi
Introduction
In criminological research self-report measures are proven to be applicable for studying
crime and delinquency (Ellis, Hartley, & Walsh, 2010; Kivivuori, 2011; Krohn,
Thornberry, Bell, Lizotte, & Phillips, 2011). These measures often refer to either victim-
isation surveys or self-report delinquency surveys where respondents are asked if they
have engaged in delinquent or criminal behaviour, and if so, how often (Kivivuori,
2011). Within the last 20 years the use of self-report measures has increased significantly
in criminological research and its benefits and limitations have been evaluated
(Ellis et al., 2010; Kivivuori, 2011; Krohn et al., 2011). Within that time self-report
measures have also been adopted to study children’s victimisation (Cle
´ment &
Chamberland, 2014; Ellonen, Lucas, Tindberg, & Janson, 2016; Ellonen, Ka
¨a
¨ria
¨inen,
Sariola, Helweg-Larsen, & Bøving-Larsen, 2011; Fagerlund, Peltola, Ka
¨a
¨ria
¨inen,
Ellonen, & Sariola, 2014; Finkelhor, Hamby, Ormrod, & Turner, 2005; Straus,
Hamby, Finkelhor, Moore, & Runyan, 1998). The focus in these studies has mainly
been on describing the violence against children as a phenomenon and less attention has
been paid to methodological questions. In this article, we aim to address both of these
aspects based on a self-report survey of parents’ violent behaviour towards their children
in Finland. In particular, we examine the free-text comments of the survey and their
usefulness from the following points of view: First, we will analyse parents’ free-text
comments in order to learn how parents describe their use of violence against children as
a phenomenon, and second, we will examine how the free-text comments view the survey
and discuss how the free-text comments could be used in developing self-report measure
in general. The survey data were collected in Finland in 2011 (N ¼3170) including 2047
free-text comments.
Self-report measures as a tool in quantitative research of
delinquency and victimisation
Self-report measures are usually used in a survey setting. Surveys have several benefits
for studying crime. Lower costs and time efficiency are often the referred to benefits, but
also systemisation, precision and objectiveness are associated with quantitative crimin-
ology, whereas greater risks are linked to certain qualitative methods (i.e. ethnography
to study criminals) (Jacques, 2014). However, it is also acknowledged that survey
research has its limitations, and surveys can only achieve the reality of the phenomenon
under observation to a certain extent.
In addition to these benefits and limitations concerning all kinds of quantitative
research, specific benefits and limitations have been connected to self-report measures
on victimisation and delinquency. The most significant benefit of a self-report delin-
quency or victimisation survey is that these surveys reveal the extent of hidden crime
previously not tapped by official sources (Kivivuori, 2011). Police, child welfare and
medical reports, for example, demonstrate only a fraction of violence experienced by
children (e.g. Ellonen & Po
¨so
¨, 2014). On the contrary, particular problems associated
with self-report measures are related to over- and underreporting, as well as shortages in
covering the whole range of the phenomenon under observation, limited response sets and
a tendency to elicit reports of trivial acts (Ellis et al., 2010, p. 281). To cover also infre-
quent acts, very large sample sizes are often needed, which increases the cost of the study.
Ellonen et al. 59
To continue reading
Request your trial