The Menendez brothers’ case has received renewed attention with the release of Netflix’s 2024 true crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which details the lives of Lyle and Erick Menendez, convicted of the murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While the brothers claimed they committed the murder as self-defence following years of abuse by their father and their complicit mother, they were ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment. The popularity of Netflix’s drama series has sparked debate around childhood psychological trauma and abuse and leading their defence team to ask for a new hearing 35 years later. From this complex case, if childhood sexual abuse did take place, are the Menendez brothers responsible for their actions? From this, other questions follow. To what extent does childhood abuse lead to violent and criminal behaviour? Are different types of abuse linked to different types of offending behaviour? These complex questions illustrate some of the challenges that forensic psychologists seek to answer. To address such questions, the research methods used are pivotal to ensure findings are reliable and conclusions drawn from them are appropriate. This chapter introduces research methods commonly used in the field of forensic psychology. Forensic psychology research allows us to better understand factors that may lead to criminal behaviour, interventions and treatments for individuals who committed offences or are at risk of committing offences. Research in this field also helps us understand victims’ experiences and how to support them, as well as factors influencing decision making of legal professionals and juries, and public’s perceptions of the criminal justice system, of individuals who commit crimes and of victims of crime. Research evidence is not only crucial for the development of theoretical knowledge in the field, but is also the basis for the development of treatments and to guide the decision making of forensic psychology professionals. Broadly speaking, research methods in forensic psychology can be divided into quantitative research designs, qualitative research designs, and mixed-methods research. Quantitative research methods aim to quantify psychological phenomena to identify differences between variables and groups, establish associations, and determine causal relationships. These methods often rely on numerical scales, surveys, and questionnaires to collect data on the variables of interest, applying statistical methods to analyse differences and associations between variables. In contrast, qualitative designs aim to establish an in-depth understanding of psychological phenomena, which is not usually possible through quantitative methods, and do not intend to generalise findings. This type of design often relies on techniques involving open-ended questions, such as interviews and focus groups, generating textual data that is transcribed and analysed for patterns, themes, and trends. Mixed-methods research combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches to gain a more comprehensive understanding of complex phenomena. The chapter is structured in four parts. Part 1 describes quantitative research designs. Part 2 describes qualitative designs, with an emphasis on methods of data collection. Part 3 provides a brief overview of mixed-methods research. Finally, Part 4 discusses key ethical principles in forensic psychology research. This chapter also includes examples of research questions that are appropriate for undergraduate independent research projects. Therefore, by the end of the chapter, you will have a solid understanding of different types of research design and research ethics in forensic psychology.

Research Methods in Forensic Psychology

章节
发表日期：

2026年

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Katia C. Vione,
Bruna S. Nascimento

摘要

The Menendez brothers’ case has received renewed attention with the release of Netflix’s 2024 true crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which details the lives of Lyle and Erick Menendez, convicted of the murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While the brothers claimed they committed the murder as self-defence following years of abuse by their father and their complicit mother, they were ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment. The popularity of Netflix’s drama series has sparked debate around childhood psychological trauma and abuse and leading their defence team to ask for a new hearing 35 years later. From this complex case, if childhood sexual abuse did take place, are the Menendez brothers responsible for their actions? From this, other questions follow. To what extent does childhood abuse lead to violent and criminal behaviour? Are different types of abuse linked to different types of offending behaviour? These complex questions illustrate some of the challenges that forensic psychologists seek to answer. To address such questions, the research methods used are pivotal to ensure findings are reliable and conclusions drawn from them are appropriate. This chapter introduces research methods commonly used in the field of forensic psychology. Forensic psychology research allows us to better understand factors that may lead to criminal behaviour, interventions and treatments for individuals who committed offences or are at risk of committing offences. Research in this field also helps us understand victims’ experiences and how to support them, as well as factors influencing decision making of legal professionals and juries, and public’s perceptions of the criminal justice system, of individuals who commit crimes and of victims of crime. Research evidence is not only crucial for the development of theoretical knowledge in the field, but is also the basis for the development of treatments and to guide the decision making of forensic psychology professionals. Broadly speaking, research methods in forensic psychology can be divided into quantitative research designs, qualitative research designs, and mixed-methods research. Quantitative research methods aim to quantify psychological phenomena to identify differences between variables and groups, establish associations, and determine causal relationships. These methods often rely on numerical scales, surveys, and questionnaires to collect data on the variables of interest, applying statistical methods to analyse differences and associations between variables. In contrast, qualitative designs aim to establish an in-depth understanding of psychological phenomena, which is not usually possible through quantitative methods, and do not intend to generalise findings. This type of design often relies on techniques involving open-ended questions, such as interviews and focus groups, generating textual data that is transcribed and analysed for patterns, themes, and trends. Mixed-methods research combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches to gain a more comprehensive understanding of complex phenomena. The chapter is structured in four parts. Part 1 describes quantitative research designs. Part 2 describes qualitative designs, with an emphasis on methods of data collection. Part 3 provides a brief overview of mixed-methods research. Finally, Part 4 discusses key ethical principles in forensic psychology research. This chapter also includes examples of research questions that are appropriate for undergraduate independent research projects. Therefore, by the end of the chapter, you will have a solid understanding of different types of research design and research ethics in forensic psychology.