Literature Synthesis Instructions

Literature Synthesis Instructions

Literature Synthesis Instructions

This document details the background, justification, and instructions for literature syntheses undertaken by Criminologists Without Borders. Recognizing the importance of evidence-based policy at the United Nations,mindful of the limited research capacity of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, and conscious of the dwindling presence of criminologists within member state delegations at the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), Criminologists Without Borders ( CWOB) provides academic, criminological input on the specific topics dealt with annually by the CCPCJ. To date, CWOB is active in partnership with the International Sociological Association, which has special consultative status with ECOSOC and whose representatives also believe in providing research input to United Nations decision making.

CWOB offers input to the annual theme of the CCPCJ, whose main session takes place in Vienna in April of each year. The main activity of CWOB is to compile a research review, distributed to all member state delegations attending the CCPCJ, complementing that review with written or oral statements and dissemination in side events. The CWOB review:

(a) locates empirical criminological (broadly understood – multidisciplinary and quantitative as well as qualitative) research done at the local level in countries representative of world regions, in the local language and from publication outlets not normally accessed by member state delegates such as peer reviewed journals;

(b) synthesizes results in the form of known findings and results, unknowns and future research needs; and

(c) provides representative quotes from the research itself.

As such, the review aims to show the contributions of the criminological research community to the annual theme, some of which might be unknown to member state delegations that do not include criminologists; ‘shift the conversation’ in CCPCJ deliberations by questioning definitions and debunking myths; and expose global knowledge gaps so as to encourage the commissioning of future research by member states.Past reviews can be seen at:

The process for compiling the literature review is as follows:

  1. Background reading on the theme on the UNODC website and elsewhere. What does this topic encompass, what has been done in this area in the past by the Crime Commission (or other UN bodies), what has been included and excluded from discussion? So, for example, if this year´s theme is “Challenges posed by emerging forms of crime that have a significant impact on the environment and ways to deal with it effectively, bearing in mind paragraph 14 of the Salvador Declaration”, you would want to look at the Salvador Declaration (the one ensuing from the last Crime Congress) and examine what the CCPCJ and other relevant UN bodies have done in the past on this topic, such as UNEP. You would also want to ponder key terms such as the meaning of ‘emerging forms of crime’, “significant impact”, as well as ‘environment’.
  1. Gathering of research output. This involves searching library databases, conducting internet searches in other languages, and using CWOB´s network of national correspondents(Jay Albanese can help with this, as well as other board members) as well as your own personal contacts. Your advanced undergraduate and graduate students can also be useful for this task. The aim is to get asgood a global spread of research as you can, representative at least of the world regions, that is relatively recent (past 5 or so years). It is NOT enough to gather Anglo-American literature. You should also be objective in selecting that is representative of diverse theoretical traditions and research methods. Most importantly, of course, is that you select good quality research. We focus mainly on peer reviewed articles because we are conscious that UNODC and member state delegations do not generally have access to them. However, in many parts of theworld, peer reviewed journals are not the most likely outlet for research, so we also highlight research published on the web by think-tanks/NGOs, non-peer reviewed outlets, in books as chapters, etc. Government research can be included, but remember that most member states already have access to government research.
  1. Drafting of known findings/results, unknowns and areas for future research. This section appears at the beginning of the research synthesis and is no longer than a page. You want to write this in layman´s terms and for global consumption – for people of all ethnicities, religions, and levels of socio-economic development.
  1. Selection of examples of research and extracts from publications. For each selected publication you list the full citation (with a weblink, if available). And then you select a quote extracted from the publication, one or two sentence extracts in the original language with a translation into English.

Here is an example:

Diaz, Gabriela y Kuhner, Gretchen (2007). Globalización, Seguridad Internacional y Seguridad Humana: Experiencias de las Mujeres Migrantes Detenidas en México. [Globalization, International Security and Human Security: Experiences of Migrant Women Detained in Mexico]. Summarized here:

“En total, 43 por ciento de las mujeres dijo que había sido víctima de extorsión en México. En el caso de las centroamericanas, esta cifra se incrementa a más de la mitad. Las principales autoridades que las extorsionaron fueron la policía de caminos, policías municipales y agentes del INM. A su vez, muchas mujeres fueron forzadas a dar dinero a la población civil, entre los que destacan conductores de taxi y autobuses, quienes exigieron un pago bajo la amenaza de denunciarlas a las autoridades.” [43% of the women said they have been victims of extortion in Mexico. In the case of Central American women, this number increased to more than half. The main officials who extorted money from them were highway police, municipal police, and INM agents. Many women were also forced to give money to civilians, including taxi and bus drivers who would demand a payment or threaten to report them to the authorities.]

  1. Formatting. You can use the format from previous years or improve upon it. (Feedback suggests that the country flags are particularly well received.) The handout should not exceed eight (8) pages. If you follow the formatting of the handout from 2012, it will print as a booklet. Be sure to list yourself as the lead drafter and acknowledge anyone who assisted you. As lead drafter, you may publish from this literature review, but you must always acknowledge Criminologists Without Borders.
  1. Approval. You need to submit your final draft(s) to the CWOB executive board for feedback and approval, and ISA also needs to approve it. You should be sure to make corrections suggested by board members afterwards and proofread your work carefully.
  1. Translation. Véronique Jaquier, a postdoc at Yale, can be called upon to translate the “knowns, unknowns and areas for further research” section into French. Rosemary Barberet can be called upon to arrange translationinto Spanish.
  1. Rosemary Barberet can arrange printing at John Jay of the final handouts and accompanying translations.
  1. Approximate production timeline for this year´s CCPCJ: (22-26 April 2013)

Background reading / Drafting and quote selection / Formatting and proofreading / Board approval / Final corrections, proofreading, translation / Send for printing
January/
February / February/
March / March / First week of April / Second week of April / Monday, April 15th
  1. Written Statement. A statement can be submitted formally to the CCPCJ with a limit of 1,500 words. This makes our statement a formal part of the proceedings of the CCPCJ. The statement is essentially a cut and paste of the ‘knowns, unknowns, and areas for further research’ section of the literature synthesis – see the one submitted last year as an example ( The sooner the statement is submitted, the sooner it can impact the drafting of resolutions. Rosemary Barberet can send the statement to Vienna for submission.

Literature Synthesis Instructions, updated January 2013Page 1