During my senior year in college, I worked with two other students to develop and execute a term research project where we applied a problem-oriented approach to observing crime and disorder in a historical bar district. Using a mixed methodological approach (not common in those days) we gathered systematic social observations and video surveillance of people in the area, conducted trace data analysis in the alleys, reviewed and mapped crime data (using pin maps—this was before GIS was available!), and interviewed local business owners and managers. Triangulating the data it became apparent that the real locus of the problem was not what the council originally briefed us about—they thought it was a recent influx of homeless people drawn to the area by a welfare agency office, but we discovered the real locus of the problem stemmed from the way a few bars were being managed. We made situational crime prevention recommendations to a business improvement council who then pressured local businesses to address the issues. Applying what I had learned was so rewarding, I never looked back. 

The way I understand being a scholar is that you need to have a vision, be able to come up with ideas, and do the problem solving needed to face all the obstacles that come with research. Research requires huge amounts of creativity and flexibility, to have multiple plans and go through them until something works. 

With regards to who inspired me, I consider myself very lucky. I took classes from, and then worked with, many of my inspirational mentors throughout my career---Paul and Patricia Brantingham (Crime Pattern Theory), Ron Clarke (RC perspective and SCP), and Marcus Felson (RAT). 

The goal was to facilitate applied research opportunities for faculty and students. Creating the Center addressed several needs. 

First, research projects do not fit nicely within quarters or semesters. I was trying to complete research projects within the quarter timeframe (10 weeks), from conceptualization, to navigating the IRB process, collecting data, and analysis, and although I managed to do it, it was incredibly difficult. The Center gave us the opportunity to do research outside of the classroom, and to engage in longer projects and year-long (and multiyear) research. 

Second, we wanted to support our faculty and student staff financially with funded research activities. External funding is very important because University-sponsored research programs are limited and prone to disruption due to external economic and political influences that affect state-controlled budgets. And, while external funding sources also go through cycles of availability, it is often a different cycle that is somewhat offset to the state educational system. This means that if you have external grants, you have greater research stability and you are somewhat insulated from University-based funding issues.

Finally, the Center was instrumental to facilitating the development of a work force necessary to be competitive when applying for various local, state, and federal programs. We established a formal structure where students who had been working in research for a longer time were mentoring other students. They were able to build their way from Student Assistant I to Student Assistant II, and then to manage projects and teams. Once we built momentum in the Center, we did not even need to recruit students anymore because the students themselves were recruiting other students. When the students graduated, they had strong resumés with a lot of practical experience. 

I think it is empowerment: if you don’t know how to do research, you are at the mercy of everyone telling you what the truth is, but if you know how to do research you are free to assess things by yourself. You are not vulnerable to the biases of others. 

Being productive. Being a productive scholar means generating a higher-than-normal amount of professional output. Thresholds vary by discipline and institution, but generally highly productive scholars publish regularly in peer-review journals, present conference papers, apply for grants, supervise graduate student theses and dissertations, and etcetera.  

One of the most important research hacks I learned is that if you are going to put your energy into launching a new study requiring the development of a new dataset, be strategic and build something multifaceted that you can use for several scholarly outputs, e.g., several papers, presentations, briefs, posters, materials you can use in class or a graduate student could use for a thesis. 

If you are going to only use the data once, it is not worth your time. One-paper projects are more difficult to complete, less likely to be funded, and less likely to be published. The data do not have the same depth compared to multiyear/ multifaceted studies, and you don’t have the same reason to fight for it. By the time you gathered and cleaned the data, presented the paper, revised it, and used it in a class and received the first round of reviews from a journal submission (e.g., a reject or substantive revise and resubmit), a few years have passed and you have moved on to something else. 

The challenge facing new scholars is to evolve from being a one-publication-per-project type of person to a multiple-year-project scholar. 

Creative Recovery. Taking time to facilitate creative recovery is also important. On a weekly basis, this means doing what you can to maintain a balanced schedule. During my most productive time, I spent one day a week just reading and thinking about the research projects I was doing, and I took weekends off. On a seasonal basis, after each term or project milestone I took a couple of days off to do a puzzle, tackle a DIY project, read for fun, go rock climbing, travel, and the like. I considered it a detox period—to release stress and celebrate the achievement. To do research well, you need the time to routinely think and discover new ideas, as well as rest your mind and take care of your physical health and wellbeing. 

Continued Learning & Networking. Sabbaticals offered an opportunity to reset my research agenda by going “back-to-school.” As part of my five- and ten-year career planning process, I structured each sabbatical around learning about new fields and developing and applying new analytic skills, often involving new collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. On the surface the activities associated with each sabbatical were different, but the effect was the same—I used them to rethink and reestablish what I wanted to do with my career by drawing upon and applying knowledge generated by other disciplines. 

Success can be its own kind of problem. Success breeds more success, and you can quickly end up in a situation where you have too much to do and not enough resources. At our first peak of research activity, we had 17 staff members, and we were working simultaneously on more than 8 multi-year projects. We did not have enough office cubicles to accommodate everyone, so our staff had to work in shifts—some even worked in my office when I was not around. 

It takes time to become a senior faculty who can provide effective mentoring that will address the needs of the students and junior faculty. Of most importance is to develop the ability to look past what people say they want to accomplish academically, to understand what they need, and how best to support their efforts to reach those goals. 

I never stopped learning. Learning how to do research is a life-long commitment, and often, you must teach yourself new skills, to build your knowledge. 

I cannot choose one. There are too many. We went bowling, rock-climbing, white-water rafting, camping, Halloween Parties, and local, national and international travel. It sounds cliché, but we formed an academic family- we worked together, set goals and faced challenges together, celebrated together, ate together, laughed together, traveled together, and grieved together.

That CCJR continues to fulfill its mission without me and that the connections staff made with each other continue long after they moved on. In a way, CCJR is similar to a Greek organization (sorority/ fraternity)—one that is focused on advancing crime science. The connections forged do not end when you leave.