A criminology thesis defines each key term twice. The conceptual definition comes from a source you can cite: the Revised Penal Code or another statute for legal terms, an original paper for a theory, or the instrument’s author for a measured variable. The operational definition says how your study identifies or measures the term, in whom and from which records.
Start your Chapter 1 on Tesify
Which 18 criminology terms, and which source for each?
The comparison below puts eighteen terms side by side. Terms 1 to 8 have a conceptual definition you can cite from a statute or original paper that was opened for this guide. Terms 9 to 18 depend on your instrument, your framework or the agency whose data you use, so the table names where to look. Operational definitions are illustrative and should be adapted to your own design.
| No. | Term | Conceptual definition or source | Illustrative operational definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felony | “Acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies (delitos)” (Revised Penal Code, Article 3). | Offenses recorded under the specified articles of the Revised Penal Code in the [office] blotter during [period]. |
| 2 | Recidivist | One who, at the time of trial for one crime, has been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of the Code (Revised Penal Code, Article 14, paragraph 9). | Inmates whose records show two or more convictions under the same title of the Code, per the facility’s records. |
| 3 | Child in conflict with the law | “A child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws” (Republic Act No. 9344, Section 4). | Minors referred to the [city] social welfare office for an alleged offense during [period]. |
| 4 | Diversion | An alternative, child-appropriate process of determining the responsibility and treatment of a child in conflict with the law, without resorting to formal court proceedings (RA 9344, Section 4). | Cases of children in conflict with the law that were resolved through a barangay or office-level diversion program in [period]. |
| 5 | Restorative justice | A principle requiring a process of resolving conflicts with the maximum involvement of the victim, the offender and the community (RA 9344, Section 4). | Respondents’ rating of the extent to which victims, offenders and community members participated in the program, on a four-point scale. |
| 6 | Probation | A disposition under which a defendant, after conviction and sentence, is released subject to conditions imposed by the court and to the supervision of a probation officer (Presidential Decree No. 968, Section 3). | Persons currently under supervision at the [city] probation office on the date of data collection. |
| 7 | Routine activity theory | Cohen and Felson, “Social change and crime rate trends: a routine activity approach,” American Sociological Review, 1979, volume 44, issue 4. | The respondent’s mean score on items about being out at night, living alone and the presence of capable guardians. |
| 8 | General strain theory | Agnew, “Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency,” Criminology, 1992, volume 30, issue 1, pages 47 to 88. | The respondent’s total score on the strain items adapted for this study, where a higher score means greater strain. |
| 9 | Crime rate | The agency release you cite, such as the Philippine National Police or the Philippine Statistics Authority. | The number of index crimes recorded in the barangay per 100,000 population in [year], from the cited release. |
| 10 | Fear of crime | The author of the scale you adopt. | The respondent’s mean score on the fear items, interpreted with the scale’s own ranges. |
| 11 | Perception of safety | The framework or scale you adopt. | The mean rating of how safe respondents feel in their neighborhood by day and by night. |
| 12 | Police visibility | The study you adapt or the police operational manual you cite. | The respondent’s mean rating of how often police are seen patrolling in the barangay. |
| 13 | Community policing | The PNP program document or the author you adopt. | The respondent’s rating of participation in community-police activities in the past 12 months. |
| 14 | Victimization | The victimization survey or framework you adopt. | The proportion of respondents reporting that they were a victim of the specified offenses in the past 12 months. |
| 15 | Juvenile delinquency | The literature you cite, noting that Philippine law speaks of a child in conflict with the law. | The number of minors with recorded offenses in the cited office’s records for [period]. |
| 16 | Drug use | The statute or the scale you adopt, such as the definitions section of Republic Act No. 9165. | Self-reported use of the specified substance in the past 12 months, collected anonymously. |
| 17 | Rehabilitation and reintegration | The program document of the agency whose program you study. | Completion of the program’s required modules, as certified by the facility. |
| 18 | Public trust in the police | The scale’s authors or the survey you adapt. | The respondent’s mean score on the trust items, where a higher mean means greater trust. |
Which source should you use for which kind of term?
The table shows a pattern. Criminology terms fall into four groups, and each has its own best source.
- Legal terms (felony, recidivist, child in conflict with the law, diversion, restorative justice, probation): take the wording from the statute and cite the Republic Act, Act or Decree with its number and section. The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act was amended in 2013 by Republic Act No. 10630, so check the current text, because the definitions quoted here come from the wording of the original 2006 Act.
- Theory terms (routine activity, strain): take the definition from the original paper, not from a textbook summary, and cite it. Then define each concept you measure.
- Measured variables (fear of crime, perception of safety, trust in police): take the definition from the scale’s author, and report the instrument’s validity and reliability.
- Recorded data terms (crime rate, number of cases): define them through the agency, office and period of the record, and cite the release.
The recommendation for criminology students is simple: never write a conceptual definition without a source in the same sentence, and never leave an operational definition without the instrument or record that supplies the data.
How do you write an operational definition for a criminology variable?
An operational definition for criminology must be explicit about three things that other fields rarely need to state: who recorded the data, which offenses or behaviors are included, and the period. Compare two versions. Weak: “Crime refers to illegal acts committed in the barangay.” Better: “Crime refers to incidents of theft and physical injuries entered in the [barangay] blotter from January to December [year], as certified by the barangay secretary.” The second version names the offenses, the record and the period, so another researcher could repeat it. If you rely on police statistics, remember that recorded crime depends on reporting and recording practices, which is a limitation to state in Chapter 1 and Chapter 5.
When your variable is a perception, define the scale: number of items, the response options, the range and what a higher score means. A scale-based variable also needs the validation steps covered in research instrument validation for a Philippine thesis.
What does a finished definition of terms page look like?
Here is an illustrative page for a study titled “Police Visibility and Perceived Safety Among Residents of a Barangay.” The wording is invented to show the structure. Terms appear alphabetically, each with both definitions.
Community policing. Conceptually, [definition from the PNP program document you cite]. Operationally, the respondent’s rating of participation in community-police activities in the past 12 months, on a five-point scale.
Perceived safety. Conceptually, [definition from the scale or framework you adopt]. Operationally, the respondent’s mean rating of how safe they feel in the barangay during the day and at night, where a higher mean means greater perceived safety.
Police visibility. Conceptually, [definition from the study you adapt]. Operationally, the respondent’s mean rating of how often police officers are seen patrolling the barangay.
Respondent. A resident of the barangay aged 18 or older who has lived there for at least one year at the time of data collection and who consented to take part.
Notice that the page has no entry for words everyone understands, such as “police” or “barangay,” and that every term in the title is defined. Each bracket marks a place where your own cited source goes. If you cannot fill a bracket with a source you opened, the term probably needs a different framework or instrument. A good test is to hand the page to a classmate from another course and ask what each score means. If they can explain it back to you, the definitions work.
How do you check that your terms agree with the rest of Chapter 1?
- Each variable named in the title appears in the definition of terms, in the same words.
- Each legal term has the correct statute and section, in the current version.
- Each operational definition names the same instrument or record as Chapter 3.
- The scope and delimitation do not exceed what the definitions cover, for example, if your operational definition covers only minors, your scope should not claim adults.
- Terms are listed in one consistent order, alphabetical or order of appearance.
The general layout, with twelve cross-field examples, is in definition of terms with conceptual and operational examples. The ethics and data-access plan that your operational definitions rely on is covered in the criminology thesis timeline, budget and ethics clearance, and the panel objections to avoid are in why criminology theses get flagged by the panel.
What mistakes do panels flag in this section?
- Using a textbook’s summary of a theory instead of the original paper.
- Quoting a statute from memory or from another thesis, without checking the current text.
- Writing a conceptual definition of “crime” that is broader than the offenses your operational definition covers.
- Calling minors “juvenile delinquents” in a study whose population is defined by Republic Act No. 9344.
- Leaving the period and the recording office out of a data definition.
- Defining a perception variable without saying what a high score means.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the legal definition or the criminological definition of a term?
Use the legal one when your study is about the law and its application, and the criminological one when it is about explanation or measurement. If you use both, label them so the reader knows which is which.
Why does my thesis say child in conflict with the law instead of juvenile delinquent?
Philippine law uses the phrase child in conflict with the law, so a thesis on minors who commit offenses should use it, and mention older terms only if the literature uses them.
Can I cite a statute from a website?
Yes, cite the Republic Act with its number, title and year, and the site where you read it. Check whether the text has been amended since.
Do theory terms need an operational definition?
If the theory is part of your framework and you measure its concepts, yes. Define each concept as you measure it, such as strain or guardianship.
How do I operationalise fear of crime?
Choose a published scale or write items on how afraid respondents feel in specified situations, then define the score and how it is interpreted. Validate and pilot the items.
Can I define a crime by using police statistics?
Yes, as an operational definition: crime refers to incidents of a stated type recorded by a named office in a stated period. Say which office and period.
What if the law changed after my sources were written?
Use the current text and say which version you used. Note the amendment if the older wording appears in studies you cite.
How many terms should a criminology thesis define?
Define every variable and every legal or technical term a general reader could misunderstand. The number depends on your study.
Keep your definitions consistent across all five chapters
Tesify helps you structure Chapter 1, including the definition of terms, so each criminology variable is defined once and used the same way throughout. Over 9,000 students have used Tesify across more than 15,000 chapters, and the thesis stays 100% written by you.