Identifying best practices in criminal justice requires ample research with strong methodology. However, in most situations, be it due to ethical, practical, or fiscal reasons, criminal justice settings are often not in a position to achieve the methodological “gold standard” of the randomized controlled trial (RCT). Propensity score modeling (PSM) has become a key way to simulate an RCT in the best conditions or balance comparison groups for other means. Over the last several years, criminal justice scholars have become increasingly reliant on the use of PSM in their evaluation research. In the midst of this popularity and utility of the PSM as a tool for evaluators, there is a tendency to blindly apply and accept various forms of PSM, without adequate checks and understanding of the technique and its limitations.
This webinar will provide background on what PSM is, instruction on its basic application (e.g., matching pairs and inverse probability weighting), common pitfalls and solutions, recent developments in the field, appropriate checking procedures, and reporting.

Presenter:

Christopher M. Campbell, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Portland State University. After completing his Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice from Washington State University in 2015, Dr. Campbell continued his research emphasizing the compilation of basic and applied research to generate cumulative knowledge for the sake of improving the justice system with a base of empirical evidence. The majority of his work consists of evaluating policy and practice in community and institutional correctional strategies within adult and juvenile corrections settings.