Research Notes

 

Research Notes give background information on the technical details of the Commission’s data collection and analysis process. They are designed to help researchers use the Commission’s datafiles by providing answers to common data analysis questions.

Research Notes

  • Issue 1: Collection of Individual Offender Data
    This first edition of Research Notes explains how the Commission collects and analyzes sentencing information, and describes the Commission’s many datafiles. (Published July 17, 2019)

  • Issue 2: Analyzing Federal Sentence Length & Type
    This second edition of Research Notes explains how the Commission collects and reports information on the sentences imposed on individual offenders, and describes analytical issues that may arise when using the Commission’s sentencing data. (Published September 26, 2019)

 

 

 

  • Issue 5: Statute and Mandatory Minimum Penalty Variables
    This fifth edition of Research Notes explains how the Commission collects and reports information about each count of conviction, the statutes associated with each count of conviction, and the corresponding statutory penalty ranges for each count of conviction. (Published September 24, 2020)