A content analysis of the Sutherland Address, 2001-22: A qualitative exploration

Abstract

Previous indicators of scholarly influence have been primarily quantitative, measuring a scholar’s influence through citation counts. This body of literature has overlooked the reflections of distinguished scholars, such as the recipients of the Sutherland Award, in the discipline as a form of scholarly influence. The current paper examines the Sutherland Address from 2001 to 2022. The key findings indicate that the majority of Sutherland Addresses reproduced existing sociological canons, while a minority of Sutherland Award winners explicitly rejected Sutherland’s sociological assumptions and their influence on criminology. Such findings suggest that Sutherland exerts a hidden influence on the recipients of the Sutherland Award in their addresses. There also appears to be a handful of intellectual puzzles that cannot be solved using the conceptual frameworks in criminology. The implications for criminology are discussed