Researching Serial Murder

KEYWORDS: CRIMINOLOGY; SERIAL MURDER; THEORY

This paper examines issues related to the definition and study of serial murder. It examines definitional issues such as the notion that serialists are male, the notion that the killings are not for profit, the claim that the killers and the victims are strangers, and the conception of the victims as powerless. It examines methodological issues such as problems with both quantitative and qualitative data, and the creation of serial killer typologies. The paper argues that reliance upon narrow definitions, questionable data gathering, and the creation of typologies based on these definitions and data distort the analysis of serial murder and serial murderers. Suggestions are made for improving the scholarly study of serial murder.