Megan T Stevenson
Biographic Data
| ID | 6006301 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Megan T Stevenson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Megan T |
| FAMILY NAME | Stevenson |
| SIGNATURE | STEVENSON M T |
| AFFILIATIONS | George Mason University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3518-8985 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 5 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 5 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Importance of Base-Rates in Differential Impact
Researchers commonly seek to understand whether a policy has differential impact on different subgroups, yet the choice of differential impact metric can have a huge effect on interpretation. Commonly used metrics, such as comparing treatment effects in magnitude or as a percentage of the control mean, frequently do not correspond to the question of interest. If the relevant question is how the intervention affected potential beneficiaries of the…
Cause, Effect, and the Structure of the Social World
The Counterintuitive Consequences of Sex Offender Risk Assessments at Sentencing
Virginia adopted a risk assessment to help determine sentencing for sex offenders. It was incorporated as a one-way ratchet toward higher sentences: expanding the upper end of the sentence guidelines by up to 300 per cent. This led to a sharp increase in sentences for those convicted of sexual assault. More surprisingly, it also led to a decrease in sentences for those convicted of rape. This raises two questions: (a) why did sentencing patterns …
Open risk assessment
As criminal justice actors increasingly seek to rely on more evidence‐informed practices, including risk assessment instruments, they often lack adequate information about the evidence that informed the development of the practice or the tool. Open science practices, including making scientific research and data accessible and public, have not typically been followed in the development of tools designed for law enforcement, judges, probation, and…
Breaking Bad
I conduct a series of tests of peer influence in juvenile incarceration facilities motivated by three mechanisms: criminal skill transfer, the formation of new criminal networks, and the social contagion of crime-oriented noncognitive factors. Identifying peer influence off natural variation in small cohorts within the same facility, I find evidence consistent with social contagion: exposure to peers who come from unstable homes and have high lev…
Breaking Bad
I conduct a series of tests of peer influence in juvenile incarceration facilities motivated by three mechanisms: criminal skill transfer, the formation of new criminal networks, and the social contagion of crime-oriented noncognitive factors. Identifying peer influence off natural variation in small cohorts within the same facility, I find evidence consistent with social contagion: exposure to peers who come from unstable homes and have high lev…
Open risk assessment
As criminal justice actors increasingly seek to rely on more evidence‐informed practices, including risk assessment instruments, they often lack adequate information about the evidence that informed the development of the practice or the tool. Open science practices, including making scientific research and data accessible and public, have not typically been followed in the development of tools designed for law enforcement, judges, probation, and…
Cause, Effect, and the Structure of the Social World
The Counterintuitive Consequences of Sex Offender Risk Assessments at Sentencing
Virginia adopted a risk assessment to help determine sentencing for sex offenders. It was incorporated as a one-way ratchet toward higher sentences: expanding the upper end of the sentence guidelines by up to 300 per cent. This led to a sharp increase in sentences for those convicted of sexual assault. More surprisingly, it also led to a decrease in sentences for those convicted of rape. This raises two questions: (a) why did sentencing patterns …
The Importance of Base-Rates in Differential Impact
Researchers commonly seek to understand whether a policy has differential impact on different subgroups, yet the choice of differential impact metric can have a huge effect on interpretation. Commonly used metrics, such as comparing treatment effects in magnitude or as a percentage of the control mean, frequently do not correspond to the question of interest. If the relevant question is how the intervention affected potential beneficiaries of the…
Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (3 works) · Computer Science (2 works) · Computer security (2 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (2 works) · Criminology (2 works) · Economics (2 works) · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems (2 works) · Political science (2 works) · Psychology (2 works) · Risk assessment (2 works)