Research

Here you will find current and past research projects I am or have been involved with and the publications they have generated so far

Choosing Violence

This project is led by CO-PIs Dr. Gabriel Cesar and Dr. Gizelle Anzures, with the support of Dr. Diana Sun and Dr. Michelle N. Eliasson.

Research has begun to examine the role of cognitive processes in the decision to commit crime, and studies suggest the dual process model is a promising approach to understanding criminal decision-making. Despite these advancements, the cognitive processes deployed by private citizens in the decision to use deadly force in self-defense remain largely unexplored. The project addresses this substantial gap in research by identifying cognitive and social characteristics that predict appropriate deployment of deadly force (i.e., shooting when presented with an imminent deadly threat, and refraining when not presented with an imminent deadly threat). Building on previous research, we conduct a randomized controlled trial to test respondents’ performance of self-defense in a series of simulated real-time violent encounters. The project addresses several research questions regarding the roles of affinity and experience with firearms, rational and experiential cognition, and emotion in the decision to commit violence.

Status:

IRB is being worked on and data collection will begin Spring 2026

Trauma among healthcare Professionals

In this project we aim to understand more about trauma among healthcare workers in the US. We are specifically interested in understanding more about the experiences healthcare workers involved in patient care have with trauma. We plan to use this knowledge to help healthcare professionals and healthcare students by developing a pilot training program to assist them in preparing for possible trauma experiences in the healthcare field. This project will also generate a minimum of one manuscript.

Status:

IRB application is being worked on

Police Officers' Perceptions of Non-Sexual Battery Victims Credability

For my dissertation, I am exploring how police officers perceive the credibility of non-sexual battery victims. I do this by conducting ride-alongs, interviews, and document analysis.

Victim Advocates' Perceptions of Their Occupation and Victimization

In this qualitative project, I interviewed Victim Advocates working in Florida to find out more about their perceptions of their jobs and victims/victimization. The data collection conlcuded Sping 2024.

Status:

All data has been analyzed and three manuscript are drafted, with two of them being ready for submission to journal.

Eliasson, M. Interpretation and Implementation: Victim Advocates’ Perceptions and Experiences Working with Marsy’s Law (under review)
Eliasson, M. Challenges and Barriers Faced by Victim Advocates
Eliasson, M. Restorative Justice in Practice: Advocates’ Perspectives on Victim-Centered Healing, Re-victimization Risks, and Its Role Within the Criminal Legal System (Under Review)

The three manuscripts will be submitted to journals during the summer and fall of 2025

Researchers' Trauma and Saftey

For this project, I explore the experience both senior and junior scholars have of trauma and safety concerns they have experienced while conducting research.

Status:

I am planning to submit my IRB during Spring 2026 and will aim to start collecting data during 2026/2027.

Police Officers' Perceptions of Non-Sexual Battery Victims Credibility (Dissertation)

For my dissertation, I explored how police officers perceive the credibility of non-sexual battery victims. I did this by conducting ride-alongs, interviews, and document analysis.

Status:

Book is under contract with Palgrave

Latinx Immigrant Attitudes Towards Victimization and Police

Together with Dr. Stephanie Dhuman (Hamilton University), I conducted a qualitative survey exploring various aspects of Latinx immigrants' perceptions of victimization and police. The project was funded by Marquette University and we have finished data collection.

Status:

We are analyzing the data and will have two manuscripts published from this project. One paper examines Latinx immigrants' perception of victimization and the other paper will be investigating Latinx immigrants' perception of police in the US. We aim to have two manuscripts submitted by the end of Spring 2026.

Swedish Police Officers and Knowledge

This project aims to understand how Swedish police officers describe and manage occupational knowledge.

Publications

Eliasson, M. N. (2021). Experience, Seniority and Gut Feeling—A Qualitative Examination of How Swedish Police Officers Perceive They Value, Evaluate and Manage Knowledge When Making Decisions. Frontiers in. Education. 6:731320. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2021.731320

Eliasson, M. N. (2020). “Black, White and Gray” – a Qualitative Study of How Swedish Police Officers Describe Occupational Knowledge”, Policing: an International Journal. 44(3), 498-509. DOI: 10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2020-0139

Swedish and American Police Officers and Perceptions of Victims

This project focus specifically on understanding how Swedish police officers perceive victims and victimization. Notions such as culpability, the first encounter with victims and their way of describing victims are explored.

Publications

Eliasson, M., and DeHart, D. (2023). Police Officers, Empathy Towards Victims – A Question of Innocence. International Journal of Police Science, 1(2), 12–35. https://doi.org/10.56331/487529/IJPS3

Eliasson, M. N. (2022). A Qualitative Examination of Swedish Police Officers’ Perceptions of Victim Culpability. Victims & Offenders, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2091069

Eliasson, M. N. and Morabito, S. (2022). Gender Rhetoric and Swedish Police Officers’ Perceptions of Victims, International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2022.2154233

American and Swedish Police Officers Views of Their Occupational Role

This project focus on understanding more about how officers in Sweden and in the US precise their occupational role and what they consider good and bad policing to be.

Publications

Eliasson, M. N. (2023). Good and Bad Cops – How do American and Swedish Police Officers Perceive Policing? European Journal of Policing Studies, online first. DOI: 10.5553/EJPS/2034760X2022001

COVID-19 and Pets

A project lead by Jennifer Appelbaum which investigated pet owners' decision making and perceptions of pet care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Publications

Adams, B., Applebaum, J. W, Eliasson, M. N., Zsembik, B., and McDonald, S. E. (2020). Child and Pet Care-Planning During COVID-19: Considerations for the Evolving Family Unit, Family Relations. 70(3), 705–716. DOI: 10.1111/fare.12542

Applebaum, J. W, Adams, B., Eliasson, M. N., Zsembik, B., and McDonald, S. E. (2020). How Pets Factor into Healthcare Decisions for COVID-19: A One Health Perspective, One Health, 11, 100176. DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2020.100176