Objectives

Criminology has begun to use virtual reality (VR) as a tool to understand criminal behaviour. There have been many advances in VR that open up the possibility of novel research designs, in addition to the inclusion of augmented reality (AR) as a potential research tool. A review of the efficacy of the use of AR and VR (together known as XR) within criminology is now required to guide the further development of this field.

Methods

We employed a scoping review, which after screening, incorporated 41 papers for review.

Results

We uncovered three important characteristics for the papers: research topics for which XR is employed, the prominence of VR research over AR and XR and methodological rigour. VR is mostly employed for creating scenarios, in particular in research on memory and aggression. Studies vary greatly in their use of interaction within VR scenes, description of technical specifications and sample sizes.

Conclusions

Despite the identification of some methodological limitations in the existing literature, VR has found its place in criminological research. With technological advancement, AR may also find its place in the future, allowing for the ongoing development of research applications. Creating comprehensive guidelines on how to use XR technology in criminology remains necessary.

中文翻译：

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XR 技术在犯罪学研究中的应用：范围界定审查

目标

犯罪学已开始使用虚拟现实（VR）作为了解犯罪行为的工具。除了将增强现实 (AR) 作为一种潜在的研究工具之外，VR 领域也取得了许多进展，为新颖的研究设计提供了可能性。现在需要对犯罪学中 AR 和 VR（统称为 XR）的使用效果进行审查，以指导该领域的进一步发展。

方法

我们进行了范围界定审查，经过筛选后，纳入了 41 篇论文进行审查。

结果

我们发现了这些论文的三个重要特征：采用 XR 的研究主题、VR 研究相对于 AR 和 XR 的突出地位以及方法论的严谨性。 VR 主要用于创建场景，特别是在记忆和攻击性的研究中。研究在 VR 场景中交互的使用、技术规格的描述和样本大小方面存在很大差异。

结论

尽管现有文献中存在一些方法论局限性，但虚拟现实已经在犯罪学研究中找到了自己的位置。随着技术的进步，增强现实也可能在未来找到自己的位置，从而促进研究应用的不断发展。关于如何在犯罪学中使用 XR 技术制定全面的指南仍然是必要的。