Mixed Essays for Research Methods in Criminal Justice
...mes Einstein and Herbert Jacob (1977), in their classic study of processing in three U.S. cities. Their research provides a good example of the deduction approach. Einstein and Jacob began identifying the shortcomings of popular views of criminal court outcomes. Differences in defendant and judicial characteristics and in the formal requirements of court procedure were not satisfactory explanations. Their approach was to view trial courts as organizations and to appeal the various theories of organizational behavior to explain court outcomes. Einstein and Jacob drew several hypothesis from this theory, most notably that plea bargaining would be more common in court rooms with stable work groups. In an inductive illustration often social scientists begin constructing a theory by observing aspects of social life, seeking to discover patterns that may point to more or less universal principles. Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967) coined the term grounded theory to describe this inductive method of theory construction. Field research is the direct observation of events in progress and is frequently used to develop theories. Or survey research may reveal patterns of attitudes that suggest particular theoretical explanations. For example in the 1960's and 1970's, marijuana use on America's college campuses was a subject of considerable discussion in the media. Some people were bothered by the drugs popularity and other welcomed it. What interests us is why some students smoked marijuana and others didn't. A survey of students at the U of Hawaii (Takeuchi, 1974) provided the data needed to answer that question. At the time of the study, countless explanations were being offered for drug use. People who opposed it claimed that the users were academic failures, who would rather use drugs that face the rigors of college life. The people in favor if marijuana, in contrast often spoke of the search for new values. Marijuana smokers said that they were people who had seen through the hypocrisy of middle class values. Takeuchi's analysis of the study gathered from U of Hawaii students did not support any of the explanations being offered. Those who reportedly smoked had essentially the same academic records as those who didn't smoke and both groups were equally involved in traditional school spirit activities. Both groups seemed to fell equally integrated into campus life. There were differences though; women were less likely than men to smoke. Asian students were less likely to smoke and finally students living at home were less likely to smoke marijuana than those living in apartments. These three variables independently affected the likelihood of a student's smoking marijuana. Overall a social constraints theory was offered as the explanation for observed differences in the likelihood of smoking marijuana. The more constraints a student had the less likely he or she would be to smoke marijuana. Even with both of the two different models, research does not have to be neither one nor the other. A study can have both inductive and deductive illustrations. 4. Some questions that might be asked in a cross sectional studies are: When do you fear crime the most? Do you feel safe in your neighborhood? Do you think that you will be a victim of a crime? These questions are usually done in a survey study of here and now. It does not include what could happen in the future and it does not take place over a long period of time. A cross sectional study might be conducted by a police department in the form of a survey that examines what residents believe to be the fears of crime. The study will ask about crime in a single time frame with findings used to help the department explore various methods of introducing community policing. Longitudinal studies are designed to permit observations over and extended period. An example of questions would to ask elderly residents what their fear of crime is over an extended period of time. Interviewing the residents every few months to see if their fear of crime has changed. The best longitudinal study to use for this type would be a cohort study which examines more specific population as they change over time. You could ask them what time do they most likely fear that a crime would happen and if they feel that their age is a factor of crime victimizing them. I personally think that a longitudinal study would be better, because you select a group to study and you follow that group over a period of time. You get to see whether there answer changes over time. In a cross sectional study, you get the answer at the present time and it might me a possibility that at that moment the subject was upset with the situation and could of possibly answered the questions incorrectly out of anger or haste. 6. Some threats to external validity are factors that make it difficult to generalize your results. One threat is testing effects, this occurs when individuals in the control group are made aware of some problems because they have taken a pretest. For example you are given an IQ test and as a result you decide to do some research into how IQ tests are scored and you decide to study a little more. When the post test occurs you will show improvement in you IQ and this will skew the results. Researchers can try to keep the individual from obtaining the information but this may be hard if the individual is not in a center where he or she is being supervised. Placebo effect is when someone is given a substance and they believe that it will do something to them; so it does. If a person thinks that they are taking valium and it will calm them down ...