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Research Problem
Many Americans, especially the minority communities, do not have confidence in the
police officers. Often, the public has accused police from various states and counties of racial
discrimination, wrongful arrests, and killing civilians (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2020). As a
result, there is no public trust in the law enforcers. However, the cause of the problem is the lack
of the same standards and policies for law enforcement across the United States. Instead, it is the
mayors and governors with the powers to set policies and standards for law enforcement.
Consequently, there is a disparity in the conduct of police officers across the country. The
inconsistent behavior and conduct of police officers in various counties and states deplete public
trust in the law enforcement unit. The first step of criminal justice begins with the arrest of
suspects. Therefore, the conduct of police officers is relevant to the field of criminal justice
Methodology
There are several studies on criminal justice. However, most of the studies involved
qualitative research designs. Most scholars use qualitative research in the criminal justice system
because it allows them to understand the issue (Devi, 2017). The objective of researches on
criminal justice often focuses on gaining deep insight into problems and finding solutions to
them. Moreover, they focus on finding root the cause and solution to problems in the criminal
justice system. Therefore, qualitative research is appropriate in uncovering trends and collecting
opinions on challenges in criminal justice.
There are no methodologies that I am having difficulty finding research because criminal
justice is a broad field with many challenges. Addressing such challenges requires different
methods. For example, some studies collect quantitative or quantitative data, or both. Therefore,
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it is easy to find past research studies for nearly all methodologies. The methodology trend will
not influence the research design for the proposed research. It will also not change the research
problem because there are numerous research methodologies that I can rely on to conduct the
study. Even though qualitative research is a common method for studying criminal justice
problems, the mixed method serves the same purpose.
Overcoming Challenges
One of the challenges that I might face is using the chosen research problem and finding
studies that use each methodology. It might be challenging to use the same research problem to
locate studies that use the three methodologies. Therefore, I will have to redefine the problem
statement to ensure that it supports qualitative or quantitative or mixed research methodology.
For example, I might need to develop a research purpose that aims at exploring the problem from
both qualitative and quantitative perspectives.
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References
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Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2020).Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted,
2019 – Tables. https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6906
•
Devi, P. S. (2017). Research methodology: A handbook for beginners. Notion Press.
Milestone Three
Milestone Three
Robert McCubbins
Southern New Hampshire
SCS285
August 1, 2020
Milestone Three
Research questions.
1. Quantitative research question- How does inconsistency in police officers’ behavior
reduce the public’s trust in law enforcement?
2. Qualitative research question- What is the impact of different state officers' behavior
on the collective police force behavior?
3. Mixed- methodology research question- How do different policies in different states
influence police behavior and impact public trust in law enforcers?
Examination of questions
The mixed-method research question will best capture my research question. Mixedquestion research can correlate and examine the extent by which different policies influence
police behavior and the impact of the same on the civilians’ confidence in law enforcement. In
this case, the policies in different states are the independent variable, and the public's trust in law
enforcers is the dependent variable.
Peoples' opinions back the quantitative findings collected for this research in order to
cover the research comprehensively. Statistics on the level of the people's faith in regards to
legislation enforcement and the different policies used in different states is the quantitative data.
With these two sets of data, the strength of the qualitative and quantitative research get
combined, therefore, providing a better understanding and broadening the scope of the research.
The quantitative research question has been used more in criminal justice (Criminal
Justice Research Tools: Problem Formation, Data Collection, Interpretation, 2018). The data
mostly used in research is that provided by state and many non-governmental institutions
Milestone Three
databases. The data is available upon request, and this makes it the most preferred research
method. The methodology to be used highly depends on the scope of the research question.
Quantitative data is applicable in correlating or co-variating cause and effect. However,
due to the missing links and unreliable data, the qualitative method is also employed. The
question of whether the methodology is applicable in each particular research question
formulated would be appropriate and successfully explain the question at the same time
minimizing pliable alternatives that come by using either of the three research methodologies.
Milestone Three
References
Criminal Justice Research Tools: Problem Formation, Data Collection, Interpretation. (2018,
February 14). Retrieved July 28, 2020, from Study:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/criminal-justice-research-tools-problem-formationdata-collection-interpretation.html.
MILESTONE TWO
Data-Collection Patterns:
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What data-collection patterns do you notice? I noticed that surveys and interviews
were used in the majority of the research studies.
Are there some data-collection types that seem to be used more in your area of study in
the social sciences? Yes, surveys appear to be used more in my area of study in the
social sciences.
What about the other social sciences? I have noticed that in other social science studies
that some common data-collection types included surveys, questionnaires, focus
groups, observations and interviews.
Why do you think that is? Using these types of data-collection methods allow the
researcher to play a direct role with the group, community or population being studied
in the research process.
How can using certain data-collection types more than others create a threat to
credibility? Using certain data-collection types more than others can create a threat to
credibility because the researcher could potentially manipulate the data, only gather
data one way, limiting the research results; as well as the chance that participants may
not represent an accurate sample of what is being researched.
Purpose of Varied Data-Collection:
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What are the benefits of multiple data-collection types? Some benefits of multiple datacollection types would be stronger results, improved quality of data, using broader
research questions enabling the researcher to get the whole picture.
What are the drawbacks of multiple data-collection types? Some drawbacks of multiple
data-collection types could be not being able to see the potential results from each
method alone, using more than one type that do not work together to gather evidence
or explain the research results accurately.
What is the link between varied data collection and credibility risks? The link between
data collection and credibility risks are the validity and reliability of the research
gathered, the accurate analysis of the data collected and the value of the research
study.
What are some common types of data collection used in each of the social sciences? In
each of the social science referenced below, some common types of data collection are:
- Anthropology: participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and
textual analysis
- Political Science: polls and surveys
- Human Services: surveys, questionnaires, interviews, observations, and focus
groups
- Criminal Justice: surveys, interviews, focus groups, and experiments.
Why do you think certain social sciences seem to favor particular types of data
collection over others? Certain social sciences seem to favor particular types of data
collection over others because they are able to gather the most accurate evidence with
certain data collections in their research studies.
REFERENCES
Cooley, E., Brown-Iannuzzi, J., & Cottrell, D. (2019). Liberals perceive more racism than
conservatives when police shoot Black men—But, reading about White privilege increases
perceived racism, and shifts attributions of guilt, regardless of political ideology. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 85, 103885. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103885.
Kearns, E. M., Ashooh, E. M., & Lowrey-Kinberg, B. M. (2020). Racial Differences in
Conceptualizing Legitimacy and Trust in Police. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(2), 190214.
Bor, J., Venkataramani, A. S., Williams, D., & Tsai, A. (2018). Police killings and their spillover
effects on the mental health of black Americans: A population-based, quasi-experimental
study. The Lancet, 392(10144), 302-310.
Sung, H. (2006). Police effectiveness and democracy: Shape and direction of the
relationship. Policing: An International Journal, 29(2), 347-367.
Goff, P. A., Kerrison, E. M., & Trinkner, R. (2019). The Force of Fear: Police Stereotype Threat,
Self-Legitimacy, and Support for Excessive Force. Law and Human Behavior, 43(5), 421-435.
Nordberg, A., Crawford, M. R., Praetorius, R. T., & Hatcher, S. S. (2015). Exploring Minority
Youths’ Police Encounters: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-synthesis. Child Adolescent Social
Work Journal, 33, 137-149.
Criminal Justice Research Tools: Problem Formation, Data Collection, Interpretation. (2018,
February 14). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/criminal-justice-researchtools-problem-formation-data-collection-interpretation.html.
Collecting Data: A Political Science Approach (July 2017) Retrieved from:
https://politicalscienceguide.com/research/collectingdata/#:~:text=Data%20collection%20can%20take%20a,opinion%20surveys%20or%20exit%20p
olls.
Anthropological Approaches: Uncovering Unexpected Insights About the Implementation and
Outcomes of Patient-Centered Medical Home Models (March 2013). Retrieved from:
https://pcmh.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/anthropological-approaches-brief.pdf.
Data Collection Strategies (2020) https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/healthpromotion/4/datacollectionstrategies#:~:text=Types%20of%20quantitative%20and%20qualitati
ve,and%20observations%20and%20progress%20tracking.
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Research Questions
Robert McCubbins
Southern New Hampshire
SCS285
August 1, 2020
2
Questions
Exploratory research question: What outcomes are associated with using capital punishment to
mitigate crimes against humanity like rape, treason, murder, and terrorism?
The descriptive research question: What is the annual rate of the global implementation of
capital punishment?
The explanatory research question: How does the media publication of incarcerated criminals
undergoing capital punishment affect terrorism crime rates?
The evaluative research question: What are the deterrent effects unique to the execution of
capital punishment?
An analysis of the questions
The exploratory research question, in this case, is quantitative and the researcher is unaware of
the outcomes associated with capital punishment on heinous crimes. Research with these kinds
of questions intends to evaluate various outcomes, factors, and causes of a related phenomenon
(Doody & Bailey, 2016). The independent variable is clear but the dependent variables
(outcomes) are unclear. Only after conducting the research and interacting with the participants
can the outcomes be determined.
The descriptive research question is a quantitative query to help in determining the extent of the
acceptability of capital punishments. The question does not intend to build a cause-effect
relationship but to aid in the statistical analysis of the rate of implementation of this kind of
punishment on crimes that policymakers think that they deserve capital punishment.
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The explanatory research question is a quantitative question that is based on the nomothetic
relationship between media publication of capital punishments and the effects on crime rates.
The independent variable is media publications while the dependent variable is crime rates.
The evaluation research question in this case lays the foundation for successful research. In the
question, the researcher acknowledges that there are toxic effects uniquely related to capital
punishments and they intend to research them. Evaluative research questions define the research
topic (Doody & Bailey, 2016).
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References
Doody, O., & Bailey, M. E. (2016). Setting a research question, aim, and objective. Nurse
researcher, 23(4).
Module One Project Prep
Quantitative Research Article:
Copp, J. E., & Bales, W. D. (2018). Jails and Local Justice System Reform:
Overview and Recommendations. Future of Children, 28(1), 103–124.
Qualitative Research Article:
Warner, J. (2019). The Brokenness of Broken Windows: An Introductory
Statistics Project on Race, Policing, and Criminal Justice. PRIMUS, 29(3–
4), 281–299.
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