Research Question Flowcharts
Flow Chart 1 Example
What is the topic you
will be researching?
•Online bullying in
middle schools
Research
Question
What is the problem
you want to address?
•What can be done to
lessen online
bullying among
middle school
students?
What do you want to
know?
•If weekly classroom
lessons about the
forms of online
bullying and actual
consequences can
help reduce the
number of instances
•Can weekly classroom lessons about the forms of
online bullying and the actual consequences of
online bullying help reduce the number of
instances among middle school students?
Flow Chart 1 Template
What is the topic you
will be researching?
•Police reforms and
politics
Research
Question
What is the problem
you want to address?
•How are the police
reforms subjected to
politics within the
department?
What do you want to
know?
•In what ways do the
politics within the
police department
impact the police
reforms?
• What is the impact of
politics in police reform?
Flow Chart 2 Example
Topic
Online bullying in middle
schools
Problem
What can be done to lessen
online bullying among middle
school students?
Wondering
If weekly classroom lessons about the forms of
online bullying and actual consequences can help
reduce the number of instances
Research Question
Can weekly classroom lessons about the forms of online bullying
and the actual consequences of online bullying help reduce the
number of instances among middle school students?
Flow Chart 2 Template
Topic
Police reforms and
politics
Problem
How are the police reforms
subjected to politics within
the department?
Wondering
Is politics deep rooted in the police
system?
Research Question
What is the impact of politics in police reform?
A COMPARISON OF
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGIES USED
IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
Robert McCubbins
SCS285
INTRODUCTION
New information is acknowledged by the society when the
research techniques adhere to the established policies.
Mainstream researchers have smothered and dismissed concepts
that have challenges the fundamental policies of research
especially when guidelines are not followed.
There are two main research methodologies used in social
sciences: qualitative and quantitative methods.
Research can however use mixed methods.
CONT…
The quantitative technique which is rooted in the logical
strategy depends on factual methodology for information and
investigation (Babones, 2016).
On the other hand, qualitative technique is a subjective
technique that relies on descriptive narratives for data analysis
(Mohajan, 2018).
Blending the two techniques approach has of late developed
and it consolidates quantitative and qualitative strategies to
form another philosophy.
Research Methods in Criminology and
Criminal Justice
Quantitative methods
Hands-on criminology research
Edge ethnography
Fieldwork
DAWN and ADAM
CONT..
Program evaluation
Crime Statistics
Crime mapping
Crime reference and analysis
Crime classification techniques
QUANTITATIVE METHODS
Relating to this quantitative relationship, researchers have
studied the effect of compulsory arrest policy (independent
variable) on future patterns of domestic violence (dependent
variable).
In a study, scholars assessed the impact of arrest, compared
to some other assent, on the future criminal conduct of the
culprit (Woodward, 2016).
This implies that quantitative analysis includes a pattern of
studying the relationship between sets of variables to
determine cause and effect.
LIMITATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE
METHODS
People may fail to report some aggressions
Police records may exclude some crimes
Victims may also drop charges against their offenders.
Arrest practices also vary depending on state..
Laws vary from, state to state.
Analyzing the situation critically can aid in the realization of
valid results.
ADVANTAGES OF QUANTITATIVE
METHODS
Despite the listed limitations, a researcher may choose
to use quantitative research since it is more subjective,
scientific, and satisfactory.
This method is used by scientists who have no clue of
what’s in store before conducting a research.
It is used to characterize how to deal with a problem.
Other advantages of quantitative research is that it is
progressively logical, less biased, control focused,
repeatable and generalizable.
QUALITATIVE METHODS
Qualitative research may be in form of observation, intense
interviews, focus groups and case studies.
Qualitative studies should be devoid of objectivity and going
native. The researcher should avoid over familiarity with a
specific group of participants and forget that they are
supposed to be a researcher.
An example of quantitative analysis is found in the study on
residential burglary (Langton, 2017). The researchers
conducted active interviews on burglars and gave insights on
issues that may not have been realized using traditional
methods.
LIMITATIONS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS
Data may leave out some contextual sensitivities since it
focuses on experiences.
Low credibility
The small size of the sample may affect result generalization.
Complex data interpretation techniques
Case analysis using is time consuming
Despite the shortcomings, researchers prefer this method in
language testing research which is important in quantitative
data analysis.
ADVANTAGES OF QUALITATIVE
METHODS
Qualitative Data is detailed regarding participants’ opinions
Findings are holistic
The researcher interacts with the participants’ directly and
this way they get firsthand experiences on why they behave
in a certain way.
It is also flexible since it can be used in any setting
MIXED METHODS
Mixed methodology is a combination of both qualitative and
quantitation methods.
For example mixed research can be conducted to explore
public perceptions to reveal the relationship between crime
perceptions of a place.
Peoples’ opinions are used to back up quantitative findings.
CONT..
Mixed methodology researchers combines the strengths of
qualitative research which are stated earlier in the slide.
The disadvantages of this method are that it is more time
consuming, complicated and demanding.
Researchers prefer mixed methodology since it overlaps the
strengths and weaknesses of both qualitative and quantitative
methods while converging findings, minimizing pliable
alternatives and elucidating divergences.
REFERENCES
“Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice IResearchNet.” Criminal Justice, http://criminaljustice.iresearchnet.com/criminology/research-methods/. Accessed 24 July 2020.
Babones, S. (2016). Interpretive quantitative methods for the social
sciences. Sociology, 50(3), 453-469.
Langton, S. H., & Steenbeek, W. (2017). Residential burglary target selection: An
analysis at the property-level using Google Street View. Applied Geography, 86,
292-299.
Mohajan, H. K. (2018). Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and
related subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and
People, 7(1), 23-48.
Woodward, V. H., Webb, M. E., Griffin III, O. H., & Copes, H. (2016). The
current state of criminological research in the United States: An examination of
research methodologies in criminology and criminal justice journals. Journal of
Criminal Justice Education, 27(3), 340-361.
Data
Consumer research
Robert McCubbins
Consumer insights
Looking at the evidence to justify the claims
Random sampling-testing a section of the population to confirm the claims.
Longitudinal research and random assignment
Having enough information
Consumers can know that they have enough information when:
The information gathered helps them decide.
It protects them from making bad decisions and
The data gathered addresses their fears regarding products.
scrutinizing the credibility of data
Consumers should ask:
1.
Who did the research?
2.
Why was the research conducted?
3.
Who bankrolled the research?
4.
Data collection methods.
5.
Sample size and the sufficiency of the responses
6.
If the research used secondary data?
7.
Does it investigate the claims?
Credibility of research study
Research Study 1: having an opinion about the justice system will lead to
biased results that are tailored to vindicate the negative vibe about the
police.
Research Study 2: If the researcher is from a minority group give a biased
assessment of the results deliberately to provoke the system to react.
This is not the ideal situation since alternatively it could have also come from
the government’s side.
Ethical issues that my dent credibility
Disclosure- A researcher deliberately chooses what they want to disclose and
what they leave out. Based on their opinion they may elect to leave out parts
that are not an appealing to them.
Blind or double-blind studies-in this study both the participants and the
experimenters do not know who is receiving specific treatment. They are
used to prevent the placebo effect.
Cultural awareness-comprehending the differences that exist between
themselves and others from different communities for instance attitudes and
values.
Ethical issues that my dent credibility
Humane treatment of subjects-in any experiment, participants are supposed
to be treated with care. Anything short of this will render the research not
credible.
Unethical structuring of studies-finding information using methods that
contravene ethical provisions. The information and conclusions arrived a using
such an approach is unethical.
quantitative data-collection types
The most commonly used quantitative data-collection types in social sciences
are:
1.
Surveys
2.
Questionnaires that have closed ended questions.
They are proffered since they are cheap and take a relatively shorter period
to collect data.
The least used approaches
The following are least commonly used quantitative data-collection types in
social sciences:
1.
Focus groups
2.
Direct observation.
They are not preferred because they have a huge cost implication as well as take
a longer time to execute.
qualitative data-collection types
The most used ones are:
1.
Observation
2.
Group discussions
3.
Surveys
4.
Interviews
They are common since they are cheap to execute and require relatively little
resources to execute.
qualitative data-collection types
The least used types in this category are:
1.
Document revision
2.
Longitudinal studies
These two are expensive and take a longer time to be carried out.
relevance of various data-collection
types
Classification of the data in each study
This is purely qualitative data collection as it entails categorizing,
summarizing and interpreting the presented data.
An example of this approach is this approach is the focus group data
collection methodology. The researcher seeks opinion of different people
after which it is classified for further interpretation.
This collection approach fits well with my research question as it can be used
to collect opinions about policing and criminal justice.
REFERENCES
Warner, J. (2019). The Brokenness of Broken Windows: An Introductory Statistics
Project on Race, Policing, and Criminal Justice. PRIMUS, 29(3-4), 281-299.
Copp, J. E., & Bales, W. D. (2018). Jails and Local Justice System Reform. The
Future of Children, 28(1), 103-124.
Schutt, Russell K. Interactive: Investigating the Social World Interactive eBook.
SAGE Publications, Inc. (US), 2018. [VitalSource Bookshelf].
Amy Blackstone. (2019). Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods .
Boston, MA: FlatWorld
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