The White-Collar Crimes - Essay Example

1.0. Problem ment There is not enough attention given to understanding the antecedents of white collar crimes as observed by Piquero and Schoepfer (189). Most of white collar crime research focused on the corporate sector, even if many business executives are inclined to believe that white collar crimes are more prevalent in the private sector (Gottschalk 28, 30). The present study is, therefore, being proposed to empirically examine white collar crime from the eyes of respondents involved the public sector, cognizant of Shapiro’s argument that “the proper sociological way to study white-collar crime begins by sampling from settings of trust” (qtd. in Larson and Garrett 103). The proposed study will attempt to address the following research questions with the end in view of shaping or changing public policy. 1.1. What is the level of awareness of public officials and public sector employees about white collar crimes within their ranks in terms of: 1.1.1. who are most likely to commit such acts, 1.1.2. what crimes have been reported so far, 1.1.3. how were the perpetrators punished, and 1.1.4. current policies to deter white collar crimes? 1.2. How does the public sector view white collar crimes? 1.3. What are the antecedents of white collar crime in the public sector? 1.4. Are there significant differences in the perception of white collar crimes and the antecedents of white collar crimes between private and public sector employees? 1.5. What is the level of commitment of public officials and public sector employees in the detection and prevention of white collar crimes? 1.6. Based on the findings of the study, which theory best explains the antecedents of white collar crime in the public sector? 2.0. Proposed Research Methodology This section will discuss how the research question of the proposed study will be answered with respect the type of data to be collected, data collection procedure, intended data analysis procedure, and expected output which will be generated. The following subsections will present the proposed methodology for each research question in tabulated format. Owing to the empirical nature of the proposed study, numerical data will be used in the entire research. 2.1. Data Collection Procedure The data collection procedure which will be followed in the proposed study will be applicable to the research problems identified in sub-sections 1.1.1 to 1.1.5. Data will be collected using a survey questionnaire to be administered to the target respondents through their email. Respondents will be selected through purposive sampling in order to come up with a convenience sample with enough statistical power to make applicable generalizations. Purposive sampling is a type non-probability technique which involves selection of respondents on the basis of the researcher’s judgment about the characteristics of respondents who can facilitate the investigation (Adler and Clark 123). A convenience sample as the name implies will be identified primarily for ease in gathering respondents who are readily available at little or no cost (Anderson, Sweeney, and Williams 290). In the present study, convenience in terms of voluntary participation of respondents from the public sector in the state of text was considered. Hence, only the respondents who sent back their responses through email or personal pick-up by the researcher after three follow-ups, at the most will be included. Following is the proposed data collection procedure: 2.1.1. A list of people involved in the public sector in Texas with email contact details will be obtained from online resources1. 2.1.2. The survey questionnaire will be sent by email to as many public officials and public sector employees based on availability of contact information. An informed consent form will be sent together with the survey questionnaires and respondents who are willing to participate in the proposed study will be encouraged to sign the form only after reading and understanding the details of the proposed study. 2.1.3. Respondents will be given a number of options to present their responses to the survey: (a) By downloading and printing the questionnaire and the consent form. Respondents will answer the questionnaire in the traditional paper-and-pen style. They will also append their conformity with the informed consent form. After completing the questionnaire and signing the consent form, they can request the researcher to pick up the documents or mail the documents by post to the researcher’s postal address indicated in the consent form; (b) By answering the questionnaire in its digital form. This can be accomplished by highlighting one of the choices provided for each item or when conditions apply, provide the respondent’s unique response to a survey item in the space provided form. The respondents will be requested to append a digital signature on the informed consent form, and email back the completed questionnaire and signed informed consent form to the researcher; (c) By contacting the researcher through email, mobile phone, or landline and requesting for a hard copy of the questionnaire and the consent form. The respondent then proceeds to answer the survey as in Option (a). 2.1.4 The research will set a reasonable period (one week after sending the questionnaire) to send follow-up email messages to the respondents. One follow-up message will be sent each week for three weeks. Only questionnaires retrieved within the one-month period will be included in the analysis. 2.1.5. To facilitate data analysis, retrieved questionnaires will be processed as soon as they are received, most especially for those sent back through email and post mail. Completed questionnaires / informed consent forms for pick-up will be processed last since these will be collected in batches in terms of location for economic considerations. 2.2. Other Components of the Research Methodology The type of data to be collected, intended data analysis procedure, and expected output for each of the problems identified in sub-sections 1.1.1 to 1.1.5 are presented below in tabular form for each research question. 2.2.1. Level of awareness of public officials and public sector employees about white collar crimes Type of Data Level of awareness about white collar crimes involves numerical data in the form of an interval scale. An interval scale “consists of ordered categories that are all intervals of exactly the same size” (Gravetter and Wallnau 24). Items under level of awareness will be presented in terms of a set of variables where respondents will indicate the level of awareness using a five-point Likert scale rating. The scale for level of awareness is as follows: 1 = Very low awareness; 2 = Low awareness; 3 = Average awareness; 4 = High awareness; and 5 = Very high awareness. Data Analysis Data for this research question will be presented descriptively using frequency and percentage distributions, the simple mean and the standard deviation. To facilitate analysis, the statistical limits of each level of the scale are shown in Table 1. Expected Output Numerical and qualitative description of the level of awareness of white collar crimes by respondents from the public sector will be presented in graphical form.. 2.2.2. Public Sector View of White Collar Crimes Type of Data Public sector view of white collar crimes consists of variable which describe the respondents’ perception of white collar crimes. Variables to be collected are numerical data in the form of an interval scale Items under this research question will be presented in terms of statements where respondents will indicate their level of agreement using a five-point Likert scale rating. The scale for level of agreement is as follows: 1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Slightly disagree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree (neutral); 4 = Slightly agree; and 5 = Strongly agree. Data Analysis Data for this research question will be presented descriptively using frequency and percentage distributions, the simple mean and the standard deviation. To facilitate analysis, the statistical limits of each level of the scale are shown in Table 1. Expected Output Numerical and qualitative description of the perceptions of respondents from both the private and public sectors about white collar crimes will be presented in graphical form. 2.2.3. Antecedents of White Collar Crimes Type of Data The antecedents of white collar crimes are causes of conditions underlying the commission of white collar crimes as identified by the respondents from the public sector. Some of the antecedents being considered are anger or vengeance, corruption, drugs, economic crisis, family financial need, gambling, greed, overspending, poor upbringing, temptations brought about by position, thrill of committing white collar crime, etc. The antecedents will involve numerical data in the form of an interval scale. Items under this research question will be presented in terms of respondents’ reactions as to a set of possible causes of white collar crimes in terms of their significance. The scale for the reactions to each pre-identified antecedent uses a five-point Likert rating. The scale as follows: 1 = Insignificant; 2 = Slightly insignificant; 3 = Neither significant nor insignificant (neutral); 4 = Significant to some extent; and 5 = Very significant. Data Analysis Data for this research question will be presented descriptively using frequency and percentage distributions, the simple mean, the standard deviation, and ranking. To facilitate analysis, the statistical limits of each level of the scale are shown in Table 1. Expected Output A list of antecedents of white collar crimes with their respective level of significance presented by group (private vs. public) and as a whole will be shown in graphical form. 2.2.4. Significant Differences in the Perception of White Collar Crimes and the Antecedents of White Collar Crimes Between Private and Public Sector Employees Type of Data Data for this research question would have been collected from Sections 2.2 and 2.3. Data Analysis Data for this research questions will be carried out through an independent samples t-test using the statistical software package SPSS 17. The following hypotheses are formulated in the null form in connection with the inferential data analysis: (a) There is no significant difference in the perceptions of respondents in the private and public sector about white collar crimes; (b) There is no significant difference between the views of the respondents from the private and public sectors regarding the antecedents of white collar crime. Hypothesis testing will be performed using two-tailed analysis and a 0.05 level of significance. Expected Output Numerical results from the independent samples t-test will include the t-statistic (t), the degrees of freedom involved (df) and the p-value (p or Sig. in SPSS). Additionally, a statement verifying whether or not there are significant differences between the private and public sector employees should be included in the output by comparing the hypothesized level of significance (α = 0.05) and the computed level (p-value or Sig. in SPSS). 2.2.5. Level of Commitment of Public Officials and Public Sector Employees in the Detection and Prevention of White Collar Crimes Type of Data Level of commitment will be collected as numerical data in the form of an interval scale. Items under this research question will be presented in terms of statements where respondents will indicate their level of agreement using a five-point Likert scale rating similar to 2.2.2. Data Analysis Data for this research question will be presented descriptively using frequency and percentage distributions, the simple mean and the standard deviation. To facilitate analysis, the statistical limits of each level of the scale are shown in Table 1. Expected Output Numerical and qualitative description of the level of commitment of respondents from the public sector about the detection and prevention of white collar crimes will be presented in graphical form. Table 1. Statistical Limits of the Likert Scales Proposed for Use in the Study Statistical Limit Numerical Descriptor (From the Questionnaire) Qualitative Descriptor (Interpretation) Level of Awareness About White Collar Crimes (Problem 1.1) Level of Awareness About White Collar Crimes (Problem 1.2 and 1.5) Level of Significance of White Collar Crimes (Problem 1.3) 4.80 to 5.00 5 Very high awareness Strongly agree Very significant 3.50 to 4.79 4 High awareness Slightly agree Significant to some extent 2.51 to 3.49 3 Average or moderate awareness Neither agree nor disagree (Neutral) Neither significant nr insignificant (Neutral) 1.21 to 2.50 2 Low awareness Slightly disagree Slightly insignificant 1.00 to 1.20 1 Very low awareness Strongly disagree Insignificant 3.0. References Adler, Emily Stier, and Roger Clark. An Invitation to Social Research: How It’s Done. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth / Cengage Learning. 2011. Print. Anderson, David R., Dennis J. Sweeney, and Thomas A. Williams. Statistics for Business and Economics. Revised 10th ed. Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education. 2009. Print. Gottschalk, Petter. White Collar Crime: Detection, Prevention and Strategy in Business Enterprises. Boca Raton, FL: Universal Publishers. 2010. Print. Gravetter, Frederick J., and Larry B. Wallnau. Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth / Cengage Learning. 2011. Print. Larson, Calvin J., and Gerald R. Garrett. Crime, Justice, and Society. 2nd ed. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2004. Print. Piquero, Nicole L., and Andrea Schoepfer, A. “Theories of White-Collar and Public Policy.” Criminology and Public Policy: Putting Theory to Work. Eds. Hugh D. Barlow and Scott H. Decker. Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP, 2010. 188-200. Print. Read More