Applying The Probation Drug Screen - Essay Example

"Applying The Probation Drug Screen" is a great example of medical research on drug development.
It is critical to note that usually, there are consequences in case of a failed court-ordered drug test when on probation. The court considers any probation violation as a very serious issue. Typically, there may be the subjection of individuals to restrictions that is more stringent, the individuals might be sent to prison or sent to a rehabilitation program of drugs. There could as well be a chance that the probation period of the individual could be extended in case of a failed drug test.

Description of the Research issue

Basing on the data provided, the research issue that can be studied is to find out the effectiveness of the drug rehabilitation program by looking at the lab results data for individuals who tested positive annual distribution on different drugs so that to be able to set up the appropriate measure to address the emerging issue basing on the descriptive study. For instance, if the descriptive study will indicate that there is no improvement or drop on statistics of individuals who fail drug test across the whole year, then certain measures need to be taken to solve this problem such as subjecting individuals to stringent restrictions.

The hypothesis of the study

 To determine if the drug rehabilitation program is effective based on drug test data distribution throughout the year

Research Design

The appropriate research design that can be used to address the formulated hypothesis is a descriptive study. In this study, there is a collection of data without manipulating the environment (Dey, 1993). Sometimes it is known as an observational study. A descriptive study provides information in humans regarding health status. For instance, the drug test is the health status that is to be explored to find information that can be used to find corrective measures by the drug rehabilitation program officer. In this case, in regards to data collection, the whole population will be considered since; the study does not involve inferential statistics where there is the testing of hypothesis but just describing the data through drawing of graphs and descriptive statistics. For the case of the study, the whole 4200 individuals will be studied. The data was collected from 4200 defendants under the drug rehabilitation program. The defendants were tested against seven different types of drugs that include marijuana, opiates, amphetamines, methamphetamines, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and alcohol. The testing was done every month for a period of one year and the results were either positive or negative. Positive results represented a failed test while negative results represented a passed test. These two variables were considered in the study and their distribution trend throughout the year was determined to see how effective the drug rehabilitation program was.

How the Research h Design will address the hypothesis

In regards to the study outcome, if it is found out that there is no much change on drug test results or there is an increase in the statistics of individuals who fails drug test, there are two options that can be considered and they include either sending those who test positive to prison more so those who haven’t shown any improvement or putting stringent restrictions measures on the drug rehabilitation program with the aim of reducing the number of individuals who fail a drug test. All these options will be under the control of the court. In this case, it will decide the fate of suspects.