Research Methods For Criminology And Criminal Justice - Essay Example

? RESEARCH METHODS FOR CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH METHODS FOR CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE While conducting a research in criminology there are the main keys that one needs to consider and they include the proper methods of collecting a data. This is the most crucial aspect of the research aspect. The person conducting research has to sure that the interviewer that is being interviewed is ready to complete the form for respondent. However there are some disadvantages that are linked with this kind of data collection it does not agree for further exploration of any of the response that is attained. This type of research is time consuming on the other hand it is costly and it limits the kind of response that is given or that is involved in it. There is another interview that is conducted known as the unstructured interview. This kind of interview offers respondents open ended questions where in this interview no set of responded is provided. However it is more advantageous since it allows more in depth responses however it is more difficult to quantify the response that are involved in it. This kind of interview is on the other hand more susceptible to intervening or biasing elements. This type of research is commonly conducted in fields research where the interviewers require a very high and they must be highly experienced and on the other hand they should be of good discipline so as they can be successful while going through the interview (DANTZKER, M., & HUNTER, R. 122) The other type of interview that is conducted in this research is well known as in-depth interviews. This is one of the kinds since it can make use of both the fixed and the open ended questions. The only difference between the rests is that it can further find out why the response was given and also can ask more additional questions and also that are qualifying. However there are advantages that are linked to this kind of interview and they are that the method of interview that is being conducted can lead to getting of more and substantial amount of information. However there are also disadvantages that go in hand with this kind of interview. And they include it is time consuming, it requires small samples in it, it can however limit the topics that are researched. Furthermore just like the unstructured interview it also re quires experienced researcher who are quite familiar with the issues that are being handled and also how do deal with them when conducting the interview in depth. The last type of interview is face to face interview. This is the kind of interview that is linked with the most advantages. The main advantage of this kind of interview is that it deals with face to face the interviewer and other person who is being interviewed (DANTZKER, M. L., & HUNTER, R.127) When data is being collected some of it may be recorded in numerical form like in the case of age. For proper analysis this data is latter recorded to fit into their specific groups in such cases when the data has been gathered the person compiling the data may however prefer to use a more simpler method of analysis such as the cross tabulations so as to examine the relationship(DANTZKER, M. L., & HUNTER, R. 145). Once the collection of data is accomplished there are other two phases that are seen through so as to complete the research. However the data that is obtained is always in raw manner the data must be coded for entry in the statistical software or program. Once it is the program cleaning has to be conducted so as to assure accuracy of the data for subsequent statistical analysis. However it is in this stage that missing data are dealt with and also recoding is required. The other kind of analysis that is conducted is known as univariate analysis. This kind of analysis is always conducted to gain knowledge about the data before bivariate or multivaliate analysis. Descriptive information’s are however used afterwards. This may involve the use of frequency distributional tables. Where the researcher examines the data’s by the use of central tendency the data is further assessed by reviewing the shape of the data through its distribution (Banyard and Grayson 167) Afterwards there is the statistical significance this is the method that the researchers normally use so as to determine as to whether their sample findings are representatives for the specific population that they are using. Whether one is using the complete enumeration that is the entire population that is estimated then the statistical significance is the debatable point however making it actual that the entire population is generally represented by the data. In statistical significance complete enumerations are rare since very small populations are limit generalizability while on the other hand high populations are more costly and they also consume a lot of time as a whole making it impossible to study a whole lot of population. However in statistical significance it is mainly based on probability and sampling where there is the use of nomothetic explanations of causality are mainly based on the use of probabilities. The use of probabilities enables the researchers to make inferences that are mainly based on relatively few observations however making a 95 percentage accuracy that the finding that are involved represent the whole population that was sampled however there are other comparative statistics that are involved in the criminal justice researchers. They include crime rates, and crime specific rates. The crime rates are the most popular form that is used within the field of criminal justice. It is however conducted as the crime of a given area of which they are divided by the area population. However the crime rates are mainly displayed as uniform crime reports. On the other hand crime specific rates differ from the crime rates and in this case they use a different base than population that is within the computations of a given area these techniques offer a statistical connection from which they can make a conclusion (MAXFIELD, M., & BABBIE, E.2012) Work cited DANTZKER, M. L., & HUNTER, R. D. (2012). Research methods for criminology and criminal justice. Sudbury, Mass, Jones & Bartlett Learning. MAXFIELD, M. G., & BABBIE, E. R. (2012). Basics of research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. BACHMAN, R., & SCHUTT, R. K. (2011). The practice of research in criminology and criminal justice. Los Angeles, SAGE. ELLIS, L., HARTLEY, R. D., & WALSH, A. (2010). Research methods in criminal justice and criminology: an interdisciplinary approach. Lanham, Md, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Read More