Quantitative Research Methods: Criminal Justice/ Security Management - Term Paper Example

 Quantitative Research Methods: Criminal Justice/ Security Management In social sciences, phenomena must be evaluated in society to determine their merit, worth or significance. This evaluation may be done using various research methods including but not limited to qualitative and quantitative research methods. These studies must be done in accordance to a well spelt out purpose that must be achieved at the end of the study, with adequate discussion in all the relevant details. Research is done according to specific scientific methodology, which must conform to universally acceptable standards and approaches. This ensures that all collected data and the information derived thereafter are relevant and can be applied to the situation at hand in any society. Conclusions made from the various qualitative and qualitative research methodologies should also be generalizable in different circumstances. Quantitative research must follow scientific methods for its findings to be considered scientifically relevant. First, a study model must be defined in accordance with predetermined rules, followed by formulation of hypotheses. Next, the researcher should define and develop methods and instruments for taking measurements and other data collection techniques. The next step is the definition of an experimental standard of a control setup against which all data will be compared. In the field, empirical data is collected, then modeled and analyzed using the various statistical techniques. Finally, data is evaluated to give information that is handed to the relevant authorities for implementation (Rossi, Lipsey and Freeman 2004). In definition, qualitative research involves formulation of simple questions that are answered in numeric form or are answered in such a way that their interpretation results in statistically analyzable data. Sampling is randomized, and situations that may give a multitude of answers generalized in such a way that there are reduced to number form. Therefore, instead of respondents in this type of study giving their answers in prose form, nailing down their responses to simple ‘yes or no’ answers or numbers where applicable. Quantitative research methods for use in security management research include exploratory research, constructive research, and empirical research. In addition, quantitative research can be re-classified into primary and secondary research. Primary Research Original data is collected using this method whereby one first researches an issue from secondary data sources to gain some insight before going to the field for data collection. The advantage of this method is that security administrators have total control whereby they determine the variables of the study without limitations. In addition, they can control the scope of the study including how their data collection methods like questionnaires are responded. This method of research, however, is expensive and time consuming such that by the time it is complete it has already become obsolete. Primary research is also tedious as it is against the norm for people to respond to studies, and, therefore, the researcher has to have many respondents than necessary for their data to have any statistical relevance (Shuttleworth, 2008). Secondary Research Security issues are delicate, researches in this field may not get responses as desired, and this makes secondary research an appealing option to collection of raw data. A lot of data has been collected in all fields these days that generating raw data can be taken to be a waste of time and other resources. For instance, data on crime and other security issues are widely available in public and private databases and all one has to do is to pick and analyze it. As opposed to primary research, secondary research enables one to analyze more components of a field than can be possible using freshly collected data. For instance, trends for periods more than a decade or a century long can be analyzed without having to setup long-term research projects (Shuttleworth 2008). Exploratory Research Both primary and secondary sources can be used for this research. Exploratory studies aim at structuring and identifying previously unrecognized problems. For instance, data may be collected to analyze a cause or an effect of crime that no other study has established. When formulating a primary study for this research, the researcher must think beyond the limits of previous studies to come up with a concept that no one had thought of analyzing before. On the other hand, all one has to do when using secondary sources is to look for emerging trends. These trends were not in the objectives of the original researcher and can only be noticed in analyzed data on scrutiny by a person other than the one who first did the study (Creswell 2008). Constructive Research After problems have been identified, choosing an appropriate way forward can be tricky as many problems come with many solutions, all with many perspectives. In this case, a study has to be done to nail down the most effective of all proposed solutions. Usually a committee is formed, and members meet to agree on a number of effective methods of tackling the issue at hand. The matter is then forwarded to research scientists who formulate hypotheses, objectives and study scientifically to come up with evidence-based recommendations. Empirical Research Research is formulated to analyze how effective a proposed solution is in real life. After implementation, security administrators should follow up on a solution to identify its effectiveness to the security problem. Samples of the whole population are picked using the acceptable sampling techniques and the pros and cons of an already implemented idea analyzed, giving recommendations for necessary adjustments, or withdrawal of the solution if its disadvantages overshadow the anticipated advantages (Reeve and Peerbhoy 2007). Conclusion In the administration of criminal justice, various research methods must be combined for relevant authorities to get a clear picture of the situation. Though important for generation of original data, primary research should always be followed by secondary research to identify factors that may not be clear when the study is done for the first time. In addition, follow up research helps in analyzing trends and making adequate use of the otherwise very expensive primary data. Finding problems is not enough, appropriate action should follow up, following the recommendations of studies. After implementation, follow up studies should be done to ensure that resources are not channeled to ineffective courses. If done scientifically, quantitative studies are effective in improving existing phenomena or coming up with new ones. References Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Reeve, J., & Peerbhoy, D. (2007). "Evaluating the evaluation: Understanding the utility and limitations of evaluation as a tool for organizational learning". Health Education Journal 66 (2): 120–131. Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2004). Evaluation: A systematic approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Shuttleworth, M. (2008). "Definition of Research". Experiment Resources. Experiment-Research.com. Retrieved 14 August 2011 from, http://www.experiment-resources.com/definition-of-research.html. Read More