The Establishment of the Department of Homeland Security - Research Paper Example

Research QuestionThe Establishment of the Department of Homeland Security Is it true that the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security has helped in eradicating terrorism in the United States of America? Explanation and Importance of this Research Question This question can be of great importance when conducting a research about Homeland Security. It seeks to ask more questions about the contributions of the Homeland Security in the country. Since its creation, it has made a lot of contributions towards the fight against terrorism both within and out of the USA. When the country was attacked by the Al Qaeda terrorists on September 11, the country had not been adequately prepared to handle such disasters. However, after the incident, it became inevitable that actions had to be taken in order to address such misfortunes whenever they occur (Paul & Hank). Thus, the Department of Homeland Security was born especially after the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Monahan, 2009). This justifies why the research question is significant while conducting a research about this topic. For everything to be properly understood there needs to be a serious comprehension of the origin and history of the Homeland Security. So, by the way the research question is framed, it will not only seek to ask about the current performance of Homeland Security, but goes ahead to uncover if it has indeed accomplished some of the objectives for which it was instituted. Amongst these is the prevention of terrorism in the country and reducing the chances of vulnerability of the Americans from being attacks by terrorists who might be having bad motives of destabilizing the national peace and tranquility. By asking about such questions, the researcher would be guided on how exactly the research should be carried out (Paul) Moreover, the choice of this question implies that the research will be broadened to cover a large area. It will not be narrowed to only one aspect of the homeland Security. Instead, it will go ahead to trace the historical development of the Homeland Security and ascertain if it has done anything substantial to the Americans (Craig). Hence, it is a wise decision to settle on such a research question as will grant the researcher an opportunity to conduct a very extensive research which will not only be valid, but be reliable to anyone who wants to know much about Homeland Security or to any researcher who might be interested in conducting further research on this topic. Hypothesis Why is it believed that Homeland Security is necessary for protecting the Americans from international terrorism? This hypothesis seeks to unveil if the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security is of any significance to the federal government and the individual citizens of the USA. In other words, it shows the contributions of Homeland Security in the lives of Americans. When USA was attacked on September 11, the entire nation was shaken. Thus, to help protect the citizens from such further aggressive acts, it became necessary for the government to enact a new legislation aimed at protecting Americans from any act of terrorism which might befell them thereafter. Although the government had been keen on regulating terrorist activities, it was intensified after the incident. For this reason, the hypothesis seems to be giving some direction on how the research would be. The establishment of Homeland Security was not futile. It was a good idea because it has yielded lots of fruits. Hence, by asking about the significance of Homeland Security in the country, it becomes necessary for the researcher to look for more information about the research topic (Creswell, 2012). Hence, the hypothesis is quite logical as it is about the issue of concern. When researching on Homeland Security, it can be better if the researcher goes further to study on its performance and how it has impacted on the country. It should be properly utilized to help in doing an extensive research on this topic. Literature Review For a very long tine now, international terrorism has become a major issue amongst the international community. Since it is not only limited to USA, it has been affecting several countries. Because of its popularity, a lot of researchers have been done about it. Through these, various scholars have extensively studied it so as to gather information and disseminate it to the readers and others who are interested in conducting research on the same topic. While conducting this research, it was inevitable that several secondary sources would be analyzed and relied upon to provide the necessary information about Homeland Security and acts of terrorism both within and out of the nation. While conducting this research, the following resources would be relied upon as among the most significant references: The first book to be used in this research is Inside Al Qaeda which was written by Gunaratna, Ronan and published by Berkley Books in 2002. In this text, Gunaratna conducted a research on the September 11 attack in which USA was bombed by the Al Qaeda linked terrorists. As this scholar examines, it was this incidence which acted as an eye opener to the federal government of the US. It made it realize that there were lots of loopholes in the security system which needed to be addressed. The same sentiments are repeated by Damico, Amy M and Quay, Sara in September 11 in Popular Culture: A Guide who also discusses about the outbreak of such incidences which greatly shook US stability. Thus, when properly used in this research, these resources can be of much value. They can help in understanding much about the US bombing and how it changed the country’s security apparatus (Coates SW, et al., 2003). The other important publication to use in this research is U.S. National Security and Foreign Policymaking After 9/11: Present at the Re-creation. It was authored by Bolton, M. Kent and published by Rowman & Littlefield in the year 2006. It provides much information about the operations of the US Department of Homeland Security. In this book, the author examines the structure and activities of this department. It goes ahead to research on how coordinated it is. Its complexity is also emphasized by Bolton, M. Kent who, in his, U.S. National Security and Foreign Policymaking After 9/11: Present at the Re-creation, gives an extensive discussion about the relationship between the Department of Homeland Security, White House and other related agencies such as US National Guard; US Coast Guard; Federal Emergency Management Agency; US Secret Service; US Customs and Border Protection; and US Citizenship and Immigration Services. These publications provide very important information about the organization of Homeland Security. It can be of much benefit when used in this research as such data can be crucial in evaluating its performance (Viotti & Kaupp). Moreover, Perl, Raphael in the Department of Homeland Security: Background and Challenges gives an extensive coverage about the activities of Homeland Security in the country. Together with Wolf, Naomi, Dale Jones and Austen Givens and Chomsky, Noam, these scholars provide an extensive research on the contributions of the Department of Homeland Security towards the eradication of terrorism in the nation. They all concur that the commitments of the federal government of the USA has achieved a lot of tremendous positive results. Indeed, these resources are quite important in this work as they can provide a reliable source of information when conducting a research on the topic Homeland Security. By focusing on the contributions of the FBI and CIA, it is crystal clear that the government has made a mark on the fight against terrorism both within and out of the country. Variables This research will have to incorporate the use of both dependent and independent variables. These are factors that will be manipulated to help in answering the research question and meeting the objectives. As a matter of fact, Homeland Security is a very important issue in the USA. Thus, among the variables to be included while conducting a research about is are government support; number of security personnel; competency, training and experiences of the security personnel; funding; coordination of the security agencies; and support of the individual Americans and the international community. These will be measured using both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. This will help in determining their validity, relevance and consistency. Data Collection Methods While conducting this research, a lot of tools will be used in the collection of data. This will be crucial in gathering a variety of information from different sources. Thus, it will make the research be exhaustive and reliable. The data collection methods to be used include the following: i. Interviews After identifying the target population, a small, but proportionate sample will be selected. This will be used to represent the entire population. It is from this sample that the information will be collected. However, one of the ways of doing this will be through conducting an interview. All of them will be engaged in a one-on-one interview in which they will be asked questions to respond to. Here, the researcher will have to organize a set of open and closed ended queries to shoot to them (Hoge & Rose, 2005). Their responses will be expected to be honestly and sincerely given. Thus, they will be relied upon as a source of information for the research topic. As a matter of national interest, the researcher will have to interview individual citizens, government officials and security personnel. Interview will be used as a data collection method as it will be very useful for the researcher. It will grant the researcher an ample opportunity to collect first-hand information from the respondents collected from an environment in which the respondent was comfortable and free to give responses without any coercion or intimidation. ii. Questionnaire A questionnaire refers to form prepared by the researcher to seek for responses from the respondents. It is asset of questions which are composed by the researcher and given to the respondent to respond to in order to provide information about the research topic. Once a questionnaire is made, it is posted to the target respondents. Here, they are given a chance to give answers to the questions asked by the researcher. When carrying out this research, it will be recommended that questionnaires be used. They will be given to each and every respondent. Its use will be of many benefits to the researcher as it will enable them to respond to questions without the presence of the researcher which might end up influencing their responses. Just like the interview, a questionnaire will have to contain a combination of open and close ended questions. Once all of them are adequately answered, the researcher will be in a position of acquiring enough and exhaustive information about the topic. iii. Use of Existing Statistics Apart from relying on primary sources of information, this research will have to incorporate the use of secondary sources. This will be done by conducting a documentary analysis on some of the most relevant textbooks and peer-reviewed journals which had been written by scholars in the past. Besides, statistics will be extracted from government records in which data about this topic have been stored. These are very resourceful sources of data that if properly exhausted, will add more value to the research. When secondary data is incorporated into the research, it will enable it to be authoritative and credible. Anticipated Challenges Just like any other research, it is obvious that everything will not be smoothly executed. This is because of the challenges that will be faced while conducting the research. The following challenges are anticipated: First, there will be inadequate resources to use while carrying out all the activities of this research. Since it will involve a long and exhaustive data collection, analysis and presentation processes, it needs a lot of money to be effectively done. However, this might prove challenging since they will be inadequate funds to cater for all of them. It is so expensive to do all these activities. Apart from involving a lot of movements, it will require the use of materials such as books, journals, notebooks, pens and others. These might be costly to acquire. The other challenge to face while conducting this research is lack of cooperation from the respondents. Since this research will heavily rely on the data collected from the respondents, it might be impossible to get all the required information especially if the respondents are not collaborating with the researcher. This might experienced when they totally refuse to respond during interview or answer and submit the questionnaires. If it happens, the researcher will be really inconvenienced. Lastly, the research is expected to be time consuming. Meaning, it will take a lot of time for every procedure to be conducted as per the schedule. For instance, conducting documentary analysis, interviewing all the selected respondents and, designing, distributing and analyzing the responses from the questionnaires, require a lot of time to be effectively done. It might force the researcher to put aside any other activity as the research process is executed. References Coates SW, et al. (Eds). (2003). September 11: Trauma and Human Bonds. Craig, L. Brians, Lars Wi. Empirical Political Analysis for Ashford University Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, Conducting, and Eighth Edition. Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Upper Saddle for Ashford University 5th Edition. Hoge, J.F. & Rose, G. (2005). Understanding the War on Terror. New York: Issues. 3rd Edition. Land, I. (Ed). (2010) Enemies of humanity : the nineteenth-century war on Matters 75 (1): 20–21. Monahan, T. (2009). The Murky World of 'Fusion Centres'. Criminal Justice New York: Taylor and Francis, Inc. Norton. Paul, C. Ethics of War and Peace, The: An Introduction to Legal and Moral Paul. M. & M.T. Hank. Homeland Security: Principles and Practice of River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Terrorism Response. terrorism. New York: Macmillan. Viotti, R. & Kaupp, M.V. International Relations and Politics, VitalSource Read More