Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime - Case Study Example

Case Study Report Assessment 3 Location Case Study Report Assessment 3 This report compares andcontrasts two research papers, which are, Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women, and the ‘Fear of Crime’. The report analyzes the research approaches and data collection methods used by both papers, and ethical issues addressed in the research. Finally, the report will make a conclusion and reflect on the overall strengths and weaknesses of both papers. Heading/ Title Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article is written by Karen A. Snedker and published in the year 2015. The article analyzes the sex differences in fear of crime levels by analyzing the differences in the fear of crime in urban environments. The main aim of this article is to find out the perceived conditions in a neighborhood the influences the difference in risk assessments between men and women. In turn, this explains the differences in fear of crime between the genders. The main question addressed by this article is how women and men’s perspective of neighborhood risks reflect on the fear of crime. Data for this report comes from the Bureau of Justice Statistics “Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 United States Cities” (CVPCS). Women and The ‘Fear of Crime’ is an article written by Elizabeth Gilchrist, Jon Bannister, Jason Ditton, and Stephen Farral, and is published in 1998. It tries to rescue men and women from the condescension of stereotypography. It tries to illustrate conditions under which some men are enveloped by fear and conditions where women avoid fear. The research addresses the questions as to whether men and women talk about fear of crime in the same way and if they weigh it at the same level. Results from this article indicate that people who have high worry about crime, explain this by making reference to their victimization experiences and because they consider victimization likely. Both these articles look at the perception of crime based on gender. However, A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article assumes that women are generally afraid of crime as compared to men. It further explains that this is because they are highly vulnerable. On the other hand, Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ is an article shows similarities between men’s and women’s perception of crime and victimization. It shows similarities between their fears about crime. Approach Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article uses the pragmatic approach to research or the mixed method. This approach has been used in this method to help getting information about what other researchers say about the topic and compare it with the data collected in the study. This is useful in getting multiple perspectives to enhance the research and to increase the understanding of the problem. This method has its strengths and weaknesses. One of the most common strength is that it combines both the qualitative and quantitative research. In this article, the research uses a qualitative study to give readers an opportunity to get details that outline the problem. The research then uses the qualitative tool in the form of a survey from Bureau of Justice Statistics that validates the data observation made in the qualitative phase ((Snedker, 2015: 50). It helps to define and explore the problem and potential solutions. However, this approach has the weakness of this method is the difficulties in combining two types of data, which, can reduce the quality of data collected. Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ use the qualitative approach. The approach has been used in this study because it helps to get a complex and rich understanding of the topic. This method has the strength of allowing the issue to be examined in depth and detail. However, it has the weakness of being easily influenced by the researcher’s idiosyncrasies and biases. Data Collection Methods The data collection method used in the Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article include analysis of past research done by Fisher and May in 2009 and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. This method was chosen because to date there is no study or multicity study of this magnitude has been done. This method has the strength of reducing the time taken by the researcher to collect and analyze data. It also gives the researcher a chance to compare data from different sources to make a more accurate conclusion. However, this method has a high risk of inaccuracy because data from previous researches can be outdated and inaccurate. The data collection method used in the article Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ is interviews that included men and women. The method was used to increase the accuracy of data collected. Responses from the atypical group were compared with that from the stereotypical group to determine the fear levels between men and women (Gilchrist, 1998: 286). The strength of this technique, it increases the accuracy of data collected about ways men and women perceive fear. However, this method has the weakness being limited by the sample size. Sampling In Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article data was collected 12 United States Cities. The study involved collecting information related to criminal perceptions, satisfaction, and victimization with police. The survey used random digital dialling that increases the accuracy of data collected. This method reduces the risk of being biased because samples from each population are taken, which in turn, increases the reliability of data. The disadvantage of this method is that taking data from a big population will consume too much time. For example, analysis of data from twelve cities is expected to be time-consuming because of the huge amount of data collected. In the Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ article, data was collected from 64 qualitative interviews that included equal number of women and men in Glasgrow. This was after a short interview that involved 168 people who were placed in one of the four categories. These were produced by two dimensions that included risk and fear and described as either high or low. The 64 respondents were selected from four different housing areas namely outlying affluent, inner-city affluent, inner-city poor, and outlying poor. The type of sampling used in this research is stratified sampling method according to four different housing areas. The sampling procedure was appropriate for this study because it helps to illustrate conditions under which some men are enveloped by fear and conditions where women avoid fear (Gilchrist, 1998: 284). Stratified sample has the risk of affecting the reliability of the findings in terms of the accuracy of data collected. It is because, unlike random samples, samples can be chosen in favor of a particular outcome. Access and Ethics Ethical concerns in these study considered during the studies include confidentiality, anonymity, informed consent, and honesty. This is according to ethical guidelines that expect that at the start of the data collection process, there was an informed consent from respondents. This includes informing participants about what the study is about and what is expected from them. This also includes making them aware that their participation is on a voluntary basis and, therefore, they have the option of declining to participate in the study without any form of penalty. It is also according to the guideline that expects confidentiality and anonymity. This is by protecting the identity of the participants by not including the name of the participants in the questionnaires. To show the researcher’s commitment to maintaining confidentiality and anonymity, there is usually a written acknowledgment on the questionnaire. Honesty is the very crucial ethical responsibility in any research. This is by avoiding manipulation of data and by recording true information of respondents. Conclusion Both Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article and Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ talk about how both ganders perceive crime. They have been able to bring out critical issues that influence their fear of crime. For an instant, Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women article clearly shows how perceived conditions in a neighborhood the influences the difference in risk assessments between men and women. In turn, this explains the differences in fear of crime between the genders. On the other hand, Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ try to illustrate conditions under which some men are enveloped by fear and conditions where women avoid fear. The findings from the two articles are highly reliable because of the data collection methods used, which give high chances of producing accurate information. The data collection method used in the Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women uses a method that gives the researcher a chance to compare data from different sources to make more accurate conclusion. The article Women and the ‘Fear of Crime’ are interviews which increases the accuracy of data collected. References List Gilchrist, Et. Al, 1998. Women and The ‘Fear of Crime’. Brit. J. Criminol, 38(2), pp. pp. 283-298. Snedker, K., 2015. Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime: A Reconsideration of Sex Differences and Women. Crime & Delinquency, Volume 61 (1), pp. Pg. 45-70. Read More