Communicating Qualitative Research Analysis

Qualitative research is different from quantitative research methodologies on the premise that it does not rely on numerical data. Qualitative research rely on text and image since it's a type of scientific research that seeks to provide contextual descriptions of the experiences of people regarding as specific research issue. In most cases, qualitative research methods are considered suitable in identifying intangible factors through a scientific inquiry such as socioeconomic status, religion, social norms, and ethnicity (College of Computer and Information Science, n.d.). In this regard, there are several aspects that distinguish qualitative research writing, which are brought by specific designs, steps of analysis, and data collection procedures. An understanding of these aspects of qualitative research writing helps in enhancing the effectiveness of the research process and research findings.

In his discussion on qualitative research procedures, Creswell (2014) proposes ten aspects that differentiate qualitative research writing from other research methodologies. These ten aspects relate to different elements in qualitative writing including research design, data collection, sampling strategy, data analysis, and data coding. One of the most salient aspects that distinguish qualitative research writing is the researcher's role in the study and how it may shape interpretations in the research. This is one of the most outstanding aspects of qualitative research because the researcher acts as an instrument. As compared to other research methodologies, qualitative research places the researcher at the center of data collection processes. This essentially means that the researcher is the instrument through which data is collected in an objective and unbiased manner (Roller & Lavrakas, 2015). The second salient aspect that distinguishes qualitative research writing is whether there is evidence that the researcher has arranged the data for analysis is a suitable manner. Unlike other approaches, data analysis does not follow a straight line, but is a multi-faceted, involved procedure that continues develops upon itself in order to realize a meaningful and verifiable interpretation (Roller & Lavrakas, 2015). Given the messy nature of data analysis in qualitative research, organizing data for analysis is crucial towards the realization of verifiable and meaningful interpretation. The final salient aspect of qualitative research is whether the codes have been developed to create a description and/or identify themes or patterns (Creswell, 2014). This is an important aspect because themes and patterns are the basis for results of the qualitative research writing. The data coding process is geared towards developing themes and patterns, which can in turn be utilized to generate reliable conclusions regarding the issue under investigation.

The evaluation and interpretation of criminal justice data and research findings is a process that is geared towards making judgments relating to the suitability, effectiveness, and efficiency of programs or initiatives in the criminal justice field. Research in the criminal justice field is geared towards providing assessment and analysis of crime and offer strategies for reducing crime (Garrison, 2009). Therefore, during the evaluation and interpretation of criminal justice data and research findings, it's important to consider several important aspects, especially in qualitative research writing. The salient aspects that distinguish qualitative research writing relate to evaluation and interpretation of criminal data and research findings.

First, the researcher's role in the study and how it may shape interpretations is crucial when evaluating and interpreting criminal justice data and research findings because it influences the conclusions obtained from the research. Since criminal justice research entails examining human behavior and social phenomena, the researcher role is crucial because his/her historical, social, personal connections and cultural experiences influences understanding of human behavior in relation to crime and crime reduction strategies. Therefore, the consideration of the researcher's role helps in ensuring that reliable findings are generated to formulate effective criminal justice policies and practices. The suitable arrangement of data for analysis relates to criminal justice research because evaluation and interpretation of criminal justice data and research findings entails transforming theoretical concepts into operational definitions (Martin, Cohen & Champion, 2013). The organization of data for analysis helps in transforming theoretical concepts in qualitative criminal justice research into operational definitions. The data coding process relates to evaluation and interpretation of criminal justice data and research findings with regards to identifying themes and patterns of crime and how to reduce crime.