Criminological Research Surpasses the Mere Act of

¶ … criminological research surpasses the mere act of searching and viewing material on a topic and writing an expressive paper. Before research is conducted, it is important to fully grasp and comprehend what it is that needs to be research, why it would be researched, why if it at all it has been researched, and how it may be performed. Types of research that can be performed are basic, multipurpose, or applied. The purpose for research is usually to gain information or knowledge.

This information might be predictive, explanatory, intervening, or descriptive in nature. All research follows basic steps. These steps can be interpreted in a variety ways, but normally follow the same structure, form hypothesis, state hypothesis, collect data, review and record results or conclusion. Fitzgerald, Cox, & Fitzgerald, 2002, p. 124). Different methods of inquiry help gather the data for the research. Reasoning, causal (observation), deduction, induction, and the scientific method are all ways to conduct scientific methods of research inquiry (Graziano & Raulin, 2013, p. 12).

Reasoning based inquiries use logical order and establish methods to solve real world problems such: "People want the streets to be safer, what are police and law enforcement doing to decrease criminal activity?" Using the reasoning that police and law enforcement are responsible for public safety, the method helps establish an order of what causes or does what through reasoning and then establishes how to prove it. Causal inquiry utilizes observations and generalization to formulate and construct theories.

An example would be a police officer seeing a woman crying in near a man. He might observe and assume she is a domestic abuse victim. Continual observance or interviewing can help confirm or dismiss the hypothesis. Inductive methods of inquiry involve the researcher observing an event, making empirical generalizations concerning said activity, and then constructing a theory based on these observations.

An example of this would be a police officer observing illegal immigrants shoplifting and then making generalizations of shoplifters being illegal immigrants and constructing a theory that illegal immigrants shoplift because they do not fear criminal action against them from the United States. Deductive inquiry is the opposite in that the hypotheses is created first and then observations help to form generalizations. These generalizations help form conclusions and help in modification of the original theory. An example would be Probation officers appear to have high rates of reoffenders.

Then after observing a working parole officer / probation officer, the theory can change to parole officer's choices often affect whether or not a criminal reoffends. Lastly, the scientific method of inquiry attempts to gain information objectively and attempt to perceive a need or an issue to form a hypothesis. An example would be: The Scientific Method 1. Identify the problem or research question. This could be anything from as broad as racial profiling to as specific as crime rates of re-offenders.

The question or problem should be identified as some information or knowledge that is needed or desired to clarify or identify. This helps to generate focus and awareness of current or past issues. 2. Reviewing the literature serves as a big part of the paper because it serves to provide gaps in information, what is current or traditional, and what new information is being researched or investigated. Reviewing acts as the mechanism for inquiry and serves to guide the writer to how they want to pursue the research topic.

A good example of this would be: Look for comparable studies that have been performed or articles that discuss the problem or question. 3. Clarify the issue or question, more importantly, identify the goal or purpose of the study. This step not only allows for clarification for the reader, but it also helps to narrow the focus even further to allow the writer to understand which direction he or she wishes to take.

An example of this would be: The purpose of the study is to determine if minorities are arrested more than whites, especially in certain areas, due to racial profiling. This not only explains the direction the writer wants to go, it also allows for uncertainty and awareness of the issue. 4. Clearly define concepts and terms in order to increase understanding and make the research more organized, easier to read, and easier to interpret.

If a research paper has several terms and words that most people won't understand, it detracts from the paper and makes people less willing to continue. 5. Defining the population allows for specific objectives and outcomes. If the study requires a particular group to observe, they must be clearly defined. An example would be: Black men who have been.