Category: Writing

Find the website for the online Journal of Mixed Methods
Research (http://mmr.sagepub.com). On the home page, click the button “Current
Issue.” When the table of contents for the current issue comes up, click on the
abstracts for three of the articles, and for each article, write down two or
more methods that the authors used to conduct their research. Were any methods
used in more than one study? Were there any methods you had never heard of
before?

Find a research article that used both qualitative and
quantitative research data (you can find articles on the Student Study Site:
http://edge.sagepub.com/bachmanprccj7e). Make a list of the ways that you think
the collection of qualitative data enhanced the findings and interpretations of
quantitative data. Try to find some potential interpretations of the
quantitative data that would have been incorrect if it were not for the
additional insights garnered from the qualitative data.
Developing a Research Proposal

Think of at least three areas of criminological research
where you believe much research has been done —for example, understanding why
some people engage in crime. Where are you likely to find such studies? You may
wish to start by looking on ERIC, in JSTOR, and in Criminal Justice Abstracts—
whichever data base your library has. Do a literature search for this
substantive area of inquiry with the words and mixed methods to find out about
recent research on the topic that has utilized mixed methods. What do you find?
Did mixing methods enhance the findings?

Some research projects use an inverted pyramid
data-collection strategy, with broad, quantitative measures gathered from a
large population on top, narrowing to more intensive qualitative measures
(focus groups, individual interviews) with a smaller subset of the population
at the bottom. Design a research project that resembles such an inverted
pyramid, showing what measures and what sample size and research subjects you
would use at each level of the design.

The NCVS has been conducted for many years using roughly
the same measures. For this reason, it is an excellent tool for tracking trends
over time. To begin with, let’s look at this theory: Some criminologists have
suggested that as women enter the workforce and adopt more traditionally
masculine roles, they also engage in other traditionally masculine behaviors—in
particular, they will be more likely to commit crimes!
1. To test this assertion, we’ll check whether assault
victims report a male or a female offender at different rates over time. To do
this select: graphs->legacy dialogues->line->simple. Then put the
variable year in the Category Axis box. In the “line represents” area, select
“other statistic” and insert the variable maleoff into the box that lights up.
Then select OK.
1. What is the general trend over time? The Y axis can be
multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of offenders who are male.
2. Do these results support the theory presented above?
3. Look carefully at the scale of your graph. How large are
these changes that have occurred over time?

The Manhattan Bail Project randomly assigned some defendants
with strong community ties to be recommended for release without bail and some
not to be recommended. There was a very high (99%) rate of appearance at trial
for those released without bail, but of course, the researchers did not know
that this would be the case before they conducted the study. Would you consider
this study design ethical? What if one of the persons in the 1% who did not
come to trial murdered someone when he should have been at court? Are there any
conditions when randomization should not be permitted when evaluating criminal
justice programs?

1. List the primary components of qualitative data analysis
strategies. Compare and contrast each of these components with those relevant
to quantitative data analysis. What are the similarities and differences? What
differences do these make?
2. Does qualitative data analysis result in trustworthy
results—in findings that achieve the goal of authenticity? Why would anyone
question its use? What would you reply to the doubters?

D1 measures delinquency differently than the
interval/ratio-level variable called delinquency. Is the variable D1
appropriate for use in an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis? Why
or why not? If you have been taught them, consider how it will or will not meet
different assumptions of OLS.