Research Design and Ethical Issues
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Research Design and Ethical Issues
Research models that can reflect it used in criminal justice research.
Research models in criminal justice refer to researchers’ various procedural efforts to achieve certain predetermined objectives. These models mostly reflect influenced by the nature of the research studies undertaken by the different agents within the criminal justice department. Similarly, the different research models also contrast various aspects, including the overall cost of the research process, the technicality of the research model, and the outcome or the results of the research. Moreover, several factors are considered and deeply analyzed before a given research model is adopted to facilitate the whole research process. The effectiveness of the research models also depends on its application in the most appropriate research study.
Different research models can engage used in criminal justice research. One of the models is the descriptive research model. This research model mainly focuses on finding facts about the existing conditions relating to any of the three criminal justice departments, law enforcement, court system, and the correctional systems. Descriptive research models also focus on providing information and inquire about the given state of affairs. Similarly, some of the methods utilized in this research models include surveys, and other comparative and correlation method techniques.
Besides, another research model in criminal justice relates to the exploratory research model. In this model, the different researchers within the criminal justice department tend to study the topics and fields where limited, or no information has detailed documented about the same. Additionally, this research model is also applied in criminal justice when the researcher has specific distrust on some of the outcomes or information previously documented about a given research topic (Withrow, 2016).
Also, qualitative research models are another research model that can engage users in criminal justice. This research model solely focuses on the subjective assessment of opinions and the typical behavior of the research subject related to the criminal justice perspective. On the other hand, the quantitative research model also engages used in criminal justice that aligns itself with the experimental and inferential research methods. It mostly establishes the numbers behind the different research studies.
Type of research model you feel is most compatible and provide an example to support your choice.
I feel that the most compatible type of research model used in criminal justice is the qualitative research model. Several reasons support the choice of this research model. One of the reasons incurs to the effectiveness of the model in analyzing the different opinions, attitudes, and perceptions of human subjects that are common in various research within the criminal justice field. An example to support this choice relates to a study on the different factors that influence criminal behaviors among young adults living in the minority populations within the suburban regions of the United States of America. This model can correctly assess the criminal behaviors and opinions of the general public subjectively within the regions.
Why ethics are important in criminal justice research and its examples
Ethics relates to the codes of conduct that mainly distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Some of these ethics are universal. They apply to all organizations and institutions within different professions. In reflection, some ethics are specific to each organization. Thereby govern the conduct of employees within the organization and their relations to the outside community, including the clients.
Similarly, ethics are essential in criminal justice research for several reasons. One of the reasons incurs to the fact that ethics enables most researchers within criminal justice to achieve their research goals and objectives. The ethics act as enablers in facilitating and coordinating the different efforts that play a critical role in ensuring the research goals and objectives entails achieved at the optimal rate. An example relates to good financial ethics, while facilitating a research program that provides the whole research process meets the financial goals and remains within the allocated budget scope (Roberts, 2018).
Additionally, ethics are also important in criminal justice as they aid in ensuring proper relations exist and engage maintained between the researcher and the respective research subjects. Proper relationships among the research team members and between the team and human research subjects are crucial to ensuring a successful study specifically within criminal justice. For example, respect, an example of a productive work ethic, fosters good work relations among colleagues and other partners vital to the research process.
Furthermore, ethics in criminal justice are also vital as they actively prevent violation of rights and contract terms of the parties involved in the research process. The abuse of these rights and contract terms could result in subsequent legal suits that prove to be drawbacks in facilitating and achieving effective research processes. Therefore, maintaining ethics in criminal justice research will prevent such occurrences. An example incurs to the ethics that ensure the welfare of research subjects, particularly the human subjects, are not violated.
Informed consent and confidentiality, and why are they essential. Provide examples.
Informed consent refers to the permissions granted by an individual in full knowledge of the possible consequences that relate to the matter at hand. Individuals incur given more profound insights into the potential effects of participating in a given research program before deciding whether or not to participate in the research. The permission may also relate to the researcher’s information by the research subject of any other party involved in the research study. On the other hand, confidentiality describes keeping information shared by an individual, particularly during criminal justice research private without disclosing the information to other entities unless under certain specific conditions.
Confidentiality and informed consent are essential in criminal justice in several ways. One way incurs to maintaining proper relations between two parties that are working together to achieve specific goals. It is one of the steps towards developing trust that is important in building healthy work relations. Also, informed consent provides individuals with adequate information that enables them to make a voluntary decision on participating in the research. For example, trust is likely to grow between individuals who are open to each other on various issues. That is what the informed consent offers to the different research parties (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2018).
Similarly, informed consent and confidentiality are some of the most important ethics that ensure that individuals’ civil rights entail not violated when participating in criminal justice research or any other type of research. The United States Constitution requires that all participants of a given program reflect provided with adequate information about the program. Moreover, the privacy and confidentiality of the information shared during the research process should not engage disclosed unless on specific occasions and after the permission is granted by the relevant authorities. Confidentiality and informed consent are also crucial since they help build a good reputation to the general public about the organization. For instance, a research subject may file a legal suit against researchers who disclose personal information without consent.
A criminal justice topic, program, or process that has ethical concerns. Recommend how the moral concern may engage addressed.
Mental illness and crime are some of the criminal justice topics that have ethical concerns. One of the most common ethical concerns in this topic incurs to the confidentiality of the information shared by the people living with mental illness that subsequently result in criminal activities and behaviors. Technically, when researching or analyzing victims of these mental illnesses, private and confidential information about the individual is usually disclosed and shared.
In reflection, I would recommend that the various professionals handling such issues, whether in the field of work or research, should never disclose such information unless permission is granted by the individual or by the court of law. It represents one way to address ethical concerns (Roberts, 2018).
Reference
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., & DeJong, C. (2018). The American system of criminal justice. Cengage
Learning.
Roberts, J. (2018). Public opinion, crime, and criminal justice. Routledge.
Withrow, B. L. (2016). Research methods in crime and justice. Taylor & Francis.