The use of statistics

The most effective strategy for governments and nations to secure the safety of their citizens is to use statistics to solve criminal issues. Technology development has made criminal activity more sophisticated, necessitating the employment of sophisticated statistical analysis techniques to stop it. Through the use of sophisticated methods for gathering and analyzing criminal data in order to have a full information that can help criminal investigation departments in making the right decisions, the available technology has provided a means for the implementation of criminal justice. Countries with a robust criminal justice system possess a wide range of statistical analysis methods that assist in extensive data research on crimes, socio-economic issues as well as the political profile of the nation. During data research, vibrant analysis techniques are crucial in order to transform the collected data into a form that can aid in policy making and implementation. A wide range of methods of data collection and analysis are used in criminal research including qualitative and quantitative methods

Survey Research and Data Collection Testing: Criminal Justice

Introduction

There are various survey techniques and methods employed in criminal justice. Some of these are In-person surveys, telephone surveys, computer-based surveys, focus group surveys among others. Others may include mail surveys and field surveys. All these methods are critically by governments and other criminal justice institutions in gathering information related to crime and justice. These techniques fall into two categories; those that have directs contact with people or clients like the in-person and field surveys, and the second category involves those which have indirect contact with people including the computer-based and telephone surveys. Collecting data related to criminal justice is critical and so the implementation of some of these methods is backed up with extreme level of integrity and research knowledge in order to gather information that is useful for making decision

The in-person or rather the face-to-face survey method is the most applied method of collecting data in criminal justice researchers. The method has a number of advantages which makes it more reliable and effective. One merit is that it is accurate. The face-to-face survey provided first-hand information that is more accurate than any other form of data collection. There is a sense in which face-to-face interview provides no room for the person being interviewed to lie or alter information. The interviewee is psychologically put into an enclosed cage where he or she cannot run away from and the only option available it to say the truth (Schmalleger et al. 2014). The other advantage is this method is able to capture the interviewees’ non-verbal cues. Apart from the verbal cues, the interviewer is able to note and identify the body language of the person being interviewed and this is paramount in reading the mind of the individual. Body languages provide more information in addition to the oral data. Another advantage is that this method keeps the interviewee focused. During the face-to-face survey, the interviewer gains control over the interviewee and so he or she is able to control and manage the interviewees’ emotions and behaviors in a manner that will give more information. It keeps the interviewee focused on the topic of concern and providing relevant data.

Some of the disadvantages of in-person survey method include first it is costly (Maxfield & Babbie, 2014). This technique requires an individual or a group of experts who are excellent in gathering information in relation to criminal justice. These experts have to be compensated for extracting the data that is needed. The other disadvantage is that the quality of data obtained will depend on the interviewer’s skills. The interviewers are the ones who influence the kind of data to be collected. Some of these ways include lack of persuasion and biases. The interviewer may not be too much interested in gathering a lot of information and hence may decide to stop. The technique is also slow due to manual entry. The data obtained via in-person survey will have to be entered or written manually and this makes the process slow and tiresome.

The second method is the telephone surveys. This method uses the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) which is a computer program that aids in data collection by use of a telephone (Blowers & Doerner, 2015).Advantages of telephone survey include that the method can be used people over a long distance. This is safe normally for people who are nervous about the face-to-face method. The method is also cost effective. It does not require heavy investment as compared to the in-person survey. The quality of data obtained is also high depending on the types of questions used as well as the attitude of the interviewee. Disadvantages include as compared to the face-to-face method, this technique cannot help one identify the body language of the interviewee as the two are not in direct physical contact and hence that might affect the quality of data obtained. There is no room for persuasion or extracting data beyond which is required.

Computer-based survey. This method is also referred to as online survey. One major advantage is that the process is automated (Blowers & Doerner, 2015). The respondents are allowed to enter the required data which is then stored in form of electronic data. This method is not widely used in criminal justice researchers as compared to the telephone and in-person methods. This method is fast, saves time because it is automatic, not a manual process. It is more cost-effective as compared to both face-to-face and telephone methods. This survey method is also user-friendly and convenient. It provides room for the respondents to provide answers to their own time and pace. Some of the disadvantages are that it requires internet access which might not be available in some regions. Another one is that there is not the physical presence of the interviewer. This provides an opportunity for the respondents to provide altered, change and untrue data.

Focus group surveys. This is a new technique in criminal research. It happens in some form of a group of participants who are selected to discuss a particular topic. One advantage is that it provides more accurate data more closely to the face-to-face method. It enables a collective contribution of ideas from a range of participants. The researcher is then expected to extract the useful information from the contributed ideas. The method is expensive and time-consuming. The moderator of the discussion may be biased to some individuals and this can affect the quality of the information gathered.

Sampling technique is also included as a form of data collection. This is where that small samples are identified to represent the whole population. One of the main advantages of sampling is that it gives the approximate estimate of the whole population data.

The data obtained from sampling method is a reflection of the parameters of the whole population (Blowers & Doerner, 2015). Sampling is also used in research to save time and cost. Instead of investing so heavily in trying to collect data from every individual which requires a lot of time to finish, the researchers can select a small group of individuals from the population. And the selection of the sample is done in such a way that there is uniform representation. Random sampling is the most used form of sampling in criminal research, where few individual is selected randomly from the region of concern. The data obtained is treated to be a wholesome representation of every individual in that region.

Reliability and validity of data are key parameters in criminal justice research. Reliability simply refers to the degree in which a given type of a research tool is able to produce and deliver a reliable and consistent outcome (Maxfield & Babbie, 2014). Types of reliabilities include; Test-retest reliability where a research tool is used twice over a given period of time to a number of individuals in order to gather as more accurate data as possible; Parallel forms reliability the use of various research tools on the same number of individuals. The data obtained by the two tools are then compared for accuracy and consistency; Inter-rater reliability normally employs the use of different people who are required to give an opinion with regard to a particular issue. There is much important to ensure data collection methods remain reliable and that gather data that is substantive and consistent.

Validity refers to how good a research tool is able to collect data which it is intended to collect Maxfield & Babbie, 2014). (Validity does not operate on its own. It goes hand in hand with reliability. A research too has to be reliable for it to prove to be valid. Types of validity include face validity which is based on the face-value of a tool. The research method is measured alongside other methods. Another type is the construct validity where the main focus is to measure how accurate a method is in performing its intended purpose. Research methods and tools ought to be valid. It is validity that ensures that data collected is error-free and reliable. Analysis methods also must be valid to ensure that the decision made with regard to the results obtained in right. There is also the sampling validity. This is a measure of how effective a sampling technique is with respect to a collection of accurate and intended information.

Conclusion

According to the United Nations constitution, the availability of criminal justice statistics is bound to the functions of the system of criminal justice. This system is made of four chief components which are the courts, police, prosecutors, and prisons. There are other sub-divisions that form a complex system that deals with crime investigation and research. Data in criminal justice is gathered basically in the process of investigation. During this process, it is crucial to note who the intended user of the information and for what purpose. The UN constitution the conduct of a good analysis of criminal data must involve the consideration of the profile of the suspects or offenders, the incidence of a crime itself, the characteristics of the suspects among other parameters.

References

Blowers, A. N., & Doerner, J. K. (2015, November). The Impact of Age In The Criminal Justice

System: Research Findings and Policy Implications. In Gerontologist (Vol. 55, Pp. 439-

439). Journals Dept., 2001 Evans Rd, Cary, NC 27513 USA: Oxford Univ Press Inc.2015

Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2014). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology.

Nelson Education.

Schmalleger, F., Donaldson, S., Kashiwahara, K., Koppal, T., Chase, S., Brown, A., & Marash, D.

(2014). Criminal justice today. Prentice Hall