Assignment: Research Designs
STUDENT REPLIES
STUDENT REPLY #1 Mirrett Benta
In most cases, researchers in the criminal justice system are faced with making statements about entire populations. However, it is not feasible and possible to include every member of the population. Therefore, samples must be chosen to represent the population. Proper collection of samples can be made about a population with a high confidence level from small samples. Different techniques have been developed in ensuring that a sample represents the overall population, and generalizations can be made. In this regard, the sampling method I selected is simple random sampling. Schutt & Bachman (2014) explain that this method entails selecting a sample from a larger population in a manner that every individual member of the population is represented.
Simple random sampling is simple, and there is a lack of bias. It is much less complicated and involves random selection of individuals and no additional steps (Acharya et al., 2013). Also, given that individuals that make up the sample are chosen randomly, every individual in the large population has the same probability of being selected. This creates a subset that has a great potential for representing the larger group as a whole.
On the contrary, the method is time-consuming and makes it difficult to access lists of the full population. When the full list of the larger population is lacking, information must be gathered from other sources. Recreating a full list of a larger population from smaller subsets takes time to complete. For an accurate statistical measure of a large population to be obtained using this method, there has to be a full list of the entire population. However, gaining access to the whole list can present challenges such as privacy concerns making it difficult to access the list of the entire population.
In criminal justice research, I would use this method to study non-violent felony offenders taken to drug court to treat heroin addiction. The total number of graduates in 2015 is 50, and I am interested in sampling 20. The simple random sampling method will help me in choosing the 20. I will number the graduates from 1 to 50 and go to the random number generator. The sample of 20 will represent the entire population of 50 graduates in 2015.
References
Acharya, A., Prakash, A., Saxena, P., & Nigam, A. (2013). Sampling: Why and How of
it?. Indian Journal Of Medical Specialities, 4(2), 330-333.
Schutt, R., & Bachman, R. (2014). Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal
Justice (7th ed.). SAGE.
STUDENT REPLY
STUDENT REPLY #2 Rayjeem Williams
Non-probability sampling techniques are the best to me because I think it’s always best to have an understanding who what others are going through. When trying to connect with others and their situations it’s always best to put yourself in their shoes which will give you an understanding of either who they are, what issues they are having, or both. Snowball sampling is a great method with research because it puts the researcher in touch with a bigger audience who could be of some assistance to the research being done. Snowball sampling is used to recruit participants through other participants. Some strengths of snowball sampling is the referrals making it easy and quicker to find reliable subjects, and another great strength is the cost being effective due to the referrals being obtained from current participants in the data source. Two downfalls of snowball sampling is the participants that are referred having bias opinions and considerably a lot of lack of cooperation. With the opportunity for first participants to refer someone there is a high chance for them to choose someone who has very similar traits which doesn’t give the researcher enough conclusive results to provide a good research. Also just because participants refer someone does not always mean they are aware that they were volunteered and that they will participate willing. If I had to use snowball sampling in some criminal justice research I would use it for the individuals who are not directly involved within the criminal justice system like older individuals who does not have a record but admittedly talks about certain criminal activities such as drugs or maybe even petty theft. Snowball sampling is good to get data from individuals who have experience escaping the system in which many would like to know the tricks.
PROFESSOR REPLY
PROFESSOR QUESTION #3 what is the reason for not allowing the data between groups to overlap?
YOUR ANSWER BELOW TO THE QUESTION HE IS ASKING AT THE TOP^^^^^^^^
Stratified Random Sampling
I would use stratified random sampling, a probabilistic sampling method, to research high rates of substance abuse. Stratified sampling is a technique of sampling that entails population division into smaller sub-groups called strata (Zhao et al., 2019). The strata formation is relative to members’ shared characteristics or attributes such as educational attainment or income. After dividing the population into groups, the researcher randomly chose the sample proportionally. The strata should be distinct, and the data must not overlap. The method allows researchers to attain a sample population that appropriately represents the whole study population.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One advantage of the research method is that if the rehabilitation centers require improvements, research information could be a step in the appropriate direction to address any underlying problems. Another advantage is that it ensures every subgroup in the population gets proper representation in the sample. In this case, the technique offers better population coverage as the researchers have a mandate over the subgroups to facilitate the representation of all substance abusers and community members in the sampling. On the other hand, one of the technique’s disadvantages is that the researcher must meet several conditions for its proper use. For instance, a researcher should identify study population members and classify every one of them into only a single subpopulation. Another disadvantage is the participants’ refusal to offer accurate information during the research. For instance, failing to gather information face to face taints results.
Use
Stratified random sampling would help in obtaining information concerning drug abuse in the United States. My data collection form would be using surveys to gather information from community members and substance abusers in rehabilitation centers. In this case, I would use the research method for finding the general effectiveness, explanation, or applicability of the existing drug policies or programs.
Reference
Zhao, X., Liang, J., & Dang, C. (2019). A stratified sampling based clustering algorithm for large-scale data. Knowledge-Based Systems, 163, 416-428.