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Dissertation Review
Chapter One Review
Having read and reviewed this dissertation produced by William George Bumphus III on
the given research topic of religion and its effect on reducing prison recidivism, chapter one
provides a general overview on the research study. The author presents the purpose statement for
this study that agrees with the topic of choice. As with all dissertation outlines, the author makes
sure to highlight several elements of the problem, like the background, the author personal
relationship to the problem, the statement, purpose, significance, and research questions. As it
pertains to the research problem background, the author states statistical data on the increase of
prison population over a thirty-year period in the United States. The data presented from peer-
reviewed and government sources shows that this author have shown significant evidence to why
the study is needed. This background helps to guide the flow of the research to the problem
statement, as it clearly provides a framework for why the research topic is both necessary and
beneficial to the author’s readers.
The purpose statement given begins to add more depth into the research topic and shapes
the focus of his work. He clearly provides the who, what, why, and how, setting the stage for the
purpose and its succession to a viable outcome. The purpose as stated, in understanding the lived
experiences of prisoners who found Christianity and how after release, did not reoffend, drives
the researcher of this dissertation to explore and gain insight in building a successful faith-based
program to help support incarcerated individual’s re-entry into society. It is clear that the author
wanted to make the distinction between prisoners released who do not re-offend who found
Christ inside the penal system from those who not only found, but maintained their faith once
released back into society.
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The author makes known the theoretical, theological, practical, and empirical aspects
found in chapter one of his research dissertation. The author notes that there are data to support
that most, if not, many, incarcerated individuals tend to find and cling on some level or form of
faith inside the penal system. The author highlights several research questions to help guide the
study by focusing on questions related to Christian programming and those who did no re-
offend, as well as the circumstances surrounding why many did re-offend. The main question
that relates to the problem previously given, seeks to answer can Christian programming inside
the penal system help aid in reducing the recidivism rate is clear. By Christian programming, the
author makes known not just routine behavior to pass the time, but a lifestyle changes in one’s
behavior that carries over to those released back into society. With each research question posed,
and the delimitation of the study stated, readers have a clear heading on where the author seeks
to guide the study further. Does the Christian faith play a critical role in the lives of prisoner
released back into society as a motivator to change their lives for the better? What about those
who reject the faith, yet are motivated to make a positive life change by not re-offending? The
author makes clear that the later does not impact the former line of questioning. Each participant
in the study understood that the author focus was on the religious aspects of individuals whose
faith played a role during and after sentencing.
Chapter Two Review
In chapter two, the author presents his readers with an overview of the literature review
for the research study. He reminds his audience on the problem and research design from the
previous chapter, that the focus of faith-based programming both inside and outside of the penal
system plays a role in reducing the recidivism rate. Following this brief introduction, the author
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transitions into the theological framework. The author does well to present several scriptural
references that addresses the pertinent issues at hand, mainly, the correlation between
transformation and reconciliation. By highlighting verses that speaks on what it means to be a
new creation in Christ and how we are to treat others, in this context, prisoners, the author
establishes the importance of theology and practice. As a result, it is this writer’s opinion that the
author of this research provided sufficient theological evidence to address his research topic.
Some of the major theological elements the author addressed consisted of the following:
transformation process, new creation in Christ, reconciliation, Christian fellowship.
Theoretically, the author addressed the following: faith-based interventions, recidivism and
reintegration, reintegration, and prison fellowship model. These elements and more that were
addressed later in the study provided a clear picture to the reader to follow the logic behind the
concept being presented.
The author makes it clear from his literature research that not all prisoners will benefit
from a faith-based program, nor does it guarantee that if one does join a faith-based program
while being incarcerated is guaranteed to not re-offend. The point the author seeks to make
known is that as more faith-based programs become available within the penal system, those
who choose to participate have a higher chance of being rehabilitated and thus, reducing the risk
of recidivism in America overall. Therefore, this fills in any gaps in the research that may
suggest otherwise as the theory behind the study is shaped by the literature.
Chapter Three Review
Chapter three introduces us to the author’s research design and methodology. Here we begin to
witness more unfolding of the problem, purpose statement, and research questions in this
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qualitative research design. Also noted in this chapter are the sections to which the author
highlights the setting, participants, roles of the researcher, ethical considerations, data collection
methods, collection methods, instrumentations and more. Given the type of research questions
given, they fit the design selected by the author, which is the qualitative research design.
Participants selected for the study indicates the population and sampling size discussed in detail.
The author took time to indicate the criteria for each participant and their locales. The reader
would be able to follow the flow of the data for all eleven participants. The rational for selecting
the participants were clearly stated as they had to be males, who were incarcerated three or more
times, and enrolled in the faith-based program for more than six months.
During the instrumentation process, the author employed several data collection tools
using observation, where he could easily observe participants in the program as they interact in
their natural elements unobstructed from the observer presence. Doing this for several times a
week for several months allowed the researcher to gather as much data on field notes conducted
throughout the observational study. Other data collection instruments used was interviewing,
face-to-face, focus groups, and documents analysis. Each step in the process was thorough and
validated as being reliable source of data collection. The procedure was adequality stated and
discussed showing the various steps taken to collect, dissimilate, and analyze data collected.
Based on the data collection, this study could be replicated easily for another researcher to
utilized.
Chapter Four
In Chapter four, the author thoroughly described how data was gathered and compiled for
analysis. The sample selected consisted of participants whose lived experiences could be
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analyzed to gain insight into the ability of a faith-based program in reducing recidivism for
prisoners who become Christian while in prison. In this case, the author utilized a small sample
size and the demographics of the sample included, but were not limited to, age, race, educational
level and type of family structure. The research was qualitative in nature as the data collection
methods included face-to-face interviews, focus group and observations. Additionally, open
coding and selective coding were utilized to code interview questions as well as focus group
questions to better align the questions and responses with the research questions. The author also
generated themes and categories which were easily correlated to the research questions.
The findings were clearly and logically organized as the author addressed each research
question in the order in which it was presented in chapter one. The analysis for each question
examined data collected from one or more of the collection methods, with the author identifying
themes which overlapped across the collection methods. One example of this was Research
Question One which was focused on identifying common causes for re-offending, as the author
noted Question four from the interview coincided with group topic four as both queried
participant thoughts related to re-offending. The author was logical in identifying which data sets
would be best suited to answer each research question. This is exemplified through the author’s
use of the observations data and focus groups two and three to determine the impact of the Jesus
House program structure on creating change in the lives of the participants. The author also
provided detailed findings for individual participants’ to further explain the overall trend and
findings for each research questions.
The results of analysis presented in chapter four clearly identified positive outcomes for
the participants of the Jesus House program, thus supporting the author’s notion that faith-based
programming for prisoners reentering society is vital. The use of tables to support the narrative
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was evident throughout chapter four as each table documented all participant responses specific
to the interview questions as well as the coding process and focus group responses. The author
evaluated his research design at the end of the chapter, highlighting the most effective form of
data analysis used, the ten themes produced from the research as well the positive impact of the
Jesus House program on the lives of participants.
Chapter Five Review
In Chapter Five, the author concludes the research through a discussion of the research
conclusions, implications, applications, limitations and recommendations for future research.
There was a thorough discussion of the research conclusion as the author discussed the answers
to each research question through reference to the data collected as well as, comparison to
existing studies. The research was successful in identifying the reasons for re-offending,
confirmed that the program elements played a significant role in transforming the lives of the
participants, identified a positive relationship between the program elements and the decision to
not re-offend and showed that participant perceptions support the view that the faith-based
program structure aids in reducing recidivism. The implications of the findings were comparative
to similar studies supporting the inclusion of faith-based elements during re-entry to reduce
recidivism. The author draws support for the discussed implications from the supporting
literature and discusses how the research findings align with the overarching themes and beliefs
presented in the literature.
There was a clear discussion of the research applications and this discussion included
support from reviewed literature. The author identified specific applications from the research
such as the importance of faith-based re-entry programing in promoting successful reintegration
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into society, the need for accountability to reduce re-offending and suggests programs similar in
nature to Jesus House have a higher likelihood to reduce recidivism on a national scale.
Limitations related to shortcomings and research parameters, as well as their impact on
the research were addressed. It was commendable that the author addressed limitations related to
whether findings could be generalized to the female prisoner populations, or to other religions
utilizing similar faith-based programming. Recommendations for future research were clearly
articulated, for example the need for future research to assess the impact of factors such as an
unfavorable family structure, low graduation rates and being raised in a bad environment on the
rate of recidivism. The author, when possible, highlighted what existing research has assessed as
well as the areas of deficit, thus supporting the need for future research. The author did not
directly suggest modifications to the study design to support replication of the study in the future.
However, it must be noted that the discussion on the scope of limitations can provide guidance
into possible aspects of the study which could be enhanced.
Research Principles Learned
Reading this dissertation helped this writer to appreciate and understand the level and
depth of solid research found in this design process. The topic alone resonated with this writer on
both a professional and personal level. Liberty University does well to maintain a high level of
excellence in the dissertation process, and this writer had to select one dissertation to read out of
about a hundred to choose from. While each dissertation will be either qualitative, quantitative,
or mixed method designs, the guidelines given by the university helps when it comes times for
this writer to start the dissertation writing journey.
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Having not only the right number of resources but ones that are relevant to the research
study to support the problem is crucial for any dissertation. This author’s introduction gave his
readers historical statistical data to support why this study is needed. He was thorough and
straight forward on where the study was going so his readers could easily follow along. Each
chapter to follow built upon the previous chapter to keep his readers engaged on where he was
taking them next by feeding them more details to follow.
Adding in the theological framework, along with the theoretical makes his research
design clearer for readers to understand not only why it was needed, but how the research will
progress. The author desired to show biblical evidence for why prisoners released re-offend
much less than those without a faith-based program. If any gaps were known in his research,
these literary references would help to bring clarity for his readers. Ethically speaking, the data
collection and analysis is a tricky area to navigate as the research can run the risk of skewed or
overly inflated data. This is why ethical trustworthiness and credibility comes into play. Overall,
this dissertation was a great read and provided clarity on when the time comes to prepare my
own dissertation research design.
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