Survey Research in Criminal Justice: Types, Advantages, and Disadvantages - Research Paper

Introduction

Survey research is a method of researching the use of surveys that are sent to respondents who are taking part in the survey. The information received from the surveys is analyzed statistically to draw meaning conclusions about the research. This paper will be an analysis of the different types of survey research used in the criminal justice field, the advantages and disadvantages of in-person surveys, telephone surveys, computer-based surveys, and focus group surveys. As well as describing the purpose of sampling, types of reliability, and validity. Lastly, the importance of ensuring data collection methods is reliable and valid.

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Survey research uses statistical or surveys, which are a question based on gathering data about acts of individuals and their thinking. For several questions asked, there are various fixed responses from which the respondent selects from them. Survey research serves as the frequently used observation in most social sciences, including criminology, which entails obtaining data from a sample of individuals. The data collected is from the responses given by the respondents. In extensive research, a survey is conducted in person through a computer, email, or telephone. Survey research tends to be versatile, generalizable, inexpensive, and efficient.

Types of Survey Research used in Criminal Justice

Surveys can be classified into a questionnaire and interview. Questionnaires involve the respondents filling the questions that have been written on the paper, thus mostly referred to like paper and pencil instrument. Interviews, on the other hand, majorly rely on what the response says about the incident, whether he or she is the suspect or just a witness of the case in question.

Questionnaires may be completed through using the emails, which allows the respondents to fill them at their convenience within the allocated time (Krosnick, 1999). Secondly, some questionnaires are administered in groups where a sample of respondents are brought together and asked to respond to a structured sequence of questions majorly in a room. Interviews on the contrast, are a more personal form of survey research. Interviews can be personal interviews that involve face to face communication. Additionally, there are telephone interviews; this is majorly used in the collection of public opinion polls.

Advantages and Disadvantages of In-Person Surveys

In-person surveys are also referred to as face to face surveys. This type of survey continues to remain a popular method of collecting data despite the increase in mobile and online surveys becoming popular. The advantages of this method include it enables the researcher to capture the verbal and nonverbal cues as well as body language during the research. Secondly, this method helps in accurate screening; for instance, the respondent cannot give false feedback about screening questions such as race, gender, or age ( Boyer, Olson, & Jackson, 2001). The researcher using this method of data collection will be in apposition to capture the emotions and behaviors of the respondent about the topic of discussion. Lastly, it helps in keeping focus, thus no loosing of concentration during the survey.

The disadvantages of the in-person survey include the quality of data collected will depend on the interviewer's ability to communicate with the respondent. Secondly, it is expensive because it requires a staff of people to conduct the surveys. Additionally, some respondents are unwilling to participate in the surveys.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Telephone Surveys

A telephone survey is a method of data collection from a specific target population or the general population. Telephone calls are used by interviewers who are trained to call ad collect information from potential respondents. The advantages of this method include cost and time effective as compared to other methods. Secondly, it can cover a full geographical area. Thirdly, information gathered from telephone surveys are often more insightful because moderators can ask for clarification n respondents answer.

The disadvantages include hard to make a connection with the respondents; it may be affected by the issue of bias or giving false information. Also, they are limited by space .also, phone surveys are constrained by time factor because a study through the phone should last for 10 minutes. Lastly, phone surveys are expensive in terms of recharge cards used to make the calls.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Computer-Based Surveys

Computer-based surveys are surveys that are conducted online. The benefits of this type of survey include a more exceptional ability to present or record data. Secondly, the computer-based surveys know to add individual formats, pictures, video, or audio links together with straight text. Researchers can make use of the aspects mentioned above as a new question. Lastly, it is time-efficient

The disadvantages of this method of data collection involve the problem of capturing the attention and availability of the respondent. Also, some respondent's maybe computer illiterate, making them not to give their data despite their information is relevant to the survey. Additionally, data gathered may be biased due to the nature of data collection. Lastly, computer-based surveys may be faced with the challenge of loss of collected data; for example, the computer disks get damaged while on transit or loss of emails.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Group Surveys

Focus group surveys in research have several advantages, which include the dynamic surveys between respondents, stimulates their thoughts as well as reminds them of their views regarding the research topic. Secondly, informants can build on the answers of others. Also, it is a fast and inexpensive method of data collection in the criminal justice system and allows the selection of various data on the same research problem. Lastly, the researcher can make clarifications among the respondents and inquire about several suggestions.

The disadvantages of conducting focus group surveys include the climate of being in a group that can fail to energize the individual. Secondly, it is difficult to record data, especially where all the respondents want to speak at the same time. Thirdly, the researcher may encounter the trouble of having control in managing the group when conducting the survey. Lastly, the analysis of data out to be a challenging and time-consuming activity.

Purpose of Sampling

Sampling can be divided into simple random sampling, stratified sampling, and systematic sampling. The central role of sampling is to provide several types of statistical data of quantitative or qualitative state about the whole by examining a few chosen units (Chao, 1982). Secondly, sampling as a research process helps in concluding the population from the samples which were used in the field during the study.

Sampling as a research process helps in saving the time allocated to conduct the research. It also increases the accuracy and reliability of the information gathered during the investigation as well as minimizing the number of errors that arise due to sampling. Lastly, sampling saves on the cost of conducting the study.

Types of Reliability and Validity Applied to Criminal Justice Research

Reliability and validity are vital concepts in research; there are different types of validity and reliability that are used in criminal justice research. Validity entails the accuracy of the measurement. Types of validity used in criminal justice research include face validity, content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity.

Reliability of research is vital that is whenever the tests are repeated, they should yield the same results whenever the conditions are held constant (Al-Hemyari, & Al-Sarmi, 2016). Some types of validity that are used in the criminal justice system include test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and internal consistency.

Importance of Ensuring Data Collection Methods is Both Reliable and Valid.

Data collection methods and instruments used in conducting criminal justice research need to be valid and reliable; otherwise, it will lead to a collection of data that is tainted. Thus result in misapprehension or incorrect generality of the research conclusion. Validity and reliability of data collection tools help in the analysis of the usefulness, meaningfulness, and appropriateness of the research conducted.

Conclusion

Survey research includes questionnaires and interviews. This paper has been an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of surveys including telephone and an in-person survey among others, purposes of sampling, identification of multiple types of validity and reliability as used in the criminal justice system and the need for ensuring the validity and reliability of data collection tools.

References

Al-Hemyari, Z., A., & Al-Sarmi, A. M. (2016). Validity and Reliability of Students and Academic Staff's Surveys to Improve Higher Education. Educational Alternatives. Journal of International Scientific Publications, 14, 242-263.

Boyer, K. K., Olson, J. R., & Jackson, E. C. (2001). Electronic surveys: Advantages and disadvantages over traditional print surveys. Decision Line, 32(4), 4-7.Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/66d3/3ac26c2611cfe870117dc41f79f52c38b519.pdf

Chao, M. T. (1982). A general-purpose unequal probability sampling plan. Biometrika, 69(3), 653-656.Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/biomet/article-abstract/69/3/653/221439

Krosnick, J. A. (1999). Survey research. Annual review of psychology, 50(1), 537-567.Retrieved from https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.50.1.537