How Effective Rehabilitation Classes Are - Dissertation Example

? Rehabilitation es: How Effective are They Affiliation with more information about affiliation,research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact CHAPTER 3 Methodology Introduction: A research methodology is a well-organized implementation of a series of methods and steps undertaken for the completion of a given task or function. It uses different means to get the final result by integrating various techniques. Research intended towards the increase of facts, the primary plan being a superior information or understanding of a topic under study. In this case study, it is necessary to consider the effectiveness and efficacy of rehabilitation in the context of women prisoners incarcerated for drug offences in the United States. It is necessary that a good methodology considers every aspect of the problem and offers a realistic design for researching of the particular issue. “The number of female offenders under correctional supervision has increased dramatically in recent years.  Between 1995 and 2005, the number of incarcerated female offenders increased by 57%, compared with a 34% increase among incarcerated male offenders (Harrison & Beck, 2006).  In 2006, the number of females under the jurisdiction of state and federal prison authorities increased by 4.5 percent, compared with 2.6 percent for males (Sabol, Couture, & Harrison, 2007).  At year-end 2006, females accounted for 7.2% of all prison inmates, which is up from 6.1 percent in 1995 and 5.7 percent in 1990 (Sabol et al., 2007)” (DeMatteo & Hunt & Batastini & LaDuke, n.d). A methodology employs various means in accomplishing the ultimate result by incorporating different methods. This calls for discrete modes in understanding the definitive outcome by incorporating various practices. Research methodology is directed in the route of the increase of awareness while the primary plan being gathering superior information or understanding the topic under study. Data Gathering: Data gathering is another important aspect of research study. This is chiefly done by the method of presenting well-structured questionnaires to respondents. The research plan is important for categorizing and evaluating the variety of methods in performing research and plays a crucial role in the making of plans regarding subsequent studies. This will create a kind of construction block of the research scheme. The research method that is suggested in this topic is the observation based study. It is also seen that both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to conduct this research study to show the impact of rehab programs on women criminals. The relative importance of these two types of research methods is important to carry out the most powerful research strategy that could be used in the context of this topic of rehabilitation and detoxification programs during incarceration of women prisoners for drug offences. The research methodology that deals with this subject needs to consider various methods and practices that could be used in this study like group interviews, questionnaires, or a mix of both, along with other factors that impinge upon this study and its various ramifications and implications. Research plan: The research plan is the most important element in classifying and evaluating the variety of methods in completing the research and occupies a major role in judgment and creating subsequent study of all information that is collected. This will also facilitate the generation of germination and development of the research ideas that are necessary for scaffolding a good and useful methodology to address this contentious issue. Qualitative Research: The qualitative process considers the questions ‘Why’ and ‘How’ in the decision making approach. In the existing scenario, the research has to be conducted on the effectiveness of the rehabilitation plans for incarcerated women and the following research questions that would need to be asked. Research Questions : These research questions will guide the flow and validity of the study on the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program. There will be two questions and two hypotheses to be explored. The samples of this research will come from the Newport News Sheriff’s Office. The first question is, ‘Whether economic hardships are a sound justification for women breaking the law?’ whereas the second one is, ‘Whether the current rehabilitation offers an effective means of rehabilitation?’ Null hypotheses: H01. Economic hardships are not a contributing factor to women breaking the law. H02. The recidivism ratio is 100% after women complete the rehabilitation program. Research Design: The research design will take account of what the researcher does starting from the preparation of the proposition and the operational propositions to identifying what the role of respondents would be for a research study of this kind. Research design is generally framed to make out and evaluate different modes for conducting the particular research and it also involves taking decisions associated with the sources from which the information has to be composed. This is also means collection of situation and assessment of all the information in a way that it aims to attach the consequence of the Research purpose. Research design may be either qualitative or quantitative as mentioned earlier. The design also includes surveys, information discovery enquiries and so on. It offers a clear route for the research. It is an arrangement of conditions and measurement of each data in a way that it aims to connect the meaning of the research purpose. The main aim of this research being how rehabilitation in the context of women prisoners incarcerated for drug offences in the United States is carried out, it is required that research questionnaires and interviews focus on these characteristics and other significant elements. Besides, the selection of respondents and knowing how exact and deserving their expositions would be for the principle of advancement of this research is also a matter of assumption and conjecture and cannot be determined at this stage. The sampling from the Newport News City Jail will contain a half yearly study that has been carried out on incarcerated women. A submission of the analysis on the initial findings for review will be provided within seven months. Additional research conducted in combination with the study will ascertain how this correctional center handles such perennial problems due to the increasing women incarceration. The Institution Review Board will be able to view the results by the end of the seventh month. Conceptual Framework: While there are already existing research studies that point out towards the deep impact on the lives of incarcerated women, there are new statistics that would reveal a cross section of results on rehabilitation classes. This information will be available and helpful in finding out any earlier issues while solving future problems. This particular study will utilize the programs at the Newport News Sheriff Office as a test site in order to address this gap in the literature. The exploration of thoughts and feelings, demographics, and the effects of legislation will show the reasons for rising incarcerated women. “The advent of drug-treatment courts in the late 1980s marked a paradigm shift in how drug-involved offenders were treated in the criminal justice system.  Drug courts combine elements of the public safety and public health approaches by providing judicially supervised drug abuse treatment, social services, and case-management services to nonviolent drug-involved offenders in lieu of prosecution or incarceration” (DeMatteo & Hunt & Batastini & LaDuke, n.d). Assumptions: The recidivism rate for incarcerated women and the reasons for this are varied. However, there must be a panacea for the problem. The effectiveness of rehabilitation programs needs to be updated and upgraded. One way to promote coping skills is through a prison-based therapeutic community. These programs are based on self-help model, where the inmate is made to realize her own addiction as a problem for the whole body. This study will assume legislation, drug use, demographics, and relationships as the reasons for recidivism and examining the results of rehabilitative programs offered to help reforming of women inmates. Delimiting Factors: There are three limitations to this study. Firstly, the samples that would be taken up would be limited to statistics from the Newport News Sheriff’s Office. On the other hand, the results will be limited to a set period of six months, which is considerably a small period even though the results are still viable. There may be variations of rehabilitation classes by other jails and women’s needs could vary in each place. The last limitation is that watching and interacting with other female inmates may change their behavior, which would negatively affect the results. The documentation of the women in this facility will reflect the problems of Newport News Sheriff’s Office, and the results are general because of this factor. Significance of the Study: The research study is important because it will produce a new statistics that will pinpoint how women respond to rehabilitation classes during and after incarceration. The researcher will conduct a study specifically to know the effectiveness of such programs, which will offer a rehabilitation plan to females with drug-related problems. There is an urgent need to inform society, correct facility administrators, and women on the issues that are creating the rising influx of female incarceration. Besides, researchers have expressed concern that incarceration is merely a temporary arrangement and a long-term plausible solution to end the cycle necessarily. The updated research has some advantages as well. The research will provide: 1. Percentages of female incarceration rates in the last six months from the Newport News Sheriff’s Office. 2. The differences in the rise of female incarceration due to tougher drug laws, lack of education, economic issues, and background. 3. Recommendations for programs that ensure rehabilitation and a healing process for the female inmates. Actual Methodology: This study targeted the Delaware’s Supreme Court during the period under survey. There were 452 clients among which 97 were women who participated in this program. The Delaware’s Treatment Access Center (TASC) was the responsible party to monitor and place drug court candidates. There was also a work release program available and a reduction of incarceration time or probation granted in lieu of the drug court participation. Statistics included the demographical, drug use, treatments, program outcome, and criminal history required for this data. According to the National Institute on Drug abuse 1999, women offenders showed several problems and multiple barriers for success as women drug users started using trade sex to purchase crack, which involved prostitution charges Men have a greater success rate than women while maturity assists with successful completion of the drug program. The treatment time varies, for consistent progression has a time from nine to twelve months whereas, slower progression may take longer while running the risk of termination from the program. The outcome for this program was as follows: (a) success at 31% (b) failures at 44% (c) neutral at 14% (d) suspended at 9% and (e) active at 1% The statistics obtained used the multivariate and logistic regression analyses to examine firsthand drug court treatments and secondary techniques. The variables entered into the equations were demographics, criminal history, and types of charges to find answers for the Delaware’s Treatment Access Center. These analyses showed that demographic variable only produced ages of drug court participants and stated that gender and race were insignificant factors. The criminal history indicated that participants with a history of violence would be less likely to complete the program. The types of charges show participator’s charge history with the drug court relations remaining significant. The older participants and non-drug users were more likely to succeed in the program. Developing a Research Plan: The research plan is a significant ingredient that is to be developed after selecting respective research designs and problems. The research plan is much considerate as it largely stresses on the various characteristics of the study and assists in organizing the thoughts, which are formed later. It offers a vibrant idea regarding data and information that are to be acquired and the method in which they are to be gathered. The research plan of any study should comprise of the research on objectives, problems, concepts and obtaining the details of various techniques that are involved in the successful completion and being able to obtain the most appropriate findings relating to the particular study. The definite time limits are to be fixed in each case while functioning of the research. Research plan is, by far the most significant aspect of any research study, no matter how big or small it may be. It offers explanation for undertaking such fields of research, its possibility and objectives, besides contributing the modus operandi for its undertaking. Furthermore, a research plan also has to answer the various questions that are to be developed by the study. The other aim of this research is to provide the descriptive examination of rehab of women prisoners in the context of drug offences, the design being either qualitative or quantitative. The relative importance of these two types of research designs is to be considered while carrying out the research study. “The increase in female offenders under correctional control and supervision has ushered in a new era of gender-specific, or gender-responsive programming” (Open Access Journal of Forensic Psychology, 2010). Besides, “These programs ostensibly target criminogenic needs relevant for female offenders.  Consistent with RNR principles, this type of programming, compared to gender-neutral programming that traditionally targets “male” risk factors, should lead to greater decreases in criminal recidivism among female offenders.  There are, however, two key concerns related to gender-specific assessment and programming” (DeMatteo & Hunt & Batastini & LaDuke, n.d). Quantitative Research: Quantitative research is the structured analyzing and examining of quantitative data. This type of data makes use of the variety of statistical forms and theories of quantitative information to identify the impact of women prisoners. Many feasible accomplishments arise while considering the quantitative characteristics of women criminals. In making decisions by means of projects to carry on, Government can scrutinize this matter as a fundamental impact of rehab on US economy. The use of the quantitative technique is by the employment of mathematical and statistical forms and examination of the hypothesis. The quantitative association is the major link surrounded by the empirical techniques. Qualitative research: We intend to employ a qualitative research methodology for this study. Here, it was decided to use qualitative method since this experimental study focuses on the issues associated with rehab of women prisoners. For research to be carried further, we require to employ some dependent variables and independent variables with the intention of comprehending the ideas concerned. Independent variables are those that are manipulated and dependent variables are those which are only measured or registered. Here the dependent variables, which will be chosen, are age, education levels, marital status and family background of the respondents. Both primary and secondary data are used to carry out the research. Research Management: The topic of drug addicted women criminals is a highly important topic and needs to be investigated in detail. For the purpose of proving that the topic is of high significance, research has been conducted in detail. This topic is a highly sensitive one because it revolves around the accountability and responsibility of a large number of people involved. For the purpose of this research the qualitative method was employed. The Qualitative Research methodology is based either on speculation of certain events or on the results of the case study. Qualitative Research method is more preferred to the quantitative one because in qualitative research, detailed study regarding the topic is involved and is not just dependent on the survey research as in the case of quantitative research methodology. Qualitative research results in the development of quantitative research designs. It leads to the detection of multifaceted issues regarding research, which requires a lot of time in reaching analysis and therefore developing conclusions is time consuming. In research management, the qualitative method was employed. Qualitative research is comparatively less structured than quantitative research. The main advantage of the qualitative research is that it enables direct or face-to-face contact with the participants and leads to a more accurate conclusion. Qualitative Research is done either by conducting interviews or by reviewing previous case studies. The only deficiency of qualitative research is not having accurate data after the research. The dissertation research on the topic of drug addicted women criminals does not require an adequate data to make an analysis of it. Instead, only a sample data can reveal the importance of this topic. The study is quite scholarly and, therefore, the qualitative research methodology is used because it is found to be appropriate in several diverse scholarly disciplines. The study of drug addicted women criminals is a social science topic and the qualitative design is useful mainly in research and application of the social sciences. Qualitative research is mainly done by understanding the human nature, behavior and the adaptation according to various situations and the ethics they follow in the business of women criminals. Qualitative research methods: Interviews: Interview is an important tool in order to understand whether there really needs to be a study for the topic of drug addicted women criminals or not. Interviews are generally conducted in two forms, either comprehensive or detailed. The former are brief and do not allow the respondent to explain why he or she supports his or her answer, whereas, the latter allow the respondents to express themselves in detail. In the interview that was conducted for this research we have incorporated respondents from different sectors of the industry and their impacts on business. Some short questions used in the interviews are as under: 1. Do you have an idea about the rehabilitation programs? 2. How important is the need of rehabilitation programs to you? 3. Do you find any need to change the present rehabilitation programs of the state? Detailed Questions: 1. Do the directors play an important role in the present rehabilitation programs of the state? Why do you think so? 2. Do the directors ensure that the research is carried out in a free, fair and ethical way and does not intimidate the respondents in any way? What are the reasons for your answer? Group discussions: Group discussion is another qualitative tool, which can be used in the study of rehabilitation programs. Group discussions are a form of detailed study because each of the participants expresses his or her opinion and, therefore, the group consists of both, people who are in favor of the topic and those who are against it. Group discussion is qualitative because only some individuals contribute their ideas and present an argument or justification in support of them. For the purpose of this research, the group constituted of people from medical fields who are well versed with women criminals and their conduct. There are concerns whether rehab would be effective or not especially with hardened inmates. “The second concern is whether gender-specific interventions are targeting appropriate criminogenic needs and achieving meaningful reductions in criminal recidivism among female offenders.  Nascent research suggests female offenders do indeed have different criminogenic needs than their male counterparts” (DeMatteo & Hunt & Batastini & LaDuke, n.d). Analysis: Each of the research methods used to understand the importance of the topic was furtive in acknowledging the viewpoint of the respondents and were satisfactory. The respondents actively participated and expressed their opinions regarding this topic. The research management process led to the conclusion that the topic is highly important and that the directors, shareholders and the stakeholders play an important role in framing the laws. Suggestions and Recommendations: The age factor and fewer charges are a positive force for drug court completion. If the participants in this research of rehab of women prisoners are ready to confront their problems, then the treatment and completion of the program will be greater. There is still a huge debate as to whether women are successful in drug court over men or not. The length of treatment or stay did not affect the drug court outcome for the participants. The use of drug court may be an alternative to deal with drug offenders. There are judicial and therapeutic methods available; however, the judge may not want to grant a second chance to a participant who has been unsuccessful in the program. Additional updated information on the Re-entry Drug Courts is beneficial for comparisons and new ideas. Conclusion: There are biased limitations in this methodology since recourse to only one demographic location was made. It is believed that in future research, a cross sectional or random survey system be enforced that would bring about more authentic research on this subject of effectiveness of rehab programs, as in the case of women prisoners in drug trade. Reference List DeMatteo, D., & Hunt, E., & Batastini, A., & LaDuke, C. (n.d). The Disconnect between Assessment and Intervention in the Risk Management of Criminal Offenders. Made on a Mac. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://web.me.com/gregdeclue/Site/DeMatteo_2010.html Open Access Journal of Forensic Psychology. (2010). Made on a Mack. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://web.me.com/gregdeclue/Site/DeMatteo_2010.html Read More