Peculiarities of Research Process in Race and Gender - Essay Example

Hypothesis: The primary stage in a research process is the development of a cleared, precise and well-knitted proposal. (Lusk 2004) Social research is always conducted either to affirm or reject the already existing theory or to find out fresh realities for the support of recently developed hypothesis and proposition. The purpose of the present research, being conducted on the nature, causes and kinds of crimes, is to find out if there exists or not any relationship between race and gender on the one hand, and nature, frequency and intensity of crimes against the individuals on the other. The following hypothesis will be formulated for the present research: Hypothesis 1: Different the ethnic groups, races and communities living in a society, different the nature of crimes against their female folk Hypothesis 2: Poorer the majority the members of a community, more likely the chance of crimes against their women Hypothesis 3: Weaker the community in a society, more the chances of its members to indulge in criminal activities Participants: The researcher is interested in carrying out the interviews of 50 females belonging to various ethnic groups, age-groups, socioeconomic status and areas of the city, though African American will dominate as the universe for the present study. The universe will be comprised of the women who have undergone any type of crime at least once in their life, out of which a sample of 50 women with the age range 25 to 50 will be selected. Interview schedule will be applied as a tool for data collection. Being the vast topic containing ethnic and gender discrimination elements, the researcher is interested in conducting the research in the culturally diversified city of New York, USA. RESEARCH PROCEDURE 1- Universe: As the researcher is the student of the New York University, he aims to select the white, yellow, brown and black female population of New York. The researcher is interested in conducting the interviews of fifty females to find out the results and concluding the problem. 2- Sampling: The researcher intends to apply quota/non-probability sampling to represent different ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes of the society. The research will be comprised of females from middle and lower classes, who have undergone any type of criminal assault. Four ethnic groups will be the respondents, though the majority of them will consist of black female respondents. The study will be focused on two types of victims. The first category belongs to the females who are the victims of the crimes committed by the strangers. On the other hand, the second category will be comprised of the women affected and cheated by their own relations and kinsmen. 3- Tool for Data Collection: Interview-schedule will be applied as a research tool to gather the data from the respondents. Interview schedule will be consisted of twenty nine questions and will be divided into three parts. First part will be about the general enquiry including the questions related to age, socioeconomic group, profession and other basic information. Second portion of the study will be formulated to professional life and surroundings of the victims as well as the atmosphere in which they are leading their lives and the difficulties faced by them. The final section will represent the crimes prevailing in their surroundings and the situation under which they got victimized. 4- Pre-testing: The researcher will conduct pre-testing to draw out errors and flaws in the interview schedule. At first, ten individuals will be interviewed and changes will be made in the questions after the pre-testing. Data from Home Office: The researcher intends to contact the Admin of the Home Office Department through its online service to get the data related to the women who have experienced criminal assault of any kind throughout their life. In addition, the researcher will visit hospitals, therapeutic institutions, apartments and flats in order to get them interviewed for the collection of data for the present data. The participant will be assured that their identity, statistics or any material or information related to them or their personal and professional life will not be disclosed at alls, which has been enquired from them during gathering of data from them. Advantages of the Research Work: The present research work will be highly beneficial in estimating the causes and consequences of the criminal behavior and the methods to control them. The readers may seek knowledge out of the research findings and analyses. In addition, the present research work will also open new dimensions of study for the future students conducting research on the same or related topic on psychology or criminal behavior. Minimization of Risk: The research process may create some embarrassments while being conducted in the presence of the respondents of different ethnic groups revealing their personal experience of criminal assault committed by the member of some other racial community. The members of one community will not accept the allegations of being criminal minded ethnic group against the members of their own community. This problem can be solved by interviewing different respondents separately, or asking such questions in one-to-one meeting in order to avoid fuss during the research work. Another matter of significant importance is this that while asking questions related to crimes from one respondents or one ethnic group may create ethnic prejudice in the mind of others and may damage the very soul of the research process. Another imperative problem may be the reply of all the respondents may be made in the light of the replies given by the first or initial respondents. In other words, all the respondents may establish their replies according to the comments made by the first respondents. Thus, the interviewer will conduct all the research while interviewing all the respondents one by one. How the condition of participants will be monitored? The expressions, body language, tone and delivery of words reflect the views and opinions of the respondents. It is therefore all these things will be kept in mind while data collection from the respondents. The researcher will have margin of mistake by applying standard error and standard deviation techniques during compilation of data and application of statistical tests. CONSENT FORM 1. The research is interested in investigating the factors leading towards criminal behavior and perversion against some particular community, gender, ethnic group or social class in order to eradicate crimes from the very face of human society. You have been selected as a victim of criminal assault, so you are hereby requested to participate in the research process. If you agree to participate in the research process, you will be enquired the questions related to your experience of being victim of the nature, circumstances and the appearance of criminal committed crime against you. 2. The research aims to discover the factors that lead towards committing crimes against women on the one hand and your ethnic group on the other. You will be encouraged to reply the situation under which you were inflicted with suffering during the criminal assault and its relation with your family set up, ethnicity, age, gender and socioeconomic status. 3. The research process will not take long time; rather, it will take only 35 to 45 minutes in interviewing you and asking all the relevant questions. If it is not possible for you to reply all the questions in one sitting, we can divide the interview into two sittings for your convenience. 4. The researcher assures you that he will not disclose to anyone any personal and professional information taken from you during the course of research process. This information is being gathered for the sake of knowledge and will be coded and reported without mentioning your name, age and address even. 5. Though your participation in this research process and providing us with your precious moments will not bestow any benefit upon you, yet the study will be highly advantageous to discover many facts to control and wipe out criminal activities. 6. The researcher will provide you with one copy of the report as soon as the research work is completed, and you will estimate yourself the benefits of such research works. 7. The data gathered for the present research from you does not aims at getting published. Rather, it will be kept as an unpublished thesis work for the study of teachers and students of the libraries without mentioning any information related to the participants and their statistics at all. 8. If you do not feel satisfied with the sureties and guarantees presented above, you can make a call to the following phone number of our university to confirm the research process being conducted on the topic described above. The phone number is: Student Counseling Center: (209) 667-3381 9. This research study is being conducted by Tim Smith, Keisha Turner, and Wei-Chin Kwan. The faculty supervisor is Dr. Lisa Carlstrom, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Child Development, California State University, Stanislaus. If you have questions or concerns about your participation in this study, you may contact the researchers through Dr. Carlstrom at (209) 667-3065. 10. You may obtain information about the outcome of the study at the end of the academic year by contacting Dr. Carlstrom. You may also learn more about the results of the study by attending the Psychology Department’s Poster Session at the CSU Stanislaus Event Center on Thursday, May 18th from 2:30 to 4:00 pm. 11. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, California State University Stanislaus, at (209) 667-3493. 12. You will be provided with a blank, unsigned copy of this consent form at the beginning of the study. 13. By signing below, you attest that you are 18 years old or older. 14. By signing below, you are indicating that you have freely consented to participate in this research study. PARTICIPANT’S SIGNATURE: ____ DATE: _______ APPLICATION FORM 7. If your answer to question (6) is Yes, please list below or on a separate sheet the PHI that is necessary for your research and that you intend to use in your research. 1-Significance of co-operation between husband and wife, parents and children, as well as siblings for the better mental and physical health of the members of family It has aptly been said that man is the product of society. All his needs, desires and requirements are fulfilled within the set up of society while interacting with the other members within socio-cultural boundaries. A society is amalgamation of various institutions, among which family is the basic institution of society and maintains matchless significance and implications throughout man’s life. It is family that provides its members with food, shelter, protection, comforts and enjoyments. The establishment of familial life is generally outcome of marriage. Marriage is one of the most primitive as well as most significant of the social institutions, the outcome of which is the growth and development of family life and reproduction. Co-operation, love and better understanding between all the members of a family not only provide imperative comfort to them, but also help out in sharing and resolving all the difficulties and problems faced by them. It also paves the ways towards a healthy socialization, education, training and nutrition of the children. Character-building of the children saves them involve into any type of criminal activity or deviant behavior, and protect them from involving into drug consumption or mental retardation. 2-Sharing of ideas, problems, fears and joys with members of family soften all the difficulties and solve all the problems Family is the primary unit of all societies from the most primitive clans and tribes to the most modern contemporary nuclear age. It is family that is most responsible for the personality build-up of an individual. An individual is the reflection of the education and training of his parents. The nurture theory strongly lays stress on the proper look after of a budding child, as he is the future of the society. Social psychologists and criminologists explain parenting the source of grooming an individual who has no knowledge of good or bad at all. 3-A professional therapeutic counseling helps out the individuals from psychological and physical obstacles_ The modern age is the age of technological advancement, in which latest techniques have been devised and methods have been formulated to rehabilitate the individuals from mental retardation, psychological problems and physical illness so that not only the sufferers and their families can lead a respectable and peaceful life, but also society can be protected from crimes, deviancies, perversion and turmoil. The services of professional medical specialists and psychiatrists are acquired in this respect. The relationship between the counselor and patient is one of the most important things in the rehabilitation process. Bell and Montoya (1997) compare it to the relationship between child and his parents. (Quoted in Doweiko, 2006:365). The patients under rehabilitation process, requires the same care as require small children under care of the parents in infant years. The mental relaxation and moral uplift are the keys to success in counseling. If the counselor applies proper methodology to make up patient’s mind that he would be able soon to lead a normal life without using any type of drug, the chances of the healing of patient are very bright and support for the betterment of his mental and physical health. If the patient is not complying with the suggestions of the counselor, it simply means there is some communication gap between the two. Further, the doctor could not manage to handle the case adequately. There must be developed an atmosphere where the patient feels no hesitation in revealing the causes of indulging into the habit of intoxication. Diagnosis at the right direction is half the way to cure. The counselor should be polite, caring, softhearted and kind. He must be ready-witted and should keep himself well prepared to meet any unpleasant and untoward situation. It is also one of his ethical obligations not to reveal the case history of the patient to any irrelevant person. The hospital should arrange for proper staff and equipment to attend the patient regularly. As he is at the precarious stage of life, there should not be any feelings of loneliness in his mind. Loneliness and absence of the staff nurses may hit his case turning it to even worse situation. The long-term and short-term plans are designed during the healing process. The short-term plans include the sense of repentance in patient’s conscience on doing wrong. Read More