AO2-different reaserch methods

Assessment Objective Two

Aims and Objectives

Analyse a range of different research methods

How will the assessment take place?

l  Completion of six worksheets. One for each of the following methods of research:

1.      Experiments

2.      Surveys

3.      Case Studies

4.      Observations- (participant / non participant)

5.      Questionnaires using rating systems e.g. Likert scale

6.      Interviews- Formal and informal

l  For each method of research you will comment on:

o   Overview of the method

o   Advantages and disadvantages

o   Examples of when it can be used in public services

o   Provide evidence of its use.

Grading

Pass

Candidates identify different types of research methods and provide a

simple analysis of each. They demonstrate a limited understanding

of the relevant methodology, its key concepts and its usage.

Merit

Candidates identify different types of research methods and provide a clear

analysis of each. They demonstrate a good understanding of the relevant

methodology, its key concepts and its usage.

Distinction

Candidates identify different types of research methods and provide a

detailed analysis of each. They demonstrate an excellent understanding of the relevant methodology, its key concepts and its usage

Experiments

Overview:

Definition Research  method for testing different assumptions (hypotheses) by trial and error under conditions constructed and controlled by the researcher. Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/experiment.html The Forensic Science service experiment on people or dead bodies to determine the outcome of the event. For example they can search people or crime scenes for DNA, hair, blood, fingerprints, gun residue etc. to collect evidence to put together what happened. This would be done by hiring experts to examine the crime scenes. The data is presented by the experts determining what happened by collecting evidence to back up there research/ data.

Advantages:

The advantages of experiments are that experts can examine bodies/ cases that happened years ago to determine what happened. The evidence they gain only these experts can use to obtain answers such as peoples blood, DNA, Hair, Fingerprints etc. They can place people at the scene. More reliable as forensic experts are advancing their technology. Can find clues even if they have be cleaned for example blood, gun residue etc.

Disadvantages:

The cost of the experts The time it takes to perform all the tests The need to have a suspect and DNA from the suspect to match any evidence found They need to place people at the scene at the right time. For example if there was a murder in an alleyway. If an innocent person had walked own the alley before the murder ad dropped a hair or touch a wall etc. then the forensics would find there Fingerprints or hair and then the [person would have to prove their innocence. Remains could be missing and therefore damage the research. If the crime was one from the past its hard to recall the incident.

Usage:

At crime scenes Murders Rapes Gun shootouts Riots Car Crashes

Example of use:

Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman two 10-year-old Girls famous for wearing Manchester United shirts went missing in August 2002 after spending the day at Holly’s home in Soham.  Forensic experts, police and family members search for the missing girls. After 13 days the hunt ended with the girls’ bodies being found dead.  On 17 August 2002, the FSS was asked to examine clothing including partially burnt Manchester United football shirts found in a bin at the hangar at Soham college. Two scientists went to examine the hangar and the bins. The bin was packaged and brought back to the Huntingdon lab. As well as the Manchester United tops there were tracksuit bottoms, underwear and shoes belonging to both girls. Surface debris, including hairs and fibres, was recovered from inside and outside the bin including hairs and fibres. The clothing was screened for the presence of blood, saliva and semen. Many items had been fire damaged and some had melted into a mass. After thousands of hours of research over a 14-month period scientists from the FSS examined 40,000 fibres and eventually were able to link hairs from Ian Huntley along with fibres from his clothing and his house to the Manchester United football shirts worn by both girls on the last day they were seen. They were also able to link fibres from the football shirts to Ian Huntley’s house and items of his clothing. Of the 40,000 fibres examined, the FSS was able to provide the evidence of a two-way transfer of 154 fibres between Huntley’s clothing and carpets, and the Manchester United football shirts and tracksuit bottoms of the girls. Ian Huntley, a school caretaker at the school the girls attended was found guilty at the Old Bailey in December 2003 of the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Surveys

Overview:

Definition: “A survey is a data collection tool used to gather information from individuals to determine an outcome”. Source: http://www.about.com/surveys   a survey is a range of questions based on a specific topic to gain results about that topic. The questions can range from anything.

Advantages:

The advantages of a survey are that: They give a vast range of answers The questions can be based on anything The questions can be on any subject The gain views from the public so that they can see how the public feel and think about policies etc. They give people an overview of what they are accesses. The target audience for the surveys can be anyone from under 16’s to over 50’s etc. Changes can be made based on the results in order to advance and make things better.

Disadvantages:

The time it takes to make a survey so that the questions are relevant to the answers required The time it takes for people to answer the survey as the survey will need a lot of questions to get the right data. The time it takes to present the data and make sure they put it to scale correctly Need to ask the correct percentage of people so that they are reliable. If they only asked 500 people about a subject, they cannot say that “the majority of the UK” as they have only asked 500 people and there are 69 million people in the UK   Some people don’t always want to answer the survey and may answer them as a joke. People don’t always like answering questions about personal subjects

Usage:

To gain views from the public about crime, the police etc. To gain the views of colleagues from a workplace etc.

Example of use:

A survey from the police to gain views from the public about crime concerns in their neighbourhood.

Case Studies

Overview:

Definition: “Case studies typically examine the interplay of all variables in order to provide as complete an understanding of an event or situation as possible”. Source: http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/pop2a.cfm

Advantages:

Primary and secondary information Lots of information so content is easy to gather. Insight into an event so that people can get an idea of what happened during the event Informative Results, learn from mistakes  (CRB check) Changes in policy etc. to make a better future. Lots of sources so that text is reliable. Easy to access as internet is easy to use, also find articles in local libraries, can ask witnesses who were there. Information is usually in one place therefore its easy and quick to collect the data Used by all members of the public services so there are lots of different case studies.

Disadvantages:

Time to compile, takes a long time to gather all the information and put it together   Lots of sources some unreliable therefore could be misleading or make you take longer searching for the text. Contradict if based on opinions. Time it takes to find the best sources and find the correct amount of information. Too many sources, therefore takes too long to find the right source There is no limit into what is put onto the internet therefore you can be put onto unwanted websites etc.

Usage:

Police Force - crimes Armed Forces- incidents, missions Forensic service

Example of use:

This is a print screen of a case study which I did about the Duneblane Massacre of 1996. In this case study I had to gather information about what actually happened to get an overview of this incident. I had to make sure that the websites I gathered the information from were reliable.

Observations

Overview:

Definition: A method of data collection in which the situation of interest is watched and the relevant facts, actions and behaviours are recorded. Source: http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingglossary/g/observationdef.htm

Advantages:

Primary source- reliable as you witness it personally  Gives you an overview of what happened as you can take eyewitness events into account. Notice other things that you might not normally notice because you are studying things harder such as pictures etc.  Response to the incidents is faster. Interception- listening to phone calls watching people etc.

Disadvantages:

Time it takes to observe people and watch there every moves etc. The cost of the observation as you have to pay police officer to sit in cars Money for value, paying police to sit around in a car all day watching a door isn’t worth the cost as they are trained for much more effective operations Back up maybe required therefore become a rush and shortens the amount of officer for other crimes. Could lead to false judgment as the could think that somebody doing something that there not.

Usage:

Police force- watch suspects Armed forces- reconnaissance drones MI5- terrorists Fire service-

Example of use: Jean Charles De Menezes

Jean Charles de Menezes (7 January 1978 – 22 July 2005) was a Brazilian man shot in the head seven times at Stockwell tube station on the London Underground by the London Metropolitan police. He was misidentified as one of the fugitives involved in the previous day's failed bombing attempts. These events took place two weeks after the London bombings of 7 July 2005, in which 56 people died. The shooting became particularly controversial because later police and media accounts contradicted each other, specifically regarding Menezes's manner and clothing as he entered the station, and whether there had been any police warnings before the firing. The death sparked an intense public debate over an apparent change in police policy, in which a shoot to kill practice known as “Operation Kratos” had been introduced to deal with terrorist threats. Because of the controversy the codename "Operation Kratos" was dropped in 2007, but the policy continues. On the day of the shooting, the police were hunting four men believed to be involved in the failed bombing attempts the day before. Intelligence had linked the men to a block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London, the same building in which Menezes was living. Police put the communal entrance under surveillance, and on the morning of the shooting, saw Menezes leave the building. Plain clothes officers, armed with pistols, followed him as he took a bus to Brixton tube station, before boarding another to Stockwell tube station because the tube station at Brixton was closed. Specialist firearms officers were called to Stockwell. Just after Menezes entered a train, several officers wrestled him to the ground and fired no fewer than seven bullets into his head at point blank range. The train was still at the platform with its doors open, having just been evacuated by officers.

Questionnaires

Overview:

Definition: “A form containing a set of questions, especially one addressed to a statistically significant number of subjects as a way of gathering information for a survey”. Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/questionnaire

Advantages:

Get to ask as many questions are required. Right questions, Clear questions. Personal question. Get opinions facts/ open closed. Different types of questions

Disadvantages:

Questions need to be relevant People might be offended by the questions, such as personal or inappropriate questions If the question are not clear people may answer the incorrectly

Usage:

The police would use a questionnaire if they are asking people about crime rates and if they think they have increased or decreased, or to see if they think the police are being effective. The Armed Forces use a questionnaire when soldiers are returning from duty. When a soldier has returned from duty, they have to answer a questionnaire about there time in wherever they had been stationed, about the conditions and how they were looked after during their time away etc.   Both of these public services also use questionnaires in the selection processes.

Example of use:

This is a questionnaire the Armed Forces use in their recruitment process.

Interviews

Overview:

Definition: A formal meeting in person, especially one arranged for the assessment of the qualifications of an applicant. A conversation, such as one conducted by a reporter, in which facts or statements are elicited from another. Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interview

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Usage:

Example of use: