Assignment 2: Criminology - The Discipline Of Criminology Re

Assignment 2 Criminologythe Discipline Of Criminology Requires A Deta

Assignment 2: Criminology The discipline of criminology requires a detailed study of crime and criminals. Criminologists seek to answer the "why" question. Why would someone do something so horrible? Criminological theories try to answer this question. As you attempt to answer the "why" question, you will consider theory development.

Are the reasons someone commits a burglary the same as the reasons someone commits murder? In this assignment, you will explore various categories of crime. Ask yourself what it takes to study that particular behavior, describe those variables, and explain how you will measure the variables.

Submission Details: By Saturday, May 20, 2017, in a minimum of 250 words, post to the Discussion Area your response to the following points: Consider how theories are developed. Select a category of crime (for example, burglary or murder) and then describe how you will study this behavior.

Describe the variables and research design you will use to examine these categories of crime. By Wednesday, May 24, 2017, read and respond to at least two of your classmates' posts and provide suggestions for their research designs. As you read your classmates' posts, be sure to analyze their designs and ask questions regarding design specifics. You can also provide suggestions for alternative methodologies or variable choices. When you engage in discussion with your classmates, be sure to contribute to the learning environment.

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric All discussion assignments in this course will be graded using a rubric. This assignment is worth 40 points. Download the discussion rubric and carefully read it to understand the expectations.

Paper For Above instruction

Understanding the development of criminological theories necessitates a focused examination of specific types of crime, their underlying variables, and the research methodologies suitable for studying them. For the purpose of this paper, I will examine burglary as a representative category of property crime, exploring how to scientifically analyze the motivations, risk factors, and contextual variables associated with this behavior.

Firstly, the process of studying burglary involves identifying key variables that influence such criminal activity. Variables might include socioeconomic status, peer influences, prior criminal history, and situational factors like the presence of security measures or target vulnerability. To measure these variables effectively, quantitative research methods such as surveys and data analysis of criminal records are pertinent. Surveys can capture perceptions, motivations, and social influences, while official records provide concrete data on incidence rates, locations, and repeat offenses.

The research design paramount for analyzing burglary involves a mixed-method approach combining cross-sectional surveys with longitudinal crime data analysis. A cross-sectional survey administered to known offenders or individuals within high-risk neighborhoods can elucidate motivational variables and perceived rationales for burglarious acts. Concurrently, longitudinal data analysis of criminal records over multiple years can identify trends, common factors, and potential causal relationships between variables like socioeconomic shifts and burglary rates.

Furthermore, employing quantitative methods enables researchers to apply statistical techniques such as multiple regression analysis to determine how strongly each variable predicts burglary occurrence. This can help distinguish primary factors from peripheral influences. Incorporating spatial analysis, through Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, can also reveal crime hotspots and environmental risk factors, further enriching understanding of the behavior.

In developing these research strategies, ethical considerations and data reliability must be addressed. Ensuring participant confidentiality and seeking necessary permissions are crucial for ethical integrity. Additionally, consideration of biases in self-reported data and official records is necessary to improve validity.

Theories of criminology, such as strain theory and social disorganization theory, can be used to contextualize findings. Strain theory suggests economic pressures contribute to property crimes, while social disorganization points to neighborhood decay and weak social networks as facilitating burglary. By combining empirical data with these theoretical frameworks, a comprehensive understanding of burglary can be achieved.

In conclusion, studying burglary through a mixed-method research design involving surveys, crime record analysis, and spatial analysis provides a robust framework for understanding the behavior. Such an approach facilitates identifying key variables, assessing their influence, and grounding findings in established criminological theories, ultimately offering insights that can inform crime prevention and policy development.

References

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• Kubrin, C. E., & Weitzer, R. (2003). New Directions in Social Disorganization Theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40(4), 374–402.
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• Tittle, C. R., & Paternoster, R. (2013). Environmental Criminology. Routledge.
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