Fluent Essays

CRJS 3010 | Week Two Asynchronous Assignment | Due Tuesday, October 5 by 11:59 PM PST Part One: Errors in Everyday Reasoning (22 points) In class we discussed errors in everyday reasoning. You are to locate an example of one type of error in either the news or social media (note: you may not do anything with eye witness misidentification, as this will be the focus of part two). Helpful tips: consider politics and politicians, statements on crime/deviance, letters to the editor or op-ed pieces in newspapers (e.g., USA Today, Seattle Times), or polarizing topics/debates. Identify the type of reasoning error it is, as well as why this error is problematic/potentially problematic. Be sure you provide the link to the source. Part Two: Eye Witness Misidentifications (22 points) For this part of the assignment, read through this page and watch this clip on eyewitness misidentifications. Then you are to find two cases of wrongful conviction due to eye witness testimony. You may locate these cases however you would like, but here is a great resource: Innocence Project. You are to 1) reflect on eye witness misidentification as a whole, 2) summarize the two cases that you found, and 3) discuss some similarities and differences between these two types of misidentification. Please provide links to the cases. Part Three: Law Enforcement (22 points) Read this article Science and Pseudoscience in Law Enforcement (Lilienfeld & Landfield, 2008). Then discuss four indicators of pseudoscience, as well as an example of each from police work. Briefly discuss how/why the use of pseudoscience in policing is problematic. Part Four: Evaluating Sources (34 points) Capital punishment is a hotly contested topic that generates a lot of scholarly research. There are countless sources filled with “facts” and “evidence” related to capital punishment. As you know, not all “evidence” available on this topic is equal. More support/consideration/weight should be given to works that are empirical or scientific in nature, while less support should be given to editorials, political sources, pseudoscience, etc. Using the materials provided below, identify which of the sources contains the most appropriate and relevant scientific data. You are to 1) evaluate these sources by completing a CRAAP analysis for each source and then 2) use the more reliable sources to briefly address whether capital punishment in America deters crime. · Sources to evaluate: 1. How the death penalty fails to deter crime 2. Deterrence and the death penalty 3. Capital punishment works: It deters crime 4. How and why the death penalty deters murder in contemporary America 5. NOLD: Death penalty prevents future homicides 6. The death penalty deterrence myth 1 Science, Society, and Criminological Research Chapter 1 CRJS 3010 Why Is Research Important? Trephination Reasoning about the Social World • Questions can yield a lot of answers • Book uses example about factors that contribute to mass shootings • What factors contribute to racial and ethnic disparity in our penal system? Everyday Errors in Reasoning • Overgeneralization • Selective observation • Inaccurate observation • Illogical reasoning • Resistance to change Overgeneralization • What is true for one case is true in all cases • Drawing conclusion from interactions with a limited number of people • Can lead to stereotypes • Example: An individual was treated poorly by a law enforcement officer and then assumes that all law enforcement treat citizens poorly Selective Observation • Look at phenomena according to personal beliefs, regardless of fact • Overgeneralization can lead to selective observation • Example: In relation to the previous example, whenever that same individual sees a law enforcement officer engaging with a citizen he/she/they interpret the interaction as negative Inaccurate Observation • See a phenomenon that did not occur or perceive it differently • Perception involves interpretation • Example: Eyewitness misidentification • Try this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo&feature=youtu.be&list=PLB228A1652CD49370 Illogical Reasoning • Draw conclusions from invalid assumptions • Assuming something is true if a majority of the time is it is not true • Example: Violent media cause school shootings (after Columbine) • Meet Delilah! • “I can’t see you, so you can’t see me!” Application of Reasoning Errors • Letter to Ann Landers (a newspaper advice columnist): The letter was written by a woman who had just moved, with her two pet cats, from an apartment in the city to a house out in the country. In the city, she had not let the cats go outside, but she felt guilty about keeping them locked up. When they arrived at the country house, she let the cats out—but they tiptoed cautiously to the door, looked outside, then went right back into the living room and laid down. The woman concluded that people shouldn’t feel guilty about keeping their cats indoors, since even when they have the chance, cats don’t really want to play outside. • What everyday errors in reasoning did she make? Application of Reasoning Errors • Overgeneralization: • She observed only two cats, both of which were previously confined indoors. Maybe they aren’t like most cats. • Selective or inaccurate observation: • She observed the cats at the outside door only once. But maybe if she let them out several times, they would become more comfortable with going out. • Illogical reasoning: • She assumed that other people feel guilty about keeping their cats indoors. But maybe they don’t. Resistance to Change New information fails to change attitudes due to: • Ego-based commitments • Excessive devotion to tradition • Uncritical agreement with authority Social Science Research • Science: a set of logical, systematic, documented methods for investigating nature and natural processes; the knowledge produced by these investigations • Social science: the use of scientific methods to investigate individuals, societies, and social processes; the knowledge produced by these investigations • Criminological and criminal justice research is an area of social science research General Steps in Scientific Research 1. Problem formulation 2. Research design 3. Data collection methods 4. Analysis and presentation of findings 5. Conclusions, interpretations, limitations Social Scientific Research Methods • Reduce the likelihood of overgeneralization • Reduce the risk of selective or inaccurate observation • Avoid illogical reasoning • Lessen the tendency to answer questions about the social world from ego- based commitments, excessive devotion to tradition, and/or unquestioning respect for authority Science versus Pseudoscience • The scientific method represents an epistemology, a way of knowing based on objective, empirical investigation • Transparency allows for replication of the study • Peer review allows for the scientific merit of the study to be evaluated • Pseudoscience: findings based on intuition, gut reactions, or personal experience • Example: phrenology Pseudoscience Activity • Break into groups and spend about five minutes searching for examples of pseudoscience related to COVID-19 • Be sure to determine who will share with our class Motives for Criminological Research Policy motivations: assess programs and policies to determine their success and develop ways to improve outcomes and better address problems Academic motivations: learn more about complex social phenomena to better understand crime and society’s response to it Personal motivations: improve society, solve a problem of personal interest Social Criminological Research in Practice Descriptive • Define and describe, count • Measurement and sampling are central concerns (chapter 4) • Example: What is the magnitude of youth violence? Exploratory • Gather more information on newly identified areas/concerns • Often involves qualitative research (chapter 9) • Example: How do schools respond to gun violence? Social Criminological Research in Practice • Cause and effect (chapter 6) • Example: What factors are related to youth delinquency and violence? Explanatory • Effects of intervention (chapters 7 and 11) • Example: Do violence prevention programs in schools work? Evaluation Pure vs. Applied Research • Pure (basic): concerned with the acquisition of new knowledge for the sake of science or development of field • Academics focus on pure research • Applied: practical research concerned with solving immediate policy problems or issues • Practitioners focus on applied research Approaches to Research • Quantitative • Using numbers to describe social phenomena • Count events • Analyze information with statistical techniques • Qualitative • Written or spoken words with no direct numerical interpretation • Interpretation of events observed as they occur Death Row Art Myuran Sukumaran (4/17/1981 to 4/29/2015) Arnold Prieto (6/9/1973 to 1/21/2015) Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research • Qualitative: concepts are viewed as sensitizing ideas or terms that enhance our understanding • Descriptions/qualities • Data can be observed, not measured • In-depth interviews • Participant observation • Subjective • Quantitative: concepts are assigned numerical value, seeks precise measurement and analysis • Numbers/quantities • Data which can be measured • Questionnaires • Rating scales • Objective Approaches to Research • Mixed methods • Using both qualitative and quantitative methods to study one research question • Triangulation • The combination of methods to answer a question • Clearer picture of the social reality being studied Types of Research • Research methods: methods, process, or steps used to conduct social science research • Strengths and limitations • Conducting research in a diverse society Types of Research Methods • Experimental approach: an approach in which the researcher assigns individuals to two or more groups in a way that equates the characteristics of individuals in the groups (with a certain chance of error), except for variation in the groups’ exposure to the independent variable Types of Research Methods • Surveys or questionnaires: asking people fixed-format questions • Intensive interviewing: asking people in-depth information on feelings, experiences, and perceptions • Participant observation: developing a sustained relationship with people and observing them as they go about their normal activities Types of Research Methods • Secondary data: analyzing existing data • Historical events research: analyzing documents from the past • Example 1 and 2 • Content analysis: studying representations of the research topic (involves systematically analyzing content) • Crime mapping: geo-spatial analysis of crime http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/holocaust/ https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/liberation/letters-from-liberators-aaron-eiferman