Reference no: EM132529488
Assignment: Criminal Justice Managers - Research and Policy Analysis
Research is conducted in the field of criminal justice on a daily basis. The expectation is that the findings from research studies will be helpful in developing related policies, practices, and programs in the field of criminal justice. However, it is not always clear whether research findings are actually used in the criminal justice field to impact policies, practices, and programs. To further explore this phenomenon, you are required to complete this scholarly activity that focuses on the evaluation research process and the use of research findings by criminal justice managers as managerial tools. To meet the objectives of the scholarly activity, complete the following tasks:
Section 1: Evaluation Research
1) Provide a brief summary of the steps in evaluation research used in the field of criminal justice.
2) Provide a brief discussion about the distinctions between the types of evaluation research.
3) Briefly discuss the type of evaluation research that would be most appropriate for evaluating a criminal justice program in your community.
Section 2: Managerial Tools
1) Visit the website of a criminal justice agency in your community Montgomery, Alabama (e.g., local police department, county sheriff's office) and review the agency's organizational structure. Familiarize yourself with the managerial positions at the agency, and read any related job descriptions, if available.
2) Imagine that you are preparing to conduct an informational interview with an employee that holds a managerial position in the criminal justice agency you selected. In your informational interview, you are going to ask questions about his or her awareness and use of evaluation research by criminal justice personnel serving in management positions in the agency.
3) Using your knowledge of the evaluation research process and the types of evaluation research, develop a list of at least five questions you would ask at the informational interview.
1) Be sure to write at least one question that addresses whether the manager uses evaluation research as a managerial tool; if so, in what capacity are those evaluation research managerial tools utilized, and if not, why.
2) Be sure to ask at least one question that addresses the extent to which the manager uses statistical analyses (which could be used to generate the findings related to evaluate the research) as a managerial tool.
4) Using information on the agency's website, record how you think the employee in a managerial position at the criminal justice agency would respond to your questions.
5) Note: You are not required to conduct an actual informational interview, but you are required to generate questions that could be asked during an informational interview and to think critically about how an interviewee might respond to the questions you developed.
Section 3: Application and Implications
1) Discuss the extent to which what you learned from the textbook supports and/or refutes what you learned from developing and responding to your informational interview questions about the use of evaluation research by criminal justice managers in the agency.
2) Based with your research on the agency website and your responses to your informational interview questions, discuss whether you think any changes should be made regarding how the managers of the criminal justice agency use evaluation research.
3) Discuss what your findings suggest about the usefulness and future need of evaluation research in the field of criminal justice.
Each section of the scholarly activity must be clearly labeled using the following section headings:
a) Evaluation Research
b) Managerial Tools
c) Application and Implications
Each section of the scholarly activity listed above should be a minimum of 200 words. Your entire scholarly activity should be at least three pages.
Be sure to cite, in APA format, any source used to influence your response. You are required to apply the concepts discussed in the textbook to the tasks in the scholarly activity. Therefore, your reference list should at least include a citation of the textbook.
Textbook: Hagan, F. (2014). Research methods in criminal justice and criminology (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.