qualitative study evaluation

1369 Words3 Pages

This paper will examine and evaluate a qualitative study conducted by Beare and Hogg named “Listening In...to Gang Culture.” It will discuss the purpose of the study and evaluate the methodological designs. The study looks into the problem of street gangs and sought to understand how gang members behave. The authors used police transcripts of wiretaps as their primary source of data and analyzed it for further review. Findings show that social programs will have to be targeted towards younger gang members to dissuade them from the gang lifestyle. Beare and Hogg conducted this research in an attempt to uncover new information on gang behaviour and their characteristics in Canada (2013, p. 422). Specifically, they looked into three different aspects of gang culture: gang street codes, violence in prison, and drug trafficking (Beare & Hogg, 2013, p. 421). Due to an increased coverage of gang violence in the media and public fears, the topic has generated a renewed need for further investigation. The police and the criminal justice system have followed suit by targeting gang members in response to demands of a more restrictive approach on gangs. However, it seems like efforts to prevent gangs must start from discouraging youths (Beare & Hoggs, 2013, p. 421). Although research has been done on gangs and violence before, the authors wanted to examine the issue through a different methodological approach that could add to the existing literature. This research is an exploratory or contextual research, which is “concerned with identifying what exists in the social world and the way it manifests itself” (Ritchie, 2003, p. 27). This means that it describes a phenomenon through the perspectives of the study participants. This is a major ... ... middle of paper ... ...R8-4/golafshani.pdf Lewis, J. (2003). Design issues. In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Lewis, J. & Ritchie, J. (2003). Generalising from qualitative research. In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Ritchie, J. (2003). The applications of qualitative methods to social research. In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Snape, D. & Spencer, L. (2003). The foundations of qualitative research. In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Open Document