Criminology is the study that investigates criminal behaviors concerning an individual and a society. It covers the cause, control and nature of the behavior. It is a field related to all disciplines. As a study, criminology investigates relations among human beings and their activities in the world. Criminology has several research areas. As a study, it explores the causes, magnitudes and incidence of crime. It also gains capacity with the regulations and reaction of crime from the society and the government. Criminology depends on quantitative techniques to explore the circulation and origins of crime. Quantitative methods are systematic and practical research procedures of social phenomena via different techniques. In criminology, quantitative methods have provided the key research methods for reviewing the causes and distribution of crime. They offer numerous ways to attain data that is beneficial to a given society. In the investigation, quantitative methods involve key research forms. The forms of research include evaluation, survey and field research. This research assists criminologists in the process of finding effective and dependable data. The data obtained is sampled and then used to make key declarations about the matter being investigated. There are currently several types of data used to measure crime (Maddan, 2010).
Crime is the violation of laws that forbids it and permit punishment for its commission. In general, there are four methods to measure crime to get quantitative data. One of the methods is observation. Observation as a method is not the best way to obtain information since it does not give a reliable measure of the crime. The second method is surveys of offenders. A survey of offenders is a convenient method to measure data. The advantage of this method is that information not yet reported to authorities can be obtained. Another advantage is that crimes not recorded or reported to authorities can be discovered. Assessment of offenders avails data about them along with their victims. A Survey of offenders exposes the extent of crime perpetrated by an offender. They are helpful, particularly for victimless crimes. The third method is victimization reports. Victimization reports are established on police measures of crime. They are mainly centered on reported crimes. In normal circumstances, knowing the depth of crime is a tough task. Therefore, the various methods are combined to obtain effective data (Hagan, 2008).
Criminal justice is mainly a governmental system that is meant to maintain low levels of crime to stop crime entirely. As a system, it sustains civilization in the society and political world. The main purpose of criminal justice is to implement the standards of conduct essential to defend the community and individuals. In its mandate, criminal justice offers a system of rules applied by a set of institutions. This system consists of three major sections which are the adjudication, the legislative and the corrections agency. Through the primary parts, laws are created and implemented through courts. Criminal justice is completed through criminal justice research (Maddan, 2010).
Criminal justice research is the key solution to successful integrity in criminal cases. It is achieved through criminology by social scientists and criminologists. An example of criminal justice research is the research done on homicides. Homicide is the act of a person taking the life of another person. A form of homicide is murder, which is the prohibited killing of another human. Homicide is not always a punishable act in criminal law (Geberth, 1996).
The purpose of the research study done on homicide was because of the high rates of homicides in the United States. The research was done to find the forms, causes, consequences and incidence of homicide as a crime. The research was to identify the key methods of homicide, their sources, what penalties they bring to individuals and society, and the frequency of homicide occurrence (Hagan, 2008).
The research study design was mainly a form of research in the humanities. It involved the exploration of the details and issues that surround homicide. In this form of research, context is a significant factor. The environmental element can be historical, social, traditional, governmental, or ethnic. This method involves the social scientists and criminologists investigating the background, environment and setting of a homicide. In a homicide setting, the first task for researchers is to do primary research. The researchers are to source from documents and other data. The other task is to interpret the data to understand it and have discussions about it.
The researchers used victims as an operational definition. The victims of homicide were used to provide the information needed in the research. Part of the information was gathered from direct questioning while the other data was obtained through the filling of forms by the victims. The victims were interrogated and cross-examined by the researchers (Hagan, 2008).
Inductive logic is a form of reasoning. It deduces key information from comprehensive examples. It suggests the truth of a matter but does not confirm it. This form of reasoning reflects more on generalization of matters than individual instances. Inductive logic is based on the factor of relation. It points out that conclusions can be made from given properties. This perspective gives an overview of a matter and a general impression. An example of inductive reasoning in homicide is that 31% of homicides globally occur in the Americas. This is a generalization on the homicide rate since the occurrence of homicide is unpredictable anywhere in the world. Inductive logic contrasts with deductive logic. Deductive logic (known otherwise as deductive reasoning) is the way of reasoning from a single or multiple general accounts entailing what is accepted to achieve a conclusion that is logically assured. This method outputs a detailed conclusion from a general principle. Deductive logic gives the researcher a key aspect of identifying a solution. Logical deduction links statements that a dispute claims will justify or induce a conclusion. An example of deduction logic is the fact that homicides were mainly committed by strangers. This is true and is supported by the data collected (Geberth, 1996).
The research study on homicide is qualitative research. Qualitative research is a process of inquiry engaged in various academic disciplines. It is employed in social sciences and other contexts. This procedure prefers the need to focus on small samples rather than large samples. In homicide research, the characteristics and methods of qualitative research are evident. This research on homicide was qualitative research since it implemented the use of interviews and discussions.
In homicide research, the guideline system for solving the problem was to use various methods, tools, techniques and give tasks in phases. The methodology was to analyze the principles of rules, methods and postulates engaged by the homicide cases. The research population involved individuals from the general public who had been victims of homicide. The sampling methods varied with the quality and nature of the crime, availability of information about crime and the operational or costs concerns. A set of entities regarding statistical interferences were drawn based on a random sample obtained from the population. They included methods such as, simple random sampling, systematic sampling and stratified sampling (Hagan, 2008).
The criminal justice research brought about several key findings. One of the key findings was that crime and race have a relationship in cases concerning homicide. It was noted that many homicides were committed in main cities, and homicides, where the offender and the victim are not determined, were on the rise and that many serial murder cases continue to be unknown to the police (Geberth, 1996).
The author of the criminal justice research concluded that homicide as a crime is a serious offense against humanity. Homicide degrades human dignity and grave humiliation on human beings. The author recommends collaboration between the police and the public to improve security, developing a team that would obtain information concerning homicides, and improving the sharing of information and technology. These recommendations are key factors that can assist the police and the public to reduce the cases of homicides. With the enlightenment of the society on this crime of homicide, the public will have the knowledge and clarification of the crime and learn ways of reducing it. This research study was done in good detail. The aspect of social learning about the information relating to homicide is a key factor to improve the dignity of people, and also helps in reducing the high rates of homicide (Hagan, 2008).
References
Geberth, V. J. (1996). Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques, Third Edition. United States.
Hagan, F. E. (2008). Introduction to criminology: Theories, methods, and criminal behavior. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Maddan, Sean, Ph.d. (2010). Criminology and Criminal Justice: Theory Research Methods and Statistics. Jones & Bartlett Learning.