This article sought to understand whether male individuals confronted with a rape situation would decide to help. The author simulated a rape situation in a natural setting. The location’s topography ensured that the targeted subjects made their decisions to help the victims. The “researchers expected the targeted bystanders to intervene directly, walk away, or summon a police officer to help” (Harari et al. 653). Most of “the individuals in groups were most likely to help compared with individual bystanders” (Harari et al. 653). Individuals in groups offered direct assistance to the victims. The study also criticized the use of laboratory research because of problems associated with social desirability, generalizability, and demand characteristics. The researchers managed to manipulate the response of different individuals and group bystanders.
The researchers did not use a specific hypothesis or research question. The researchers wanted to understand how individual male bystanders or group confronted with various rape situations would be compelled to help (Harari et al. 654). The authors wanted to understand whether male bystanders would help rape victims when in groups. This research question was critical towards realizing the targeted results. The research question also made it easier for the researchers to formulate the best literature review (Maxfield and Babbie 24). The research question made it easier to execute a successful study.
The study followed a good research study in order to achieve the targeted goals. The researchers used secluded areas for staging the rape scenes. Similar topographical dimensions characterized these areas. The researchers encouraged 393 male students from San Diego State University to participate in the study. Most of “these students walked in groups or alone towards the targeted rape scenes” (Harari et al. 653). The authors identified the bets vintage points to ensure the study was accessible. These vintage points encouraged the subjects to act differently after witnessing the rape scene. The research strategy made the study effective and successful. The researchers also managed to achieve the targeted goals.
The researchers could have used some other research strategies. A good example was the use of questionnaires to understand how different individuals would respond to various rape scenes. The researchers would use the questionnaires or group discussions to gather the relevant information about people’s response to various rape scenes (Harari et al. 656). This study also shows how the naturalistic setting played a major role towards an effective study. These two approaches could also have been used together to come up with better findings. The researchers could have used new qualitative and quantitative techniques in order to come up with better results. Such findings would have contributed a lot to the above understanding.
A qualitative research would have resulted in meaningful and applicable findings. Qualitative researches usually focus on people thoughts and concepts about certain issues in the society. The researchers would have used different meetings and group discussions to understand how individuals would have responded to these rape scenes. The authors could have used focus groups depending on the targeted research questions. Qualitative research methods are critical towards getting immediate responses from the interviewees. The researchers should have also combined both qualitative and quantitative approaches in order to get better findings and interpretations (Harari et al. 656). The approach would have equipped them with more opinions and ideas from the respondents.
The article presents a unique set of strengths. Such strengths make the study findings meaningful to the reader. The researchers simulated a rape scene in a conducive and realistic natural environment. The approach managed the subjects in order to come up with the best findings. The authors also formulated the best research question depending on the expected study outcomes (Harari et al. 657). The research question played a major role towards the success of the study. According to the study, most of the earlier studies did not simulate a rape in a natural or realistic setting. The researchers also used the best research method in order to have a successful study. The article also presents convincing discussions and conclusions that can help our societies deal with rape. The major weakness of this article is the absence of a research hypothesis (Maxfield and Babbie 47). The article does not present a conclusive literature review to highlight the underlying issues surrounding this topic.
The strengths of this article make it meaningful and worth reading. The researchers have used some of the best approaches and strategies in order to come up with the best findings. The readers can use these ideas and discussions to deal with criminal activities such as rape. Researchers can use the above weaknesses to improve this article. I would use a proper literature review to improve this article. This section would have informed more readers about every relevant issue associated with the study (Maxfield and Babbie 87). The researchers should have also used a qualitative methodology to support their study findings. The approach would have produced better and reliable results to the targeted audience. I would encourage more people to undertake similar studies in order to deal with every criminal activity in our society. Readers should also consider the above findings in order to deal with the challenge of rape.
Works Cited
Harari, Herbert, Oren Harari, and Robert White. (2001). “The Reaction to Rape by American Male Bystanders.” The Journal of Social Psychology 125.1 (2001): 653-658. Print.
Maxfield, Michael, and E. Babbie. The Basic of Research Methods Criminal Justice and Criminology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.