CJUS 01-Discussion Forum 4-Reply 3
Reply must be at least 200-300 words. For each thread, you must support your assertions with at least 2 citations from sources such as your textbook, peer-reviewed journal articles, and the Bible.
Textbook: Vito, G. F., & Higgins, G. E. (2015). Practical program evaluation for criminal justice. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. ISBN: 9781455777709.
**GABE***
When evaluators and researchers are gathering data for their programs, many times numbers are involved. These numbers are statistics collected to help explain what and why the program is needed, how well the program is doing, and to measure the population that the program is aimed at helping. With this week’s discussion board, descriptive statistics will be examined. The statistics will be implemented as it relates to the Police Accountability Program.
When an evaluator is using gathering information that involves numbers, there is a certain way that the research must go about it. This type of data collection is known as descriptive statistics. Per Marshall and Jonker in the article, An Introduction to Descriptive Statistics: A Review and Practical Guide (2010), “statistics are used to demonstrate the meaning of the data, and are based on numbers, e.g., the patient’s heart rate, or assigned numbers to qualitative attributes such as eye color. Statistics can be used descriptively to illustrate the characteristics of a group of observations i.e., the raw data; this is called descriptive statistics” (p.3). Descriptive statistics has different forms that allow for the research to be organized and clear. These forms are mean, median, mode, variance, and standard deviation. Each of these forms are different and have their own reasoning.
When it comes to applying these different forms of descriptive statistics to the anti-crime program, Police Accountability Program, it will be straight forward. Marshall and Jonker (2010) state, “it is essential to clarify the appropriate type of data needed to answer the research question at the design stage of research project, so it can be gathered. The level of measurement needs to be identified, allowing identification of the statistical procedure to be used and decision making on the sample size. Descriptive statistics are the easiest to undertake and interpret and they are a useful way to summarize data and provide a description of the sample” (p.4). The program will work with police departments. The participation group for the program would include a hundred or more people. The data that will be collected before the program will be race, time on the police force based upon groups of five or less, five to ten, ten to fifteen, and fifteen to twenty, the number of people who had been involved in acts of violence while on the job, and number of people who thought these violent interactions could have been deescalated. Once the participants have gone through the program, statistical data will be gathered on if any of the officers accept any accountability in the violent interaction and if violent encounters decreased with the participating officers in the last six months. The data is bring collected to see when who the participants are and the growth of the participants in the program.
Conclusion
Luke 14:28 states, “for which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it” (Luke 14:28, KJV). Descriptive statistics are needed to build upon the information provided. It allows for people for data to be given in a straightforward way. This allows for people to take away what they need to take away without all the extras.
Reference
Marshall, G., & Jonker, L. (2010). An introduction to descriptive statistics: A review and practical guide. Radiography (London, England. 1995), 16(4), e1-e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2010.01.001
Vito, G. F., & Higgins, G. E. (2015). Practical program evaluation for criminal justice. Waltham, MA: Elsevier.
The Mean, Median, Mode, Variance, and Standard Deviation of The Pre-Data for Your Anticrime/Prevention Program.
With there being five different forms of descriptive statistics for the program, there will be a lot of different ways to interpret the data. The different forms would be the mean median, mode, variance, and standard deviation. Per Vito and Higgins in the textbook, Practical Program Evaluation for Criminal Justice (2015), “the most popular form of descriptive statistics as it is the average score in the distribution. This is the score that comes from adding the scored in a set of data and then dividing this sum by the total score. The mode is the number in the data that occurs most frequently. There is no statistical computation needed for this, it is just the most common number seen. The median is the midpoint of the data distribution. This is the point in the data where fifty percent of the scores are above or below, dividing the distribution unto equal halves. The variance is the mean of the sum of all squared deviations from the mean of any distribution of scored” (p.153-154).
The mean, median, mode, variance, and standard deviation of police brutality in Maryland is found. The information was gathered from the ACLU Of Maryland Briefing Paper on Deaths in Police Encounters in Maryland, 2010-2014 (2015). The mean of people who died Between 2010-2014 is 6.4. The mode is 2. The median would be 3, variance would be63.64, and the Standard Deviation 7.97.
Conclusion
2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, KJV). Numbers in research can be difficult. However, it is at times necessary. As long as the research is done correctly, it will provide the information needed.
References
ACLU Of Maryland Briefing Paper on Deaths In Police Encounters In Maryland, 2010-2014. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.aclu-md.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/md_deaths_in_police_encounters.pdf
Vito, G. F., & Higgins, G. E. (2015). Practical program evaluation for criminal justice. Waltham, MA: Elsevier.
Description of The Inferential Statistics You Will Use to Analyze Your Anticrime/Prevention Program
With anticrime programs one of the most important things is the future of the program and how it may perform. One way that a researcher or evaluator can come to conclusions about there program is inferential statistics. Per Guetterman in the article, Basics of Statistics for Primary Care Research (2019), “inferential statistics can help researchers draw conclusions from a sample to a population. We can use inferential statistics to examine differences among groups and the relationships among variables” (p.2). This is important for the Police Accountability Program, because it will be me a logical ideal of if the program as it is set up will help create a better environment and climate to the police force. If the answer is no, then it will allow time for new groundwork to be done and a new plan created. The testing tool that will be used for the Accountability Program is the chi squared test.
The Chi-square per McHugh in the article, The Chi-Square Test of Independence (2013), “can provide information not only on the significance of any observed differences, but also provides detailed information on exactly which categories account for any differences found. Thus, the amount and detail of information this statistic can provide renders it one of the most useful tools in the researcher’s array of available analysis tools. As with any statistic, there are requirements for its appropriate use, which are called “assumptions” of the statistic” (p.143). This testing allows for facts to be documented, along with the building on what the future of the program could possibly look like. This allows for growth to happen and that is what programs are supposed to do, grow and prosper.
Conclusion
Proverbs 1:1-33 says, “the proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance” (Proverbs 1:1-33, KJV). Christians are about growth and learning. Descriptive statistical data helps give a numerical view of the program and the possibility. When attempting to get funding for a program, those numbers are important. While gathering the data and computing the data can be very tedious and at times difficult if the information is there to gather the data, it is also key to helping the program thieve.
