Public Opinion and the Death Penalty, Essay Example

Overview

Falco and Freiburger’s (2011) study pertains to the implementation of the death penalty within the United States. Specifically, these researchers sought to explore public opinion on the matter due to the strong opposing attitudes that persist about this form of punishment.

Description of the Research Problem

While strong public support is generally found for capital punishment, little data exists as to the reasons for, and causes of, this support. According to Falco and Freiburger (2011), it is critical that public opinion on the matter be scrutinized. Therefore, a need existed to gather extensive insight into the complexity of public opinion regarding the death penalty.

Research Methodology

Authors employed a qualitative approach to address this gap in the literature. A qualitative approach was deemed beneficial for the purposes of this study due to the need to gain a greater depth of information regarding the beliefs and views of each participant. A qualitative approach is advantageous when little is known about a particular research topic (Bryman, 2012). These authors utilized focus groups to structure their data collection, inquiring as to the general beliefs about capital punishment and reasons for these beliefs.

Contributions to the Literature

Results from this study demonstrated that public beliefs regarding the death penalty are multifaceted and complex. Information gained from this study is useful for better understanding public perception of capital punishment, as well as the need to develop more effective and sophisticated ways of evaluating public opinion on the matter.

Critique of the Article

This article fulfills a critical gap in the literature related to public opinion and the death penalty. Furthermore, the study aptly identifies central themes related to public views, linking them to relevant theory and research. However, the nature of this study design limits external validity and generalizability (Bryman, 2012). Future quantitative research is needed to confirm these findings and draw more causal inferences regarding public perception of the death penalty.

References

Falco, D. L., & Freiburger, T. L. (2011). Public opinion and the death penalty: A qualitative approach. The Qualitative Report, 16(3), 830-847.

Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.