The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Research Paper Example

Two-variable hypothesis

Hypotheses are statements of study that asserts some characteristics of research that are to be validated. These statements could be true or wrong and are normally validated after the research. A two-variable hypothesis is hypothesis statements of how two different variables or aspects of a population affect a dependent variable. The researcher selects these two aspects of a population that are to be studied. The researcher then states the two-variable hypothesis that is to be validated.

Hypothesis statements originated from the work of Karl and Egon Pearson, Jerzy Neyman and Ronald Fisher. These scholars used and emphasized the use of mathematical methods of collecting and analyzing data. Their work also constitutes the origin of hypothesis testing which is an important aspect of any kind of hypothesis.

It is suitable for research into how two dominant aspects or variables of the population affect a dependent aspect of the population. It is also suitable in circumstances where the criminal justice researcher is interested in only two aspects of study. This is because the hypothesis can be set such that the responses are a pointer to what the researcher is interested. These hypothesis statements are easy to formulate since they only involve two variables. They are also easy to verify since the statements are fairly straight forward and the relationship of the aspects can be easily identified.

In criminal justice research, two-variable hypothesis can be used in law and forensics to test for discrimination in college admissions, pay rises, promotional practices and in job hiring. It can also be used in paternity testing and testing to find if the evidence found on a suspect are from the crime scenes. This evidence could be in form of fingerprints, blood or fiber. It can also be used to determine whether the defendant is guilty by analyzing the responses that he or she gives to hypothesis posed.

k-variable hypothesis

K-variable hypothesis are hypothesis statements of how three or more independent variables or aspects of a population affect a dependent aspect of a population. The aspects to be studied are first identified and the researcher then formulates a k-hypothesis, where k is the number of aspects to be studied, that incorporates these aspects. This is important so that the researcher can exhaust all the options that are available and which are relevant in his or her study.

K-variable is an extension of the two-variable hypothesis where the aspects to be studied are many and the researcher formulates hypothesis statements that incorporates all these aspects in a statement, known as a k-hypothesis. The k-hypothesis can be used by the researcher to study many aspects at once. This helps to cut on research cost and time. They also help the researcher study how k aspects of a population that can be varied affect an aspect of the population that is dependent on the independent aspects.

This method of criminal justice research is important in that it combines many aspects in just one hypothesis statements to be validated. Once the hypothesis is validated, then the researcher concludes on the aspects that he or she was studying. However it becomes difficult for the researcher to exactly determine how these aspects affects a dependent aspect of the population since a single statement and isolating the effects of these aspects becomes difficult.

In criminal justice research, the k-variable hypothesis can be used, just like the two-variable hypothesis, in law and forensics to test for discrimination in college admissions, pay rises, promotional practices and in job hiring. It can also be used in paternity testing and testing to find if the evidence found on a suspect are from the crime scenes. This evidence could be in form of fingerprints, blood or fiber. It can also be used to determine whether the defendant is guilty by analyzing the responses that he or she gives to hypothesis posed.

Working Hypothesis

The working hypothesis is an accepted hypothesis that a researcher assumes in order to do a research on a certain task or assignment. These hypotheses are a statement assumed to be true before the onset of a research just for the purpose of a given assignment. It is designed basically for a particular task and hence is customized to suit the requirements of the assignment. They act as a guide for research or investigation that is being carried out and seeks to explain the causes of a set of observations. To enable a researcher to test the working hypothesis, the researcher develops the null hypothesis and tests it. After testing the null hypothesis, the researcher the makes a conclusion on whether the working hypothesis is correct depending on the results of the research.

This method is important since by stating an assumption at the onset of a research, the researcher can use the assumptions as a guide and validate or nullify these assumptions.

The criminal justice research method of working hypothesis has the advantage that it promotes thoroughness in research. The working hypothesis formulated gives a suggestive line of inquiry that can be followed further. A working hypothesis can lead investigations in a specific line of research. However this can be incomplete since the method encourages investigations into other lines or quarters.

Work cited

Schutt, Russell K and Bachman, Ronet. “The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice”. Third edition. Sage Publications, Inc, 2007.

Maxfield, S. D., Michael, G. and Earl, R. “Basics of Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology”. Belmont, CA : Thomson/Wadsworth, 2009.

Chamberlin, T.C. “The method of Multiple Working Hypothesis”. 2006. 30 September 2009. < http://arti.vub.ac.be/cursus/2005-2006/mwo/chamberlin1890science.pdf>