Criminal Justice Observation

Research regarding the criminal justice system has many components, but most importantly it relies on the study of interactions and movements between people. This allows insight as to how people operate and thrive in the world, including those who are reintegrating back into society. In order to accomplish this, researchers must be direct and concise in regard to the definitions that will help guide and anticipate them in their observations. Also, researchers must be aware of his or her biases before attempting to make any sort of observation to ensure that their findings can hold merit. The purpose of this paper is to delve into the practice of observation and step into the shoes of a researcher. I will be focusing on observing interactions

First and foremost, I must be aware that everyone has their own personal definition of what respect and disrespect look like. Throughout this paper, I will utilize my definitions and subsequent explanations of said behavior. Thus, I will be able to make conclusions based on my observations.
Proper observations require clear and concise definitions of what is being observed. By doing so, this ensures that the researcher, including myself, can come to terms with and acknowledge our biases. This then allows an understanding how to quantify and evaluate observations and findings properly, thus resulting in merit. To uncover my own biases, I must define and understand what respectful, disrespectful, protective, and status cuing behavior means to me. Respectful behavior does not have a universal and clear-cut definition. According to Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary respectful behavior is "marked by or showing respect or deference" to an individual. However, this is a very vague and broad definition that is not helpful. In my book respectful behavior is denoting special reverence to those of authority or have more

The first place that I decided to observe was the IC. I chose the IC because I work there as a student worker. As a student worker, I have many interactions with the general student population and regular everyday visitors. I thought it would be interesting to see how Loyola students behave, especially in a campus setting. Then I can determine if there is any significant difference between normal visitors and students. I observed two different shifts to see if there is any variation throughout the day. I decided to compare my shift that I have at seven to ten in the morning to my four to seven evening shift. As for my other two places of observation, I decided to observe the Red Line from Loyola to Chicago which most students get off at to get to the downtown campus. I chose this to see how students integrate with the public. Also, the Red Line is filled with many types of individuals thus creating a true representation of Chicago. The final place of observation was getting off the Red Line at Grand and State and walking to the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day. I thought this would be an interesting observation pick because I wanted to see the difference between how people normally act on any given day as opposed to how people behave on a holiday, especially college students. As a part of the Loyola community, I thought it would be interesting to see how Loyola