Experimental Designs In The Criminal Justice System

Research Design

In the criminal justice system it is imperative to understand why crime occurs in order to prevent them from happening. Researchers look for the cause of crime and experimental research is considered the best when determining cause and effect relationships. However, causality can never actually be proven only be hypothesized to a certain degree. Experimental research is used a top standard for the evaluation of other research methods as they are able to control the validity of the research both internal and external. Internal validity is the accuracy within the study itself while external validity is the ability to say the outcome is applicable to other groups. There are three main types of experimental research designs classical

Quasi-experimental designs occur when the equivalence is obtained through the use of similar groups rather than randomization (Hagan, 2014). A few types of quasi-experimental designs are single and multiple time-series, and counter-balanced designs. Time series involves the evaluation of one variable at many different periods in time including observations before and after the treatment (Hagan, 2014). The quasi-experiment is considered a single time series when only one group that has received treatment is observed over time. An example of this would be assessing the crime rates of a specific neighborhood for five years, then initiating a new policing policy and evaluating the crime rate over the next five years. A multiple time-series is very similar to the single time series except there is a “control” group that is evaluated over the same time period and does not receive the treatment. If a researcher from the previous example had also analyzed the data of crime rates in a similar town over the same years that did not enact a new policing policy it would be considered a multiple time-series design. Lastly, the counterbalanced design is the most complicated of the three as it looks into the combination of multiple treatments. Each group receives all of the same treatments but in different orders. For example one group could receive treatments 1, 2 and 3 while another experiences treatments

This attempted to find reasons why ex-offenders often find themselves back in prison. The study looks at the ability of people with a criminal records ability to obtain sustainable housing. The authors believe having a personal residence provides stability, safety and improves health compared to being homeless. Many factors affect an ex-offenders chance of obtaining housing from not being offered a chance due to renters conducting background checks, not having enough or any income, and in some cases the inability to live in government subsidized housing due to the nature of their crimes (Evans & Porter, 2015). The experiment was conducted by four undergraduate students, two male and two female, calling the same landlords one posing as an previous offender and one a non-offender. Each individual had all the same information; credit scores, income, and adequate rental history. The only difference between callers was their criminal record (Evans & Porter, 2015). Results of this experiment concluded that landlords are much less inclined to do business with a tenant if they have a criminal