The sample of the study was 31 bank initial robberies and also based on 33 cases that are connected to bank robbery. All the cases of the robbery in the study were done at the area of Forth Worth City. The research makes use of the observation that we did and the data that we were able to collect. In this case, therefore, the study makes of use non-probability purposive sampling technique because it is not random and also because there are no specified objectives that are to be achieved. This is regarded as a simpler method as there will be no requirement to gather a lot of data and information about the area of study.
Data collection technique
This research made of survey questions and so it does not require meeting employees who are working in eth area of study. The research is regarded to be quantitative because there was the collection of numerical data from the area of the study. The information that were included in the area of the study included the name of the bank that the employee worked, the number of hours that were done in lobbying, and the view of the interior lobbying areas that were found in the bank. There was also the need to include the number of tellers that the bank had and the location of the ATM machines within the bank. This information would help in getting information about the ease with which robbers found what they wanted and the design of security mechanism in the bank. The design of the building that the bank was located was also described. Other questions included if there was availability of night deposits, drive up deposit, the availability of parking and stop light within the vicinity of the bank. There was also the need to include information regarding the surrounding neighbourhood and the parking spots that were based on visible lights in the vicinity.
The questions that were included in the questionnaires required that the interviewee gave information about the name of the establishment, whether the store was a convenient one, whether it was a departmental store, specialty, gas and liquor and beverages or just a rental facility in the area. The interior and exterior views of the store were to be given in detail. The view of the store was also to be described in detail. There was also the need for the description of the presence of security people in the store, security light, and stop lights at the store. The number of lanes that were found at the road was also to be identified by the respondent. The proximity of the highway from the store was also included. The conditions of the surrounding buildings and neighbourhood were also required to be described by the respondent.
This research can also be said to be cross-sectional because we went out and gathered information at once unlike longitudinal research where data is gathered over a long period of time. This research was also a cross-sectional study. The study is given such a description because the information collected was entirely observational. Researchers went out and gathered the information they required without having had to involve the subjects in the study environments. This is major to getting accurate and reliable primary information since the study environments cannot be manipulated to give a different report from the usual occurrences.
Strengths and weaknesses
Having taken a cross-sectional approach, the researchers may end up missing out on some important information. This is so since such kind of study does not offer information about possible causes of an occurrence or problem and also it fails to give effects that the problems may cause to the internal and external environments. This relates to the fact that a cross-sectional study is real time; it only caters what is happening at the very moment, ignoring what has been and what will be.
Another weakness of the study is the significant withdrawal of the researcher from the subject even at the very point of the study. This may cause issues of inaccuracy and irrelevance in data collection. A stay in the environment of study, as could be done if ethnography was chosen as the instrument of data collection, gives an assurance of accurate data.
Strengths of the research include the efficiency of quantitative data and as mentioned earlier the role it plays in testing of the hypotheses. Cross-sectional study is also known for its allowance for comparison of various variables simultaneously. This was a great strength to this research since there were so many variables from different locations that needed to be analysed and compared to come up with the findings.
