Rights for terrorists: Research Design
Introduction
Thesis Statement: The United States government should follow international examples in integrating civil rights to extremist elements.
Research questions: Should terrorists have the same civil rights as all Americans?
Should policies against terrorism include these civil rights in their execution procedures?
Proposed hypothesis: Terrorists are entitled to civil rights protection as any average America citizen in their prosecution and conviction process of the accused terrorist crime.
Methodology
There are two types of methodologies applicable to research practice, namely qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative method reveals findings using statistical interpretations while qualitative are descriptive and exploratory in nature applying theory to interpret findings. The research method for this project would encompass a qualitative approach. Importantly, qualitative research focuses on answering questions applying predefined measures to answer them and collects evidence, which was not realized prior to conducting the research. It also offers data or knowledge that can be used within and beyond the scientific discipline embodying the study (VanderStroep & Johnson, 2010).
Besides, in accomplishing these tasks the qualitative method provides understanding ofa specific research problem or phenomenon as interpreted by the population engaged in the issue. This method is very effective in investigating a phenomenon such as terrorists’ rights due to its culturally sensitive data regarding values, attitudes, perceptions of the particular population (VanderStroep & Johnson, 2010). Since the September, 2011 terrorists’ twin tower attack, Americans gained new insights into terrorism and a war began against people suspected to be terrorists at the expense of violating their civil rights.
Population
In investigating this terrorists’ rights issue the target population would be the American citizens and legal residents inclusive of college students who have a student’s visa.
Sample
A simple randomized system would be used in selecting a representative sample of the population. Random gives credence to the feature that no specific measures would be employed to select persons from the population to participate. Each American citizen and legal resident inclusive of college students who have a current student’s visa forms the inclusion criteria. The exclusions are people who are not non Americans and undocumented immigrants.
Data collection procedures
Data collection relates to techniques a researcher uses to gather information on a particular social problem, phenomenon or issue. In this investigation the technique selected is the survey. In research practices surveys refer to applying a specific instrument to a given population asking questions about an issue. The advantages of this technique are that a wider/larger section of the population could be reached unlike interviews or observation. Besides, it is less costly and time consuming to administer (Denscombe, 2004).
In conducting the surveys members of the public who have access to computers will be directed to a link on the survey monkey website in which the survey will be administered. Permission will be obtained from faculty and respondents prior to answering questions posted in the instrument first to conduct this research and secondly publish data retrieved from the procedures
Instrument
The instrument selected for this research is the administered questionnaire. A questionnaire is defined as a research instrument used to retrieve data from a population. It contains questions applicable to the phenomenon under investigation. In this case it is terrorists’ rights in America related to the research questions; should terrorists have the same civil rights as all Americans? Should policies against terrorism include these civil rights in their execution procedures? Items on a questionnaire instrument ought to be constructed in such a way that the dependant; independent and intervening variable where applicable could be accurately measured (Monette, Sullivan & DeJong, 2005).
Variables identified to be represented accurately in this instrument are terrorists; terrorists’ rights, American and civil rights. In qualitative research variables are a set of attributes defining the research problem or issue. A dependent variable is one in which its outcome is related to how the dependant variable function during the research process where as an independent variable can operated on its own. For example, terrorists do not rely on civil rights to execute their function within or without the research process. However, in this research civil rights have no value unless associated with terrorists or American (Monette et.al, 2005).
Therefore, terrorists become the independent variable and civil rights the dependant. Intervening variables could emerge during the analysis or while designing research questions. For example, American and rights are not directly related to the dependent neither independent variables, but do have some value in the research questions, which must be addressed when designing the questionnaire. So they become intervening variables. They offer a better understanding of both dependant and independent variables in the research (Denscombe, 2004).
Data analysis procedures
The survey monkey tool provides strategies, which can be electronically applied to data analysis process. Survey monkey makes use of MarketSight software, which is very simple to use. It contains all the features you needed to complete scientific data analysis process. More importantly it is free with modern software programs. MarketSlight built in reader elements facilitates easy access to data stored from questionnaire responses and further create crosstabs, conduct statistical tests if necessary; build and export charts, as well as share results ( Survey monkey, 2012).
Conclusion
The foregoing methodology outlined a qualitative approach towards investigating the phenomenon United States government should follow international examples in integrating civil rights to extremist elements, which were identified as terrorists. Research questions; should terrorists have the same civil rights as all Americans and Should policies against terrorism include these civil rights in their execution procedures were formulated while a proposed hypothesis was conceptualized advancing that terrorists are entitled to civil rights protection as any average America citizen in their prosecution and conviction process of the accused terrorist crime. Survey was selected as the data collection strategy with questionnaire administered through survey monkey, the instrument. Data analysis would be conducted through MarketSlight found on survey monkey site.
References
Denscombe, M. (2004). The Good Research Guide for small-scale social research, (2nd ed)
Open University Press.
Monette, D. Sullivan, T. DeJong, C. (2005). Applied Social Research. A Tool for the Human
Services. Open University Press.
Survey monkey (2014). SurveyMonkey® Data Analysis with MarketSight. Retrieved on June
12th 2014 from http://www.marketsight.com/SurveyMonkey-data-analysis.htm
VanderStroep, S., & Johnson, D.D. (2010) Research Methods for Everyday Life: Blending
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. John Wiley & Sons
