Probation drug screen results research
Research Question
The research would seek to answer the question; is there a relationship between the small number of probation officers and the few numbers of the screened defendants?
Purpose and General Outline
There have been cases of probation officers not being able to carry out their functions well. This has been attributed to either negligence on the part of the officers, too much workload for one probation officer or lack of funds to carry out duties effectively. The purpose of this research would be to find out which of the factors have led to the screening of just very few defendants.
Background
Various factors have affected the probation officers all over the country. Some of the factors as mentioned above have led to difficult challenges on the part of probation officers. Probation officers no longer deal with the minor cases as it used to be a while back. With various attempts to de-congest prisons, many cases have been referred to the probation offices, and with time these cases have grown in numbers becoming too much to be handled by the few probation officers on the ground. The report by the American probation and parole association (2007) acknowledge this fact after carrying out a research on its own.
Hypotheses
Hypothesis for this study include the following;
- The probation office does not have enough funds to carry out this activity
- The number of defendants is too big compared to the probation officers who are supposed to serve them
- The officers are not motivated in their job
General Methodological Overview
For this study, I would apply interview method. I will interview all the officers under my authority together with others in other facilities. I would also interview some of the defendants. This method would be effective in this study as it would enable me save time and get direct answers from my informants.
Sample Population
The population will include mainly the 19 probation officers, 1 drug screening officer, 10 miscellaneous staff, 20 defendants and another 20 probation officers from another facility.
Design
The research will apply to the real world variation in developing its theory concepts. The research would involve measuring various variables in this study like the number of officers against the number of the defendants
Measures
The variables will be measured by normal head counts and the recorded number of the defendants who are supposed to be served by the facility. The study will try to establish the relationship between the variables by looking at some of the possible causes to this relationship and also establish how close the relationship between the two would be. This would help the researcher in generalization of the research project
Procedure
The research would involve informing the informants first about the study, carrying out face-to face interviews then recording the responses.
Analysis
After data collection, critical analysis would be done to establish if the design answered the research problem.
Interpretation
From the analysis of the results. This would put all various into consideration
Generalization
The study would establish its strengths and weaknesses
Human Subjects
The probation officers would be informed first before the interviews and persuaded to participate. The defendants would be paid a visit and asked questions in a polite way. Only willing defendants among the ones that would be traced