What quantitative or qualitative methods could you incorporate in your study.
According to the information provided within chapter 3, quantitative research would best fit the format of my study (Lunenburg & Irby, 2013). Based on the examples given to explain quantitative design methods, the descriptive research design seems to apply to my study strategy. Descriptive research requires inquiry into an occurrence (circumstance), which explains the activities, performances, and transformations within the occurrence (Lunenburg & Irby, 2013). My research focuses on police personality (actions and behaviors) and the performance abilities among male and female police officer to identify factors that impact the slow progression (transformation) of female police officers within the field of law enforcement.
Quantitative research utilizes data from the viewpoint of the scholars or applicants connected to the research (Lunenburg & Irby, 2013). My research focuses on two original studies (Skolnick’s police personality study and Bloch and Anderson’s study on female patrol officers’ performance abilities), subsequent research, and statistical data (data collected by the government to account for the number of female officers hired, retained, and employed throughout the years). Overlapping these forms of data will allow me to detect similarities and differences related to police personality and performance abilities in correlation to gender.
Example 3.2, which studied the correlation between obesity in children and screen time. This example has similar undertones to my research topic. The study investigated two factors, the quantity of time the children (elementary age) watch television and the parenteral guidelines used to control the children’s screen time in correlation with each children’s weight (Lunenburg & Irby, 2013). My study also takes into consideration two factors such as police officers performance abilities based on gender and police personality. The purpose of examining both factors is to pinpoint characteristics specific to the field of law enforcement and identify factors related to why female officers are underrepresented within a profession dominated by male officers, especially if female officers perform at the same level as their male counterparts. Do personality differences between female and male officers affect the number of female officers employed within the field or does the police environment play a valid role in deterring female officers from entering the field?
The obesity study investigated the psychological effects related to parental guidance and screen time in relation to weight gain. My study also focuses on the psychological traits related to performance (behavior) capabilities to determine the effects it has on the employment of female officers. Both studies look into the psychological and sociological factors related to either the growth of obesity rates in children (North American) or the regression in female officers within the field of law enforcement (Lunenburg & Irby, 2013). Although all the examples given in chapter 3 conducted their own experimental study, I will rely on the findings of ethnographic research of past studies to further my analysis.
