SOC-376 Criminology Research Methods

SOC-376 Criminology Research Methods
My class is SOC-376 Criminology Research Methods
and here is professor instruction:

For your original post, think of a causal criminal justice research hypothesis that would be suitable for testing using a survey. Then, develop and pretest a short survey instrument, and then share the experience here:

What is your hypothesis? In your hypothesis, what is your independent variable, and what is your dependent variable? (State the hypothesis, making sure you state it according to lessons on proper hypothesis construction).
What other variables are you including? Demographic variables (e.g., age, sex, education) are excellent other variables. Of the 7 required variables, at least four need to be measured on the nominal or ordinal level with categories; provide these categories.
How did it go when you pretested the survey? Where any questions unclear, response options incomplete, etc.? Pretest the survey on at least three people, and record the experiences, especially any sources of confusion or noted gaps (e.g., in response options). Pretesting is supposed to identify flaws, so we can fix them before we administer the survey for real. So, finding problems with the pretest is a good thing–not a bad thing!
What is your survey instrument? Upload a single “.doc” or “.docx” file containing your questions. The survey instrument should have at least 7 variables: one measure of your IV, at least one measure of your DV, and at least five other variables. This document should exhibit the principles and guidelines from Chapter 9 in our textbook (e.g., exhaustive and mutually exclusive response options, avoidance of double-barreled questions).
Write at least 400 words in this post (not counting greetings, quotes, References, or hyperlinks). Remember to incorporate course terminology appropriately throughout your post.
Criminal Justice Research Hypothesis
In criminal research, its hypothesis is that, “Individuals experiencing abuse and violence in their childhood years lead to aggressive behaviors in their adult years specifically being engaged in crime”. The independent variable in this case is the abuse and violence that is experienced during the childhood years while the dependent variable is aggressive behaviour leading to criminal conduct. Other variables to be considered include the gender of the individual, any juvenile records, level of education attained, intelligence, interactions with families and peer groups, self-reported arrests, criminal conduct in terms of how many times ahs been arrested, one’s residence, economic status of one’s background family and the current economic status as an adult. The ordinal and nominal types of measurement will be included in measuring some of these variables (QuestionPro, 2020). For instance in determining whether one was constantly happy in their interactions with families and peers; the respondent is to rank their thoughts with the provided scale. This is typically either:
● 1- Very unhappy
● 2- Unhappy
● 3- Neural
● 4- Happy
● 5- Very Happy
In respect to one’s intelligence, one is to rate:
● 1- Very high
● 2- High
● 3- Average
● 4- Low
● 5- Very Low
In respect to one’s economic or living status, one is to rate:
● 1- Very high
● 2- High
● 3- Average
● 4- Low
● 5- Very Low
The nominal Measurement scale will involve:
Gender:
M- Male
F- Female Residence:
1- Suburbs
2- City
3- Town

The survey instrument that this research considered was using was questionnaires as they have also proven to be effective tools (Lumen Learning, 2020). On pretesting the survey, while many of the respondents did illustrate their willingness in answering the survey questions, some of them would prefer not to answer particular questions especially when they felt that they were being put at a vulnerable position. Some questions were not clear enough for instance the one on intelligence where from the responses many did not know the level they would consider themselves to be at hence confusing them. The question on the number of juvenile arrests and adult arrest made individuals find themselves in a vulnerable position which they would not want to provide accurate answers. Therefore, rather than have them state how many times they have been arrested as an adolescent and an adult, the question should be the number of violent altercations one has had with other individuals.

References
Lumen Learning. (2020). Chapter 9 survey research | Research methods for the social sciences. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-research-methods/chapter/chapter-9-survey-research/
QuestionPro. (2020, May 12). Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio scales with examples. Retrieved from https://www.questionpro.com/blog/nominal-ordinal-interval-ratio/