Answer the question below related to the research proposal.
Terminology - In this section you will define any relevant terms related to your esearch. Include any terms that may not be clearly understood by the general population.
Total Page Count - 2.5 to 3 pages.
Research Proposal:
Research Topic:
According to Bordens and Abbott (2002), it is extremely important for any research study, irrespective of its industry and sector to have a focused approach and a well-defined research topic. Likewise, this research is related to the harsh and long prison terms of the federal government for first time drug offenders.
The research topic in specific is "Critical analysis and suggestions of the alternate approaches, including rehabilitation programs (including counselling and support) in place of long and hard prison terms for first time drug offenders".
Introduction:
The most common type of punishment to any illegal offense all over the world is basically sending an individual directly to a prison. But question arises if it the actually the best way to address an issue. This research in specific picks up the case of first time drug offenders and associated harsh prison terms.
Statement of the Problem - There exist numerous research studies and publications related to imprisonment of drug offenders. There is no doubt that dealing with drugs is an extremely big crime but is harsh and long term prison terms a good approach to solve the problem. According to Kuziemko and Levitt (2004), drug addicts and dealers when found dealing with drugs are sent to prison straightaway, where there activities usually and mostly continue and thus, in a no way problem is being solved. A better approach would be to treat this problem through alternate approaches such as counselling, rehab programs etc where drug offenders are made to engage in other activities to overcome the problem of being drug addict (Kuziemko and Levitt, 2004; Spohn and Holleran, 2006).
Purpose of the Study - In continuation and in order to build upon the serious problem of drug offense, the main purpose of this research study is to identify and analyse better and alternate approaches to address the problem instead of a mere long term prison terms as a solution.
Research Questions - A set of research questions associated with the study include:
• To discover the actual reasons behind occurrence of the drug offences
• To identify the possible solution to address the problem of drug offence
• To analyse the benefit and advantage of rehabilitation programs (including counselling and support as an alternate to long term prison terms
Justification of the Study - This study will basically be an extension to the existing research and literature in the field of criminology or criminal justice. The results of the study will provide a means to better solve the problem of drug offence instead of just opting for long term prison terms. The study will also act as a means to help understand the reasons behind people conducting such illegal and offenses.
References:
Bordens, K. S. and Abbott, B. B. (2002) Research Design and Methods: A Process Approach (5th Ed.) NY: McGraw-Hill Publications
Kuziemko, I. and Levitt, S. D. (2004) An empirical analysis of imprisoning drug offenders, Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 88, No. 9-10.
Spohn, C. and Holleran, D. (2006) The effect of imprisonment on recidivism rates of felony offenders: A focus on drug offenders, Criminology, Vol. 40, No. 2.