I selected the Journal, “Criminal Justice and Behavior,” to look at more closely. I chose this journal in particular because it has to do with my general topic of criminal justice. For my research project I would like to look at why certain types of criminal behavior occur, some of the roots causes, and how these could be combated. In volume 41 of the journal, released on November 11th 2014, I found an article that aligned with my interests. The title of the article is, “A Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Offenders.” Steven Pirutinsky from Columbia University is the author of this particular article that I looked at. The Articles research question was clearly stated and is as follows, does religiousness increase self-control and reduce criminal behavior? I believe this is a great research question because it is very specific and allows us to figure out exactly what kind of data will be necessary to collect. In the case of this research question, the most efficient types of data that should be used would be acts and reports of acts. In the case of this study from which there were 1,354 participants and the goal was to see if religiousness lead to more self-control, and in turn reduced criminal behavior. The study was very clear about proving this process rather than the inverse, more self-control leading to higher religiousness. In the case of a study like this the best way to collect data, and the way the researchers did in fact collect the data, would be to do an ethnography. Throughout the study they did find that Religiousness did lead to reduced offending, in the short term at least. This article seemed to have a clear research question from which it completed the remaining five steps of the process. It is interesting and has broadened my view to help me narrow in a specific research question for my topic.
Pirutinsky, Steven. “A Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Offenders.” Criminal Justice and Behavior. vol.14, no. 11 (2014) November, 11. 1290-1307.