Introduction
This essay briefly examines research methods for criminal justice in regard to capital punishment. The topic of the paper is correlation between knowledge and support of capital punishment. In examining this topic the paper will explain the purpose of a project which can be carried out based on the topic. This essay identifies the dependent and independent variables which will be used in the research topic. In form of a discussion, it is shown how the two variables work together in a hypothesis. In order to make the discussion clear one hypothesis is stated using an independent and dependent variable.
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is one of the most hotly debated issues in the US. According to the Gallup Poll as at 2004, about 67 percent of the US citizens supported the administration of capital punishment. The Poll showed that there was a strong political support for the punishment with up to 80 percent of the republicans in favour of it. A huge percentage of the men were found to favour the punishment as compared with women.
Religion was also shown to be in favour of the punishment (Carrol, 2004). In order to understand why there is such a huge support for the capital punishment, there is a need for a study to be carried out to find out the reasons behind the overwhelming support for the capital punishment. There are many factors which may contribute to the position that many Americans have taken in regard to capital punishment. Better understanding of a concept is a significant requirement for one to make a judgement over an issue.
Hypothesis
In order to understand why US citizens favour capital punishment and on what grounds they do so, the following hypothesis can be used: knowledge and support of capital punishment are inversely correlated. As explained above the knowledge of a concept makes it possible for a person to make a correct judgement concerning an issue. It will be prudent on the issue of capital punishment for a research to be carried out to find out how well Americans understand the concept of capital punishment.
Variables
When carrying out a research, there are two groups of variables involved: independent and dependent variables. Independent variables have also been referred to as causal variables (Babbie, 2010). Basically, a research work seeks to determine how the independent variable affects the dependent variable. The independent variable can be viewed as an experimental stimulus and its presence is not guaranteed, that is, it can be present or absent. In a research work therefore a researcher sets out to find out the effect on the dependent variable when the independent variable is present and absent. The results of will show weather the hypothesis assumption is true or not. The variables are meant to test the hypothesis. The Independent variable can be viewed as the cause while the dependent variable can be viewed as the effect.
With respect to the above explanation, in our hypothesis regarding the topic of capital punishment it is very clear that the independent variable is knowledge. Knowledge on capital punishment stands on its own and can be said to be the causal variable. The dependent variable is support for capital punishment. Our hypothesis on the capital punishment seeks to find out if in any way having the knowledge of capital punishment affects the support given to the punishment.
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It is very significant that the variables to be used in a research work be defined properly to avoid ambiguity in the course of the research work. In the context of our hypothesis there is a need to define the two variables: knowledge and support of capital punishment. Knowledge of capital punishment in this case should not be taken just to imply being aware of the existence of the punishment but rather having a deep understanding of its purpose and knowing whether it serves its purpose or not. Knowing of the negative and positive impacts of this punishment should be viewed as knowledge of capital punishment.
Support of the capital is simple being in the view that the punishment should be administered. It is worth noting that the numbers of factors which may cause people to support or not support capital punishment are many. In the same way the number of independent variable are limitless and as a result when carrying out a research it is always advisable that the variables are chosen very carefully or rather appropriately.
Lastly, it is quite obvious that both the independent and dependent variables are dependent on each other in the context of carrying out a research work. A research work seeks to find out whether truly the independent variable points out to the dependent variables in trying to prove or disprove a hypothesis implying that the absence of one of the variable indicates an impossibility to carry out a research work. When a research work is to be carried out, there is a need for careful identification of the independent and dependent variables.
References
Babbie, E. (2010). The Practice of Social Research. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
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Carrol, J. (2004). Who Supports the Death Penalty? The Gallup Organization. Web.