Social Science: Understanding a Good Survey Research Design
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Section A: Understanding a Good Survey Research Design
I would like to research for this report about the minorities’ perceptions of police use of excessive force and causes in the US. The topic is a crucial one, especially with communities of color in the United States, because some communities feel that law enforcement officers often apply excessive force while arresting them as compared to the white community. Despite this occurring, policies regarding the use of force vary within various departments and agencies are not similar. Survey research is crucial in designing projects centering on unique topics within society. Researchers use it to investigate a particular issue within society and obtain various opinions from each participant, allowing them to explore multiple dimensions of the topic under survey. The subject guides the researcher to formulate specific objectives, problem statements, and best approaches to use in the study. It is essential to formulate guiding questions in a survey that will be helpful in getting to the purpose of the survey and preventing the participants from deviating away from the study question.
The main population I will target for this study question and use qualitative questionnaires to get their opinion is the Black community within North Carolina, US. They are the most affected group by the excessive use of force applied to them by law enforcement officers conducting security searches, patrols, and arrests in the neighborhood. Law enforcement is obliged to treat the public with respect and without discriminating against them based on color, race, ethnicity, disability, gender, age, economic, or social status. The number of cases where individuals complain about the police using excessive power keeps increasing in the country, and statistics indicate that the proportional biases against particular races and ethnic groups are significantly higher than their white counterparts. The survey will contain multiple questions that will be a guiding tool to get results and achieve the objectives.
Section B: Identifying Potential Survey Research Questions
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The survey’s research topic is about the minorities’ perceptions of police use of excessive force and causes in the US. The survey will involve the use of questionnaires to guide respondents and restrict them from deviating away from the primary study objective. The inclusion of open-ended questions in the survey will allow researchers to get unique opinions from each respondent and use it in the final draft of the research. The survey will ask for consent from all participants and keep their responses as confidential as possible to make the study valid and reliable. Here are the fifteen questions that the survey will explore based on the research topic:
What is your name (give one) and age?
Are you a US citizen by birth, registration, or an immigrant (foreigner)?
Do you consider yourself white or persons of color? (can skip it, does not apply, don’t know).
What is your take on the presence of police officers in the neighborhood? Is it intimidation, or a threat, security boost, or don’t know).
Have you ever been stopped by a law enforcement officer in the neighborhood? If so, how did the occasion unfold? State the reason(s) why you were stopped.
What do you think is considered excessive use of force by the police?
Which one is regarded as the moderate or acceptable force that police officers should apply?
Do you support law enforcement officers to use tasers, conducted energy devices, and other less-lethal weapons while arresting suspects? Why or why not?
How do you think the wearing of body-cameras will affect the way police officers use force on the public while arresting suspects?
Do you feel the body-worn cameras will affect the way police behave?
Do you think police apply more force on individuals from a particular ethnic group? (White, Latin, African-American, Asian, and others). What might be the reasons?
What ethnic group of police officers would you prefer meeting, arrest, or stop you on your way? (White, Latin, African-American, Asian, and others).
Do you think that incorporating enforcement officers from minority races will reduce the use of force witnessed in the force?
Do you believe there is a need to change the current police department and its leadership? Why or why not?
What can you recommend to the law enforcement agencies to do in order to reduce incidences where police use excessive powers?
Thank you for your time in answering the questions as requested. We believe the response will impact policy implementation on police reforms and the use of excessive force on the public.