“Mentors and Criminal Achievement” by Morselli

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Table of Contents

General overview of the article
Research problem and hypothesis/question
Research design
Other strategies that could have worked
Strengths and weaknesses of the research method
Works Cited

General overview of the article

The article was published in 2006 following a research spanning over one year in Quebec Province, Canada, attempting to investigate the role of a mentor in the process of a person’s assumption of criminal life. It derives information from previous studies on other occupations that suggest similar roles of a mentor.

Research problem and hypothesis/question

The researchers argue that in career field, the role of a mentor is evidently one of the most significant factors that drive the career of an individual (Morselli, Tremblay and McCarthy 17). They use a number of studies to show how individual career programs and careers are developed through mentorship. From the study, it is evident that the current knowledge in career development recommends the young people to be under the influence of mentors in schools and other institutions in order to shape their career, skills and capabilities at the respective places of employment, which is based on evidence from empirical research. Nevertheless, the role of mentors in crime is not well understood from an empirical perspective. The researchers note that the development of a criminal life, just like career, is enhanced, and sometimes initiated, by a mentor (Morselli, Tremblay and McCarthy 21). In particular, the individuals who introduce young people to crime are considered the best mentors in criminal life. Thus, the study is based on this knowledge gap, which defines the current study problem.

Although the researchers have noted defined the specific research question that is being addressed in the article, it is clear that their hypothesis argues that mentors play a key role in enhancing criminal development and achievements. The hypothesis is simple yet well stated and attempts to examine a phenomenon that is a current social problem.

Research design

The researchers have used the findings of a survey they had carried on some incarcerated male adults the Quebec prisons for various crimes. The study was an ethnographic survey that sought to examine the “lived experiences” of the individuals involved in crime. The study attempted to describe the phenomenon from the reports provided by the individual offenders incarcerated for various crimes. Thus, the researchers have used a mixed method that used descriptive information instead of a statistical approach, which shows evidence of qualitative rather than a quantitative approach.

Other strategies that could have worked

Apart from the ethnographic study, the researchers had the freedom to apply other research strategies and arrive at similar or almost similar findings. For instance, the use of a grounded theory is an important research strategy in cases where the research idea is to examine the phenomenon based on the lived experiences of the individuals involved (Maxfield and Babbie 156). In this case, the incarcerated individuals are the proportion of the Quebec population that is affected by the problem of involvement in acts of crime through (or not through) mentorship. In research involving people, a grounded theory is an important strategy in developing a theory and using data to find out if the theory holds. Unlike other strategies, a grounded theory type of research begins with the development of a theory instead of a research question/hypothesis. It then ends by developing a research question, but tests the ground theory.

Qualitative or quantitative?

As mentioned above, the study has attempted to avoid intensive application of statistical data and statistical analysis of data. Instead, the researchers have used an in-depth analysis of the various keywords and issues that emerged from the surveys on the incarcerated males in Quebec as they narrate their involvement in crime through (or not through) mentors. Thus, it is clear that the study uses a qualitative approach to the problem. It examines the phenomenon based on descriptive information provided by the participants in the survey.

Strengths and weaknesses of the research method

A qualitative method is an effective method in examining the social phenomenon, especially where the population of the participants is heterogeneous. In addition, it avoids the problem of using a statistical significance to develop a conclusion in cases where the real finding does not agree with the statistical finding. In other words, the qualitative approach attempts to use the quality of the aspects that describe, define or characterize the phenomenon. On the other hand, a relatively long procedure requires the researcher to examine the participants, develop keywords or issues and use them to examine the nature of the phenomenon.

What could have been done to improve the study?

Although it is clear that the study provides evidence of the role of mentors in crime, it is clear that it was done based on the findings of a previous research study that attempted to examine other aspects of crime. As such, it is recommended that the researchers use a direct approach in which they will develop a strategy based on either ethnographic or grounded theory approach and use it purposely for examining the phenomenon. In addition, it is possible to improve the presence findings by developing an additional study to expand the sample by including other provinces apart from Quebec in order to generalize the findings to the entire Canadian population.

Works Cited

Maxfield, Michael and Earl Babbie. The basic of research methods for criminal justice criminology third edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

Morselli, Carlo, Pierre Tremblay, and Bill McCarthy. “Mentors and Criminal Achievement.” Criminology 44.1 (2006): 17-43. Print

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“Mentors and Criminal Achievement” by Morselli

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