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Writing assignment: Beginning of the Proposal<br /> CJUS 4700<br /> <br /> The following questions are the introductory questions that you should ask yourself before you begin developing a research proposal. Answer each question in short essay responses (3-5 sentences). Answers should be typed using 12 point Times New Roman font, with one inch margins and be double spaced. Make sure all answers are explained in detail demonstrating your understanding of the material. If you are unable to fully answer each question then the succeeding research proposal will not be appropriate. <br /> <br /> Use APA formatting as a guide for your submission. Late assignment submissions will not be accepted. This assignment is worth 50 possible points.<br /> <br /> 1. (30 points) Identify a research question that you would like to address. Think about if your question can be addressed using social science methods (i.e., can be tested). If it is not you may need to change. This will be the question that is used for the research proposal!!! <br /> <br /> 2. (10 pts) Who are you interested in testing?<br /> <br /> 3. (10 points) What do you ultimately care about (i.e., what outcome do you want to see)?
Answer
Death Penalty Has Any Real Deterrent Effect on Crime
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Contents
The Outcomes I Would Like to See. 3
Introduction
Proposed Research Question
The research question that I would like to address is about the death penalty and its effects on crime. I intend to find out whether the death penalty has any real deterrent effect on crime. Despite the wealth of academic information accessible through an analysis of studies on this issue, opinion remains sharply divided among researchers on whether the death penalty really deters criminal behavior (Mocan & Gittings, 2003; Steiker, 2005). This debate, which has been ongoing for centuries, has heated up in recent times, particularly in the United States. Some states, for example Nebraska, are imposing a moratorium on death penalty while others such as Texas and California remain committed to its continued enforcement (Dezhbakhsh, Rubin & Shepherd, 2003). This research question can easily be tested by simply assessing trends in crime rate data from states that have stopped enforcing the death penalty and comparing with corresponding data from those states that have stepped up their efforts to enforce this kind of punishment.
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What I Want to Test
In this research proposal, I am interested in testing the behavior of individuals who engage in crime. I want to determine whether they are deterred from pursuing crime upon learning that such behavior subjects them to the risk of death through capital punishment. It is possible to access data on all the death sentences that have been handed down in the United States in recent times (Mocan & Gittings, 2003). It is also possible for the researcher to identify the exact year and month each execution was carried out in various states (Mocan & Gittings, 2003). A researcher can match this data with criminal activity at the state level with a view to determine whether specific death sentences had any deterrent effect on crime. One may expect that with an increase in prompt executions following a death sentence, a growing number of people who would otherwise have considered engaging in crime would be discouraged from going along that path. Thus, by testing this behavior, I hope to get an answer on whether the death penalty has a deterrent effect on criminal behavior.
The Outcomes I Would Like to See
I would like to see an outcome that indicates that the death penalty has a profound deterrent effect on criminal behavior. One suggestion that has been made in research is that each additional execution can decrease the number of homicides by five (Mocan & Gittings, 2003). I am keen to find out that sentencing to death people who have been convicted of aggravated crimes such as murder is a necessary measure that society should undertake to discourage that kind of criminal behavior. Such an outcome should ideally provide justification for the use of capital punishment in all states as one of the most crucial deterrence measure against the current wave of crime that has become a major challenge to the American society. I would also expect the outcomes to silence the moralists whose continued opposition to capital punishment is anchored primarily on moral arguments. The argument that I would like to see being used to support the death penalty is that this kind of punishment is not only morally permissible but also morally required. I hope to support this argument with my findings, which, I expect, will indicate that an increase in the number of executed death sentences leads to a reduction in the number of crimes.
References
Dezhbakhsh, H., Rubin, P. & Shepherd, J. (2003). Does Capital Punishment Have a Deterrent Effect? New Evidence from Post-moratorium Panel Data. American Law and Economics Review, 5(2), 344-376.
Mocan, H. & Gittings, R. (2003). Getting Off Death Row: Commuted Sentences and the Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment. Journal of Law and Economics, 46, 453-478.
Steiker, C. (2005). No, Capital Punishment Is Not Morally Required: Deterrence, Deontology, and the Death Penalty. Stanford Law Review, 58(3), 751-789.
