Qualitative Paper – Crime Media and The Fear of Crime

Directions: To increase your ability to research and analyze information, you will be required to conduct three 10-15-minute in-depth qualitative interview on the topic of fear of crime and write a 4-6-page analysis on the main findings. The report should include a brief description of the methods but should focus primarily on the results and discussion of the results, including the prominent themes that came up during the interview.

1. Introduction – (20 points)
   1. Describe your topic of crime media and fear of crime.
      1. How does the media influence society’s fear of crime?
      1. Identify and describe potential social and economic consequences of fear of crime, as related to the criminal justice, political science, and communication media disciplines.
         1. Be sure to use empirical evidence (resources) to support your position.

1. Methodology – (20 points)
   1. Describe the purpose and goals of the qualitative research paradigm.
   1. Develop a research question and hypothesis.
      1. The research question should state what you want to learn, and the hypothesis is a statement of your predictive answer(s) to that question.
   1. Develop an interview guide of questions AND include it at the end of your paper.
      1. You should include specific examples of interview questions in your paper as well.
   1. Describe the interview process.
      1. This should include a description of the type of questions you ask, location of interview, length of interview, etc.

1. Analysis/Results– (20 points)
   1. Analysis of results:
      1. Be as explicit as you can about how your data will be analyzed; be sure to use specific examples and not general, abstract conclusions.
         1. What were prominent themes that came from the interview?
         1. Did you find support for your research question?

1. Conclusion – (20 points)
   1. Provide an overall conclusion and summary of your paper.
   1. Policy/Program Implications
      1. Address speculation about the future of the topic and how it will be addressed (i.e., potential policy or program to increase awareness, public service announcements, greater transparency of crime rates, media accountability, etc.)

• Interview Guide – (10 points)The interview guide and transcript of answers are included at the end of your paper.