Discussion Question -

Discuss the relationship between the methodology and the research questions

Introduction

From the current research, it has been deducted that qualitative methodology receives some critiques from most literate persons. Some of these critiques include the following: they are being curious of whether the qualitative research is more valid to give quantifiable results and also to whether there should be a set of standards that will proof it as scientific research.

Qualitative methodology often involves firsthand information and thus more reliable as compared to get information from secondary sources. The following are some of the methodologies that were used to collect data (Camic, 2003).

Body

• Ethnography: It's a type of qualitative methodology in which the participant is involved in the community to get the data. This includes involvements of oneself in the participant. If the mental illness has been affecting a certain community, then the research should be involved in that community to evaluate whether there is a relationship between the mental illness and violent crimes.

Through involvement, one will know about the culture, goals, challenges and the emerging themes about the research topic. I was involved in the research from that I came to understand about the emerging themes that there could be a relationship between the mental illness and violent crimes.

• Secondly, I used also the narrative methodology to collect data. Narrative methodology involves conducting several interviews after which data is collected and assembled. After I conducted the several interviews in different times of the year, I assembled the data and formulated story. This story can now be narrated in form of themes (Van 1979).

These are the main methodologies that I used to conduct my research. As discussed above, narrative methodology was used in most cases. Different interviews were done at different times of the year as some of the cultures believe that mental illness occurs during certain period of the year.

Conclusion

In summary, the choice of the type of qualitative methodology will depend on many key factors. The most cutting issue is to ensure that the main objective is fulfilled. The researcher should consider the implications of using the design methodology. In normal cases use the methodology that will have more positive impact than the negative impacts (Patton, 1990).

References

Camic, P. M., Rhodes, J. E., & Yardley, L. E. (2003). Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design. American Psychological Association.

Van Maanen, J. (1979). Qualitative methodology. Sage Publications, Inc.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. SAGE Publications, inc.

Primary Research Question

1. Among mentally ill convicts, what is the rate of recidivism?

2. Is there a relationship between violent crimes and mental illness?

3. Does being mentally ill increase the chance of one being a criminal? If yes, how?

4. Why has the trend been on the rise?