Sampling and the NACJD

Deciding on what segment or segments of a population to be studied is a critical step in the research process. Sampling schemes and methods provide a foundation for making accurate inferences about the behavior or phenomenon under investigation, and the sampling method used must be aligned with the research design chosen for the study. The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) contains criminal justice data files from numerous sources. Each data set has extensive documentation listing details about research designs and approaches, the source of the data, the sampling frame, the sample, and so on. You can learn more about specific research designs, samples, target populations, and sampling strategies by reading descriptions of data archived at NACJD. Go to the NACJD (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website’s home page, and select the “Discover Data” button at the top. Browse the available studies and find at least two that you find of interest. Respond to the following: After reviewing the data sets, provide brief descriptions of the studies, and specifically list the following: the research design used (e.g., classic experiment, quasi-experiment) and the names of the independent and dependent variables, the population (universe), the sampling frame, the study population, the observation unit, and the sampling method that was used to gather the sample. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the research designs used for the studies? What the advantages and disadvantages of the sampling methods used in these two studies?