Question 1. Rennison & Hart, Chapter 11: Evaluation Research
You are interning with a local agency that provides resume assistance for former prisoners. The program is
hyped as one that teaches former prisoners how to write their own resume, develop excellent interviewing
skills, and engage in positive employee behavior. A goal of this program is to increase self-sufficiency and,
ultimately, the reduction of recidivism. The funder of this project is a family who strongly believes in these
goals. Furthermore, the funder is using its few financial resources to fund this important work. You enjoy
working on a meaningful project with this giving family. In the course of your work, you discover that the
program is not keeping good records on measures of self-sufficiency or recidivism. In fact, it seems that the
information is simply being made up to make the program look successful and to keep the funds flowing. What
sorts of measures do you think it should be keeping? What might you do faced with this dilemma? Who would
you tell about this? What guidelines of evaluation research are being violated? What standards of effective
evaluations are being compromised? Why?
Question 2. Rennison & Hart, Chapter 13: Making Your Research Relevant
Santos and Santos’s (2016) research indicated that intensive policing did not statistically affect their outcome
measures. In other words, it did not appear to have much of an effect, although the authors noted that the
direction of the findings was positive. You have developed a relationship with the local police chief who is
aware of your familiarity with this research. She is asking what sort of policy implications come from this work.
What suggestions would you provide the chief? Why?
Question 3. Rennison & Hart, Chapter 14: Research Methods as a Career
Log onto USAJobs.com and type “Justice+Research” into the search box. Click on a few results that are
returned, and investigate the kinds of skills that are listed under the section titled “Preferred Qualifications.”
What are some of the common skills desired for these positions, and how do they relate to skills related to
research?
Question 4: Article: Testa, M., Livingston, J. A., & VanZile-Tamsen, C. (2011). Advancing the study of violence
against women using mixed methods: Integrating qualitative methods into quantitative research program.
According to the authors of the article, Testa, Livingston, and VanZile-Tamsen (2011), why is mixed methods
particularly appropriate for studying physical and sexual violence against women?