T-test In Practice Article Critique .
Instructions:-
T-test In Practice
Search for a Quantitative Article in (Public Policy / Justice Administration) related to t-Tests.
2 Page (only 2 pages) Critique of a Quantitative Article and include:
- Why did the authors use this t-test?
- Was it the most appropriate choice? Why or why not?
- Did the author display the data?
- Do the results stand alone? why or why not?
Solution
T-test In Practice
Prince Albert Police Service was challenged by the rate at which crime and demands for police services were increasing. As a result, they collaborated with local stakeholders to implement a strategy that would reduce crime and risk. The program was dubbed Community Mobilization Prince Albert (CMPA). Even though previous studies had shown that the intervention had been effective, Sawatsky MJ, Ruddell R and Jones NA were interested in testing whether there was any statistically significant improvement contributed by the program (2017). This essay evaluates the use of t-test in the analysis and how appropriate the test is for the kind of study conducted by Sawatsky, Ruddell and Jones (2017).
The authors chose to analyse the data considering the fact that the data were longitudinal in nature, with the analysis examining data prior to intervention and after the intervention. The data analysed compares whether the mean reported crime rates before implementing CMPA is lower than the mean crime rates after the program is implemented (Sawatsky, Ruddell, & Jones, 2017). A t-test is used in comparing the means to tell if the difference between the two measurements is significant or not (Frankfort-Nachmias, & Leon-Guerro, 2015).
T-tests have been used over time by researchers to determine the effectiveness of certain interventions. CMPA was an intervention that was devised as a way of reducing crime rates and costs of crime to society. Since the authors were interested in determining how effective the CMPA had been. Therefore, the use of a t-test for the analysis and comparing the means of the police reported data before the introduction of the CMPA and those collected after the implementation of the intervention was an appropriate strategy (Sawatsky, Ruddell, & Jones, 2017).
The authors displayed the data in form of graphs and tables, which is a proper means of presenting raw data but preserving on space and time. It also helps in keeping the report brief and understandable. One only needs to look at the graph or table to see what the entire data is. The authors also effectively stated that they carried out the analysis for the data collected 53 months before the intervention and 53 months after. They also provided a six months period from the launching of the program when the results were not expected to be significant (Sawatsky, Ruddell, & Jones, 2017).
The results do not stand alone as they are accompanied with detailed explanations and illustrations. The researchers have provided a comprehensive analysis of the situation at Prince Albert, how and why the decision to implement CMPA was made, and displayed the results of their analysis in form of graphs and tables. As a consequence, their results are both credible and understandable (Frankfort-Nachmias, & Leon-Guerro, 2015). By just glancing at the table, one can easily see the gradual improvements that came from the implementation of the Prince Albert’s crime and risk reduction approach of ensuring that community safety improves. After the six months of implementation, reductions of crime rates and costs to society had started to be noted. The analysis concluded that there was a statistically significant reduction in crime rates in Prince Albert after the CMPA was implemented (Sawatsky, Ruddell, & Jones, 2017).
Justice
administration and ensuring low crime rates in a city such as Prince Albert is
a challenging task that needs expertise and attention to the data. The accuracy
and effectiveness of the intervention measures implemented should be keenly
monitored. Data driven monitoring needs the analysis of data before an
intervention measure is implemented and after it is implemented. One of the
best and most appropriate statistical method of analysis of the significance of
impact is t-test. To ensure that the data is credible and understandable, it is
important to accompany the data with explanations and diagrams such as graphs.
References
Sawatsky, M.J., Ruddell, R. & Jones, N.A. (2017). A quantitative study of Prince Albert’s crime/risk reduction approach to community safety. Journal of CSWB, 2(1).
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Leon-Guerro, A. (2015). Social Statistics for a diverse society (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA; Sage Publications