Running head: FINAL PROJECT: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1
Final Project: Research Proposal
Lani desRosiers
SNHU
Research Methods in Psych I
PSY 510
Professor Ronald Stevens
January 28, 2018 FINAL PROJECT: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2
Final Project: Research Proposal
Problem Statement
Criminal profiling may be described as a tool of criminal investigation where a crime scene(s) is assessed in order to identify a likely suspect to the crime. It looks to establish the behavioral patterns of an individual. Criminal profiling, also known as offender or psychological
profiling, lies somewhere in between law enforcement and psychology. A definitive methodology is an ongoing process. Profiling has become a regular topic in our society (and internationally), quite possibly (at least in part) due to the presence of television shows such as Criminal Minds, Mindhunter, and Profiler in addition to the use of FBI profilers by the news media. The research question is: What is the public perception of the efficacy of criminal profiling and the influence of television on this perception? The Null Hypothesis for this research proposal is: If participants observe a police crime drama that contains offender profiling, they will ascribe positive outcomes to actual criminal profilers.
Literature Review
Existing Research on Criminal Profiling is varied with a dichotomy between law enforcement and psychology. Law enforcement research appears to be less scientific than that presented by psychology. It is more anecdotal, offering the experience of law enforcement rather
than the use of evidence based research (Chifflet, 2015). Criminal profiling, also known as offender profiling, has been in existence since the 17th century (Messer, 2008). As it is known today, the first official case may be traced back to 1956, “The Mad Bomber” (Messer, 2008). In the 1970’s, the FBI developed their Behavioral Science Unit and during the 80’s and 90’s additional, formal approaches have been developed (Chifflet,
Final Project: Research Proposal
Lani desRosiers
SNHU
Research Methods in Psych I
PSY 510
Professor Ronald Stevens
January 28, 2018 FINAL PROJECT: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2
Final Project: Research Proposal
Problem Statement
Criminal profiling may be described as a tool of criminal investigation where a crime scene(s) is assessed in order to identify a likely suspect to the crime. It looks to establish the behavioral patterns of an individual. Criminal profiling, also known as offender or psychological
profiling, lies somewhere in between law enforcement and psychology. A definitive methodology is an ongoing process. Profiling has become a regular topic in our society (and internationally), quite possibly (at least in part) due to the presence of television shows such as Criminal Minds, Mindhunter, and Profiler in addition to the use of FBI profilers by the news media. The research question is: What is the public perception of the efficacy of criminal profiling and the influence of television on this perception? The Null Hypothesis for this research proposal is: If participants observe a police crime drama that contains offender profiling, they will ascribe positive outcomes to actual criminal profilers.
Literature Review
Existing Research on Criminal Profiling is varied with a dichotomy between law enforcement and psychology. Law enforcement research appears to be less scientific than that presented by psychology. It is more anecdotal, offering the experience of law enforcement rather
than the use of evidence based research (Chifflet, 2015). Criminal profiling, also known as offender profiling, has been in existence since the 17th century (Messer, 2008). As it is known today, the first official case may be traced back to 1956, “The Mad Bomber” (Messer, 2008). In the 1970’s, the FBI developed their Behavioral Science Unit and during the 80’s and 90’s additional, formal approaches have been developed (Chifflet,
