Thesis
A first draft of a dissertation
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- Dissertation
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- University Of Roehampton (RU)
A basis of how to structure a dissertation
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1. IntroductionThe intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system has been a topic of
increasing concern in recent years. Within this context, individuals within custody in
England and Wales are at particular risk of developing poor mental health problems,
often as a result of the stresses and strains of incarceration. Statistics demonstrate that
90% of the people in prisons suffer from a mental disorder ( Booker and Ullman, 2008).
Despite the growing awareness of this issue, there is still much to be understood about
public attitudes towards the mental health of prisoners.
This paper is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 has provided an introduction. Chapter
2, the ‘Literature Review’, presents results of previous work on the attitudes of mental
health and prisoners. This chapter is broken down into areas of exploration, each factor
which may explain public attitudes towards the mental health of prisoners in England and
Wales. Chapter 3 explains the ‘Methodology’ of the research study, discussing the main
research methods used to answer the research question and identifying the data analysis
techniques used to obtain clear and precise findings. This chapter is important in
illustrating how this research study has been conducted so that it can be conducted by
other researchers in the future. Chapter 4, the ‘Findings’ present the findings of the
primary data collected. It will cover the themes of public attitudes and knowledge
towards mental health, the prison system, and the overall mental health of prisoners in
England and Wales. Chapter 5 provides a discussion of the findings and how they relate
to the literature discussed in the literature review. Additionally, it provides an overview of
the current limitations of the research study and how future studies could improve upon
this research. Chapter 6 draws the paper to a conclusion.
1.1 Aims and Objectives
This research aims to:
1. Explore public attitudes and knowledge of mental health
2. Explore the public attitudes and knowledge of the prison system
3. Explore public attitudes and knowledge of the mental health of prisoners in
England and Wales
To achieve these objectives, one of the aims of the research is to conduct a systematic
analysis of primary data from a questionnaire which explored the public knowledge and
attitudes towards mental health, the prison system and the overall attitudes and
knowledge of the mental health of prisoners in England and Wales. The main research
question is formulated as follows:
‘What are the attitudes and knowledge of the general public in England and Wales
towards the mental health of prisoners?’
3. Methodology
This section introduces the methodology used to carry out this research study, which
analyses the public's attitudes regarding prisoners' mental health. This research aims to:
4. Explore public attitudes and knowledge of mental health
5. Explore the public attitudes and knowledge of the prison system
6. Explore public attitudes and knowledge of the mental health of prisons
Therefore, this research study will use quantitative structured questionnaires, to allow
the public to rate their attitudes on Likert scales on the topic of mental health, prisons,
, and the mental health of prisoners. Additionally, it was important to find out the public’s
knowledge about these topics and where this knowledge came from. This approach was
significant for this research study as it helped to understand where the specific attitudes
were coming from. This chapter will discuss the method chosen and the reasons behind
the choice. Moreover, it will look at the difficulties faced and explain the ethical issues
considered whilst conducting the research and how these were overcome.
3.1 Primary Research
For this research study, primary data collection was crucial due to the lack of research
published regarding the mental health of prisoners, so there was no data source to pull
from to analyse. Primary data refers to data collected for the specific research question
at hand (Hox and Boeije, 2005). The use of primary data collection ensured that the
research questions could be tailored to the specific study ensuring the study is coherent
and that the information collected is relevant to the research study.
3.2 Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is a type of research which is the numerical representation which
employs empirical methods and statements. Cohen (1980) defines an empirical
statement as ‘ a descriptive statement about what “is” the case rather than what
“ought” to be the case in the real world’. There are many forms of quantitative research,
and for this topic, survey research was the best option. A questionnaire is designed to
seek out specific attitudes and answers from a population, which provides statistical
measurements which can be related to the entire population. The criterion to have
quantitative data led to the use of closed questions in the questionnaire, this allows for
numerical analysis and scientific comparisons of various respondents’ data.
A method called self-administered questionnaires was used for this research study.
Questionnaires enable a researcher to elicit information from respondents who may not
be accessible otherwise as well as allow a more convenient method for participants as
they can complete the questionnaire initially when received or whenever they had the
time. This method of collection reduces researcher bias and influence as the researcher
is not present ensuring the participants disclose true answers instead of answering what
they believe the researcher wants them to answer (May 2011). However, there is a
chance for unreliable data due to respondents self-selecting answers (Sukamolson,
2007).
3.3 Ensuring Rigour
A significant part of my research was to ensure the data was collected with rigour. For a
research study to be defined as trustworthy, there are many distinct factors which need
to be met. For quantitative research, the methods needed to establish trustworthiness
include internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity.
One of the elements to establish trustworthiness is internal validity. Internal validity
relates to the extent to which a research study is appropriate for the research question
( Carter and Porter, 2000 in Twycross and Shields, 2004). Internal Validity was ensured
through this research study by reducing research bias and participant bias by having a
self-completion collection method, this excluded any extraneous variables from being
present in the completion of the questionnaire online. Participants were provided with
the questionnaire and could answer the questions in a way that they felt comfortable
with which ensured the reliability of their answers, however, this research lacks
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