CSBI Course 4: Business Intelligence Technical Skills
Introduction
The Basics
Getting It Done
Reflect what you have learned
Certified Specialist Business
Intelligence (CSBI) Reflection
CSBI Course 4: Business Intelligence Technical Skills
Introduction
The Basics
Getting It Done
Business Intelligence Technical Skills
Introduction
This course provides an overview of business intelligence technical skills, including how to
apply the concepts and tools of BI to understand what to work on and how, as well as how to
use databases and related report-writing applications. The section also provides explanations of
business intelligence applications and approaches that are used to derive information from large
clinical, financial, and other databases to support better decision-making. Methods of presenting
and displaying information in a clear manner are also discussed.
Application of Concepts and Tools to understand what to work on and how to do it
The work of the BI/Analytics consultant needs to move beyond the development and production
of routine daily reports, analysis and responses to information requests that come into the office.
Through use of appropriate data management, analytic tools and approaches, organizationally
significant areas or items can be identified that should be targeted or monitored, many of which
may be currently missed or under-scrutinized, identifying these significant areas reveals the
work that needs to be engaged. One needs to frame the questions and guide users to focus on
the most meaningful analyses.
With the healthcare marketplace calling for greater value from all players, delivery of BI/analytics
information must support high levels of organizational achievement related to the five Power
Decision attributes.
Future success will rely on decision-making that leads to repeatedly doing things better( with
precision and accuracy). Decision-making needs to be expeditious in a way that achieves the
best clinical outcome and/or business operational result. Success means being faster than the
competition and being able to quickly handle differing demands of individual healthcare users
and the general marketplace in the consumer-eccentric world(agility). And cost makes a
difference, information that is easily understood and represents one truth is needed to support
this.
The goal is to obtain information that addresses the questions or issues at hand. We can refer
to this as one truth,and this one truth needs to be clearly conveyed when it matters, when a
decision is required.
The BI/Analytics consultant knows how to achieve this. It is not a simple matter of item selection
from a drop-down menu. An example would be requests related to department productivity.
Calculate productivity using finance system data, and one number is attained. Ask the
department manager and they have another number from the scheduling system. A different
number is supplied when the time clock and payroll data are accessed. Whether these
differences are small or large is beside the point. Three numbers are no longer acceptable.
Revealing Items of Significance
Achievement of one truth happens through organizational decisions that reveal the one truth for
the organizations as the data architecture and warehousing systems are designed and
implemented. The selection decisions on what to extract, translate and load are crucial because
these lay the foundation for the data that become one truth. There are trade-offs that one must
be aware of. For example, warehouse data may not be as good as raw data for some
purposes,yet raw data may not be available or accessible. One may need to meticulously tie
and reconcile this raw data to that one truth.
The Basics
Using database and related report writing applications
Historically, healthcare provider organizations use of databases and reporting has been
narrowly directed and concentrated, with concomitant issues, as will be noted in the six points.
This type of database use should not be hastily dropped, as there is value in at least some of the
output generated which will be considered later. However, such uses are insufficient to
accomplish the tasks needed in the new healthcare business environment.
Analysis, Analytics and Business Intelligence
The BI/analytics work traditionally performed, and much of the work done today, continues to be
a necessary decision-support function involving the framing and formatting of reports and
relatively basic descriptive analytics, if any analytics, if any analytics at all. Added more
recently to the output of this work are visualized reports. These visualizations are available as
organizations adapt new reporting tools. They may or may not represent a move into analytics,
depending on whether they bring new depth and breadth revealing insight or foresight or do not
improve decision-making precision, speed or consistency. The visualizations should not be
confused with engaging analytics.
This work in healthcare often is still performed within the silos of individual process applications.
Limitations revolve around the embedded report writers, which have little, if any, capability for
depth and breadth of analysis. The output of these applications is typically designed for simple
descriptive reporting or extracting data electronically, yielding simple columns for fields and rows
for such applications may be based on legacy system architecture and may not be able to be
accessed by newer sophisticated tools.
Most of this work has been financially focused in nature. For financial statements, budgeting
and monitoring, regulatory reporting, KPIs, etc, organizations use financial system applications
such as general ledger, billing transactions, and applications such as order entry to examine
areas such as volumes, procedures, or timings.
This work is typically based on performing recurring, routine reporting and analysis, such as
financial statements, cost reporting, KPIs and variances and recurring periodic activities,such
as budgeting and ad-hoc requests.
Regardless of the approach(siloed and manual reporting or a more integrated approach), the
output is typically of a simplistic, descriptive, analytic nature providing quantities, comparisons,
percentiles and maybe trend lines on graphs. Remember that descriptive analytics includes
some more powerful tools for understanding the data-frequency distributions and standard
deviations, combinations, cross tabs(Pivot tables), scatter plotting and others. Routine reporting
does not use any of these tools. Without such tools, there is limited or no ability to understand
the magnitude, depth and breadth of a situation that needs to be understood. Indeed, the
valuable methodology needed to unlock high-impact information should not be engaged as part
of dashboard display, as this type of information does not work well in this format.
Most often, application report writers are insufficient to reveal the information needed for
powerful decision-making. A good deal of a BI/analytics consultants time is spent manually
analyzing extracted data with individual files or manually compiling data from various systems
for analysis inside other tools.
Viewpoints and Decision-making power: Example-Agency versus overtime
The power is derived from the fact that decisions in the future must be made in alignment with
the five key decision attributes depicted to the right. This type of decision making is demanded
in a cost-conscious, resource-constrained, value-starved, hotly competitive, turbulent
environment, such as health care today.
Using the Database and related report writing applications
However, this may still be insufficient. The next section will display an ordered approach to
taking advantage of the leverage that descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics can
provide for more powerful decision-making and success in healthcare service delivery in any
environment.
Some organizations are on this path, as reform takes hold and meaningful use achievements
become more sophisticated. There are difficulties as movements are essentially sequential,
however, not strictly consecutive. The approach is iterative, explorative and experimental and
requires looking at differing positions on the path simultaneously. Yet, by jumping ahead or
failing to consider each point on the path,one can miss vital knowledge needed for strong
construction of the later positions.
Getting it Done
Monitoring and Planning
One naturally first considers the situation in terms of what data elements might be required.
Consider the IT applications in which such assumed data might reside-the individual process
application, a related process application, or a secondary storage location.
Next, we should evaluate the capability and possibility for accessing, reporting and/or extracting
information from the application of the datas residence.
Process applications often suffer the problem of very limited reporting functionality and
capability. This is the case related to extraction, as well. So, is the data available,
accessible(within the timeframe called for or real-time), and in a useful format using
those tools. Is that tool available? What is the staff capability to use the tool?
If not, is the data in the warehouse? This is the key issue that needs careful attention.
Construction of the warehouse is complicated. Storage costs, while dropping
Dramatically in recent years, there remains an additional expense that is always incurred
begrudgingly and usually a case must be made for including each data element. Further in
making this case, certain functions are favored(e.g. RevCycle) and once a data element is no
longer needed for the favored function it might be dropped from the warehouse for cost reasons.
Thus data elements sought for reporting and analytic purposes are not available over the long
term. For instance, the warehouse of a major midwest system droppedED time in/time out
elements after 60 days, thus making longitudinal LOS studies and other insight and foresight
questions far more difficult to engage. This Is not irreparable, yet a time-consuming new set-up
must be engaged.
An alternative to the above might be the related process application. However, the same
questions would apply.
If the alternatives on the previous page do not prove successful, then the question of a
secondary storage location(s) should be explored. When moving in this direction, be especially
careful to consider what is contained in such a location. The first question, among others to ask
is: Does the location contain all the data elements of the process application?
Assuming one can obtain data through an approach discussed in the previous pages and the
data is in-hand, it must be determined if this the data needed to address the question? Often
when the initial data is retrieved, a new set of questions arises. For example, is other data
needed that was not initially thought of or considered important? Often additional or alternative
data elements are identified. Also, one must check the veracity of the data. The data from the
source chosen may lack the completeness, integrity and reliability needed to achieve the one
truth sought.
It is important to check the work. Is this what is expected? Are the results due to the way the
work was performed? Are there duplicate records, empty fields or strange data that are
possibly due to a setup of the query, rather than a problem with the data?
The key point here is that if questioning of this sort does not arise naturally, then a critical aspect
of the work is to make sure these questions are asked and examined.
During the questioning process you will likely need to engage in stakeholder analysis and
process flow charting, whether or not you have engaged either of these when considering the
initial data requirements.
Note 1
It is not required to engage stakeholder analysis and process flow earlier, however at least a
cursory review of the situation considering stakeholders and processes is called for now and
should not be ignored. Without such review, important details may be missed that are crucial to
success.
Note 2
What is being encountered at this point is the iterative and experimental portion of performing
this work. Initial data is obtained, raising questions that may require new data pulls, which
means it will be necessary to go back to the points weve covered, all the while considering
everything in light of the shifting work in understanding stakeholders and process(which may
evolve as more questions are asked and iterations occur).
Key Point
This is the true nature of a good deal of the BI/Analytics consultants work. Simple reporting will
not suffice over time. Along with complexity comes the need for richer, more complex
information that involves more sources and more players and may be more demanding to
produce.
Stakeholder Analysis is essential
The stakeholder analysis is essential for fostering transparency and breaking down barriers that
inevitably arise when one starts asking questions about data. This is especially the case when
the veracity of data is questioned. Remember, the BI/Analytics consultant is most likely an
outsider, not a process owner, and will not be considered to know anything about the way things
really work here. In such a situation, working with those responsible for data accuracy and
integrity can require great sensitivity. One must know who the players are, understand their
interests and have a plan for connecting with them in meaningful ways. One must understand
wh has the power and who can, and will, become champions.
Process flowcharting is essential
Process flow is essential. First and foremost, it shows what you are working with, which may
be different than what you should be working with. Maybe the process is different than verbally
described or initially considered. Second, process flow charting allows all parties involved to
ask questions and participate in the process so will have a visible and mutually agreed-upon
view of the process. This allows everyone to come to an agreement on what the data is or
where it comes from. The transparency and collaboration fostered in this process would likely
be an important collaboration fostered in this process would likely be an important part of any
stakeholder plan. Process flow charting, in concert with the other points of this approach,
ensures identification of relevant questions and issues to be addressed.
One might ask at this point
Why not engage stakeholder analysis and process flow charting right off the bat and be done
with it? And this is a good idea. However it is not required initially. Once data is in hand, one
would look at the reality of the data and would need to engage stakeholder analysis and process
flow regardless. This ensures that the right data is obtained to address the need; that it contains
what it was thought to contain and whether additions or alternatives are needed.
Monitoring and Planning
Reporting and descriptive analytic tools are widely available from vendors of all size and scale.
Automation of functions and processing, ease of use and display of information are critical
selection criteria.
If line staff are the ones who have to use the tools, they need tools that fit their workflow rather
than alter it. They will not be able to use tools that add their daily task list. At a minimum, the
situation needs to be neutral related to the workload. At best, the tools should save time, require
less work and display information in a way that is immediately easy to understand and useful.
The tools need to add precision, accuracy and speed to their decision-making.
Operational Transaction Focused Real-Time Decision-making
The steps in the situation are largely the same as in monitoring and reporting. The difference is
that the organization should want to leverage predictive and prescriptive analytics for real-time
decision-making. Decisions made in this way achieve high performance in relation to the 5
power decision attributes. Enabling and embedding these types of analytics into real-time
operations allows the organization to achieve real results.
The 5 key power decision attributes are:
1. Targeted Results
2. Replicable-done in the same way, repeatedly
3. Adaptable to differing circumstances
4. Expeditious
5. Low cost
The difference in applications of analytics in operational situations is understanding the
requirement for real-time access to data that is refreshed and updated. Where this is required ,
warehoused data cannot be used. Warehoused information is old, even if only for a few
minutes. The access requirement means that only data from the process applications is useful.
If there are difficulties accessing, refreshing and updating data, which could be the case with
proprietary and legacy systems, one may not be able to go further with the project. This
situation is not nearly prevalent, as it has been even in the recent past, however, one should
always be attuned to the level of real-time access possibility, and drive for achieving greater
levels of real-time access in order to assist in real-time decision-making.
Not all operational situations require this real-time interactional interface. Through process flow
charting, one will understand the operational processes-where, how and when data is available
and used. With this information, the immediacy of transactional can be known. Those
operational situations that are not an immediate transaction can use warehouse data.
SHOW MORE…
help
Repeat Title from Title Page, Centered and Bold
Write your paragraphs indenting the first line .5 inches as shown. Make sure you use correct in text citations and that your references align with what is cited in the text. Everything that is cited in the document should be listed as a reference. References should only include articles that are cited in the text. Make sure you have a minimum of 10 peer review journal articles in the last 10 years. First couple of paragraphs should be about the importance of the study, the importance of your population (exercise #4) and ending with your research question worded as per Chapter 5 and class lecture. (exercise #5)
Heading Should be Boldface and Flushed Left
You dont need to use a heading but if you do, please follow the style indicated above. I would say that since the literature review is 5 7 pages (a short paper) you should not use more than 3 headings. Do not use a heading for only one paragraph; use them if it helps with the flow and clarity of your paper.
Your literature review should discuss past research relevant to your research questions. Make sure you include details of study (participants, methods, results). At the end of your literature review you will conclude or summarize your research presented and state your hypothesis in the style presented in per Chapter 5 and class lecture. You will have 5 7 pages of literature review (not including title page or references). The minimum is 5 full pages (not 4 or 4 you should be at page 7 of your document to fulfill this requirement.
When using in text citation think about varying your style. You could use the parenthetical style like here (Jones et al., 2015) or you can also use the authors in the sentence. For example, Park (2018) discussed the results of whatever you are doing. Citations dont include authors first names or names of the articles. SOCW 3350Spring 2022Detailed Instructions for the Literature Review Paper
The final version of your 5-7 page literature review paper (worth 20% of your course grade) is to be submitted electronically in Blackboard Learn, and is due by 11:59PM on Sunday, March 13th. You will FIRST submit a DRAFT of this Literature Review for a PEER to Review by Feb 27th (and you will review a Peers by March 6th).A Literature Review tells a story about the information you uncover during your electronic database searches. Electronic databases such as PsycINFO, Medline/PubMed, Social Work Abstracts, and SocINDEX (all located within Academic Search Complete) may be very helpful to you as you perform the database searches necessary to complete your review.
As examples, previous students have written literature reviews related to the following research topics:
Adverse Child Experiences (ACE)-toxic stress and adult depression
Male sex workers and risky sexual behavior
Childhood trauma-sexual and adult high-risk sexual behavior
U.S. Veterans and PTSD treatment interventions
Foster Care and educational attainment
ACE-parental incarceration and negative social behaviors (childhood bullying)
Access to healthcare and mental health diagnoses
Childhood trauma-physical and adult substance use disorders
Throughout this paper, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate the range of knowledge, skills, and cognitive processes (logic/critical thinking) you have acquired through this course in terms of 2015 EPAS Competency #4Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice. Remember, research topics are often very broad and that your papers will need to be sufficiently detailed to analyze and summarize the available peer-reviewed literature. In grading your papers, I will also be looking for evidence that you are actively engaged with the primary source material (peer-reviewed articles) from electronic databases.
As a rule of thumb, you should have at least two peer-reviewed articles per page of text (see below). You should NOT use quoted material. No Quotes. This does not mean that the paper is a listing of research article summaries, rather you should endeavor to write a paper that is cohesive and topical, using the research you are citing to substantiate the ideas and findings of previous work.
Make sure to emphasize the following in your literature review:
Brief description of the population(s) affected or of interest (Who are the people within your population of interest? How many? Risk factors? Relevant historical, biological, psychological, cultural, political, and social influences on the population/research topic?) (Maximum 1 page) — Ask yourself WHO were they studying and why is it that these persons are linked to your research topic or working research question.
Detailed descriptions and definitions of key variables (at least address those in your working research question or implied by your research topic) and how and with whom these variables have been studied in the past, as well as instruments used to measure these variables (STUDY DESIGN, METHODS, SAMPLES).
(Minimum 2 pages) —Ask yourself what were they measuring and how did they measure it.
Detailed descriptions of the evidence of program or intervention efficacy, effectiveness, results, or best practices (RESULTS) from research/evaluation studies AND how does this impact what is known about your research topic or working research question. (RESULTS, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION) (Minimum 2 pages) —Ask yourself what did the researchers find out and describe their findings related to your research topic or working research question.
Your paper should be 5-7 pages in length, double-spaced, and use 12-point Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins.
Every paper should have an APA 7th edition style title page and reference page; however, they are not included in the overall paper length.
A rule of thumb is at least two individual (unique) peer-reviewed literature sources per page of text. Therefore, your paper should use at least 10 peer-reviewed articles. (Government and other sources will not count towards this number.)
You should use APA 7th edition style and carefully edit so that the paper is free of grammar, syntax, and typographical errors. Paraphrase! Your paper should not use direct quotes. Papers containing plagiarism will receive a 0 (see syllabus for additional details).
Rubric (100 points total)
Paper Content (90 points)
Good (75-90 points):
Research topic is well-described using peer-reviewed articles;
Paper provides a strong introduction/background to the selected aspect or dimension of the selected research topic;
Paper provides a thoughtful, critical analysis of information available in the peer-reviewed literature;
Paper synthesizes the information from the articles such that this is NOT just a list of article summaries;
Paper leads to a RESEARCH QUESTION; and
Paper meets minimum length of five (5) pages, not including title and reference pages. Paper must have 1-inch margins and conform to other APA elements (in text citations, references, headers, etc).
No grammar errors or typos, CLEARLY HAD SOMEONE PROOF READ BEFORE SUBMISSION
Average (74 points maximum):
Review provides only surface-level (superficial) details on an aspect or dimension of the research topic using mostly scientific/government websites, books, and other materials rather than peer-reviewed articles;
Paper only provides an introduction/background, but the information is not well-researched or cited;
Paper provides a some analysis of information and responses to research questions, but the analysis may not be thorough and detailed enough to provide a solid response to one or more of the research questions;
Paper reads like a list of article summaries,
Paper may or may not meet minimum length of 5 pages.
Poor (55 points maximum)
Review is not appropriate or applicable to the selected research topic and contains very few or no citations from peer-reviewed literature;
Paper clearly lacks editing in terms of outlining evidence of research, critical thinking, and analysis; or
Paper does not meet minimum length of 5 pages. Obstacles Faced by Former Offenders Upon Re-entry into Society
Vanessa Hayden Phillips
University of Houston-Downtown
Socw-3350
Professor Gloria Pereira
October 10,2022
Follow template posted on Bb for title page and APA style; I won’t make any of those comments here.
Good level of detail on studies; maybe at times too much (details on independent/dependent variables for example). I think you need to integrate the document in a different way. You list the details of all the studies, then you detail all the results. It does not make for an integrated narrative story. You should organize by obstacles maybe.
One comment I have is I dont know how you are going to do the study itself. It reads like a paper but not like a research proposal how are you going to study this? That will also alter or influence how you write the literature review part. You want the reader to end up with a clear picture of what you are going to study in your research not just a general idea of what the research says. In terms of how you are going to study all these obstacles that people face in one study? Are you going to survey people to see which factors affect them? You also might want to end the literature review with a little of what you are contributing to the existing research (which there is a lot on the obstacles) so what are you adding? How is your study different? How are you contributing to the body of research?
1
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Obstacles That Former Offenders Are Faced with Upon Re-entry into Society
Re-entry is the process through which former offenders from jails or prisons transition back into society (Hipes & Clever, 2018). Thousands of offenders are released from federal and state prisons every year, and they proceed to re-enter their communities (in text citation). Studies since you mention studies in plural you shoul show that out of the number of offenders released, 75% of them are re-arrested in five years (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2018). The statistics on recidivism are also not positive, showing increased rates of recidivism in recent years (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2018). Recidivism is highest in the United States than in any other country (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2018). Presently rate of recidivism in the United States is his even higher than in developed countries that spend less on their criminal justice system (Katsiyannis et al., 2018). It points to unsuccessful re-entries for former offenders released after their incarceration (in text citation).
Issues such as difficulty securing employment, a lack of support from family members, unstable housing, and healthcare can all be obstacles to a former offender re-entering society (Tharshini et al., 2018). With upwards of 600,000 former offenders re-entering society each year, their re-entries must be successful (Treitler & Angell, 2020). Stakeholders must develop interventions that can address the obstacles that former offenders face during re-entry, which makes them relapse into criminal behavior. Therefore, this review proposal or study since we are writing a research proposal (first part is this literature review) aims to answer the research question: What are some obstacles that former offenders face upon reintegration into society? The studies reviewed in this paper will explore different aspects of re-entry and how they correlate with particular obstacles that make re-entry a challenge for former offenders.
Literature Review
The study by Abebe and Kimo (2019) aimed to investigate the challenges that former offenders who have been released from incarceration face in their attempts to re-enter society. The study based the sampling on the research problem and focused on 80 individuals who had served time in prison (Abebe & Kimo, 2019). The participants were also selected with the help of administrators in correctional facilities who were conversant with the criminal profile of the offenders (Abebe & Kimo, 2019).
Part of the inclusion criteria involved individuals of all ages and only males (Abebe & Kimo, 2019). The crimes they committed were not factored in, so the participant pool was made up of offenders who had committed different crimes (in text citation). Pkala-Wojciechowska et al. (2021) investigated researched the criminological perspective of health problems of former prisoners and how it relates to their re-entry into society. The population studied comprised 130 participants, including adult and juvenile offenders, among them recidivists (Pkala-Wojciechowska et al., 2021). You mentioned two studies but do not say what they actually found; what were the results?
Staton et al. (2019) identifies the factors that lead to former offenders staying out of prison and being re-arrested after relapsing into criminal behavior. The participants in the study were randomly screened and selected from various jails (Staton et al., 2019). Adult women in the study were selected as participants if they had a moderate risk of smoking, alcohol use, and substance abuse (Staton et al., 2019). Brame et al. (2018) conducted a study to identify the patterns that show criminal offending over a lifetime, including recidivism during the phases when individuals attempt to re-enter society. The study population involved serious juvenile offenders during their transition into adulthood (Brame et al., 2018).
The study had a total of 1,354 individuals. In order to be eligible for the study, the participants must have been less than 18 years old at the onset of the study (Brame et al., 2018). They must also have been found guilty of serious offenses. Harris and Levenson (2021) researched to explore the lived experiences of registered sex offenders as they re-enter society after serving time for their offenses. The participants in the study involved 74 men who had been convicted of sexual offenses and re-entered the community upon their release (Harris & Levenson, 2021).
The study by Abebe and Kimo (2019) used a sequential explanatory design where quantitative data was collected; after that, qualitative data was also collected. The explanatory missed method approach enabled the researchers to obtain quantitative, statistical data from the sample (Abebe & Kimo, 2019). This was followed up by probing the data and exploring it in depth. Quantitative data was collected from the offenders and re-offenders. This data included substance use histories, educational backgrounds, employment statuses, criminal history, and demographic information (Abebe & Kimo, 2019).
The collected data was used as contextual information on the selected sample, which enabled the researchers to identify obstacles that offenders faced during re-entry into society. In the study by Abebe and Kimo (2019), the independent variable was the time all the offenders had spent in jail. The dependent variable was the contextualized obstacles the offenders faced during re-entry into society. The study by Pkala-Wojciechowska et al. (2021) relied on the use of open-ended biographical tools designed to enable the interview respondents to submit statements relevant to their contexts and spontaneous. The respondents were also involved in creating scenarios factored into the interviews, which they did by editing the questions formulated by the researchers or adding questions that they felt were relevant to the study based on their experiences (Pkala-Wojciechowska et al., 2021).
The researchers also used data triangulation because of outside collaborators and observers dealing with sensitive data. Analysis of the data was done using ATLAS software. Theoretical saturation, theoretical sampling, and inductive reasoning were used in the study. The variables in the study were independent variables: all the participants had spent time in prison (Pkala-Wojciechowska et al., 2021). The independent variables were the factors that led to the successful or unsuccessful re-entries of the participants (Pkala-Wojciechowska et al., 2021).
In the research conducted by Staton et al. (2019), descriptive statistics were used to investigate the factors that influenced whether a former offenders stayed out of prison or jail or whether they were re-arrested (Staton et al., 2019). The independent variable was the time spent in incarceration by all the participants. The dependent variables were the participants’ demographics, peer relationships, housing, service utilization, and drug use (Staton et al., 2019). Since the study did not reveal any considerable differences between other potential variables, they were not included in the study. The study also compared the participants who were re-arrested after unsuccessful re-entries and those who stayed out of jail or prison due to successful re-entries (Staton et al., 2019). The control used in the study was the participants’ criminal histories, including the number of arrests before the baseline (Staton et al., 2019).
Brame et al. (2018) tracked adolescent offenders for seven years to determine their pathways to desistance. The research was a longitudinal study focused on adolescents who had committed severe offenses (Brame et al., 2018). The analysis reviewed FBI arrest histories and petition records in local juvenile courts. The analysis was done for 84 months across the entire span of the study (Brame et al., 2018). In the article by Harris and Levenson (2021), a qualitative database was subjected to secondary analysis. The database was analyzed using the qualitative narrative method, focusing on specific themes that had emerged in the study (Harris & Levenson, 2021). The study relied on an emergent design customized to be exploratory and not confirmatory.
The results from Abebe and Kimo (2019) showed that lack of a family was one of the obstacles that former offenders had to deal with during re-entry. Participants in the research who were married were more likely to have successful re-entries than those who were single (Abebe & Kimo, 2019). Individuals with a family that welcomed them upon their release were also more likely to have successful re-entries than those without families. Another obstacle to successful re-entry, according to Abebe and Kimo (2019), was the lack of a supportive community environment. If the community is not supportive of the former offenders re-entering society, they will likely relapse into criminal behavior. Another obstacle was the stigma attached to their status as previous offenders, which made it challenging to secure employment (Abebe & Kimo, 2019).
The results from the study by Pkala-Wojciechowska et al. (2021) showed that one of the obstacles facing former offenders during re-entry to society is the lack of access to healthcare. The study revealed that most offenders who experience homelessness and lack economic and social resources found it easier to access healthcare while in prison than outside prison (Pkala-Wojciechowska et al., 2021). Another challenge is the lack of material support upon release from prison is also another challenge for former offenders who do not have a starting point upon release from incarceration Pkala-Wojciechowska et al. (2021).
Staton et al. (2019) showed that former offenders who did not have protective factors, such as supportive families, were likely to have unsuccessful re-entries. The race was also an issue upon re-entry, with the study showing that whites tended to have more successful re-entry rates than other minority groups (Staton et al., 2019). Another challenge faced by former offenders during re-entry was drug and substance abuse (Staton et al., 2019). Factors such as a lack of employment, support, and stigma-related frustrations increased the risk of former offenders abusing drugs and substances (Staton et al., 2019).
The study’s results by Brame et al. (2018) showed that pathways to repeat offending that lead to unsuccessful re-entry were mainly influenced by lack of social support and stigma among the adolescents considered in the study. Stigma was the leading cause of former offenders not continuing their education and relapsing into criminal behavior (Brame et al., 2018). The relapse into criminal behavior was also the result of stigma that pushed them into negative associations (Brame et al., 2018). Harris and Levenson (2021) found that the main obstacle to former offenders during re-entry was a lack of coping skills and strategies to deal with negative factors impeding their successful re-entry. While the study highlighted other obstacles that may influence the re-entry of former offenders, it noted that the lack of coping skills and strategies meant that the former offenders who struggled with re-entry could not react positively to the negative factors affecting them (Harris & Levenson, 2021).
Conclusion
The objective of this literature reviewstudy is was to answer the research question: What are some obstacles that former offenders face upon reintegration into society? Summarily, re-entry is challenging for former offenders upon release because of the obstacles they face as they attempt to adjust to life outside prison. Such obstacles and how former offenders respond to them determine whether or not their re-entries will succeed. Successful re-entries also reduce the risk of a former offender relapsing into criminal behavior, directly impacting recidivism rates. Some obstacles that stand in the way of former offenders during re-entry include a lack of family and social support, stigma from society, difficulties securing employment and housing, limited access to healthcare, homelessness, substance use histories, and low levels or lack of vocational skills and education. If interventions are implemented to address these challenges, former offenders stand a better chance at successful re-entries that will reduce their risk for recidivism.
Your literature review will end with a hypothesis. Given the existing research what will you expect your study to find. At the end the reader should follow your narrative, and be able to know where you are going with your research without giving details of Methods because that will be the next section. You can have a small conclusion of the literature review and end with your hypothesis. This conclusion sounds like the end of the paper which is not because we will continue to describe the Methods of how you are conducting the study.
References
Abebe, S., & Kimo, K. (2019). Challenges of Re-offenders in Their Reintegration into Their
Respective Communities: Ziway Federal Correction Center in Focus.
Arsi Journal of Science and Innovation,
4(1), 111-138.
Brame, R., Mulvey, E. P., Schubert, C. A., & Piquero, A. R. (2018). Recidivism in a Sample of
Serious Adolescent Offenders.
Journal of Quantitative Criminology,
34(1), 167187.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-016-9329-2
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2018).
2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism: A 9-Year Follow-up
Period (2005-2014)
https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/18upr9yfup0514.pdf. not peer reviewed
Harris, D. A., & Levenson, J. (2021). Life on the list is a life lived in fear: Post-conviction
traumatic stress in men convicted of sexual offenses.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
65(6-7), 763-789. doi:
10.1177/0306624X20952397
Hipes, C., & Clever, M. (2018). Successful Ex-offender Re-entry: An Interactive Game.
TRAILS:
Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology.
Katsiyannis, A., Whitford, D. K., Zhang, D., & Gage, N. A. (2018). Adult recidivism in the United
States: A meta-analysis 19942015.
Journal of Child and Family Studies,
27(3), 686-696.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0945-8
Pkala-Wojciechowska, A., Kacprzak, A., Pkala, K., Chomczyska, M., Chomczyski, P.,
Marczak, M., … & Rasmus, P. (2021). Mental and Physical Health Problems as Conditions of Ex-Prisoner Re-Entry.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,
18(14), 7642. doi:
10.3390/ijerph18147642
Staton, M., Dickson, M., Tillson, M., Webster, M., & Leukefeld, C. (2019). Staying Out: Re-entry
Protective Factors Among Rural Women Offenders.
Women & Criminal Justice,
29(6), 368384.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2019.1613284
Tharshini, N. K., Ibrahim, F., Mohamad, M. S., & Zakaria, E. (2018). Challenges in Re-Entry
among Former Inmates: A Review.
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences,
8(4), 970979.
http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i4/4126.
Treitler, P. C., & Angell, B. (2020). Prisoner Re-entry. In
Encyclopedia of Social Work.
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1081 not peer reviewed
you are short on your 10 peer reviewed SOCW 3350
Grading Feedback Literature Review
NAME:
TOTAL POINTS:
Your Points
Total Points
Category
Comments
-10
Meets 5-7 pages of content
-10
Meets min 10 peer review references
-10
Grammar errors or typos
10
APA Style
15
Background on Topic
15
Description of Population of Interest
20
Description of Research on Topic (variables, study methods, samples, etc.)
20
Description of Results on Research Topic (results, efficacy, best practices)
10
Thoughtful, critical analysis of information on peer-reviewed literature
10
Logically leads the reader to research question
-30
Similarity Report Issues (4 consecutive words, no citation)
5
Peer Review Extra Points Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Trauma and Adult Sexual Risk Behaviors
Firstname Lastname
SOSW 3350: Research Methods in Social Work
University of Houston Downtown
Month #, 2022
Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Trauma and Adult Sexual Risk Behaviors
Trauma that takes place in childhood can affect children from their childhood years into
their adult lives (Pos et al., 2016). Childhood traumas can be referred to as adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs), a term used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2019)
to describe any potentially traumatic experiences that children 18 years and younger have
experienced resulting in long-term behavioral, mental health, and/or medical problems. ACEs
fall into three categories, abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional), neglect (physical and
emotional), and household challenges (parental separation or divorce, substance use, etc.) (CDC,
2019). In addition, ACEs are extremely prevalent whereas many children experience more than one ACE at a time, and they pose a risk of low life potential, risky behaviors, chronic health
conditions, and early death (Pos et al., 2016).
As previously stated, one category under the umbrella of ACEs is abuse. One specific
form of abuse, sexual abuse, was experienced by an average of 60,000 male and female children in 2017 according to the Administration for Children and Families and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (2019). It is important to keep in mind, however, that the actual
number of childhood sexual abuse or trauma occurances is far greater than what is reported on
the grounds that child victims are often hesitant to tell anyone what has occurred, and the legal
process can be difficult (Pos et al., 2016). Given that, in national samples only 30% of child sexual abuse cases have been reported to the authorities by women and 15% by men (Senn et al.,
2006).
One of the major risks that affects childhood sexual abuse victims into their adult lives
according to Walsh et al. (2014), is risky sexual behavior. Among these risky sexual behaviors
include having unprotected sex, having multiple sexual partners, a greater risk of prostitution, an
increased risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs),
and sexual aggression (Walsh et al., 2014). Additional high-risk sexual behavior in adulthood
that is linked to child sexual abuse include, sexual dysfunction, the exchange of sex for drugs,
shelter and money, earlier ages of first consensual intercourse, and sexual revictimization
(Abajobir et al., 2017). The goal of this literature review is to examine existing research, discuss their research methods, and compare their results on the topic to determine and understand the
link between childhood sexual abuse and adult high-risk sexual behavior.
Senn et al. (2006) introduced a unique approach to explain the link between childhood
sexual abuse and adult risky sexual behavior. They hypothesized in their research that childhood
sexual abuse could lead to high-risk sexual behavior in adults through four ways: (1) using drugs
and alcohol to cope with the abuse; (2) mental illness caused by the abuse; (3) riskier social
relationships and (4) poor sexual adjustment (Senn et al., 2006). Each of the four mechanisms
were explored because research linked each of them with childhood sexual abuse, and they also have been associated with risky sexual behavior (Senn et al., 2006). For example, according to
Senn et al. (2006), evidence links depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and partner violence to
both childhood sexual abuse and risky sexual behavior, and based on that principle, the
hypothesis was formed. The Senn et al. (2006) study investigated men and women victims of
sexual abuse as children among patients attending an STD clinic, a factor of great significance since childhood sexual abuse victims contract STDs at a higher rate than the general population.
Patients from the STD clinic that met the eligibility requirements were asked to track important
events in a calendar involving their sexual lives for three months to enable them to answer
survey questions more accurately. The computerized survey allowed the participants to see
questions on the computer screen while also hearing questions aloud over headphones to
measure demographic characteristics, childhood sexual abuse, alcohol use disorders, drug abuse,
the co-occurrence of substance use and intercourse, intimate partner violence, sexual behavior,
and depression (Senn et al., 2006). The results of the Senn et al. (2006) research had four major
findings; (1) childhood sexual abuse rates were significantly high in the population of patients
attending the STD clinic (higher than the national sample rates); (2) the number of childhood
sexual abuse instances reported were similar among both men and women; (3) childhood sexual
abuse was associated with risky behavior that placed participants at risk for an STD; and (4)
childhood sexual abuse increases a persons likelihood of abusing drugs and alcohol. Moreover,
over one half of all patients that attended the clinic for STD care reported a history of childhood sexual abuse, which was associated with high-risk sexual behavior (Senn et al., 2006).
Sansone et al. (2009) hypothesized that there was a link between childhood sexual abuse
and a variety of sexual behaviors in adulthood. Different from the Senn et al. (2006) study, their
study included randomly recruited insured female participants ranging from 18 to 75 years in age
who attended a specific outpatient medical clinic for routine medical services (Sansone et al., 2009). In addition, 85% of the participants were White, nearly 12% African-American, one
Asian, and one was Native American (Sansone et al., 2009). In regard to education level, the
majority of the participants obtained high school diplomas, but 11% reported that they had a
bachelors degree and slightly over 6% had a graduate level degree (Sansone et al., 2009). The
procedure within this particular research study consisted of a four-page booklet of survey
questions to determine the mentioned demographic information, sexual histories, and the
potential exposure to childhood trauma. Sansone et al. (2009) concluded that sexual abuse as a
child was the only childhood-trauma variable to have any correlation with the high-risk sexual
behavior variables, and that there may be demographics such as race and education that make individuals more likely to have experienced both childhood sexual abuse and a history of high
risk sexual behavior in adulthood.
More recent research related to child sexual abuse and high-risk adult sexual behavior
seems to f