ARTICLE CRITIQUE

Article Critique

Article Critique

Introduction

The research under consideration in this critique is 'It's a sucker's outfit': How urban gangs enable and impede the reintegration of ex-convicts' (Greg Scott 2004).

For the purpose of this critique, this paper will begin by providing a n introduction providing a summary of the research under discussion. This will be followed by a critical discussion of the research process. The discussion will entail an analysis of the literature that has informed the research, the theoretical assumptions that have underpinned, the practical issues that have affected the design the data collection and analysis and any ethical or political issues (Scott 2004, 108). The discussion will also attempt to highlight the extent to which the researcher's/researchers' account is consistent and the extent to which the research questions have been answered. In addition, the discussion will also give consideration to the extent to which the findings are convincing. The discussion will come to a conclusion that seeks to summarize the main points raised and which and sums up the research issues under consideration.

Summary

The research was carried out to shed light on the manner in which gang dealings have a negative influence on the formerly incarcerated lives of ex-convicts. This research was carried out with particular regard to male ex-convicts. The researcher employed an interview based approach for data collection. The interviewees constituted ex-convicts and informants who had been in interaction with the gangs and drug dealers of Chicago. The author sought to determine the authenticity of the perspective that considered gang influence to be damaging for ex-felons in the long run. In the process, the researcher has asserted that the aggravation and hardships that ex-felons go through motivate them to take assistance from gangs; and while these gangs provide the assistance that is necessary for these ex-cons to survive, it tends to lead them towards the very same elements that landed them the ex-felons in prison in the first place. A key element that the research highlights is that which comes from the field research performed. The field research informing the article both reflects and refracts the scientific literature on street gangs and on prisoner reentry/reintegration (Scott 2004, 110). The researcher asserts that the main weakness compromising the majority of studies in both areas is an abject silence on how humans accomplish street gang involvement in their manufacture of material and non-material, short- and long-term costs and benefits, and on how the gang - as a cooperative and internally competitive venture - exploits its members while its members try to exploit it.

Research process

Usage of literature

The presentation of literature in this study follows a unique pattern. The researcher has not followed the traditional approach. The researcher has not presented former researches under a separate heading or in a separate section (Scott 2004, 120). On the contrary, the researcher has chosen to present former studies as the research paper progresses. In this regard, the researcher has used literature that does not seem to be limited to any time ...