Walden Exploring the Reasons People Abuse Animals Research Paper & Consent Form Hi Barbara,Starting on page 3 of this dissertation guide (attached) there i

Walden Exploring the Reasons People Abuse Animals Research Paper & Consent Form Hi Barbara,Starting on page 3 of this dissertation guide (attached) there is a sample table of contents. You will need to use this and include all of the applicable as subheadings. So your first subheading would be “Introduction” and then go into “Alignment”, “Background”. It seems that most of this is present, you just need to have the subheadings there. Also, there is a description for what to include in each of the sections in the guide. Please make these changes and send it back to me. Yellow highlights indicate the parts researchers will need to tailor to their studies.
Aqua highlights show statements that must be included when applicable.
Be sure to remove highlighted instructions on this form before submitting to the IRB.
CONSENT FORM
You are invited to take part in a research study about ____ Insert brief description of the study without
using jargon. The researcher is inviting ____ Describe who meets the inclusion criteria. (example:
“divorced adults who are undertaking a career change”) to be in the study. When not recruiting faceto-face, add: I obtained your name/contact info via ____. This form is part of a process called
“informed consent” to allow you to understand this study before deciding whether to take part.
This study is being conducted by a researcher named ____Insert researcher’s name, who is a
____Insert role such as doctoral student or faculty member at Walden University. If recruiting
participants within the researcher’s own professional environment, an additional statement is required:
You might already know the researcher as a ____, but this study is separate from that role.
Background Information:
The purpose of this study is to ____Insert simple description of study purpose without using technical
terms or jargon.
Procedures:
If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to:
• Insert study procedures and how many minutes/hours each will take, preferably as a bulleted
list. Be clear about how many times data will be collected. Ensure that each bullet matches
with the stem “you will be asked to” and sets a tone that participants are invited (not required)
to complete procedures.
•
•
Here are some sample questions: For questionnaire/interview research, provide a few sample
questions to give the participants a reasonable idea of what to expect– include any sensitive
questions here.
•
•
•
Voluntary Nature of the Study:
This study is voluntary. You are free to accept or turn down the invitation. No one at ____ Insert all
relevant institutions or agencies will treat you differently if you decide not to be in the study. If you
decide to be in the study now, you can still change your mind later. You may stop at any time. If the
researcher is recruiting in a manner that might not make use of all volunteers, explain here
whether/how the researcher will be following up with all volunteers, even those not needed for the
study. Examples: “Please note that not all volunteers will be contacted to take part.” Or, “The
researcher will follow up with all volunteers to let them know whether or not they were selected for the
study.”
Risks and Benefits of Being in the Study:
Being in this type of study involves some risk of the minor discomforts that can be encountered in
daily life, such as ____ Insert any relevant minor risks, such as fatigue, stress or becoming upset.
Being in this study would not pose risk to your safety or wellbeing. If the study possibly involves more
than minimal risk of harms that go beyond normal daily experiences, the preceding two sentences
should be replaced with a tailored description of the potential harms of the study. When possible,
describe “risks” in terms of both the estimated likelihood of harm and estimated magnitude of harm.
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When the study involves more-than-minimal risk, explain how risks will be minimized.
When the study involves a sensitive topic (i.e., that could be a trigger for distress, depression, etc.),
provide contact information for a free support resource.
Describe the study’s potential benefits without overstating the benefit to the individual. For many
studies, there are likely no direct benefits to participants. Instead, indicate what the benefits are to the
larger community.
Payment:
Describe in detail any payment, thank you gifts, or reimbursements that you are providing to
participants, or state that there is none. Extravagant payment is discouraged but if there is a thank
you gift, explain when/how the participant will receive it.
Privacy:
Reports coming out of this study will not share the identities of individual participants. Details that
might identify participants, such as the location of the study, also will not be shared. When applicable,
add: Even the researcher will not know who you are.(This only applies in anonymous studies in which
no one, not even you as the researcher, knows who participated, i.e. a survey with consent implied
through completion of that survey and no consent signature). The researcher will not use your
personal information for any purpose outside of this research project. Data will be kept secure by____
Briefly describe all applicable data security measures, including password protection, data encryption,
use of codes in place of names, storing names (when necessary) separately from the data, discarding
names (when possible), etc. Data will be kept for a period of at least 5 years, as required by the
university.
Contacts and Questions:
You may ask any questions you have now. Or if you have questions later, you may contact the
researcher via ____ Insert researcher’s phone number and/or email address. (If you include an e-mail
address, please provide your Walden e-mail address. To maintain separation of roles, you should not
provide your work e-mail address or phone number). If you want to talk privately about your rights as
a participant, you can call the Research Participant Advocate at my university at 612-312-1210. If
participants are likely to be outside the US, add dialing instructions for reaching the ethics office
and/or a local contact who is willing to serve as a Research Participant Advocate in the local
language. Walden University’s approval number for this study is IRB will enter approval number
here and it expires on IRB will enter expiration date.
Of the 3 phrases below, insert the 1 phrase that matches the format of the study:
For face-to-face research, use: The researcher will give you a copy of this form to keep.
For anonymous paper-based research, use: Please keep this consent form for your records.
For online research or when consent is done via e-mail, use: Please print or save this consent form
for your records.
Obtaining Your Consent
If you feel you understand the study well enough to make a decision about it, please indicate your
consent by ___Of the 4 phrases below, insert the 1 phrase matches the format of the study.
For anonymous paper-based survey research, use: returning a completed survey. To protect your
privacy, no consent signature is requested.
For face to face research that is not anonymous, use: signing below.
For online research, use: clicking the link below.
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For when consent is obtained via e-mail, use: replying to this email with the words, “I consent.”
Only include the signature section below if obtaining consent face-to-face for data collection that
cannot be anonymous (such as interviews). For surveys, anonymous implied consent will provide
participants with better protection and is ideal as long as the researcher doesn’t need identities to
match up datapoints. If implied consent is used or if consent is done via e-mail, please remove the
signature section.
Printed Name of Participant
Date of consent
Participant’s Signature
Researcher’s Signature
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Running Head: DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
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Dissertation Proposal
Exploring the Reasons People Abuse Animals
Barbie Bittinger
Walden University
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
Problem statement
Domestic animal abuse is a significant problem in the United States (Randour, 2014).
However, actual rates of abuse are unknown. The animal abuse problem is more prevalent
than the what is reported as it is estimated that the vast majority of domestic animal abuse
cases are never reported or detected (Humane Society, n.d.). Animal mistreatment and negligence is a national concern, and has also been found to be correlated with other violent
crimes (cite). Brutality to animals is defined as administering bodily pain, grieving, or at
some extreme point the death on an animal (Abubakar, Manzoor, & Iqbal, 2018). Due to the
widespread prevalence of domestic animal abuse and correlation with other crimes, it is important to understand why people abuse animals and how can animal abuse be prevented and
detected.
There are various notions of how cruelty on animals starts (Arluke, 2017). One of
them being abusers pre-established psychological state that consents them to begin mistreating animals and at some point, the situation might bring about the death of the animal (Sollund, 2017). Most of the cases are not detected, and many animal abusers tend to continue
with the act thus the rising instances (Altschuler, 2017). The focus of this research will be on
understanding why people abuse animals, and determining ways that animal abuse can be
prevented and detected. Findings from this research could help to inform policy(s) at various
levels that prevent and deter animal abuse.
Purpose
There are two primary purposes to this research. The first is to understand why people
abuse animals. The second purpose is to determine ways that animal abuse can be prevented
and detected. As mentioned previously, research shows that animal abuse is correlated with
other violent crimes and it is estimated that a vast majority of animal abuse goes completely
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
unreported (Humane Society, n.d.). This qualitative research study seeks to increase the understanding of these two important points, increase the body of literature on this topic, and
hopefully positively impact social change by informing policy(s) in this area.
Significance
This study will contribute to filling the gap on furthering the understanding of the reasons that people abuse animals, as well as better understanding how animal abuse can be prevented and detected. This study can make an original contribution by focusing on and reporting the knowledge of current field practitioners on these issues. This research can support
professional practice and practical application by revealing the reasons that people abuse animals, and determining ways to prevent and detect animal abuse through the lived experiences
of field practitioners and experts. As mentioned previously, animal abuse is a serious issue
not only because of the defenceless animals involved, but also the fact that animal abuse is
often correlated with other violent crimes. The research findings can lead to positive social
change by sharing the insights of field practitioners and experts. Determining the reasons and
circumstances in which people abuse animals is one of the first steps in proactively addressing this problem. Further, understanding how to increase prevention and detection is also an
important step in reducing animal abuse.
Background
Earlier studies on this issue were carried out and similar findings provided by studies
carried out by Arluke (2017), Sollund (2017) and Altschuler (2017). Common findings were
presented and similar trends noted in the animal abuse globally. The conclusions of the study
by Altschuler (2017) showed that most of the cases are not detected and many animal abusers
tend to continue with the act thus the rising instances. In a different study carried out on the
theme of animal abuse by Arluke (2017), a similar finding to the basis of animal abuse was
provided, i.e., the abuser’s pre-established psychological state that consents them to begin
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
mistreating animals and at some point, the situation might bring about the death of the animal.
Some of the resources that provide detailed information on the earlier studies carried
out by various teams on the issue of animal abuse are listed as follows:
Arluke, A. (2017). Just a dog: Understanding animal cruelty and ourselves. Temple
Altschuler, E. L. (2017). Animal-Assisted Therapy for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder:
Lessons from “Case Reports” in Media Stories. Military medicine, 183(1-2), 11-13.
Sollund, R. (2017). Causes for speciesism: Difference, distance, and denial. In Transnational Environmental Crime(pp. 75-96). Routledge.University Press.
Theoretical Framework
As observed from the statement of the problem, the incidences concerned with animal
abuse, cruelty, mistreatment, and brutality are alarming. Theoretically, two theories will be
used to inform the approach to this research. These theories are the routine activity theory and
the deterrence theory. These theoretical frameworks will be used to inform the research that
will answer the research questions of why people abuse animals and how animal abuse can be
prevented and detected.
The deterrence theory was developed from the work of Hobbes, Bentham, and Beccaria. The theory is made up of three fundamental components: Certainty, severity, and celebrity. It ascertains that the more severe a punishment is, the higher the probability that was rationally calculating individuals will desist from any given criminal act (Ascione & Ascione,
2010, p. 87). Based on this theoretical perspective, it alludes that if the animal abusers are
given this sentencing objective based on the theory, it would ultimately discourage the people
in conjunction with other animal offenders from committing animal brutality crimes. The
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
idea regarding the deterrence theory is that the objective for sentencing an offender is that ensure that there is a reduction of the crime through the example of punishment or threat to the
population at large.
There exist two divergent views regarding the deterrence theory: Specific deterrence
and general deterrence. Specific deterrence is based on the assumption that in the case of animal abuse, the sentence is adjusted with a view of deterring the animal abuser before the
court and convincing the accused not to re-abuse the animal once again. On the other hand,
general deterrence refers to the act of inducing others who had an agenda of abusing animals
not to do so. Since animal abuse as a crime is fairly common, then a general deterrence would
work better to stop the act. In theory, the concept of denudation might be employed to curb
the activity (Ascione & Ascione, 2010, p. 74). In general sense, denudation refers to the act of
convincing the entire community or public that the offense in question is a typical true crime,
a far much serious crime whereby respectable individuals will shun from and not technical,
obsolete or minor. It informs every individual and reassures law-abiding that the relationship
between animal abuse and punishment it is taken into account as logical and just.
On the other hand, the routine activity theory coined in 1979 by Cohen and Felson
calls for three elements to prevail before the occurrence of a crime. These elements must be
prevalent before there is an occurrence of a crime: A target or suitable victim, a motivated offender having inherently criminal intentions in conjunction with the ability to act regarding
these inclinations and the absence of a potential guardian who might prevent the happening of
the crime. These fundamental elements must converge in time and space for a crime to occur.
The theory provides a macro perspective on animal abuse in the sense that it provides insights
on how the changes in economic and social conditions influence the overall animal brutality
and victimization rate (Beirne, 2016, p. 87). Based on the theory it can be postulated that
abusing animals as a crime is a “structurally significant phenomenon” which means that the
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
violations are neither trivial nor random events. Therefore, it can be assumed that people
abuse animals since animals are there and that in the case animals would not have been present then this could not be happening.
This study will be theoretically based on deterrence theory and routine activity theories. The theory of deterrence explains how punishment can discourage repetition of crime as
observed in punitive behavior that results in cruelty against animals (Robert, Lebow & Stein,
1985). In exploring the motives of people abusing animals, this theory is useful in highlighting what behaviors relating to retaliation, control, prejudice and hostility in human beings influence animal abuse by the same people possessing those behaviors. On the other hand, application of routine activity theory explains in details how people select target animal victims
to abuse, their motivation and the impact of the absence of animal rights champions in promoting continued crime of animal abuse (Cohen & Felson, 1979). In essence, the environment under which these crimes against animals occur will be put into perspective. The contribution of these theories in considerations of Arluke (2017) assertion, greatly informs the
influencing activities, behaviors, and motives of inflicting pain, threatening, neglecting and
even killing animals thereby facilitating the dissertation critical analysis and recommendations. A qualitative exploratory data of individuals and law enforcement agents on animal
abuse presents a justifiable method of exploring the phenomena under this study with a slight
focus on quantitative data.
Research Questions
RQ1-Qualitative: Why do people abuse animals?
RQ2-Qualitative: How can incidents of animal abuse be detected?
RQ3-Qualitative: How can animal abuse be prevented?
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
Nature of the Study
This is a qualitative research study and aligns with answering the research questions
which seek to understand some of the whys and hows regarding animal abuse. Use of qualitative method in collecting behavioral data is appropriate and yields accurate and reliable results (Wilson, 2018).
Possible Types and Data Sources
Individual interviews will be conducted with professionals from the veterinary field
and law enforcement officers with specific experience dealing with cases of animal abuse.
These individuals will have significant knowledge regarding animal abuse and can share their
experiences to inform this research and answer the research questions. Data collection will be
done using interview guides. Interview guides are appropriate in collecting qualitative data
that aims at exploring and describing a situation the way it is according to Wilson (2018). Using in a semi-structured interview, the research questions will be covered in depth and opinions of the respondents will be captured during the process of data collection.
Limitations, Challenges, Barriers
Some of the limitations, challenges, and barriers that may need to be addressed during
this study could include access to research participants. This student does know some people
who work professionally in the veterinary field and some law enforcement officers as well.
Any limitations, challenges, and/or barriers will be assessed, addressed ethically, and approached with best practices in research.
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This study put into perspective the reasons as to why people abuse animals by carrying a detailed literature review. This chapter explored the existing knowledge of animal brutality. This brutality is presented through administering bodily pain, grieving, or at some extreme point, the death of an animal and the influencing factors on human behavior that is behind this phenomenon. The section comprises of a theoretical framework explicitly reviewing
deterrence theory and routine activity theory as an explanation of such action. These theories
are relevant and crucial in elucidating the behavioural aspect explored by this study regarding
people and animal abuse. Further, this study reviewed animal abuse motivations to elaborate
on the statement of the problem. Additionally, empirical evidence from other studies for a
better understanding of the issues presented in the study. A literature gap was established,
therefore making a case justifying a more in-depth exploration of the topic. This chapt…
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