I chose to target two specific groups for my survey. The first group, made up predominantly of women, was my Monday night SNL class, Criminal Justice, Criminal Violence. I chose this group because the course content at the time dealt with the causes of criminal violence in America: poverty, lower IQ, drugs, race, broken families, etc. I felt that this group would be the more liberal of the two groups. I predicted that an overwhelming majority of the class would respond "no."

The second group I targeted was a group at the company where I work which consisted primarily of men. I chose this group because my company is soundly conservative and I thought that the overall tenor of the company would accurately reflect the beliefs of individual employees. I predicted that this group would answer "yes."

Further breaking down my predictions, regardless of which group the "questionee" fell into, I expected the overall response of the African-American respondents to be "no." I also expected the majority of Caucasian respondents to say "yes" with a few dissenters. Although I knew that most of the participants fell within the 25-35 year old range, I expected the few older participants (35 and above) to say "yes." I did not think marital status would have any effect on the answers. I expected the "yes" answers primarily to come from the men.

Finding people to answer the survey was relatively simple. I first asked my Monday night instructor for permission to survey the class. He seemed reluctant at first, because his concern was that the class may not be educated enough on the subject matter to give accurate answers. After I explained what the paper was about and gave him a copy of our class handout, he agreed. The second group of people was at work. They were easily accessible, eager to participate, and fit the criteria of the group I wanted to target. I know all of the people in this group professionally; approximately half of them personally.

Of the thirty people I surveyed, (eight African-Americans, twenty Caucasians, two Hispanics) seven believe the death penalty deters crime or lowers the crime rate and twenty-three believe it does not. The numbers within the genders were similar to one another: four women and three men said "yes." Six of the seven "yes" answers fell in the younger male and female (35 and under) groups. In addition, six of the "yes" answers were given by Caucasians, with the seventh "yes" by a Hispanic. Three of the thirteen single people surveyed said "yes"; three of the 15 married people said "yes" and the two divorced people were split.

While conducting the survey amongst my peers at work, after reading the question someone said to me, "Gee, I really never thought about it before." A group discussion then ensued. I was surprised to learn that although this is an issue that I believe is embedded into society (crime statistics, news specials, etc.) by the media, a few of the questionees really had to sit down and think about their answer for a while. While there may have been hesitation in their answer, the majority of the participants eagerly participated, and were almost anxious to see my results.

The overall results starkly contrast my predictions. There were many fewer "yes" answers (three) in my work group and more "yes" answers (four) in my school group than I had expected. The reason there may have been more "yes" answers in my school group is because of the studied subject matter. The class has read statistics and viewed videos of news-magazine programs where repeat offenders are continuously being let out of prison. Perhaps it was the view of the "yes" answers from class that the death penalty deters crime because after committing a violent offense, this form of punishment would not allow an offender the opportunity to commit further crimes. I was surprised by the few "yes" answers in my work group and can offer no explanation.

I was correct in my prediction that the African American respondents would answer "no." I was incorrect, however, in my prediction that the majority of Caucasian respondents would say "yes." In fact, the majority said "no." Perhaps this is a reflection of greater public awareness and concern with the causes of crime. I was surprised that more of the "yes" answers did not come from the 35 and older category. I predicted that the older participants would be more conservative and believe that the death penalty deters crime. This may be because the older participants have obviously lived longer, witnessed the increase of the crime rate and lack of effect the death penalty has had on the crime rate. They may feel that historically, regardless of the number of people put to death, the crime rate has either stayed the same or risen, so the death penalty does not affect the crime rate one way or another.

The four female "yes" answers surprised me. While three men and four women gave "yes" answers, I expected women to be more sympathetic than men and therefore, thought the number of "yes" answers from men would far outnumber those from women. When it comes to the punishment of an offender, it seems that women may be just as harsh, or more so, than men.

As I predicted, there were no trends regarding marital status.

I do not think that my survey was a valid cross-section of the American or Chicago population. To be considered valid, the survey would have to contain many more people of different age groups, ethnicities, marital status and be gender proportionate to the regular population. Other demographic regions would need to be included as well. There are many other factors that should be considered in a survey of this type too: average household income, occupation, highest grade level or college level completed, are the participants parents, and religious and political affiliation.

If I were to conduct this survey again, I would do a few things differently. First, I would poll approximately 100 people. I would give each person one sheet of paper and ask them to fill it out completely inquiring about the items in the above paragraph. I would also include a space where the participants can add comments. In think passing one sheet of paper to fifteen participants may have swayed or skewed the results of the survey. People may have been reluctant to put down their true answer for fear they would not fit into the group or the "norm." I would also assure the participants that their anonymity would be retained. Lastly, I would sit down with each participant to conduct a mini-interview with follow up questions.

I enjoyed conducting this survey and found that surveying people regarding their thoughts and ideas is a valuable source of information.