HLSS500 AMU Data Synthesis Interpretation & Presentation Response Discussion

HLSS500 AMU Data Synthesis Interpretation & Presentation Response Discussion

Responses should be a minimum of 250 words and include direct questions. You may challenge, support or supplement another student’s answer using the terms, concepts and theories from the required readings. Also, do not be afraid to respectfully disagree where you feel appropriate; as this should be part of your analysis process at this academic level.

Respond to Amy:

ABSTRACT

Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, Homeland Security has been on a progressive rise to protect the United States, its borders, its air space, and its overall well-being and stature. Law enforcement personnel have increased around the United States’ marine and land borders. Infrastructure security has been established, re-built, and more advanced than what it was prior to the attacks. This study utilizes quantitative and qualitative data/methods from previous researcher’s works to evaluate how essential or detrimental the increase of security has been on the United States’ well-being. Through gathering an abundance of data from the years 2001 to present day, this study will be able to determine that as aggressive as these notions have been from each president’s reign, each executive order has benefited the United States’ security from disease, illegal trade, drug smuggling, and human trafficking. However, this study will also show the downslide of the aggressive border protection; financial strain, perceptions of social biases, and the rebellion against the overall cause.

The focus groups in this study will be examining the marine protection on our coastlines and the surface protection at the Canada and Mexico border. Within these areas of focus, the study will break down further the impact of drug smuggling, immigration, and the areas highly susceptible to hardship in trade around the borders. Furthermore, the study will examine the variables of the increase of law enforcement and infrastructure security in correlation to these focal groups. Quantitative data is analyzed to define the benefits of the border security efforts throughout the years after the terrorist attacks of 2001. Overall, mixed methods approach will be utilizing several peer reviewed articles and journals to justify the importance of Border Security and its beneficial impact on the country’s well-being as a whole.

RESPONSE TO FORUM QUESTIONS

The hardest section to write on this project was the literature review. It was troublesome to not take direct quotes to justify my reasoning and direction for the project. Using quantitative data is simple however, to display qualitative data, it was difficult to use my own words to support my thesis of the paper. I always felt the need to reference direct quotes from other literary works so that my words held more value to the reader. I still have to work on this portion of the project thoroughly to get this right.

The easiest section for me to write was how I planned on gathering my data with the mixed methods approach. It is easier to tell the reader the direction you plan on going with for your research project than to write the outcome of the said research gathered. It was not complicated to pick a part a previous study and cater it to how it applied to my thesis for my research project.

I feel that I have learned a lot through this class to help me as I carry out my master’s program in Homeland Security. It taught me how to pull the right data from other literary works and how to apply it to your own particular research endeavor. Also, this class helped me to understand a different approach to a research project by breaking it apart week by week. It really allowed us to fully understand the entire process. Now, I will be able to apply all these methods I have learned throughout my other classes so that I can only get better with writing and understanding research concepts.