Expanding Minds through Research: Juvenile Justice and Big Data

Bethune-Cookman University’s Center for Undergraduate Research Excellence has operated a summer research program since 2014. An interdisciplinary team of faculty mentors and student research fellows examined variables impacting juvenile delinquency and risk of recidivism within Florida, using a database of more than 64,000 youth who aged out of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice from 2008 to 2013. In the first year, the students learned visual analytics and chi-square analysis as methods for studying big data. In 2017, the team employed an applied research approach based on the success of the Communities That Care delinquency prevention model to examine predictive and protective factors that affect juvenile risk of recidivism. The project provided undergraduates with an introductory framework for assessing, analyzing, and presenting big data.