Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminars / Tutorials | 21 hours; 7x3 hour seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT (REPORT ON AN OBSERVATIONAL METHODS OR INTERVIEWING EXERCISE) OF 2,500 WORDS | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT (ESSAY) OF 2,500 WORDS | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT TO BE RESUBMITTED, IF FAILED | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT TO BE RESUBMITTED, IF FAILED | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Understand and critically appraise the methodological, philosophical and ethical issues surrounding qualitative research in criminological settings;
2. Design, conduct and critically assess both a qualitative interview and an observational study;
3. Apply key analytic techniques to qualitative data from field observations and interviews;
4. Appreciate how visual materials provide opportunities for critical analysis;
5. Critically evaluate a piece of qualitative research;
6. Develop a practical understanding of the use of computers in managing and analysing qualitative data.
Content
Research design: methodological, practical and ethical issues
Week 2:
Fieldwork skills and techniques: observation research and interviewing
Week 3:
Ethnographic methods
Week 4:
Visual criminology: still images and visual records
Week 5 - Partially practical session -:
Partially practical session - Data analysis: analytic induction, thematic framework analysis and grounded theory – including coding
Weeks 6 and 7 - Practical sessions:
Practical sessions - using computers in qualitative research
Brief description
The module covers key issues in qualitative research. It will examine the preparation, analysis and presentation of qualitative data and explore the process of coding, entering, indexing and retrieval of qualitative data using software such as NVivo. Basically it will consider the steps involved in planning, conducting, analysing and presenting a research project on a criminological topic with particular reference to research design, fieldwork, ethics, data collection, analytic techniques and data presentation and will use practical sessions to ensure that students not only grasp the ideas but have the opportunity to learn how to apply them.
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7