Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 1 x 2 hour lecture per week (part of 30hrs total lecture allocation) |
| Lecture | 2 x 1 hour lectures per week (part of 30hrs total lecture allocation) |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 6 hours - 3 x 2 hour seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 3000 word assessed essay required in week 11 | 100% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 3000 word assessed essay | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Appreciate the value of empirical research to the study of law, the examination of the criminal justice system and the development of crime policy.
2. Critically appraise quantitative research studies.
3. Critically appraise qualitative research studies.
4. Appreciate the importance of linking or inter-relating qualitative and quantitative data.
5. Design a simple research study using quantitative and/or qualitative methods.
6. Construct a questionnaire and design an interview schedule.
7. Conduct a semi-structured, qualitative research interview.
8. Appreciate the benefits to be gained from interdisciplinary research and appreciate the potential pitfalls.
9. Describe the nature of the relationship between criminological research and policy.
10. Relate criminological theory to policy debates.
11. Read and critically assess empirical research studies in criminology.
12. Recognise the limitations of empirical data and understand how they can be misused.
13. Display a critical appreciation of major analytical methods and adopt a reflective approach to the discipline in general.
Brief description
PRIVATE STUDY
Students are expected to invest time in reading around the subject. As a rough guide, over the semester, we expect you to:
Attend lecture for 30 hours
Attend seminars for 6 hours
Prepare for seminars for 40 hours (about 13 hours per seminar)
Prepare for the coursework assignment for 40 hours (this should be spread over a number of weeks)
Revise for the examination for 40 hours
Conduct additional private study for 44 (about 4.5 hours per week)
Aims
The primary aim of this module is to provide students with a basic grounding in the fundamental principles of data collection and analysis. From a quantitative perspective they will be introduced to some basic techniques for handling statistical data. The emphasis will be on developing an intuitive understanding of statistical methods rather than the rigorous derivation of statistical techniques. As regards qualitative approaches, the core aim is to ensure that students gain an understanding of the principle methods and techniques for collecting and analysing qualitative data.
Content
- Why undertake research?
- Who conducts criminological research?
- How does the knowledge produced from such research activity differ from the knowledge obtained from other sources?
- What is the relationship between criminological research and crime policy?
- The role of theory in the research process: theory construction and theory testing.
- Research design.
- Sampling.
- Questionaire design.
- Crime surveys.
- An introduction to descriptive statistics.
- Examining the relationship between variables.
- Hypothesis testing using inferential statistics.
- Theory and concepts.
- Participant observation.
- Interviews and surveys in qualitative research.
- Documentary analysis.
- Content analysis.
- Comparative research skills in criminology.
- Interdisciplinary research in criminology.
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4