Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Workshop | 3 x 2 Hour Workshops |
| Lecture | 8 x 2 Hour Lectures |
| Practical | 5 x 2 Hour Practicals |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Quantitative Report 2,000 words | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Qualitative Exercise 3,000 words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Resit Quantitative Report 2,000 words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Resit Qualitative Exercise 3,000 words | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic methodological principles underpinning evaluation research.
2.Show an appreciation of some of the technical, practical and ethical problems encountered when evaluating the impact of criminal justice interventions.
3.Design a simple evaluation study
4.Appreciate the difference between formative and summative evaluation research strategies.
5.Apply core criminological theories and reasoning to applied topics and policies in areas such as crime control and prevention.
6.Display a critical awareness and understanding of the respective strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative analytical methods in different research contexts.
7.Present statistical data in a variety of different formats.
8.Draw appropriate inferences from statistical data and establish statistical significance.
9.Distinguish what constitutes good ethical practice when conducting empirical research in criminology and identify the personal risks that may be encountered when undertaking fieldwork in particular research settings.
10.Critically assess evidence-based policy reports.
11.Undertake analysis of of empirical data.
Aims
The first year core module CR12130 (Criminology Research Skills 1) provided a basic grounding in the fundamental principles of qualitative and quantitative methods and methodologies in criminological research.
Brief description
The module covers the principles of evaluation research and demonstrates how social science methods and methodologies are applied to the study of planned interventions and treatment programmes in the criminal justice field. It will provide the student with the knowledge and skills to conduct their own empirical research and critically analyse existing studies.
Delivery: 8 x 2 hr lectures / 3 x 2hr workshops / 5 x 2hr practicals
Student workload - 32 hours
Content
2. Experimental and quasi-experimental research designs in policy contexts.
3. Qualitative approaches to evaluating practices and policies in criminal justice.
4. Collecting qualitative data: participant and non-participant observation, focus groups and interview techniques.
5. Basic psychological tests
6. Quantitative methods: Inferential statistics, statistical significance and Chi-square.
7. Introduction to quantitative software.
8. Evaluating crime reduction programmes, and crime prevention initiatives.
9. Ethical principles and practices in criminological research. 1
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | The nature of analysis of data requires the application of number. |
| Communication | Written communication will be assessed in the assessment. However, more verbal communication will be considered during seminar and practicals. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will have sessions where they practice their new research skills. |
| Information Technology | Students will use a number of different software programmes to aid in their learning and assessment. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This is a skills based module which will assist in future postgraduate work or employment. |
| Problem solving | Students will assess different types of data and consider what analysis is most appropriate. |
| Research skills | Students are expected to undertake their own research and apply the learning to their assessments. |
| Subject Specific Skills | The research is geared toward the testing social science and criminological theory and data. |
| Team work | During seminars students will work together for some activities. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5