module specification

In this module students have the opportunity to define their own academic terrain and produce a structured and original piece of criminological research drawing on criminology and law, based on an individual piece of empirical research or offering an original interpretation of a theoretical problematic.

The module aims to:
1. Give students the opportunity to reflect upon their learning to date and define and research a topic of interest to them in the light of that experience
2. Give students the opportunity to report upon their research to their peers, the reasons they found the topic significant, the problems raised by the research and the progress made
3. Enable students to produce a written piece of research which demonstrates awareness of the relationship between criminology and related fields and the limits of knowledge.
 

Students attend four workshops of 2 hours each at the beginning of the module during which time they receive guiding assistance in formulating a research problem/question.  After this they are allocated individual supervisors.  Students are entitled to a minimum of six meetings with their supervisors during the course of the module when they discuss their findings, material of interest and problems they are encountering.  The module consists largely of students’ self-directed learning activity.

Students attend four workshops (8 hours in total) early in the module which address issues relating to method, resources and formulating a manageable topic/question.  The module guide is made available on Blackboard.  After this they engage individually with supervisors in relation to the progress of their research and to discuss their own self-development.  Each student is entitled to six meetings of 30 minutes each with his/her supervisor during the module.

Students are required to write a reflective report on what they have learned during the module, the skills (both subject-specific and generic) which they have developed, and the relationship between the research and possible career possibilities.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Define a research problem orally and in writing and research a topic within criminology and law studies and reflect upon the limits of the field
2. Reflect in writing upon the skills developed and the ways in which these may be useful in the future
3. Use seminal and current research appropriately as a resource in research and other appropriate sources, recognising the limits of resources available and engaging critically with them
4. Reflect, orally and in writing, upon the ethical issues which arise in research
5. Specify and/or conceptualise problems arising in the research process
6. Identify an appropriate methodology for a particular research project, recognising its limits

The module is assessed using a processual strategy.  Students present a brief account of their project topic, their ‘findings’ to date and the problems which have arisen in the process of research, including ethical problems, to a group of their peers in week 13 of the module (25% of the assessment) (learning outcomes 1,3,4,5,6).  This presentation incorporates a commentary on the generic and subject-specific skills developed and developing in the research process.  They write and submit a written discursive project report addressing their chosen problem/topic (9,000 words). This project also incorporates a self-reflective chapter of the process of research and of the skills developed, including the ways in which these might contribute to the development of their CVs (500 words) (75% of the assessment) (learning outcomes 1,2, 3,4,5,6). This final component is due in week 28.

The following may be of some general use but students are also encouraged to refer to their work on Measuring and Interpreting Crime and other relevant modules and are required to generate their own research materials for their project:

Bell, J. (2005) Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers in education and social science (fourth edition), England:Open University Press
Bryman, A.(1988) Quantity & Quality in Social Research, London: Unwin Hyman
Davies, M.B. (2007) Doing a Successful Research Project: Using Qualitative or Quantitative Methods, New York:Palgrave MacMillan
Gilbert, N. (ed) (1993) Researching Social Life, London: Sage
King, R.D. & Wincup, E. (eds) (2000) Doing Research on Crime and Justice, New York:Oxford University Press
Jupp, V. (1989) Methods of Criminological Research, London:Routledge
Robson, C. (2007) How to do a research project: a guide for undergraduate students, Oxford: Blackwell
Silverman, D. (2001) Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction, London:SAGE Publications