Doing criminological research

Aims

Develop your understanding of criminological research approaches and gain practical experience of analysis.

You will consider a wide range of criminological research designs and methods through in-depth study of key studies. Consider, as part of this, key issues in criminology around researcher wellbeing and ethics, and acquire a hands-on understanding of different analytical techniques.

Topics covered on the unit will include:

• The use of official data for criminological research
• Survey based research in criminology
• Criminological interviewing
• Insider research
• Historical enquiry in criminology
• Analytical approaches in criminology
• Researcher wellbeing
• Ethics in criminology

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

• Assess core methodological and analytical approaches in Criminology, their uses, strengths and weaknesses
• Demonstrate an understanding of both research integrity and what constitutes ethical research, including researcher and participant wellbeing

You will also identify a criminological research question and devise an appropriate research design and strategy to answer that question.

Contemporary Criminological Theory

Aims

Examine some of the key contemporary debates in criminological theory and their relationship to issues raised within the established canon of criminological theory.

You will have the opportunity to develop a sophisticated understanding of some of the current trends and ideas within criminological theory. By locating these theories within their appropriate historical context, you will develop your understanding of how abstract concepts are applied to the study of crime and criminal justice.

The unit covers a range of theoretical traditions in criminology, tracing their origins, development and contemporary manifestations. Examples of such traditions include:

• the classical school
• the legacy of ‘anomie’
• radical criminology
• labelling
• realism
• decolonial approaches

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of core theories, concepts, and contemporary debates in Criminology
• Draw on and synthesise evidence from a range of sources to critically assess and advance criminological arguments
• Produce well-structured, coherent written accounts of criminological theories and concepts
• Marshal evidence and theory to support or challenge a criminological argument in such a way as to demonstrate a critical awareness of the origin and bases of knowledge

Core Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice

Aims

Explore key issues in crime, harm, and justice responses.

You will examine how multiple dimensions of inequality intersect with crime and justice; highlight and stretch competing conceptions of crime, harm, and social order; and explore alternative and less visible sites of crime and criminal justice response. You will also critically consider the prospects of criminology, crime, and criminal justice in the twenty-first century.

The unit contains four strands:

• The first explores theoretical and empirical approaches to crime cases and criminal justice as each intersects with other forms of inequality, such as class, racism, gender, and disability.
• The second strand considers competing ideas around the impact of crime, the making of social order, and appropriate responses thereupon.
• The third strand examines alternative conceptions and sites of crime, such as environmental and ecological harm, and the geopolitical contexts of crime.
• The final strand centres the question of criminological futures: what challenges do rapid technological, social, and political change mean for crime and criminal justice?

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

• Critically assess the intersections of crime, criminal justice, and different kinds of inequality
• Compare and evaluate competing concepts and explanations of crime and harm
• Identify and explain accounts of alternative contexts and sites for crime and criminal justice
  
• Identify and assess contemporary challenges around crime and the criminal justice system

Criminological ethnography

Aims

Explore the role, purpose and practicalities of conducting ethnography within the field of criminology.

Through detailed reading of several classic texts, you will consider how this methodological tradition has developed, and debate pertinent issues such as ethics and knowledge production. You will develop the skills and knowledge to conduct your own fieldwork and produce your own fieldnotes.

Topics covered on the unit will include:

• What is criminological ethnography?
• Why conduct ethnography as a criminologist?
• Knowledge production and ethnography
• Ethical issues in criminological ethnography
• Criminological ethnography case studies (e.g. Drugs, Prison, Policing)
• Doing criminological fieldwork
• Reading and writing criminological ethnography
• Evaluating criminological ethnography

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

• Demonstrate and apply knowledge of core methodological and analytical approaches in criminology
• Demonstrate an understanding of both research integrity and what constitutes ethical research, including researcher and participant wellbeing
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct and present independent research

Criminology dissertation

Aims

Design and undertake your own criminological project, culminating in a coherent, long-form piece of writing comprised of a set of interrelated components.

This project requires you to draw upon the skills and knowledge that contribute to understanding within criminology and/or criminal justice. Supported by an academic supervisor, you will independently identify a research question, select an appropriate research approach, and gather and critically evaluate relevant material.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

By the end of the unit, the students should be able to:

• Identify a relevant criminological research question and design a study to answer that question
• Identify, review and critique academic literature related to a chosen research question
• Present an independent analysis, argument and/or application of theory in a coherent fashion