LW2RES: Criminological Research Methods

Module code: LW2RES

Module provider: School of Law

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Rosa Walling-Wefelmeyer, email: r.walling-wefelmeyer@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module introduces students to social science research as applied to the study of crime and justice. It will provide students with an introduction to qualitative and quantitative research methods and the relationship between methods and theory. It will offer an introduction to how to plan and do qualitative and quantitative criminological research as well as how to analyse data.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the range of strategies for research design, ethical guidelines, data collection and analysis in the conduct of social research.
2. Understand the relationship between theory, method and research question
3. Understand how to plan a research project
4. Analyse quantitative and qualitative data

Module content

Research approaches in Criminology and the study of criminal justice, questionnaire construction, asking questions, conducting ethnographic and observation research, content analysis and archival research, quantitative data collection and analysis, research ethics, researching vulnerable groups, planning research projects

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Lecturers will contain both lecture style teaching and student participation. Seminars will be lecturer led and students will be expected to take part in practical exercises in order to learn both the methods and the links between method, theory and research question. Students will be provided with live or archived datasets and they will be expected to analyse data in the workshops, identifying particular issues with the data or potential limitations and problems with the analysis.

Study hours

At least 37 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Research proposal draft

Reassessment

Additional costs