Students will submit a learning log portfolio consisting of short activities relating to criminological research to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of criminological research methods. The learning log portfolio will consist of activities students will be provided in the study guide.

In certain modules (weeks) during the term students are provided with a task to complete in the study guide. These short tasks make up the learning log portfolio. Each task is relevant to that module’s particular topic and will develop your knowledge and practical skills in relation to criminal intelligence analysis. Not all modules will have tasks to complete.

Word length per task 250-300 words (around half a side of A4). There are 5 tasks to complete as part of the learning log portfolio.

Responses must be written as complete sentences except where tables or bullet points are appropriate.

Students should include a separate reference list at the end of the portfolio for all material cited. Referencing must adhere to American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, which can be found here. The reference list is not included in the word limit.

Lecture notes should not be used as part of the reference list, instead students should find the original source/author. Remember to avoid non-scholarly sources such as dictionaries and Wikipedia.

Submission guidelines

A contents page is required at the beginning of the portfolio and pages should be numbered.

Use 11 or 12 point font size, a sensible font, and 1.5 or double line spacing.

Submission is via Moodle.

Application of theory from the unit

Application of concepts from the unit

Independent research conducted

Professional presentation

For this assignment students will write a critical review of the literature in the area of either rape and sexual assault on college and university campuses or hate crime.

Students can choose the particular focus of their literature review as long as the topic broadly addresses either rape and sexual assault on college and university campuses or hate crime. For example

· projects/programmes implemented by universities and/or colleges to improve students’ knowledge of sexual consent

· who commits hate crimes and why?

· an exploration of the impact/experience of being a victim of hate crime

Questions to Ask about Individual Articles

· Does the article have a clear position statement? Is it supported by a well organised argument that uses convincing evidence?

· What strategies or methodologies does the author use in the article?

· Was the article published in a respected academic journal? (Remember the importance of peer review.)

· Is the author someone who seems reliable? Might the author have some sort of agenda or ideological motivation that might affect the way the argument is presented? (A Google search can be useful.)

· How recently was the article published? In rapidly changing fields, research can become dated quickly, so it is generally preferable to use articles published within the past five to eight years or so.

· What original contribution does the article make to the discussion about the topic?

Organising the Literature Review

A successful literature review should have three parts that break down in the following way:

INTRODUCTION

1. Defines and identifies the topic and establishes the reason for the literature review.

2. Points to general trends in what has been published about the topic.

3. Explains the criteria used in analysing and comparing articles.

BODY OF THE REVIEW

1. Groups articles into thematic clusters, or subtopics. Clusters may be grouped together chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more on this).

2. Proceeds in a logical order from cluster to cluster.

3. Emphasises the main findings or arguments of the articles in the student’s own words. Keeps quotations from sources to an absolute minimum.

CONCLUSION

1. Summarises the major themes that emerged in the review and identifies areas of controversy in the literature.

2. Pinpoints strengths and weaknesses among the articles (research design, methods used, gaps in research, problems with theoretical frameworks, etc.).

3. Concludes by formulating questions that need further research within the topic, and provides some insight into the relationship between that topic and the larger field of study or discipline.

It is recommended that students follow this structure when writing the literature review.

Literature Review: Relational Words and Phrases

The entire point of writing a literature review is to synthesise, or write about the relationships between, the articles you’re using, defining the connection between them and explaining how they come together to represent a body of knowledge on a subject. The following words and phrases are useful when writing a literature review because they express specific types of relationships between ideas [table of phrases included in the assessment briefing].

Submission guidelines & referencing

Use 11 or 12 point font size, a sensible font, and 1.5 or double line spacing. Submission is via Moodle.

• Referencing must adhere to APA style. See here for instructions.

• You MUST include a reference list.

Only include authoritative references that have an author(s) and that have been peer reviewed (i.e. journals included in the databases, reputable journals accessed via Google Scholar etc).

Avoid non-authoritative sources such as dictionaries and Wikipedia.

Lecture notes are not to be used as part of the reference list. You will need to locate the original author/source.

The first page of the assignment is to be a title page containing: the assessment title, your name and student identification, the unit name and unit code, and the due date.

Word limit:1500 words

Selected literature is relevant to topic

Selected literature is appropriate for topic

Selected literature's main points and arguments are synthesized 

Literature review demonstrates evidence of critical evaluation

A research proposal is the first stage of a piece of research. Proposals are usually considered by a panel of experts who will permit or reject the research based on the information provided. A research proposal intends to illustrate that;

• the research is necessary
• the research is worthwhile
• the research is well designed
• the researcher is competent to carry out the research

Research proposals should address;

• what will be accomplished
• why the researcher intends to carry out the research
• how the research will be conducted

Some guidelines

For this assignment students must produce a mini research proposal, either from a quantitative perspective or from a qualitative perspective. The proposed research should be related to your area of interest within criminology, drawing upon the challenges during CIA sessions.

Contents of the proposals

1. Introduction/Background/Literature Review:

The main purpose of the introduction in a research proposal is to provide an outline of the background or context of the research that is being proposed.

Two research papers should briefly be critically reviewed using the summary table provided in the Moodle assessments resources folder. The past research you draw upon should provide justification for the research you are proposing e.g. have you identified a gap in the current literature? Would you like to extend/expand/develop some previous research?

If the proposal is a qualitative piece of work, you should find qualitative research to include, and if the proposal is taking a quantitative approach, you should find quantitative work to include.

The literature review in a research proposal serves several functions:

• Demonstrates knowledge of the area/topic
• Demonstrates ability to critically select and evaluate relevant literature
• Identifies gaps in the existing body of work

State the working research hypothesis (for a quantitative proposal) and the research question/aims (for a qualitative proposal).

[Guide: 350 – 400 words]

2. Method

The method section is an important part of the research proposal, as it informs readers how you plan to conduct the necessary research to answer the research question identified in the introduction. It should also contain sufficient information for readers to judge whether the proposed research is realistic and appropriate to address the research question.

The methods selected should be informed by the lectures & practical sessions in Criminal Intelligence Analysis.

The epistemological position adopted by the research should be clearly presented – why is a quantitative/qualitative approach the most appropriate to answer the research question?

The research design must be appropriate and realistic, and should cover;

Ø Participant recruitment: how and where will participants be recruited? Who will take part? Which sampling strategy will be implemented? What is the justification for this?

Ø Method of data collection: which method is the most appropriate to collect the type of data needed for the research? Why?

Ø Procedure: How will the study be carried out? What activities will be involved? What apparatus is required?

Ø Resources: What is the estimation of costs?

An appropriate technique for analysing the data should be proposed e.g. which inferential statistical tests would be most appropriate & why? What type of qualitative analysis will enable you to answer the research question?

Bear in mind that data collection and analysis procedures in qualitative research are more closely related to each other than in quantitative research.

Finally, you should address the ethical implications of your research e.g. are there any ethical issues related to the age of the participants? How will you ensure confidentiality/anonymity/protection of participants?

[Guide: 600-650 words]

Submission guidelines & referencing

Use 11 or 12 point font size, a sensible font, and 1.5 or double line spacing. Submission is via Moodle.

• Referencing must adhere to APA style. See here for instructions.

• You MUST include a reference list of all sources cited in the proposal.

Only include authoritative references that have an author(s) and that have been peer reviewed (i.e. journals included in the online databases, textbooks, , reputable journals accessed via Google Scholar etc).

Avoid non-authoritative sources such as dictionaries and Wikipedia.

Lecture notes are not to be used as part of the reference list. You will need to locate the original author/source.

The first page of the assignment is to be a title page containing: the assessment title, your name and student identification, the unit name and unit code, and the due date.

Word limit: 1000 words

Relevance of chosen topic to criminology

Appropriateness of selected topic for a research project

Justification of proposed research

Appropriate research design