Word limit: 1200-1500 words 

Students will submit a learning log portfolio 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 modules 1-4 students are provided with an assessment task to complete and can be found in each of the first four modules 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. Only modules 1-4 will have tasks to complete for this assessment.

Word length per task 300-350 words (around half a side of A4). There are 4 tasks to complete as part of the learning log portfolio, one for each of the first 4 weeks of term.

Responses must be written as complete sentences except where tables or bullet points are appropriate. You should not copy and pate the task instructions into your submission, instead clearly number each task as ‘task 1’, ‘task 2’ etc.

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.

Word limit: 1500 words 

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

Writing a Literature Review: Some Guidelines

What Is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a survey of scholarly articles, books, or other sources that pertain to a specific topic, area of research, or theory. The literature review offers brief descriptions, summaries, and critical evaluations of each work, and does so in the form of a well organised essay. Scholars often write literature reviews to provide an overview of the most significant recent literature published on a topic. They also use literature reviews to trace the evolution of certain debates or intellectual problems within a field. Even if a literature review is not a formal part of a research project, students should conduct an informal one so that they know what kind of scholarly work has been done previously on the topic that they have selected.

How Is a Literature Review Different from a Research Paper?

An academic research paper attempts to develop a new argument, and typically has a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, the author uses the literature review to show how his or her new insights build upon and depart from existing scholarship. A literature review by itself does not try to make a new argument based on original research, but rather summarises, synthesises, and critiques the arguments and ideas of others, and points to gaps in the current literature.

Picking a Topic

First, students need to pick a topic from the choice above. Second, the topic focus should be relatively narrow so that it does not overwhelm the writer. For example, the literature on the causes of the white collar crime is too vast for a short review essay. A review of recent scholarship published on the economic impact of internet bank fraud in Australia is probably narrow enough for a relatively short essay like this.

Finding Relevant Literature

As a result of electronic databases like JSTOR, Ebsco Host, Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), and others, it has become relatively easy to find relevant and trustworthy sources for a literature review essay.

These and many more scholarly databases are available on the CQU Library website here:

https://libguides.library.cqu.edu.au/az.php

When searching these databases, remember to use keywords or phrases that are as closely associated with the topic as possible. Searching with one or two phrases surrounded by quotation marks (for example, “White collar crime” in tandem with “economic impact”) will help to narrow down the most relevant results, as only articles that contain those two specific phrases will be found.

Evaluating the Literature

After students have found several articles or books related to a topic, they will evaluate them to determine which ones seem to make the most important contributions to the scholarship on the chosen topic. For undergraduate students, this step is often difficult since they are not experts and are just beginning to learn about major themes and debates within a field. Nonetheless, by asking some of the questions below, student writers can make a pretty well educated assessment about whether or not an article contributes something significant to the relevant area of scholarship. In addition, evaluating articles with these questions will be helpful in figuring out how to organise the material later when composing the essay.

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.

Creating Clusters or Subtopics

Chronological Groupings: With this method, you can group material according to when it was published or the time period the material addresses. For example, for a literature review about post-1965 immigration to Sydney, you might group the material that addresses the 1960s and 1970s in one section, and the 1980s and 1990s in another. This method works well in essays that trace the evolution of a certain theme or idea over time, but can be less coherent in other contexts.

Thematic Groupings: In this approach, sections might be organised around particular subthemes within the essay’s topic. For the post-1965 immigration essay mentioned above, you might organise separate sections on literature dealing with different ethnic groups: from Asia, Europe, South America etc.

Methodological Groupings: A methodological approach differs from the two above in that it does not focus so much on the content, but the ‘methods’ of the researcher or writer. In the above example, authors who interpret demographic data from the census might be put in one group, while another group might be formed around work that uses ethnographic approaches.

Word limit: 1000 words

What is a research proposal?

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 justified
• 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. You should choose to base the proposal around either survey research (this can be from a qualitative or a quantitative paradigm) or ethnography and/or observation (these must be from the qualitative paradigm) The proposed research should be related to your area of interest within criminology, drawing upon the challenges completed during CIA sessions.

Contents of the proposal

1. Introduction

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.

For this proposal, your introduction will consist of an overview of either the qualitative or quantitative approach and a justification for your choice. This should take the form of an essay outlining the approach you have chosen (either qualitative or quantitative) and provide an overview of the methodology you have selected i.e. a survey, ethnography or observational research. You will need to justify why this choice is the most appropriate in light of the research question or hypothesis you wish to address. You will also need to include a brief critical evaluation of the selected methods.

End this section by state the working research hypothesis (for a quantitative proposal) or the research question(s) (for a qualitative proposal).

[Guide: 450-500 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 or hypothesis 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 mini lectures and workshop 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?

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

[Guide: 450-500 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.

High Distinction:

· Excellent knowledge and understanding of relevant issues (including ethics) and theories, which shows a capacity to understand and explain interrelationships between concepts and apply them to research.

· Evidence of knowledge gained from a range of relevant and appropriate literature and other sources with clear evidence of consistent critical evaluation.

· Accurate and abundant referencing used to support arguments.

· Written communication is clear with a coherent argument and clear justification for the proposed research.

· Accomplished use, reporting and evaluation of the of research methods proposed.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are relevant and appropriate for the suggested research.

Distinction:

· Substantial knowledge of relevant issues (including ethics) and theories, which is evidenced in the ability to relate these to practical application in a balanced way.

· Accurate referencing of appropriate literature, which generally substantiates arguments and is reviewed critically.

· Written communication is clear and coherent, with justification for the proposed research.

· Proficient use, reporting and evaluation of the research methods proposed.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are relevant and mostly appropriate for the suggested research.

Credit:

· Generally appropriate knowledge (including of ethical issues), with ability to discuss and compare concepts and their relationship to practice.

· Evidence of referencing to support argument, along with an attempt to critically evaluate the selected literature.

· Written communication shows evidence of competent expression, and an ability to provide some justification for the proposed research.

· Generally competent use, reporting and evaluation of the research methods proposed.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are confused, not appropriate or minor details are omitted.

Pass:

· Generally accurate recall of facts with some minor confusions. Aspects are omitted from the work.

· Limited ability to relate knowledge to practice or to draw on breadth of relevant theories.

· Limited referencing and argument, with minimal attempt at critical evaluation.

· Written communication lacks structure and clarity, and there is limited attempt to provide a justification for the proposed research.

· Ability to use and report on the basic research methods proposed, with limited development.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are not clear, appropriate or important details are omitted.

Fail:

· Limited recall of facts which may contain some confusions. Important aspects of the work are omitted.

· Poor ability to relate knowledge to the topic, and selected literature is not relevant.

· Poor referencing and argument, with no attempt at critical evaluation.

· Written communication lacks structure and clarity and there is no attempt to provide justification for the work.

· Poor ability to use and report on the basic research methods proposed, with very limited or no development.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are not suitable or important details are omitted. There is clear misunderstanding of methodology, techniques and analysis.