CRIM13009 - Criminal Ethnographies

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Issues in the justice field require a great deal of sensitivity to individual perspectives and understandings of the criminal justice system. Frequently situations involve violence and physical or mental harm. Qualitative research methods provide the investigator with insights into the contextual factors that influence offenders, victims and justice professionals. In this unit you will develop your qualitative research skills, building on skills developed in this course with a focus on writing surveys, conducting interviews or using ethnographic techniques oriented to criminal research. You will examine the ethical context of qualitative research including the importance of respecting individuals or communities being researched and preservation of due process where required. You will also demonstrate the importance of ethical practice and effective data management practices using appropriate and secure technologies where breaches of privacy can also expose respondents and researchers to personal danger.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 60%
2. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 25% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE data
Feedback
Provide clearer instructions for the layout of the practical assessment.
Recommendation
The UC will spend additional time discussing the expected layout of this assessment, as well as the expected content.
Action Taken
There were no students queries re: assessment layout this year, meaning the additional instructions were useful for students.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
To improve the SUTE response rate.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to use the College's best practice guide, and for 2024, will allocate time during the final two workshop sessions for students to complete the SUTE survey.
Action Taken
Despite continuing to consult the School's best practice guide, response rates continue to be low.
Source: Workshops, student email communication
Feedback
Students commented on the contemporary nature of the weekly workshop challenges and appreciated how challenges developed their practical research skills.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to scaffold students to develop practical research skills useful for future careers in the next iteration of the unit.
Action Taken
The UC continued to scaffold students to develop practical research skills useful for future careers.
Source: Student email communication, SUTE data
Feedback
Assessment reduction has made the unit more manageable for students with a heavy unit load.
Recommendation
The unit will maintain the two assessment structure and the UC will continue to monitor student outcomes.
Action Taken
Maintaining two assessments has improved student outcomes and reduced fail grades in 2024.
Source: Lack of student evaluation data
Feedback
To improve the SUTE response rate.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to use the College's best practice guide, and for 2024, will allocate time during the final workshop session for students to complete the SUTE survey.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student communication
Feedback
Students commented on the clarity of the delivery and explanations of various, complex qualitative methods.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to scaffold student to develop practical research skills useful for future careers in the next iteration of the unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student results
Feedback
Maintain the 2 assessment structure, as this has improved student outcomes.
Recommendation
The unit will maintain the two assessment structure and the UC will continue to monitor student outcomes.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Develop a qualitative methodology for investigation of a justice issue with consideration of institutional limitations on the process
  2. Conduct a hypothetical ethnographic interview and reflect on the process
  3. Employ qualitative intelligence techniques including interviewing and ethnography
  4. Effectively manage data pertaining to a hypothetical human data analysis project
  5. Work within the research ethics framework including identification of risk of violence and power imbalances.

No external accreditation is relevant to this award.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Practical Assessment • • • • •
2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10