Provide a research question(s) with an explanation/rationale for why it is of criminological interest and important to study.
Research Proposal & Research Instrument Design.
By the end of this module, you should have developed a good understanding of research methodologies and the process of conducting social research. This assessment is a 2,500- word research proposal. This assessment will give you the opportunity to independently plan (not undertake) a research study of your choice and outline how you would pursue this project. Your research proposal should include:
• your research question(s) with an explanation/rationale for why it is of criminological interest and important to study.
• a short literature review (500 words approx.) on the topic showing how your project would contribute to original and valuable knowledge in the field.
• an account of the research design you propose to use and your choice of research method(s) to address these questions.
• a discussion of the ethical issues raised by the research project.
• an account of how you would plan to analyse the data.
• a discussion of any practical problems you expect to come across during the research process and reflections on how you might address these (e.g., potential issues of access); and
• a bibliography. You must also include the research instrument you plan to use to conduct your research. For example, if your research proposal includes undertaking interviews with convicted money launderers in prison, you must include the interview schedule with the questions you intend to ask.
Topics Covered in class:
METHOD MATTERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS
QUANTITATIVE VS QUALITATIVE, EPISTEMOLOGY VS ONTOLOGY: DEVELOPING RESEARCH STRATEGIES
ASKING RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND CONDUCTING A LITERATURE REVIEW
SAMPLING AND SURVEY DESIGN
ETHICS, REFLEXIVITY AND THE RESEARCH PROCESS
THE USE OF DOCUMENTS AND DIGITAL METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH
ETHNOGRAPHY AND OBSERVATION
CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS: CODES, THEMES AND MAKING SENSE OF DATA
REQUIRED READING:
REQUIRED READING
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 28: Writing up social research. Social research methods. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press
REQUIRED READING
Hall, A. (2018) Chapter 7: Writing up and presenting criminological research. In: Davis, P., and Francis, P. eds., (2018) Doing criminological research. 3rd. London: Sage, pp. 161-177
Please use the University of West England Harvard referencing style. Please find the link below
https://www.uwe.ac.uk/library/info/refbuilder/
