Fundamental principles of social science research and related research design. Structured to develop students' abilities to think clearly, critically, and logically about social science issues through the scientific evaluation of empirical issues and evidence.
Athena Title
Research Methods in Crim Just
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in POLS 3700W, SOCI 3700W
Prerequisite
POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be familiar with the basic methods used in empirical analyses of political and social phenomena related to the field of criminal justice.
Students will be familiar with peer reviewed processes for scientific research and be able to identify credible data sources for inquiry.
Students will have designed a research project to address an inquiry related to criminal justice.
Students will have executed an original data analysis to test a hypothesis and include a write up of the results.
Students will have a basic understanding of statistical software applications for the analysis of social scientific data.
Topical Outline
1. Course introduction
2. Theory and criminal justice inquiry
3. Formulating hypotheses & general issues in research design
4. Ethical issues in criminal justice research
5. Evaluating causal relationships
6. Concepts, operationalization, and measurement
7. Sampling
8. Experimental & quasi-experimental designs
9. Survey research
10. Agency records & content analysis
11. Comparative method & secondary data
12. Data analysis & interpretation
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
