Criminological Research for Social Science Students

Course goals

After this course: 

• The student has basic knowledge of and insight in the main methods and techniques used in quantitative criminological research.

• The student has basic knowledge of and insight into the main methods and techniques used in qualitative criminological research, especially the open interview and (participant) observation.

• The student has basic understanding of the key ethical considerations when conducting qualitative criminological research.

• The student has gained basic skills to conduct qualitative research, mainly open interviews and observations.

• The student can critically assess different methods of criminological research, and report on them.

Content

This course is aimed at students without prior knowledge in research methods, both quantitative and qualitative. During the course, the focus will be put on the different qualitative methods used in criminology to study crime and crime control. The students learn how to plan and conduct a concrete criminological research. Aspects such as research design, data collection and data analysis will be tackled. Students will also gain basic knowledge on quantitative methods (descriptive statistics), qualitative methods like open interviews and participant observation, and on the ethical implications of conducting qualitative criminological research. It is expected that students apply in their research theoretical criminological knowledge gained in other courses of the Minor. The students will be divided in groups of 3 persons, and each group will conduct a research project in which they have to apply qualitative methods. During the seminars, research skills will be trained and research progress will be discussed. The course will end with an individual written exam (60%). It is highly recommended that students follow this course after having gained knowledge from the Minor courses ‘Introduction to Criminology’ and ‘Criminological Theory’.