Research and Thesis Trajectory Global Criminology

Course goals

After the Research and Thesis Trajectory:

• The students have a profound knowledge and understanding of a subject of their choice in the master’s field.
• The students are able to formulate a clear and relevant research question independently.
• the student is able to design and conduct individual criminological research in an academically acceptable manner on a subject of his/her choice in the master’s field, by using qualitative research methods and connecting the results thereof with criminological theories
• The students are able to place the acquired knowledge within a scientific debate, taking into account local and global developments, and to critically evaluate their data and give their own vision of the data.
• The students are able to present the outcome of their research in a clear and structured way in written and/or other forms.
• The students are able to adopt their own substantiated point of view in the continuing public and academic debate over the field of criminology. 
• The students have acquired appropriate knowledge of the efficient and ethical use of AI.

Content

During the Research and Thesis Training (RTT), students will show their ability to individually conduct a research and write a research thesis. Students choose a topic that fits the expertise and research fields of one of the teaching staff.
 
Students are able to conduct a research autonomously or during an internship. Every student will have one of the teachers as a supervisor during the whole process of conducting research and writing the thesis.
 
The RTT runs throughout the master programme, meaning that it starts in September and ends in July. It is being taught alongside the existing master courses, making use of different interactive (face-to-face as well as virtual) teaching methods, such as individual writing assignments, seminars, group work (including peer feedback), virtual discussion boards and individual supervision.
 
Students will submit a provisional research proposal in October and discuss the contents with their supervisor and subgroup participants. Students cannot start the research without approval of the supervisor. Every student will have multiple meetings with their subgroup and supervisor as well as individual meetings with their supervisor. During the course there will be four seminars in which difficulties and problems with conducting research and writing a thesis will be addressed. The seminars will take place in September, November, January en April.
 
The thesis will be graded by the supervisor in cooperation with the second reader. The supervisor will be the first reader and the second reader is appointed by the thesis coordinator (dr. Brenda Oude Breuil).