WEEK 1
Knowledge/Power Dynamic (graded)
How does the knowledge/power dynamic relate to crime and justice research?
Knowledge/Power Dynamic in Criminal Justice Research (graded)
Access the DeVry library and use the Research Help link. Find EBSCOHost and watch the video tutorial on conducting a Basic Search in the EBSCOHost database. Use the knowledge you’ve gained from watching this video and conduct a search for articles from scholarly journals using this topic. Share with your peers some of the key words/search terms you used to access these articles. Which terms were most helpful and enabled you to find articles that discussed the knowledge/power dynamic in criminal justice research?
WEEK 2
Quantitative Versus Qualitative (graded)
What are the main differences in designing quantitative versus qualitative research?
Justification of Methods (graded)
Review the .devry.edu/node/1728″>Blood Spatter Analysis video and the table with the analysis details from the Assignments page this week.
When investigating a crime scene, what types of quantitative data would you want to identify, and what type of qualitative data would be helpful in solving a crime? Share your analysis with your peers and critique their analysis.
WEEK 3
Sampling TechniquesHidden Populations (graded)
Do you have access to any hidden population that is involved in some sort of deviant or criminal activity? If not, provide a hypothetical hidden population that you would be interested in researching.
Sampling TechniquesTechniques (graded)
Think about the hidden population you’ve identified. Choose one of the following research methodologies and describe for your peers how you would set up a means to study this group. (Cluster sampling; quantitative; qualitative; mixed methods; stratified sampling; systematic sampling.) Discuss why you believe this methodology would work well in studying your hidden population.
WEEK 4
Deciding How to Research (graded)
You are the Shift Lt. in charge of a DUI task force for your small department. This is a very specialized and expensive component of your department’s efforts to reduce driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, and you have been told to research the success of your task force for the past 6 months and to present these findings to the Chief and Deputy Chief at the next Command Briefing scheduled for this coming Friday. Your task force consists of 12 mobile units, each with an officer having specialized training, two K9 units, and the 6-month span from June 1 through 12/31 of this past year. To research this, you will have to resort to sorting through the tickets written during that time frame for details and you can use daily/weekly/monthly staff reports for overall statistics.
You must post at least three times each week. Explain your experiment by day 3 (your main posting) of this class week. Then on day 4, you will go to any fellow class student and critique their experiment on the grounds of internal and external validity, while suggesting ways to improve the design and validity of their experiment. Last, your third posting (you are welcome to post more) will be in response to the critique made of your initial posting by the classmate who is immediately before you in the alphabet.
Real-World Complications (graded)
Given the sample in topic 1, what real-world complications could you see in being able to perform the DUI research listed above, and as that Shift Lieutenant, what systems or procedures would you implement to ensure your follow-up report was more accurately and meaningfully created? To validate your conclusion about real-world complications, you might want to do a quick library search to locate studies done concerning DUI research. What complications did those researchers discuss?
WEEK 5
Media Use of Statistics (graded)
Look for, or brainstorm for a few examples of the use of statistics by the media. For example, advertising on the Internet and in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. These statistics should all relate to some aspect of criminal justice. How many examples showing the use of the statistics by the media can you find? Provide at least three examples and summarize them. Your examples should be specific and detailed. If your example comes from a newspaper or magazine article, provide the source.
Media Distortion (graded)
Are statistics likely to confuse people or distort information? Provide at least two specific examples where the media used statistics where you believe that the information was confusing and distorted. What information do think should have been provided? If your example comes from a newspaper or magazine article, provide the source.
WEEK 6
Ethnographic Field Research (graded)
Come up with what you believe to be an interesting crime and justice ethnography based on whatever field of criminal justice that most interests you. You can use an idea that takes advantage of your existing contacts or one that would require you to make new contacts. Identify two or three issues that you believe would be interesting to study given this ethnography.
How would you gain entry into the field site?
Ethnographic Field Research Difficulties (graded)
What difficulties might you encounter in gaining the trust and cooperation of your research subjects? What effect(s) would that possibly have on your research?
week 7
Research TrendsSignificance (graded)
Think of crime and justice research trends that have been covered in your textbook or use a real-life example you can think of. Examples can include mixed methods research, international crime research, and human rights issues and research.
Discuss the following: Which trend in crime and justice research do you think is the most significant to the field of crime and justice? Why?
What Does Your Research Tell You About Your Topic of Interest? (graded)
Based on what you have identified as an area of interest in response to question number 1, search any library database and find an article in a peer-reviewed journal that addresses your topic. Summarize the article and tell your peers why you believe this is a critical issue in criminal justice.
