Methods - Rutgers School of Criminal Justice

CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH METHODS
47:202:301
Spring 2015
Instructor: Marin Kurti
Course Meeting: Bradley Hall 313, 6:00PM – 9:00PM
Office Hours: 4:00- 6:00PM & By appointment
Office Location: Center for Law and Justice, 567A
Email: [email protected]
Alternate Email: Marin. [email protected]
Course Description:
This introductory course offers a comprehensive review of how research is conducted in
criminal justice. It is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the
development of social science research (i.e., sociology, psychology and criminal justice)
and its current epistemological debates. The course will also trace the history of unethical
research and the current structures that have been developed to curtail such abuses (i.e.,
Institutional Review Boards and peer-review processes). Students will learn how to apply
various research designs (qualitative and quantitative) to topics of inquiry that they find
most fascinating. Finally, the course will provide students with an elementary
understanding of how to collect, analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data.
Course Goals/Objectives:
This course aims to help students:
1. Understand the importance of protecting special populations and more broadly,
human subjects.
2. Collate findings from a comprehensive search of the literature on a topic of interest.
3. Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research design and sampling
strategies.
4. Recognize the benefits of mixed-methods research (triangulation).
Required Texts
Babbie, E. (2011). The Basics of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
(ISBN: 0495812242)
*Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard.
Criminal Justice Research Methods 1 CLASS RULES:
ü Each day an assignment is late students will lose ONE letter grade.
ü Students should be courteous to one another despite differing viewpoints.
ü Communication between the instructor and students is important; thus, emails will
be responded to within 48 hours.
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Participation (15%)
Students are expected to participate in class discussions in an informed manner. Students
should have completed the assigned readings prior to class so that the discussions are
meaningful and add to the class’ understanding of the topic.
2. APA Citations (5%)
Students will be given a brief exercise to test their knowledge of: (1) scholarly searches
using online databases including Lexis Nexis, ProQuest, Google Scholar, etc; and (2)
American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. More detailed instructions can
be found on Blackboard.
3. Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Quiz (5%)
Protecting human subjects is at the forefront of social science research. In order to fully
understand the history of human subject violations and steps that researchers take to
protect them, students are required pass an online quiz. More detailed instructions can be
found on Blackboard.
4. Survey Instrument (10%)
Students will be given a hypothetical subject matter and tasked with designing a closeended survey that would measure the phenomenon. Students are encouraged to scour
through the scholarly literature and consult with each other on ways to hone their
instrument and to ensure that it is both reliable and valid. More detailed instructions can
be found on Blackboard.
5. Semi-Structured Interview Guide (10%)
Students will be given a sample topic for which they will have to familiarize themselves
with by consulting the scholarly literature. They will then have to create a semi structured
interview guide. More detailed instructions can be found on Blackboard.
6. Midterm Exam (25%)
Students will be given a 40-question multiple choice midterm examination covering the
first half of the course. Prior to the exam, a review sheet will be given out.
7. Final Exam (30%)
Students will be given a 40-question multiple-choice final examination covering the
second half of the course. Students will have the ability to consult a final review sheet
prior to the exam that outlines the topics that will be covered.
Criminal Justice Research Methods 2 Grading Weights:
1. Participation
2. APA Citations
2. CITI Quiz
3. Survey Instrument
4. Semi-Structured Interview Guide
4. Midterm Exam
5. Final Exam
Grade Distribution:
A
Outstanding
B+
B
Good
C+
C
Satisfactory
D
F
Failing
15%
5%
5%
10%
10%
25%
30%
90-100%
85-89%
80-84%
75-79%
70-74%
60-69%
< 60%
COURSE SCHEDULE
Class Topic/Activity
Human Inquiry and Science
No School L Snow Day
Theory and Social Science Research
The Ethics and Politics of Social Research
Institutional Review Boards
Week
1
2
3
4
5
Date
Jan. 20
Jan. 27
Feb. 3
Feb. 10
Feb. 17
Readings
Babbie (2011) Chapter 1
6
Feb. 24
7
Mar. 3
Research Design/Conceptualization,
Operationalization and Measurement
The Logic of Sampling
8
Mar. 10
Midterm Exam
9
10
11
Mar. 17
Mar. 24
Mar. 31
No School L Spring Break
Survey Research
Survey Research/ Qualitative Field Research
Babbie (2011) Chapters 9
Babbie (2011) Chapter 10
12
Apr. 7
Qualitative Field Research (cont.)
Babbie (2011) Chapter 10
13
14
Apr. 14
Apr. 21
Unobtrusive Research
Experimental Research
Babbie (2011) Chapter 11
Babbie (2011) Chapter 8
16
Apr. 28
Final Exam
Babbie (2011) Chapter 2
Babbie (2011) Chapter 3
Fordham IRB/ John Jay IRB/
Rutgers IRB
*CITI Quiz Due*
Babbie (2011) Chapters 4, 5
Babbie (2011) Chapters 7
*APA Citation Due*
*Survey Instrument Due*
*Interview Guide Due*
* This syllabus may be subject to change at any time during the semester
Criminal Justice Research Methods 3 STUDENT SERVICES AVAILABLE
A) Rutgers University’s Writing Center:
Rutgers University’s Writing Center offers students help with writing assignments for
FREE. All students should make an attempt to visit the Writing Center at least once
during the semester.
Locations:
Rutgers-Newark
Conklin Hall Room 126
Tel: 973-353-5847
Email: [email protected]
Hours of Operation:
Monday: 9:10 AM – 5:20 PM
Tuesday: 9:10 AM – 5:20 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 8:20 PM
Thursday: 9:10 AM – 5:20 PM
B) The Don M. Gottfredson Library of Criminal Justice
The Don M. Gottfredson Library of Criminal Justice is one of the premier criminal
justice libraries in the world. The library offers assistance to students who inquire about
scholarly peer-reviewed articles and books appropriate to their topic of interest. If you
need assistance, please contact the reference librarian below.
Location:
Center of Law and Justice
3rd Floor
Contact
Phyllis Schultz, Reference Librarian
Tel. (973) 353-3118
Criminal Justice Research Methods 4 GENERAL INFORMATION
Academic Integrity
As a member of the Rutgers University community you are not to engage in any
academic dishonesty. You are responsible for adhering to basic academic standards
of honesty and integrity as outlined in the Rutgers University Policy on Academic
Integrity for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
(http://cat.rutgers.edu/integrity/policy.html).
Your academic work should be the result of your own individual effort, you should not
allow other students to use your work, and you are required to recognize and reference
any material that is not your own. Violations of the university’s policy will result in
appropriate action.
Students with Disabilities
As stated in the Manual for Students and Coordinators of Services for Students with
Disabilities (http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/docs/studentmanual.pdf), Rutgers
University “is committed to providing equal educational opportunity for persons with
disabilities in accordance with the Nondiscrimination Policy of the University and in
compliance with § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.” For students with disabilities, review the
manual and then contact the Student Disability Coordinator, Nelitha Wilson-Michael
([email protected]; 973-353-5300), who is located in room 352 in the
Robeson Campus Center.
Psychological and Counseling Services
If you experience psychological or other difficulties as a result of this course, or because
of other issues that may interfere with your performance in the course, please contact the
university’s psychological and counseling service center
(http://www.counseling.newark.rutgers.edu; 973-353-5805), which is located in
Blumenthal Hall, room 101. The center offers a variety of free, confidential services
to part-time and full-time students who are enrolled at Rutgers.
If you are interested in finding out more about:
· Accelerated Master's Program (B.S. /M.A.)
· Criminal Justice National Honor Society (Alpha Phi Sigma)
Please refer to the School of Criminal Justice website http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/rscj
Criminal Justice Research Methods 5 Criminal Justice Research Methods 6