Research and Enquiry in Crime and Justice
Critical review: research study evaluation
For this assignment, students are asked to critically assess a specific example of crime and/or criminal justice research by evaluating the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the particular type of research design utilized in the study. In your assessment, please pay special attention to the context(s) in which the research takes place, as well as the questions of access and the implications this may have had on the formulation of the research questions, and the research process. You may also wish to consider questions relating to politics and ethics, as well as discussing the potential limitations of the research design. Your answer should make reference to the relevant methodological literature.
Students are encouraged to select a piece of work that is relevant to their planned dissertation. (It is about campus violence) Students should select a recent empirical study of crime and/or justice from the following list of journals:
British Journal of Criminology
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Ethnography
Feminist Criminology
Probation Journal
Crime Media Culture
Punishment and Society
Word length: 2,500 words.
Assignment articles
Anderson, T., Daly, K. and Rapp, L. (2009). Clubbing masculinities and crime: a qualitative study of Philadelphia nightclub scenes. Feminist Criminology, 4(4): 302-332.
Erez, E and Ibarra, P.R. (2007). Making your home a shelter: electronic monitoring and victim re-entry in domestic violence cases. British Journal of Criminology, 47(1): 100- 121.
Gadd, D. (2006). The role of recognition in the desistance process: a case analysis of a former far-right activist. Theoretical Criminology, 10(2): 179-202.
Goldsmith, A. (2002). Fear, fumbling and frustration: reflections on doing criminological fieldwork in Colombia. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 3(1): 103-125.
Jensen, S. (2006). Capetonian back streets. Ethnography, 7(3): 275-301.
Graham, K., and Wells, S. (2003). ‘Somebody’s gonna get their head kicked in tonight!’ Aggression among young males in bars – a question of values? British Journal of Criminology, 43(3): 546-566.
Sandberg, S. (2008). Black drug dealers in a white welfare state. British Journal of Criminology, 48(5): 604-619.
Scheper-Hughes, N. (2004) Parts unknown: undercover ethnography in the organstrafficking underworld. Ethnography, 5(1): 29-73.
Soothill, K, Ackerley, E. and Francis, B. (2008). Criminal convictions among children and young adults: changes over time. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 8(3): 297-315.
Winlow, S., Hobbs, D., Lister, S. and Hadfield, P. (2001) Get ready to duck: bouncers and the realities of ethnographic research on violent groups. British Journal of Criminology, 41(3): 536-548.
