Demonstrate powers of critical evaluation in relation to your own research and that of others.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS

Introduction

 

This module guide provides you with information about the module, aims and summary, assessment, etc. Read it in conjunction with the Module Descriptor found on the Module Information Directory (MID) (https://students.coventry.ac.uk/MID/Pages/default.aspx) and the Module Web.

 

Aims and summary

 

The module is a mandatory Stage 3 module providing 30 credits towards your degree. It should enable you to develop, enhance and implement the skills involved in carrying out an in-depth study of a criminological issue in combination with focusing their attention on a specific area of knowledge in the criminological sphere. You will also develop time management and independent learning skills.

Module learning outcomes

 

The intended learning outcomes are that upon successful completion of this module you should be able to:

 

1. Demonstrate powers of critical evaluation in relation to your own research and that of others.

2. Select an appropriate body of literature and carry out a critical literature review.

3. Choose appropriate research techniques.

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between empirical and/or documentary research. and an appropriate social research methodology.

5. Carry out a research project in practice.

Ethics approval

 

Please read this section carefully and make sure you fully understand what is expected. All research has ethical considerations and normally undergoes a process of review to ensure that the risks of research being harmful are minimised. The ethics approval process is an important and significant aspect of this work and sound ethical practice should underpin everything you do in the research process. 

 

All research

 

All projects (including desk/library based) MUST receive ethics approval through the Faculty online ethics approval process before you conduct any data collection (you may only carry out background reading until ethics approval is given). Without ethics approval you cannot pass your project and empirical fieldwork carried out without ethics approval may also result in disciplinary proceedings being taken against you. The following points apply to all projects:

 

• You are advised to let your supervisor see your proposal before you upload it and any accompanying documentation to the ethics website. 

• A good ethics proposal will be clear, concise, and sufficient to demonstrate that what your project entails is ethically sound. It will not be anywhere near the length and detail of your proposal for 5001CRM (or 200CRM). An application for empirical research should include all relevant documentation to avoid outright rejection.

• Please take careful note of the deadlines for submitting and receiving ethics approval. These are non-negotiable other than for students with issues that they have discussed with their supervisor and/or the module leader and gained approval for a deadline extension. If you are able and intend to conduct an empirical project, failure to meet either deadline may jeopardise your eligibility and you may be asked to revert to a library-based study. This is because you need adequate time to plan and conduct fieldwork to an acceptable standard since you are representing your course and the University when conducting research in a public context. Thus, for example, if your application is inadequate and this leads to a delay in ethics review, which takes you beyond the final cut-off date for receiving approval, you will need to carry out a library-based study instead.

• Once you have received ethics approval you should proceed with the research as stated in the application. Should you wish to, or need to, change any aspect of your proposed research after receiving ethics approval you should suspend data collection, email ethics.hls@coventry.ac.uk and copy in your supervisor. Provide a rationale for the change(s) and notify if any of the documentation, etc., needs amending. The Ethics Committee will decide: if the amendments are minor, they will return the application to address amendments and it will go through review again, OR major in which case you will be required to submit a new application for the changes.

Once receiving ethics approval in writing you may proceed with data collection, but you must apply sound ethical practice at all times.

Library/desk-based study

 

Students who choose or are required to conduct a library-based study need to realise that ethical issues apply to this sort of research too. You should therefore develop a clear idea of what your research will involve and the origins/nature of documents you will source so that these are apparent in your ethics application, and what ethical issues may arise and how you will deal with them. Please bear in mind that certain subjects, such as terrorism, extremism or activism, even in a library-based context, are potentially problematic and will be scrutinised by the University at Pro Vice Chancellor level. 

 

Making an ethics application

 

A two-hour session in the third week of Semester 1 will be devoted to making an ethics application. Some points to consider in preparation for the ethics application process are set out below:

 

• First finalise your research design setting out clearly what you intend to do and how you will go about it. This detail will form the first part of the ethics application form under the following headings: 

o Project summary 

o What is the purpose of the project? 

o What are the planned or desired outcomes?

o Explain your research design 

o Outline the principal methods you will use. 

• In order to circumvent problems in your ethics application, map out your proposal under these headings in a Word document for your supervisor’s comments before transferring it to the ethics application website.

• Once given the go-ahead to submit your ethics application by your supervisor go online to ethics.coventry.ac.uk and select your supervisor. Complete and submit the checklist appropriate for the nature of your study following the guidelines given above. Research involving human participants will involve a more detailed application process than for desk-based (library-based) study. Whichever type of study you choose you need to ensure that your application is clear, coherent, free from typographical and grammatical errors, and that you have filled in the form correctly (i.e. given the appropriate answers), and if you are conducting empirical research you need to ensure you have attached all of the relevant documents supporting your application (see above). Failure to do any of these will result in the rejection of your application and you will need to amend and re-submit. Until all concerns have been met satisfactorily this rejection/re-submission process will continue and you will only get approval once your application is considered to be of an adequate standard, so again you need to be aware of impending deadlines for receiving ethics approval.

 

• Library based research projects have a one-stage process whereby supervisors will give approval once they are satisfied with the application. The exception to this is if you identify your project as sensitive when the system will automatically flag your project for second review.

 

• Empirical research projects go through two stages: first scrutiny by supervisor who may ask for amendments before signing off the application. This, however, is not full approval and the application then goes to independent anonymous review. The reviewer may also ask for amendments before signing off.  

 

• You may only proceed with your project once you have received notification of ethics approval from the Ethics Team, who may override the previous approval stages if they feel there are significant issues still outstanding. Remember: do not proceed with any research until you receive written approval

 

• All data collection must comply with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR 2016). You are advised to familiarise yourself with the requirements of this legislation since breaches may have serious consequences for you as a researcher as well as the University. For details please see: 

GDPR in 1 minute infographic

 

Please note: Faculty ethics policy prohibits retrospective ethics approval. Do not carry out any research (other than general background reading) until receiving ethics approval in writing. If you carry out empirical research without first obtaining ethics approval you will not only fail but will also be subject to disciplinary procedures. Please make sure you understand this because there will be no leeway - be warned.

Methods of assessment

 

Assessment for this module will be by the following component:

 

Coursework: Dissertation on chosen topic (minimum 6500 words; maximum 7000 words excluding reference list)

Weighting 30 credits; assesses learning outcomes 1–5

 

You must achieve a mark of at least 40% in this component to pass the module.

 

Reassessment: Re-sit coursework

 

Details of assessment

 

For this coursework you are required to produce a research dissertation, which is a substantial piece of written work based on your own research using primary and/or secondary data collection and analysis. It differs from a normal essay by being longer and more complex, divided into sections, and including a methodological statement much like an academic research paper.

 

This coursework should meet the learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 as follows:

 

1. Demonstrate powers of critical evaluation in relation to your own research and that of others.

To meet this learning outcome, you need to demonstrate what critical observations your study will make about the key literature in your study and your own data, and how your study relates to the work carried out on the topic previously.

 

2. Select an appropriate body of literature and carry out a critical literature review

To meet this learning outcome, you need to demonstrate that you have searched for and identified not only key literature but also a reasonable body of literature in relation to your own research topic and/or research question/aim and show understanding of the relative importance of the literature in your study.

 

3. Choose appropriate research techniques.

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between empirical and/or documentary research. and an appropriate social research methodology.

 

To meet these learning outcomes, you need to produce a well-aligned research design in which outcomes can be seen to answer the initial research question(s) and fulfil research aims. Your research design needs to be elucidated in a clear and concise discussion of the methodology underpinning your research design both in terms of its theoretical base as well as the practical means and issues arising from the conduct of the research. 

 

5. Carry out a research project in practice.

You will meet this learning outcome by producing a piece of work to an acceptable overall standard that demonstrates capability in designing and carrying out to completion a research project and written up to a good academic standard that respects conventions appropriate for the chosen research approach.

 

 

Attachments:

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