Methods of Instruction:
seminar
presentations
group discussions
guest lectures
1. Preparing for graduate school.
2. Applying for research funding (e.g. NSERC and SSHRC).
3. Evaluating and selecting graduate programs.
4. Applying for graduate school.
5. Learning to generate and evaluate research questions.
6. Learning to write a literature review.
7. Planning and writing a research study.
8. Understanding the American Psychological Association guidelines for scholarly papers.
9. Evaluating Criminology papers.
10. Understanding ethics in research and writing.
11. Presenting research through conferences and publications.
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
1. Conduct a comprehensive literature review in relation to a research question or questions.
2. Explain the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.
3. Construct an ethics proposal for the Douglas College Ethics Board.
4. Critically analyze and discuss a piece of academic work.
5. Provide constructive feedback on the academic work of others.
6. Demonstrate understanding of the application procedures for graduate school.
7. Identify the differences between graduate schools/programs in Criminology and related disciplines.
8. Establish ability to participate in the peer review process, including papers, posters and conference presentations.
9. Use visual aids, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, to communicate ideas in a professional manner.
The course evaluation will be in accordance with Douglas College and Criminology Department policies. Evaluations will be based on the course objectives. The specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:
Draft ethics proposal 20%
Attendance at academic talks or seminars 10%
Critical analyses of research papers 30%
Presentation of research proposal 30%
Class participation 10%
Textbooks and/or Journal Articles such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:
McShane, M., and Williams, F. (2008). A thesis resource guide for criminology and criminal justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Evans, D., Gruba, P., and Zobel, J. (2014). How to write a better thesis. Cham: Springer.
Smith, K., Todd, M., and Waldman, J. (2009). Doing your undergraduate social science dissertation. New York: Routledge.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Birks, M., and Mills, J. (2011). Grounded theory: A practical guide. Los Angeles, Calif: Sage.
Thiele, L. (2002). Making social science matter: Why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again. The Journal of Politics, 64(1), 274-276. doi:10.1086/jop.64.1.2691680.
Admission to BAACRIM Honours Program or Department permission
CRIM 4910 (Honours Thesis I)
CRIM 4920 (Honours Thesis II)