JST508 Researching Crime & Deviance (8)
CSU Discipline Area: Justice Studies (JUSTU)
Duration: One session
Abstract:
Examines the epistemological basis of criminology and legal process, presuppositions and claims to expertise of various agents within the criminal justice system. The application of scientific method to the study of the criminal justice system will be considered. Dependent on their potential dissertation topic, students will examine research designs used in criminology and related disciplines to study the criminal justice system. The development of a detailed research proposal constitutes a major part of assessment.
+ Subject Availability Modes and Locations
No offerings have been identified for this subject in 2013.Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details prior to contacting their course coordinator: JST508
Where differences exist between the handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.
Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
.understand epistimology as a theory of knowledge, concerned with the presuppositions and claims to expertise and the nature and scope of such claims
.understand scientific method and its relation to positivism
.understand the various research designs employed in the empiricist tradition (eg. surveys and experiments), the methodology used within these designs (eg. random sampling of a specific population for a survey), and the statistical techniques employed to analyze the data (eg. descriptive, and inferential statistics)
.understand critiques of scientific method developed within various schools of thought. The generation of alternative ways of knowing. The application of these alternative forms of enquiry to particular issues in the area of crime and deviance
Syllabus:
The subject will cover the following topics:
.epistemological frameworks. .positivism. .ecientific method - research design and analysis. .critiques of scientific method. .alternative approaches such as discourse analysis .application of traditional and alternative forms of enquiry to criminology
The information contained in the 2013 CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: 24 April 2013. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.