Criminal
PART I: SHORT RESPONSE
Directions: Answer the questions below. Your response to each should be at least one paragraph in length.
1. What is the role of criminological research in theory building?
2. How can theories help us to understand criminal behavior or to design strategies intended to control such behavior?
3. What role do research and experimentation play in theory building in criminology? How might a good research design be diagrammed? What kinds of threats to the validity of research designs can you identify? How can such threats be controlled or eliminated?
4. What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
5. What are some of the ethical considerations involved in conducting criminological research? How can researchers make sure that such considerations are met?
6. How do criminological research and experimental criminology impact social policy?
7. What sections might a typical research report contain? Where are research findings in criminology published?
PART II: ESSAY
Directions: Chose a crime from the list below. Find statistics for this crime in your hometown and in one other city of similar population size. As part of your research, examine the four key demographic factors in the collection of crime data. Write a one page report comparing statistics from different cities. Be sure to address the following questions:
(1) What are the differences?
(2) How might they be different?
(3) How have the statistics changed over time?
Personal/Violent Crimes
Murder
Forcible Rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Property Crimes
Burglary
Larceny
Motor Vehicle Theft
Arson
PART III: COURSE PROJECT: CRIMES AND THEORIES
(Compilation of Modules 1-8)
Directions:
This course project will include a written component for each module
that will be turned in at the end of the course in Module 8. Criminology is the study of crime and criminal behaviors based on theory. Your
textbook defines a theory as a series of interrelated propositions that
attempts to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some
class of events. A theory gains explanatory power from
inherent logical consistency and is “tested” by how well it describes
and predicts reality. To assist you with this project, the textbook defines theories throughout. The theories associated with criminology can be applied to the crimes we see committed in the news each week. Thus,
this course project will involve locating two crimes (one in your local
or nearly surrounding communities and one national) and applying the
crimes you locate to one of the theories learned in this course.
For
example: Situational Choice Theory could be related to a crime of
robbing a person because this type of crime often depends on the
situation involved, such as a victim being in the right place at the
right time and other factors that lends to the ability to commit the
crime, including location, time of day, environmental factors, and the
victim being alone and in possession of items the offender desires.
Requirements: For
each module, locate a local and national crime, describe the details
and source of the crime (also be sure to keep a reference page with all
the sources used throughout the course project). Identify
an appropriate theory learned during this course, describe the theory,
and then explain how the theory relates to the crime chosen. Thus, each part should require at least one paragraph as follows:
1. Chosen description and details of the crime
2. Chosen Theory, including definition and founder
3. Explanation of how the chosen theory relates to the chosen crime.
Repeat this process for each crime – one local and one national for a total of a minimum of six paragraphs per Module. Sources of crimes include newspapers, websites, television news stations, etc. You
can use theories repeatedly for this project; however, try to use
varying theories to demonstrate an understanding of as many course
criminological theories as possible.
Be
sure to include APA formatting, including a cover page, in-text
citations, and a reference page (please visit the Academic Resource
Center for concise APA guidelines). For each module, be
sure to include the date with either Local or National next to the date
as the title for that module assignment. Note that there must be two titles for each module (one for local and one for national). Grading will be in part on ensuring that the course project included both a local and national component for each module. Thus, the final project should have a minimum of 16 Crimes with Theories Applied (two per module). You will also be graded on your APA formatting, reference page, grammar, and spelling.
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