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CJ 3170: Criminal Justice Research Methods - Prof. Hiropoulos Ramatlhodi

This is a class guide for students in CJ 3170: Criminal Justice Research Methods with Prof. Hiropoulos Ramatlhodi. Find follow-up resources here following each Library session.

The Research Question

The research question is what you use to center your research. It helps you to focus your searching and writing to develop an argumentative thesis.

Research questions should be:

  • Specific and focused
  • Complex - Cannot be answered with a simple yes or no
    • Your question should get people thinking or questioning.
  • Significant to you or requires further study
  • Arguable - Leads to an outcome or proposed solution
    • Remember to consider all arguments to prevent a biased result.
  • Consider who, what, when, where, why in developing your question
    • WHO - Are you interested in a certain group of people? Can your topic be narrowed by gender, sex, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, etc.?
    • WHAT - What are the issues involved with your topic? Are there gaps in the background information you found or questions left unanswered?
    • WHEN - is your topic current or historical? should you focus on a specific time frame or event?
    • WHERE - Can your topic be narrowed down to a specific region? If your region is too narrow, consider broadening it to find more research.
    • WHY - Why are you interested in this topic and why should others be interested?

 

Evaluating Sources

CRAPP is an acronym used by researchers to determine the reliability of sources. It consists of the following factors:

Currency - timeliness of the information

  • Why was this information published? Has the research been revised or updated? Does your topic require current information or historical?

Relevance - importance of the information for your topic

  • Does the information relate to your topic or help to answer your question? Who is the intended audience? Have you looked at other sources to determine this one is best?

Authority - source of the information

  • Who is the author, publisher, and source? What are their credentials or affiliations? Is the author qualified to speak on the topic?

Accuracy - reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

  • Where does the information come from? Is it supported by evidence? Is it peer reviewed? Can you verify the information in another source? Does the language seem unbiased?

Purpose - reason the information exists

  • What is the purpose of this information (to inform, teach, entertain, persuade)? Does the author make their intention clear? Is it factual or opinion based? Does the point of view seem objective or is there bias?

APA Reference Template

APA reference template with explanations

Image from APA.org

APA reference template with descriptions

Image from APA.org

Keywords for Qualitative Research

Try using the following keywords in your searches to locate articles with surveys or other types of studies:

  • Survey
  • Method
  • Questionnaire
  • Attitudes
  • Data
  • Scales
  • Tests
  • Focus group
  • Interview
Subjects: Criminal Justice