First-Year Criminology Student Experiences: Research Summary Exercise

This assignment is a qualitative research summary exploring the experiences of first-year undergraduate criminology students. The research involved 10 students, 5 male and 5 female, who participated in a survey and interviews. The study aimed to understand the students' perceptions of criminology, their feelings about the course, and any gender-based differences in their experiences. Data collection methods included interviews and questionnaires. The analysis involved data preparation, review, code creation, theme identification, and presentation. The findings revealed that the majority of students expressed nervousness and excitement about entering the criminology field, with no significant gender differences observed. The conclusion suggests that both male and female students share similar initial feelings about the course. The study also suggests the need for future research with a larger sample size to analyze the benefits of studying criminology in higher education.

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Application Exercise No. 1
Qualitative Research Summary
1. Purpose
This is descriptive research. In this type of research, the research method is geared towards
describing the characteristics of the phenomenon or population under study, specifically, the
views of first year criminology students.
2. Research Question
A research question is a tool that is critical in every study. It is used to shape the direction of
the research as well as what the research is determined to achieve. Therefore, the following
will be research questions.
1. What is the importance of studying criminology in higher education levels?
2. What is the general feeling of criminology students about their course?
3. Is there a difference between male and female students’ perception of criminology?
3. (a) Data Collection
Sample size
The research involved 5 respondents who were first year criminology male
students. In addition, 5 female respondents also took part in the research study.
Therefore, the research study involved 10 first year criminology students, (N= 10).
Qualitative data collection methods were used in this research. Some of the crucial
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qualitative data collection techniques that were incorporated into the study included the
following.
Interviews
Use of Interviews was one of the most crucial data collection techniques that were
used in the study. As demonstrated in various research studies, this type of data collection
is among the most successful techniques that researchers always rely on. Basically, the
method involved analyzing the behaviors, views, and trends of the target students by
critically interviewing the students. In addition, this technique involved observing the
overall trends in the criminology class and making conclusions based on the respondents’
data. The behaviors, views, and trends recorded in this case were analyzed after the data
collection phase was over. This was specifically during the data analysis stage.
Questionnaires
Use of Questionnaires was yet another method of data collection that played a
critical role in this research study. In regard to this technique, a series of research
questions that were essential for the study were given to the students to summarize their
feelings as first year criminology students. To ensure that there was effectiveness and
efficiency in the formulated questionnaires, online questionnaires were prioritized in the
study since they would target a large number of students at once. The following steps
were crucial in ensuring that the questionnaires were well formulated. One of these steps
was making a decision on the type of questions that were incorporated into the study. To
achieve this, the type of information that was required for the study was also analyzed.
Due to the sensitivity of the data analysis phase, the second step majorly dealt with
planning of the questionnaires. Basically, this step involved narrowing down the
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formulated questions to ensure that they focused on answering the main research
questions which was crucial in achieving the goals and objectives of the research study.
3. (b) Analysis
There were five critical steps that were involved in analysing the collected data.
i. Data Preparation and Organization
This step involved printing out data transcripts, gathering data notes, documents, and data
analysis materials. Any trend or demographic pattern that was observed in the collected
data was also recorded at this stage.
ii. Data Review And Exploration
This stage involved an in-depth analysis of the collected data. It was essential to critically
read the students’ responses. Notes about their views and ideas were highlighted at this
stage.
iii. Creation of Initial Codes.
Concept maps, sticky pads, and margin notes were crucial in analysing the collected data.
4. Identifying Relevant Themes.
Recurring themes, opinions, languages, and beliefs were analysed.
5. Presenting the Highlighted Themes.
This was the final stage that involved presenting the identified themes in a coherent
manner based on the audience, content, and purpose of the study.
4. Findings
The following themes were identified.
i. Exploring the connection between crime control and its role in global risk
identification and mitigation.
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ii. The theory and practice of comparative criminological enquiry.
iii. Relationship between social and critical normative crimes.
iv. Intersections between criminological research and public policy.
The data collected from the students provided enough information which was used to
answer the research questions. Basically, majority of the students were nervous and
excited to join the criminology field. On the other hand, there were no significant gender
differences that were recorded from the collected data.
5. Conclusion(s)
From the research findings, it can be concluded that both male and female students feel
nervous and excited as they join the criminology field while others have personal fears about
the course.
6. Future Research
There is need to analyse the benefits of studying criminology in higher institutions. To
achieve this, a larger sample size will be essential.
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