CRIM 3304 - 501 (PA 3304 & SOC 3304)

Course
Research Methods in Crime & Justice Study
Instructor Ryan Getty
Term August 26, 2008 to December 16, 2008
Meetings 7:00 PM - 9:45 PM, Tuesdays. GR 3.606

Instructor’s Contact Information

Office Phone 972-825-5264
Other Phone 415-533-6200
Office Location To be determined
Email Address getty@utdallas.edu
Office Hours Anytime by appointment
Other
To be disseminated in class
Information

General Course Information

None. Any undergraduate student in the School of Economic,

Pre-requisites,
Political & Policy Sciences is welcome to enroll and encouraged to
Co-requisites, &
take the class. Students from other schools who are interested in
other restrictions
social science research methods are also welcome.

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the

concepts and techniques used to define research questions and to
structure an appropriate research design to answer these questions.
Topics will include the connection between theory and research
Course design, variable measurement, sampling, the differences between
Description experimental and non-experimental designs, data analysis, and the
social context of scientific research. Research methods are used to
develop and organize data before the application of statistical
techniques; therefore, no prior knowledge of statistics is required
for this course – but it will be useful.

Upon satisfactory completion of the course, students will have a

better understanding of:
9 why research in criminology and criminal justice is
important;
Learning 9 how research in criminology and criminal justice is
Outcomes designed and conducted;
9 ethical issues in criminology and criminal justice
research;
9 research concepts, allowing the student to engage in
critical analysis of research in criminology and criminal
justice.
 Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology (2008). by
Michael G. Maxfield and Earl Babbie (5th ed.). ISBN: 0495094765
Required Texts &
Materials Voices From the Field (2001). by Carl E. Pope, Rick Lovell and
Steven G. Brandl (1st ed.). ISBN: 0534563767

No other texts but other material may be announced in class

Internet: This class may make use of the WebCT for posting
grades and resource materials. This will require you to activate
Suggested Texts,
your NetID. WebCT is accessible at http://webct.utdallas.edu If
Readings, &
you have difficulty, see
Materials
http://www.utdallas.edu/distlearn/students/webct_login.htm or call
the helpdesk at (972)883-2911

See also “WebCT Course Website” below

The outline of reading assignments is provided below. The course will be a

combination of lecture, discussion, and activities. During most sessions, the class
will begin with a lecture presentation of techniques, issues, and concerns that are the
most important for the methodological topics for that week. Then there will be an
open discussion over the reader which relates these issues and substantive examples
within the social sciences. Students are especially encouraged to share examples in
class – the more practice one gets discussing research methods--the easier it is to
understand the material.

Assignments & Academic Calendar (TENATIVE – SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Assignments and exams have been inserted below. These are tentative – all accurate dates
and any changes in dates, are announced in class and/or posted on WebCT.
Dates Tentative Course Schedule

1 – 8/26 Introductions and Syllabus Familiarization

2 – 9/2 (M) Chapter 1; (P) pp. 1-43 (Chapter 1)
(M) Chapter 2; (P) Chapter 2 Explain Literature Review &
3 – 9/9
Research Paper
4 – 9/16 (M) Chapter 3; (P) Chapter 3
5 – 9/23 (M) Chapter 4; (P) Chapter 5 Chapters 1 – 3 Test (pp. 2-78)
6 – 9/30 (M) Chapter 5; (P) Chapter 7
7 – 10/7 (M) Chapter 6; (P) Chapter 8
8 – 10/14 (M) Chapter 7; (P) Chapter 11 Literature Review Due
9 – 10/21 (M) Chapter 8; (P) Chapter 13 Chapters 4 – 7 Test (pp. 79 – 210)
10 – 10/28 (M) Chapter 9; (P) Chapter 15
(M) Chapter 10; (P) Chapter 16 Hand in Progress on Research
11 – 11/4
Project
12 – 11/11 (M) Chapter 11; (P) Chapter 17
(M) Chapter 12; (P) Chapter 18 Chapters 8 – 11 Test (pp. 211 –
13 – 11/18
354)
14 – 11/25 (M) Chapter 13; (P) Epilogue
15 – 12/2 Final Preparation for Research Project
16 – 12/9 Research Project Due

Exam Date
NOT Cumulative Chapters 12 – 13 Test (pp. 355 – 432)
12/16/08

Course Policies

4 exams (60%)
There will be 4 exams in this course. The 1st exam will
be worth 15% of the final grade, the 2nd exam will be
worth 15% of the final grade, the 3rd exam will be worth
15% of the final grade, and the 4th exam will be worth
15% of the final grade for a total of 60 percent of your
final grade. The exams may include multiple choice,
true/false, short answer and/or essay questions. The
specific format of the exams will be announced in class.
The exams will not be cumulative.

At the discretion of the instructor, any student who

Grading
arrives more than 10 minutes late for an exam may not
(credit) /
be allowed to take that exam. No one arriving to an
Course
exam after the first person has left the exam will be
Requirements
allowed to take that exam. They may, however, be
Criteria
allowed to take a make-up exam.

The dates noted on the syllabus for the first two exams
are tentative and are subject to change – any changes
will be announced in class.

Research Project (25%)

The research project will require the student to design a survey
research project from start to finish based on a topic assigned
by the instructor.

The research project is due at the beginning of class on

December 9, 2008. Any projects turned in later than that will
 be docked 10 points per day they are late. No late assignments
will be accepted after December 12. The project should be
turned in to the instructor personally, unless other arrangements
have been made. Projects turned in by any other means will
either be counted late or not accepted at all, at the discretion of
the instructor. DO NOT E-MAIL THIS.

Readings
Students are expected to complete all assigned readings before
the class for which the readings are assigned. This will provide
students with adequate background of the materials covered in
lecture as well as serve to facilitate students’ understanding and
ability to ask questions as well as participate in the class
discussion.

Class Attendance and Participation (15%)

Both class attendance and participation are strongly
encouraged as well as expected. We will be discussing
the readings in Voices From the Field so if you do not
attend or participate, this grade will be affected. In
addition, (generally) students who attend class regularly
perform better on exams that do students who do not
attend class. If participation is limited by students, other
means of grading may be used. i.e. written essay-format
testing over the reading material.

Grading Scale:

90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
59 and below F

There will be no make-up exams given without permission

Make-up from the instructor – such permission will require a written
Exams legitimate excuse presented prior to the exam. Make-up exams
will consist of all essay questions.

If any extra credit is given, it will be announced in class. Extra credit

Extra Credit will NOT be offered on an individual basis. If extra credit is offered, I will
let you know as a class.

Late Work
Except for unusual circumstances, late submissions and make up
 assignments will not be allowed. Written work is expected to be turned
into the professor on or before the assigned date. “Make-up” exams as
above.

Special
None Intended unless Participation / Reading are not complied with.
Assignments

Class
See above
Attendance

Absolutely NO racist or sexist remarks (neither written nor verbal)

will be tolerated! Any such remarks will be dealt with severely!

Please turn off all cell phones and/or beepers (as well as
anything else that may make noise) during class unless cleared
by the instructor prior to class (emergency cases only i.e. on-
call police, relatives currently in hospital, etc.) If you forget to
turn your phone off and you get a call, please don’t answer it
and turn the ringer off as quickly as possible. Mobile
communication devices should not be used during class time for
text messaging, email of any other form of communication.

Computer usage WILL be allowed UNLESS it is discovered the usage

Classroom
is not related to class work (i.e. IM, checking e-mail, “surfing”, etc.) In
Citizenship
this case, the offender will not be allowed to use a computer while in
class for the semester. The content of your computer usage may be
observed at any time by the instructor while in class upon request.
Failure to comply will result in computer access privileges to be
revoked for the semester.

Students are expected to arrive at class on time. In addition to

being on time to class, students are expected to remain in class
the instructor dismisses them. Students are also expected to be
attentive to class proceedings, whether it is lecture, video, class
discussion or guest lecture. Students who are not attentive or
who are disruptive may be asked to leave the classroom and are
expected to do so promptly and respectfully.

There is a WebCT site associated with this course. Students are

WebCT expected to log in to the website at least once a week. The
Course website can be found at http://webct.uta.edu – log in with your
Website UTA NetID and NetID password and click on the link to
Research Methods in your course list.
 Various resources will be made available via this website,
including:
• Syllabus –in MS Word format (on the Handouts
page)
• Announcements – information related to the class
will be posted periodically on the Announcements
page – students should check the announcements at
least once a week.
• Grades - test grades and assignment grades will be
distributed through WebCT
• Handouts – copies of all class handouts will be
posted to the website so that students may access
them online
• Communication Tools – includes email, chat rooms
and discussion boards
o Students should check their email once a
week on WebCT as the instructor may
communicate to you in this format
o There are discussion threads where students
can post requests for Notes from other
students and where students can
anonymously post Questions and
Suggestions to the instructor.
• Course Resources – links to various sites that should
be helpful to students, including links to the APA
Citation Guide, the IRB form needed for the
Research Project, and a Guide for Acknowledging
Resources

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state
Field Trip
law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related
Policies
activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the
Off-Campus
website address http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm.
Instruction &
Additional information is available from the office of the school dean. Below is a
Course Activities
description of any travel and/or risk-related activity associated with this course.

Technical If you experience any problems with your UTD account you may send an email to:
Support assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD Computer Helpdesk at 972-883-2911.

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and
regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the
responsibility of each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable
Student Conduct about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and activities. General
and Discipline information on student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD printed
publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the

 procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and
described in the Rules and Regulations, Series 50000, Board of Regents, The
University of Texas System, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and
regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff
members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU
1.602, 972/883-6391) and online at
http://www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/UTDJudicialAffairs-HOPV.html

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of
citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the
Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject
to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place
on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such
conduct.

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic
honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute
integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student
demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic Dishonesty, any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is

subject to discipline. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating,
plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are
Academic attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another
Integrity person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to
commit such acts.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and
from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s
policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the
resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over
90% effective.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the
making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials, including
music and software. Copying, displaying, reproducing, or distributing copyrighted
works may infringe the copyright owner’s rights and such infringement is subject to
appropriate disciplinary action as well as criminal penalties provided by federal law.
Copyright Notice
Usage of such material is only appropriate when that usage constitutes “fair use”
under the Copyright Act. As a UT Dallas student, you are required to follow the
institution’s copyright policy (Policy Memorandum 84-I.3-46). For more information
about the fair use exemption, see
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of

communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the
same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each
Email Use individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official student email
correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty
and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD
student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in
the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted
 information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used
in all communication with university personnel. The Department of Information
Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas
mail forwarded to other accounts.

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-
level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog.
Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to
Withdrawal from
handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or
Class
withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not
receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the class once you
are enrolled.

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and
Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other

fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make
a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or
committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”).
Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be
Student
submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean.
Grievance
If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the
Procedures
student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the
Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene
an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final.
The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting
the rules and regulations.

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has
Incomplete been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from
Grades the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the
course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline,
the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational

opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located
in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30
a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30
Disability a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Services
The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:
The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)
 disabilityservice@utdallas.edu

If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course, please
meet with the Coordinator of Disability Services. The Coordinator is available to
discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that
formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very important that
you be registered with Disability Services to notify them of your eligibility for
reasonable accommodations. Disability Services can then plan how best to
coordinate your accommodations.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to
faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations.
Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class
or during office hours.
The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required
activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose
places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code,
Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as

possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student,
so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a
reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a
maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and completes any
missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails
Religious Holy
to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
Days
failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the
purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about
whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed
assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a ruling
from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief
executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC
51.911(M), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief
executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.
Being in class is the best way to discover changes.