Writing an Undergraduate

Criminology Thesis at Penn

John M. MacDonald
Undergraduate Chair
The thesis is your chance to demonstrate mastery
of a topic of research
Your thesis is an exercise in doing research
A thesis is NOT a term paper
The coursework at Penn has exposed you to quantitative
work in criminology and ways of thinking numerically
about the patterns of crime, theoretical explanations, and
appropriateness of different social policy responses.
The senior thesis is supposed to be quantitatively
oriented and answer a specific research question
A qualitative thesis is acceptable in principle if it follows a
basic scientific approach
 A basic scientific approach involves answering a
clearly defined research question guided by
existing research. A few examples
1) What influence does race have on decisions to seek the death
penalty in murder cases?
Review of existing research on the topic that include studies
quantitatively examining racial disparities in prosecutors decisions to
charge suspects with the death penalty
Data collected relying on data collected and available for analysis.
Existing datasets available from the Univ of Michigan ICPSR website or other
publicly available source
Analytic plan statistical analysis of patterns of racial disparities
Tests of association (e.g., conditional probabilities, mean differences,
correlation analysis)
Results section clearly explained discussion of the results from the
analysis as they relate to answering the research question
Discussion and conclusion section discussing how your study
answered your research question; the key findings; and the implications
for either theory, policy, or future research endeavors
A research question can also be answered using a
systematic review of the literature

2) Does neighborhood watch reduce crime?

Review of existing research on the topic that include studies that quantitatively
evaluate the effect of neighborhood watch programs
Data collected relying on existing published studies in scientific journals or
refereed government reports
Using criminal justice abstracts and NCJRS (national criminal justice reference service)
to find existing studies published evaluating neighborhood watch programs
Coding the differences in study designs, general effects found, and authors of the
reports
Meta-analysis - tests of strength of effects across studies (e.g., average change
in crime associated with neighborhood watch program in each published study)
(Im personally not a fan of this method (see Berk, 2008).
Descriptive analysis discuss general trends observed but not differences in
study qualities, etc.
Results section clearly explained discussion of the results from the analysis as
they relate to answering the research question
Discussion and conclusion section discussing how your study answered the
research question about neighborhood watch effects on crime; the key findings;
and the implications for crime prevention policy
 A research question can also be answered using
an existing dataset used in faculty research
2) Does exposure to paint increase a childs risk for
delinquency?
Review of existing research on the topic that include studies
quantitatively examining exposure to lead and other toxins and
delinquent behavior
Data collected Part of an existing faculty research project on
neuroscience and crime
Analytic plan Statistical analysis of patterns of exposure to
toxins and probability of delinquent behavior
Results section Clearly explained discussion of the results
from the analysis as they relate to answering the research
question
Discussion and conclusion section Discussing how your study
answered your research question about exposure to lead and
delinquency; the key findings; and the implications for
criminological theory
 A thesis can also involve collecting your own data

3) Are neighborhood attributes associated with racial disparities in

patterns of homicide in Philadelphia?
Review of existing research on neighborhood attributes of crime and
violence
Data collect data from the city on the race and location of homicide
victims; and data from the census, schools, and other sources
measuring differences between neighborhoods in Philadelphia
Analytic plan statistical analysis of patterns of homicide by race
(counts) in each Philadelphia neighborhood as predicted by
neighborhood related features (e.g., correlation)
Results section clearly explained discussion of the results from the
analysis as they relate to answering the research question
Discussion and conclusion section discussing how your study
answered your research question about the association between
neighborhood environments and patterns of homicide; and the
implications for criminological theory and policy
Structure of thesis can vary but should follow some
basic guidelines
A section that provides the (1) Introduction
discussing the topic, some very basic background,
and introducing the research question
A section (2) Reviews Existing Research on the
topic
A section on the (3) Methodology discussing your
data, measures, and analytic plan
A (4) Results section
A (5) Discussion and Conclusions section
Its helpful to use headings for each section
There is no set length but most theses range from
30 to 60 pages of text and tables.
 Concluding thoughts
There will always be more than one methodology that
might be appropriate to try and answer a research
question
Weigh what is gained and lost by choosing a
particular approach.
Research may not come to any definite conclusions
but that in itself can be interesting and important.
An important final, or penultimate, stage in any piece
of research is to know what questions remain
unanswered and how one might formulate the next
step. Directions for future research.