CCJS389H Fall 2013 (Gottfredson).pdf - Criminology and Criminal ...

CCJS389H: Independent Research in Criminology and
Criminal Justice
Departmental Honors Seminar
Fall 2013
LeFrak Hall, 2165E
Wednesday 1-3:45
Professor Denise C. Gottfredson
Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice
2220D LeFrak Hall
301-405-4717
gott@umd.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Katie Zafft,
2220A LeFrak Hall
301-405-6738
kzafft@umd.edu
Office hours: TBD and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is the third course in the required four-semester (12
required credit hours) honors program sequence. In this course, students
will write and defend the honors thesis. They will follow the outline
developed in the last course in this sequence to write each section of the
thesis, provide feedback to fellow students on their work, and prepare and
deliver a presentation summarizing their thesis.
HONORS THESIS
This will be a research proposal, and will include a full literature review
that provides a persuasive case that the chosen research question has not
yet been answered in rigorous research and is worthy of empirical attention.
The proposal then describes the data and methods that will be used to
answer the question. You may propose to collect “primary” data, in which
case you will explain and justify a sampling strategy, data collection method,
and measures. You may also propose to use “secondary” data, in which case
you will identify the data set, justify that it is appropriate, and argue how the
fundamental concepts are captured by measures in the data set. Then you
must explain how the data will be analyzed and how this analysis will answer
the question. Finally, the thesis ends with a critical consideration of the likely

implications of the research, limitations of their proposal, and directions for
future work. (about 30 pages).
CLASS FORMAT
Most of the work in this class will be independent, as students write
and rewrite sections of their thesis. However, we will use a structured peer
review process in which students will provide feedback to each other on
sections of the thesis. We will use Dropbox for all file submissions (drafts to
peer reviewers, peer reviews, and updated drafts to Prof. Gottfredson).
Details on the file submission specifics will be provided the first day of class.
All assignments will be posted for assigned peer reviewers by 4 p.m. the
Monday before the assignment date. Peer reviewers will post their
comments in the reviewed student’s Dropbox folder and provide feedback in
class on Wednesday. After editing the work based on peer feedback,
students will submit (by 4 p.m. Friday) the edited section to Prof.
Gottfredson for additional feedback. Class meeting time will be used to
provide and receive this feedback. Students are expected to participate fully
in the peer review process, to make continuous progress towards the thesis,
and to ask intelligent questions of the visitors during the two panel sessions.
REQUIRED READING
Students will be reading literature related to their thesis topics throughout
the semester. In addition, sections of the following textbook will be
assigned:
Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.C., & Williams, J.M. (2008). The Craft of
Research, 3rd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [ISBN-13:
978-0-226-06566-3/ISBN-10:0-226-06566-9]
GRADING POLICY
Grades will be based on the quality of final thesis (80%), participation
in the peer review process (10% for on time submission of feedback), and
the presentation of the thesis (10%).
DISABILITY SUPPORT
Every effort will be made to accommodate students who are registered
with the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office and who provide a
University of Maryland DSS Accommodation form, updated for the current
semester. Students requiring special accommodations must inform me and
provide the required DSS form within the first two weeks of class.

COURSE OUTLINE
Below is a schedule of class meetings and milestones.
Date Class Meetings Milestones/
Readings/
Assignments
(due before class)
Sept 4 Overview, assignment
of peer review teams/
Sept 11
Writing Tips
Statement of the
problem and brief
description of it
Read Booth Chapters 13 and 16.
Email your assignment to 2 peer
reviewers by Monday, September 9
Post your revision of the assignment to
Prof. Gottfredson by Friday, September
13
Sept 18 Optional Help Session Read Booth Chapter 17
Sept 25
Oct 2
Review of the
literature/Research
questions
Preparing Methods
Section
Optional Help Session
Email your assignment to 2 peer
reviewers by Monday, September 23
Post your revision of the assignment to
Prof. Gottfredson by Friday, September
27
Oct 9
Oct 16
Oct 23
Methods: Measures,
Sample, and Analysis
Optional Help Session
Limitations, Summary
and Conclusions
Guidance on
Presentations
Email your assignment to 2 peer
reviewers by Monday, October 7
Post your revision of the assignment to
Prof. Gottfredson by Friday, October 11
Re-Read Booth Chapter 10 on
acknowledging alternative explanations
for your conclusions.
Email your assignment to 2 peer
reviewers by Monday, October 21

Post your revision of the assignment to
Prof. Gottfredson by Friday, October 25
Oct 30 Presentations Read Booth chapter 14.
Nov 6
Nov 13
Nov 20
Nov 26
Dec 4
Presentations
Presentations
ASC – no class
Thanksgiving - No
Class
Optional Help Session
Dec 11
Written Thesis Due