- Designing and planning research projects
- How to conduct research on policing and investigation topics
- Research ethics
- Qualitative data collection methods
- Qualitative data analysis techniques
- Interpreting and communicating data
- Writing research reports
- Quantitative data collection methods
- Quantitative data collection techniques
- Research proposals
- Employability skills development
- Introduction to computer software for data analysis

1. Qualitative research report – you will identify a research topic and design an interview schedule in a group, then individually conduct an interview, transcribe it and then use the data to analyse using qualitative analysis techniques and software. You will individually write a mini research report about this project.

2. Quantitative research report - you will identify a research topic and design a questionnaire in a group which you will use to collect data from peers and then use the data to analyse using quantitative analysis techniques using appropriate software. You will individually write a mini research report about this project.

3. Proposal pitch – you will verbally pitch your dissertation project for the following year. you will need to create research question, aim and objectives, outline an appropriate methodology and expected outcomes based on previous literature.

Students studying on the Professional Policing programme are subject to PSRB requirements and therefore have to achieve 40% in both elements of assessment on the module.

This module will be taught through lectures, tutorials, and workshops which will vary in length. There will be assignment support workshops built into the module to support students with completing their assessments and module tutors create formative submission dates for you to produce parts of your reports for feedback prior to the submission points. You will also have a change to practice your proposal pitch in tutorials and receive feedback, ahead of the summative assessment. Students will be supported with this academic skills development and employability through regular timetabled sessions with their academic mentor and peer group.

1. Formulate a research question and design a research methodology based on literature research.

Research Skills

2. Collaboratively design, implement and justify qualitative data collection and analysis methods.

Research skills; Critical Reasoning and Collaboration

3. Collaboratively design, implement and justify quantitative data collection and analysis methods using appropriate digital tools.

Research skills; Digital literacy; Critical Reasoning and Collaboration

4. Interpret complex or incomplete research data and communicate results to a professional audience.

Communication

- Qualtrics
- SPSS
- NVivo

Braun, V. (2022) Thematic analysis: a practical guide. Edited by V. Clarke. London: SAGE.

Bryman, A. (2021) Bryman’s social research methods. 6th ed. Edited by T. Clark. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Knapp, H. (2017) Introductory statistics using SPSS. 2nd ed. London: SAGE. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071878910.

Silverman, D. (2022) Doing qualitative research. 6th ed. London: SAGE.

Spooner, E. (2022) Police Research and Evidence-based Policing. 1st ed. Edited by C. Hughes, T. Blockley, and P.M. Jones. St Albans: Critical Publishing.

Do you know how to gather evidence to support your decision making? Policing today demands decisions backed by evidence. This module will allow you to discover the power of evidence-based policing through research. It gives you the knowledge and tools to be able to design and conduct your own research as well as analyse and interpret data to draw conclusions to support or refute the existing evidence base.