Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Research Methods in Criminal Justice (Face-to-Face)

CJ 2500-01

Course: CJ 2500-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: PSCJ
CRN: 32405

Course Description

Research methods in Criminal Justice introduces tools of quantitative reasoning that can be used to address problems in basic research and policy within the social sciences, particularly in the criminal justice field. The primary objectives of the course are to build familiarity with the fundamentals of research questions, central concepts of research design, logic of inquiry, observation, measurement, and norms of ethical behavior in research. ​Students should develop an understanding of the research process, the language of research, the analytic tools and data sources, and the scientific method of evaluating scholarly research articles. Students will work collaboratively to identify and solve problems. 

This course fosters a hands-on, skill-based, and interactive environment to learning these principles. Thus, this course utilizes current technology and contemporary computer programs commonly used in functional criminal justice research settings. Students will be exposed to real data and real research questions. While detailed instructions are provided throughout the semester, students should enter this course with a general comfort with computers and the ability to perform basic functions. Students are expected to come prepared to class, ready to invest effort to learn from others and to help others learn. Class attendance without active participation will not be possible.

Required Texts

Rennison, C. M., & Hart, T. C. (2018). Research methods in criminal justice and criminology. SAGE Publications.

Learning Outcomes

1.  Critical Thinking
Students demonstrate disciplined processes of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

 2.  Quantitative Literacy
Students can understand and create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence and clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate).

Course Requirements

Assignments & Class Participations (about 60%)
I do expect all students to read reading assignments. There will be weekly reading assignments.

Final Project & Presentation (40%)
This course includes a presentation. 


A Template for the Final Research Presentation

1.    Article Title:
2.    Abstract (200 words)                       (1 page)
     a.     Objectives
     b.    Methods
     c.     Results
     d.    Conclusions
3.    Keywords:
4.    Introduction                                               (2 pages)
     a.     History/Background
     b.    Theoretical perspectives on…
5.    Methodology                                             (2 pages)
     a.     Data, Unit of analysis, Measures
6.    Results                                                       (2 pages)
     a.     Tables and Figures
7.    Conclusions                                               (1 pages)
8.    Citations and References (APA/MLA)

§  Format: Microsoft PowerPoint
§  Length: Total 7 – 10 PPT slides (reference page does not count as a page) 
§  Presentation duration: 15 Min. 

Course Outline

Note: Dates and topics may change. Read assigned chapters before class. Major deadlines are bolded.

First Class 

Aug. 28
Introduction & Syllabus
Article: “What do you want to know from your research?”

Class 1
Sep. 2 — Research Methods & Ethics
Sep. 4 — Read Chapters 1 & 2
Learn the research process
Create your own research question

Class 2
Sep. 9 — Literature Review (Chapter 3)
Sep. 11 — Continue Literature Review
Understand what’s already known
Learn how to develop a research hypothesis

Class 3
Sep. 16 — Concepts, Variables, & Data
Sep. 18 — Read Chapter 4
Learn to measure concepts
Identify independent & dependent variables

Class 4
Sep. 23 — Sampling
Sep. 25 — Read Chapter 5
Understand census vs. sampling
Explore crime data examples

Class 5
Sep. 30 — Qualitative Research
Oct. 2 — Read Chapter 6
Learn about interviews, surveys, and observations
Compare inductive vs. deductive reasoning

Class 6
Oct. 7 — Survey Research
Oct. 9 — Read Chapter 7
Practice writing good survey questions

Class 7
Oct. 16 — Experimental Research
Oct. 21 — Read Chapter 8
Understand basic experimental design

Class 8
Oct. 23 — Secondary Data
Oct. 28 — Read Chapter 9
Learn how to use existing datasets
<Secondary Data Assignment Due>

Class 9
Oct. 30 — Descriptive Analysis
Nov. 4 — Read Chapters 11 & 13
Make charts, tables, and visuals from your own data

Class 10
Nov. 6 — Final Project Work Day
<Draft Due for Final Presentation>

Class 11
Nov. 11 & 13 — Final Project Prep
Final Draft Due Nov. 13

Class 12: Presentations
Nov. 18 — Presentation I
Nov. 20 — Presentation II
Dec. 2 — Presentation III
Dec. 4 — Presentation IV




Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

  • Assignments and discussions must be submitted on time. Late submissions will incur a 1-point deduction per day.
  • No submissions will be accepted more than one week past the due date without prior approval.

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is required for all class sessions. In-class discussions and activities are an essential part of the course and will only be available to students who attend.

CLASS RULES AND POLICIES

* You will receive “F” if you plagiarize. *
 
Academic Misconduct: A broad term that is used to describe a violation of academic integrity, including but not limited to Cheating, Complicity, Fabrication, Falsification, and Plagiarism collectively. Academic Misconduct is behavior that has the effect of causing readers, evaluators, or consumers of a work, data, or information to incorrectly believe the Student is the authentic source of the work, data, or information.
Plagiarism: The intentional or unintentional appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words, without giving appropriate credit. Plagiarism includes the unattributed verbatim or nearly verbatim copying of sentences and paragraphs from another's work, which materially misleads the reader regarding the contributions of the author. It does not include the limited use of identical or nearly-identical phrases which describe a commonly-used methodology. Plagiarism is a type of Academic Misconduct.
 
APA Citation Requirements for Cited Information:
  • All submitted work must adhere to APA citation guidelines, including proper in-text citations and a reference list for all cited information.
  • No AI-Generated Content: Submissions containing AI-generated content will not be accepted.
  • Plagiarism Check: All assignments will be checked using plagiarism detection tools (e.g., CopyLeaks). Submissions with a similarity score higher than 50% will be reviewed. If flagged for potential plagiarism, students may be required to revise and resubmit their work.
  • Ensure that your work is original, properly cited, and aligns with academic integrity standards. Failure to do so may result in penalties in accordance with university policies.
 
See detail information regarding plagiarism: https://www.suu.edu/policies/06/33.html

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.