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Quantitative Qualitative data
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Quantitative Qualitative data
5. Analysing data (e. g. descriptive statistics, statistical tests).
6. Presentation of data
4. Anonymising of sensitive data
5. Coding (may be called indexing)
6. Identification of themes
7. Development of provisional categories
8. Exploration of relationships between categories
9. Refinement of themes and categories
10. Development of theory and incorporation of pre-existing knowledge.
negotiation and agreement, particularly if the research involves human participants or data on individuals. Often, ethical considerations are formalized as guidelines (see the British Sociological Association’s statement of ethical practice at: www. britsoc. co. uk/ethics (accessed 25 May 2018) as well as the British Society of Criminology’s statement at: www. britsoccrim. org/documents/BSCEthics2015. pdf (accessed 29 May 2018). Ethical implica- tions usually occur around five main areas, as detailed in Box 2. 9.
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Undertaking research for your dissertation requires that you also work within your own university’s guidelines and ethical regulations. As with every aspect of your dis- sertation, it is very important that you consult your supervisor about the proposed research that you plan to undertake.
Supervision, peer support and critical reflection
Doing criminological research can be either individual or collaborative, although dissertation research is more likely to be an independent piece of work. Whatever the nature of it, your research will be enhanced by talking to others about what you plan to do, how and why, using a given approach and timescale.
Supervision is an essential ingredient of doing a dissertation and you should draw on the expertise and knowledge of your supervisor regularly. This is particularly so when getting started and making connections between your research questions and research design. The initial role of the supervisor is to facilitate discussion about planning and then doing the dissertation, and to make general points about proposed topic areas where warranted. S/he will support you in your search for a topic area, help you focus the research question and will constantly prompt you to think about the context and consequences of what you are proposing to do through critical and challenging feedback. They will raise questions about the manageability and feasibil- ity of what you have proposed and offer constructive advice regarding your research design. Discussion might also focus on the process and timetable of the dissertation, as well as on preparation, note taking and writing. In addition, issues surrounding presentation, referencing and bibliographic construction will be reinforced. This will ensure that s/he can give feedback on your proposal and you can either adjust your plans, or implement the proposed research, with plenty of time. Supervision also allows for an early discussion about the politics and ethics of what you are proposing. When engaging with your supervisor, however, remember that the dissertation is your piece of work based on your independent study. Your supervisor will not tell you how to do your dissertation or what to put in it. Supervisor/supervisee relation- ships are interpersonal ones and hence cannot be precisely defined beforehand. The amount and type of tutorial assistance requested/provided should be agreed by both parties at the earliest possible time. Contact at regular intervals is important, based on a discussion of draft chapters as the dissertation progresses – it is no good seeking
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guidance a week before supervision concludes.
In addition to formal supervision, peer support is also a useful mechanism through which to gain feedback on your proposed research. Sharing ideas with peers, talking through each other’s plans and reading each other’s proposals are all useful in help- ing structure and focus your proposed research activity as well as your proposal.
Also essential to the successful planning of research is, as Davies and Francis describe in Chapter 1, reflexivity. The idea of critical reflection – the process whereby you reflect on what you have done, as well as engaging in constructive dialogue with
others about the nature of what you have proposed and/or undertaken, and why – is a crucial ingredient in planning your research. It allows you to reflect critically on the assumptions and approaches you have adopted and why, with a view to making adjustments to what you have proposed or wish to do, or to justifying why you wish to do the things you have proposed.
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