SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Criminal Justice And Criminology MA
Criminal Justice And Criminology MA
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Research Competence |
| Objective |
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Competency in conducting original Criminal Justice and Criminology research |
| Indicator |
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Successful completion of original research study as demonstrated by defense of Thesis using recently revised faculty-developed rubric with a score of 80 or above. |
| Criterion |
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Students will demonstrate their ability to engage in an original research study within the field criminal justice or criminology during the completion of CRIJ 6398 and CRIJ 6399. The culmination of each course in the sequence will be a public defense of the student’s work. First, the research proposal will be defended proximal to the conclusion of CRIJ 6398; then, the results of the final research project will be defended at the conclusion of CRIJ 6399. At minimum, a thesis will include a literature review of relevant empirical literature, well defined and defensible methodology, original statistical analysis appropriate to the methodology described, and the contextualization of the study results within the existing literature. |
| Finding |
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During AY 2012-2013, three students defended their thesis proposal, which concluded the planning stages for original research in the field of criminal justice and criminology. Additionally, two students defended their final thesis – a product which included at minimum a literature review of relevant empirical research, an approved methodology, appropriate statistical analysis and contextualization of findings to the broader literature. The average score for these students on the faculty-developed rubric was 45 out of 45. This cohort of students was particularly strong and no weaknesses were noted by the thesis committee members. |
Actions for Objective:
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For the upcoming year, the department will re-examine the faculty developed rubric used to assess student research competency. As the quality and skill sets of our master’s students improve on average, we aim to better articulate and assess associated desired skills. |
| GOAL: Methodological Competence |
| Objective |
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Competency in employing elements of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods to design scientific-based projects in the field of criminal justice and criminology. |
| Indicator |
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Successful completion of Research Methods and Statistical Analysis coursework. |
| Criterion |
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All students in the CJ Master's program are required to complete 5392 Survey of Research Methods and 6385 Statistics for Criminal Justice Research in which they must master theory and application of social science research techniques as well as descriptive and inferential statistics as evaluated by demonstration of written, computational and oral abilities. Across this course sequence, standard tests that require application of theoretical ideas and demonstration of statistical analyses are conducted. Students are expected to mater at least 80% of the material. |
| Finding |
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During AY 2012-2013, a total of 17 students completed the Research Methods and Statistical Analysis sequence in the department with scores above 80%. This finding indicates that students have achieved a working mastery of social science research techniques including an understanding of descriptive and inferential statistics. |
Actions for Objective:
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| In the upcoming year, we will further expound upon the specific areas of competency that we expect 80% of our Master of Arts students to master prior to degree completion. Specific enhancements are anticipated in the area of statistical analysis. These areas of competency will be assessed as part of the 2014-2015 AY. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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For the 2012-2013 academic year, an increased emphasis will be placed on writing and producing quality research proposals and thesis. Students will pay more attention to previous literature reviews to find the importance of their paper to the contribution to the field. Faculty mentoring will highlight the importance of choosing more significant topics for thesis projects so that they make a stronger contribution to the field of criminology and criminal justice.
An increased emphasis will be placed on matching students and faculty who share research interests both formally and informally. Further, students will be instructed on additional factors to consider when developing their literature review including techniques that will enable them to conduct a more exhaustive search of existing literature. |
| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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During the 2012-13 academic year, faculty were encouraged to work with MA students on improving their writing and quality of research proposals and theses. Students were also encouraged to focus their efforts on topics that were increasing relevant to the field of criminal justice and criminology, rather than view their efforts as an “exercise” with less relevance. These efforts were further encouraged through an improvement of matching students with more appropriate faculty mentors.
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| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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This year a small cohort of students (n=2) progressed through their second and final year of the Master of Arts program. Both were assessed on their ability to conduct original research within the field of criminal justice or criminology. Based on a faculty developed rubric, both students obtained perfect scores. A larger group assessed on methodological (n=17) showed the master’s cohorts are increasingly stronger. We will seek to refine our rubrics to better articulate areas of strength and weakness among our M.A. students, as well as define more specific areas of methodological knowledge to be implemented in an upcoming cycle.
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