Seminars 1–3: Introduction to Research

Theory, questions, and answers

A week-long introduction to theory-guided empirical research in criminology
Author

Charles Lanfear

Published

October 14, 2025

Seminar 1 (Mon, Oct-13): Introduction to Theory-Guided Criminological Research (slides on Moodle)

  • Tittle, C. R. (2015). Introduction: Theory and contemporary criminology. The Handbook of Criminological Theory. Wiley Blackwell, 1–17.
    • Download from Moodle
  • Bottoms (2008) ‘The relationship between theory and research in criminology’ in R. King and E. Wincup (eds), Doing Research on Crime and Justice, Oxford: OUP, Chapter 3. pp. 75–116.
    • Download from Moodle

Seminar 2 (Tue, Oct-14): Developing and applying research questions and studying the causes of crime

  • Huntington-Klein, N. (2022) The Effect: An Introduction to Research Design and Causality, New York, NY: Chapman and Hall/CRC Press.
    • Read pp. xix–18: (1) Introduction, (2) Chapter 1: Designing Research, and (3) Chapter 2: Research Questions
  • Bueno de Mesquita, E. and Fowler, A. (2021) Thinking Clearly with Data: A Guide to Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
    • Read pp. 1–52: (1) Chapter 1: Thinking Clearly in a Data-Driven Age, (2) Chapter 2: Correlation: What Is It and What Is It Good For?, and (3) Causation: What Is It and What Is It Good For?
  • Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 163–194). Sage. Download off Moodle

Seminar 3 (Thu, Oct-15): Key challenges in criminological theory and research