Ethics and Criminological Research

Abstract

"Ethics and Criminological Research" is a 12 month project which aims, by using discovery-enriched learning process, to develop students’ understanding and concerns of ethical issues involved in criminological research. Each year, more than 70 students choose criminology as their major. During their major they will conduct research and undertake projects on criminology issues. During the course of their research, they might discover crime or cause secondary harm to victims when interviewing them. This would raise significant ethical issues. It is important that every student has a good knowledge of ethics and the function of the Ethic Review Committee. This project aims to use innovative ways to teach students the importance of ethics in criminology research by role playing. They will be asked to play the roles of both application proposer and member of the Ethic Review Committee. Through the role playing, this course aims to develop students’ knowledge and awareness of ethics and the importance of seeking Ethic Review Committee approval before conducting criminological research.