Research Methodologies and Epistemology I

Code:

MC108

Acronym:

MIEI

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Epistemologia e Metod. de Invest. em Educação

Instance: 2025/2026 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Criminology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MC	33	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2017	1	-	6	54

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

-Acquire knowledge in qualitative and quantitative research methods and its recent developments in the criminological field.
-Acquire training in reading and understand scientific work carried out in both qualitative and quantitative criminological domains.
-Lead students to formal thinking applied to social problems in general and to the study of crime and justice in particular.
-To develop knowledge and methodological and technical skills (qualitative and quantitative) that could converge to the individual research project of the student.

Learning outcomes and competences

-Acquire and deepen the knowledge and methodological and technical skills needed for the design and conduct a qualitative and / or quantitative scientific research project .
-Give-reading skills and critical understanding of scientific papers in the field of criminology in both the qualitative and quantitative empirical research.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable

Program

1. Introduction to empirical research: essential ethical issues.
2. Theoretical and epistemological framework of quantitative research.
3. Quantitative research methods and its use on the criminal phenomena: specificities of topics.
4. The cycle of quantitative research.
5. Methdods of quantiative research.
5.1. Research design: experimental, quasi-experimental and observational (cross-sectional and longitudinal) research designs. Examples and uses in criminology.
5.2. Sampling strategies: instruments, types of sampling and sample size. Central questions according to the research question and hypothesis.
5.3. Validity, Reliability, and Triangulation strategies.
6. Theoretical and epistemological framework of qualitative research.
7. Qualitative research methods and its use on the criminal phenomena: specificities of topics.
8. The process of qualitative research.
8.1. Data collection: interviews (individual, focus group and case studies/life stories);observation and ethnography (cfr. 2nd semester); documental analysis and visual methods.
8.2. Sampling procedures, access to the field and to individuals, context of data collection, field notes, transcriptions and other supporting materials.
8.3. The quality of qualitative research: objectivity, reliability, validity and generalization. The central role of reflexivity.
8.4. Introduction to qualitative data analysis (cfr. 2nd semester).
9. Mixed methods and its uses.

Mandatory literature

Bachman Ronet; The^practice of research in criminology and criminal justice. ISBN: 0-7619-8706-1
Bushway Shawn 340; Quantitative methods in criminology. ISBN: 0-7546-2446-3
Campbell Donald T.; Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. ISBN: 0-395-30787-2
Glaser Barney G.; The^discovery of Grounded Theory. ISBN: 0-202-30260-1
Hagan Frank E.; Research methods in criminal justice and criminology. ISBN: 0-205-44739-2
King Roy D. 340; Doing research on crime and justice. ISBN: 978-0-19-928762-8
Piquero Alex R. 340; Handbook of quantitative criminology. ISBN: 978-0-387-77649-1
Lesley Noaks and Emma Wincup; Criminological Research Understanding Qualitative Methods, Sage, 2004. ISBN: 0 7619 7406 7
Lumsden Karen 340; Reflexivity in criminological research. ISBN: 978-1-349-47874-3
Bartels Lorana 340; Qualitative criminology. ISBN: 978-1-87606-724-3
Dienes Zoltán; Understanding psychology as a science. ISBN: 978-0-230-54230-3 (Hardback)
Heith Copes; The^Routledge handbook of qualitative criminology. ISBN: 978-0-415-65970-3

Complementary Bibliography

Blumer Herbert; Symbolic interactionism. ISBN: 0-520-05676-0
Denzin Norman K.; Handbook of qualitative research. ISBN: 0-8039-4679-1
Flick Uwe; Métodos qualitativos na investigação científica. ISBN: 972-9413-67-3
Mason Jennifer; Qualitative researching. ISBN: 0-8039-8986-5
Rubin Herbert J.; Qualitative interviewing. ISBN: 0-8039-5096-9
Michael D. Maltz; Envisioning criminology. ISBN: 978-3-319-37948-7
Jon Frauley; C. Wright Mills and the criminological imagination. ISBN: 978-1-138-30651-6
Sandra M. Bucerius; The^Oxford handbook of ethnographies of crime and criminal justice. ISBN: 978-0-19-090450-0

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical and pratical classes.

In the classes it will be described and discussed the main contents and it will be held exercises of application of knowledge adapted to the major study objects and themes in Criminology.

keywords

Social sciences > Criminology
Social sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	80,00
Frequência das aulas	48,00
Trabalho escrito	34,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

  see general rules

Calculation formula of final grade

To obtain frequency the students must to do:
1. One individual writen work  (the work has a weight of 50% in the final grade)
and
2. A final exam (50% of weight in the final grade).



Note: Are only admitted to the final exam the students who have had 8 or greater than 8 on distributed evaluation (cf. Regulamento de Avaliação de Conhecimentos do 2º Ciclo de Estudos em Criminologia).

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Classification improvement

Final exam