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Criminology Honours Theses

Writing your abstract

After acceptance into the honours program you will be required to submit an abstract for your thesis. The abstract should be approximately 300 words. Completion of the abstract means we can assign a supervisor and you can begin work on your thesis in a timely fashion. For assistance in writing your abstract contact the course coordinator or other members of the Criminology staff. You are encouraged to write abstracts for more than one research area.

Thesis Topics

Your thesis is a scholarly contribution to Criminology. Staff will work with you in developing your research questions and then your research proposal. Students should remember that their thesis is submitted in late October. Consequently your research question and methodology should be manageable within that time frame. Approval of research topics is subject to the availability of supervision expertise in Criminology. Your thesis will be 15,000-18,000 words.

Supervisors

Students will be assigned a supervisor They should familiarise themselves with research interests of staff in order to fully explore the areas available for study. Students are expected to be in fortnightly contact with their supervisor throughout the duration of their study.

Guidelines for students undertaking honours theses

  1. Once students have made the decision to do Honours, they should begin to consider a possible area (or areas) of research in which they will write their honours thesis. This could involve some preliminary work on their part before they approach members of staff of the School or Centre to discuss and firm up the final topic, for example, preliminary reading in areas of research interest, a survey of basic bibliographical material, or viewing of relevant works of art or artefacts. The process of firming up the thesis topic with staff members is facilitated if students bring some initial ideas to their first meeting with their supervisor. Above all, it is crucial that students choose a thesis topic which is of intrinsic interest to them: they need to be committed to their research project.
  2. The procedures by which a supervisor is appointed for the Honours thesis may vary slightly from one School or Centre to the next. Normally, students will approach the Honours co-ordinator of the School or Centre who will, in turn, refer them to a potential supervisor from the academic staff. Students may wish to express an opinion as to which member of staff they would ideally like to supervise them. In most cases Schools and Centres are likely to agree such requests, but this may not be possible on all occasions.
  3. Students should familiarise themselves with the Faculty and School/Centre regulations and guidelines for the writing of Honours theses. At the commencement of the thesis, they are advised to find out about the standard format and presentation of the thesis within their particular School or Centre. If in doubt, they should ask their supervisor.
  4. It is expected that students will be familiar with library and computer facilities within the University. This might involve, for example, an awareness of the existence of the Rare Books Room in the Main Library. They should be aware that the Main Library runs introductory sessions on research methods, etc.
  5. It is crucial that students should keep in regular contact with their supervisor, during the dissertation period at least once every two weeks. For the most part contact should be on a face to face basis, but where circumstances do not permit this contact via e-mail or by telephone may be acceptable. From the commencement of the thesis, students should ascertain the day or days on which the supervisor will be available for supervisory sessions. This can be particularly pertinent for part-time Honours students.
  6. Should students be forced to cancel an appointment with their supervisor, they should notify the supervisor in advance.
  7. Students should keep their supervisor informed if they are experiencing any difficulties which are impeding the progress of the thesis. If they experience problems with the supervisory process which cannot be dealt with by consultation with the supervisor, students should consult the Honours co-ordinator of the School/Centre. (If the Honours co-ordinator also happens to be the supervisor, they can speak to the Head of the Discipline or School/Centre.) It is important that any problems with the progress of the thesis or with supervision are dealt with as they arise and not allowed to worsen through lack of attention.
  8. Students are expected to respond appropriately to the advice and guidance given by their supervisor in respect of the thesis. The supervisor may point out errors of fact, incorrect dates, incorrect spelling of names or titles, etc. in the students' drafts and such elementary errors should be corrected as a matter of course. More importantly, in commenting on drafts the supervisor will provide advice on such matters as the nature of arguments advanced, important theoretical and conceptual issues, the employment of evidence, or appropriate literature to be consulted. Ultimately, however, the content of the thesis remains the responsibility of the student. If students experience difficulties with their command of expression or other aspects of academic writing, their supervisor may refer them to the Language and Learning Unit in the Arts Faculty.
  9. Students should submit drafts at a date agreed upon with their supervisor. Students are advised to arrange with their supervisor a realistic timetable for the submission of drafts of the entire thesis. Supervisors may not be able to read drafts given to them at the eleventh hour before the final submission date of the thesis. Careful planning of and adherence to the stages of writing and submitting drafts can prevent difficulties arising later.
  10. Students should allow sufficient time for their supervisor to return drafts for discussion at the next supervisor's meeting. Under normal circumstances, the turnaround time will not exceed two weeks.
  11. It is expected that the presentation of student drafts will conform to the standards and requirements of the School or Centre and be suitable for the supervisor to read without undue difficulty.
  12. It is expected that students will carefully proof-read the thesis before submission and ensure that it is presented in the format required by the School/Centre.
  13. Students should, as a matter of course, keep back-up copies of the their thesis at all stages of writing.

For more info on Criminology Honours please contact: Dr Dean Wilson Honours Coordinator

 

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