Module 2 Check Your Understanding 1

Running head: Module 2 Check Your Understanding

Module 2 Check Your Understanding

Andrew Uhlenkamp
Allied American University

Author Note
This paper was prepared for CRJ 499: Senior Capstone, Module 2 Check Your Understanding
taught by Daniel Chauvin.

Module 2 Check Your Understanding 2

CRJ 499: Senior Capstone

Module 2 Check Your Understanding
Directions: Define each of the following terms in 3-5 sentences (each). Give specific examples
of how they are applicable to a research paper and be sure to properly cite your work using APA
format.
1.

Plagiarism

When a pieced of published work contains a written passage, information, or research that
was not written, discovered, or performed by the author and is portrayed as such. In the academic
world and the world of journalism, plagiarism is a serious offense, and can lead to serious
punishments, including lawsuits, dismissal from scholarly positions, and failure and expulsion
from academic programs. In order to prevent plagiarism, it is important that authors give credit
where it is due and cite the sources of the information and research.

2.

Professional Ethics

Professional ethics is a code of systemic behavior assigned to a profession and watched

over by peers and superiors within the field. In some circles, professional ethics are seen as
preserving a monopoly, or an old boys club- if you will- in which those accused of misconduct
and unethical behavior can be protected and their misdeeds covered up (Hagan, 2014). This
presents a bit of a catch-22, however, as if there is not a regulatory board within the profession,
those within are subjected to oversight by either public opinion or a regulatory body outside of
the profession which cannot understand the context in which this behavior is conducted.
Professional ethics are vital to ensuring appropriate ethical behavior and decisions, but they also

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require a system of checks and balances that preserves the decisions of an internal regulatory
body.

3.

Informed Consent

Informed consent is a term that applies to a myriad of persons. Essentially, the term
informed consent means that the subject being asked to consent to something must be informed
enough to understand what they are consenting to and the ramifications attached to it. Consent
alone is not enough in some instances, in which a situation might require clarification before a
subject can appropriately agree to the terms presented.
4.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an agreement of trust between two or more parties in which information

learned or discussed concerning one or more of the parties in the agreement. Confidentiality
applies to research in the criminal justice field- except where information is public record- with
any data or information revealed in the course of research about any subject involved in the
study. This means that any information learned about any subject of any research study should
never be revealed in a manner that could harm or identify the subject.

5.

Why are time-series designs useful in Criminal Justice Studies? Your answer should be
in paragraph form and 5-7 sentences. Cite appropriate sources using APA format.

A time-series design is a method of observing and measuring a variable throughout a

course of time. In a time-series design, a group or sample is chosen. Observations are then made

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and recorded throughout the course of an experiment. It is often important for most time-series
designed observations to include a large group of observations of the same group or sample that
were made prior to the experiment. This way the impact that the experiment has on the variable
can be clearly noticed as a more direct result of the changed conditions than an anomaly or other
condition. Where an experiment is concerned, the experiment is often referred to in the world of
criminal justice research as an intervention. Such interventions often consist of a transition in law
enforcement strategies, such as an implementation of a community policing practice, or heavier
patrols in a specific area. Measured data from prior to the intervention should be shown against
similar time periods after the intervention to clearly state what kind of an impact the intervention
has.
References
1.

Hagan, Frank. 2014. Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Ninth
Edition.

Prentice Hall. Pearson

Education, Inc.