The team at Kingston University can offer expert PhD supervision across the range of sub-disciplines that comprise contemporary Criminology and Sociology. Our research areas include: Cybercrime; child abuse and trauma studies; victimology; communities and social space; young people and youth crime; serious offender risk assessment and management; the aging population and life course; criminal justice policy; sociology of religion; sociology of gambling; public understanding of science and economic sociology. We may also be able to offer supervision in collaboration with other schools in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, or with other faculties in the university.
These informal guidelines are intended to help you submit a proposal to study for a PhD. We understand that preparing a research proposal may not be easy, since you may not have obtained much experience of research in your specific area of interest. The proposal will be a preliminary statement of the research topic and will almost certainly undergo subsequent modification. However, it must provide sufficient information for us to decide whether we have the specialist expertise to supervise the topic, and the necessary facilities and resources to support the research.
[...] If you are invited to an interview, the proposal is likely to form the basis of our discussion; it is important, therefore to take the time to prepare it as thoroughly as possible. There are a number of useful guides to doctoral research and thesis writing which you may wish to consult before writing your proposal: Phillips, E.M. & Pugh, D.S. (2000). How to get a PhD: A handbook for students and their supervisors. Open University Press Cryer, P. (2000). The research student's guide to success. Open University Press Structure and content of the proposal Your proposal should be word-processed, double-spaced and at least 2 sides of A4 paper in length. [...]
[...] Do you need access to particular kinds of population, e.g. offenders, victims, schoolchildren, or practitioners? If your project depends upon the goodwill or active support of some organisation outside of the University with which we have no current relationship, then describe it in some detail and propose how a suitable collaboration might be secured. Highlight any ethical concerns that might arise from the project and how these might be addressed The research skills necessary to complete the project. Provide an assessment of your particular research training/skills development to date, and describe the kinds of additional training that that you may need if you enrol as a research student pursuing your proposed topic. [...]
[...] However, it must provide sufficient information for us to decide whether we have the specialist expertise to supervise the topic, and the necessary facilities and resources to support the research. In brief, what we are looking for in your proposal is evidence that: 1. You have a clear research question in mind; 2. You have acquired a suitable grounding in the relevant literature that informs the research topic; and 3. You have considered the particular methodology (or methodologies) that will be required to address your research question. [...]
[...] You should identify a research question, and locate the project in relation to current research in criminology/sociology. The choice of topic is obviously very important; whatever area you choose, try to be as specific as possible, and avoid the temptation to be over-ambitious and cover too much ground. If you have more than one idea in mind then describe each of them. You must justify the significance of the research question, and demonstrate how your project would contribute to current knowledge in the area. [...]
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