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RCO 390-03
Dr. Littlejohn
Critical Reflection
My research topic was one that has always seized my attention throughout my childhood
and schooling years. After looking at one aspect of criminology concentrated in juvenile
delinquency and criminal behavior throughout the course, I didn’t completely extinguish my
interest in finding the topic because of the many unanswered questions left such a prevention and
new theories to support the materials found on the subject. I would still like to continue
exploring criminology using different perspectives and theories to explain the causes of specific
criminal behavior. Writing the materials I found during my research helped me process what it
was trying to explain. I applied certain theories on paper to a well known crime committed by
two adolescents, the Columbine school shooting, which allowed me to understand what each
perspective was focusing on and string together each theory in an attempt to create my own.
During the research process, I changed my thesis multiple times from the question of how
to prevent criminal behavior shown by adolescence to how each theory learned throughout
reasons a crime was committed by an individual, both juvenile and adult. My ability to conduct
research was developed throughout the process and seemed to get easier as I continued. It started
with gathering articles similar to my topic, this was a new way of researching for me. So, I went
back to my previous methods to research by writing the introduction and figuring out the
attended the Research Expo at UNCG and shared my topic with others who walked the event. I
enjoyed having discussions with individuals who had a shared interest in criminology and was
eager to explain it to those who did not completely understand the subject. As for the paper, I
tried to use a new writing process of completely understanding my topic and creating an outline
before starting the essay. I did not find this process effective, therefore I decided to write the
paper freely then edit and revise my writings to how I see fit.
I enjoy writing about topics that I have an interest in, however, there are many regrets and
mistakes that I have made throughout the process of this research project. I would like to change
my outlook on the topic to have a developed explanation as well as a stronger motivation and
work ethic throughout the paper. I enjoyed the subject and theories used throughout the essay
and would redo the paper in order to make it more professional and put together.
As for the writing skills portion, I tend to have a stronger vocabulary and sentence
structure, especially during the revising period. However, I struggle the most with staying on top
of the research over a long period of time. Once I get behind, it is difficult for me to catch up and
write a strong research paper with a fully developed thesis. To address my weakness, I need to
make sure to stay on schedule of finishing the portions of my research and fully understand each
skills and motivation for a project, so I might choose a different subject for a short term research
project to something that has more answers rather than proposing a different perspective to a
social problem.
When writing for a future profession in criminology, there typically would be an
extended time period in order to complete research and develop a thesis. When writing a paper
for school and class purposes, there seems to be a rush on completing research, therefore, I
wouldn’t be able to have full answers and personal theories for the subject and should choose a
topic that can be finished in a smaller time frame. The writing skills and terminology are usually
in the same category and only differ based on the subject/topic of the essay.
The final website project used more design based decisions rather than research and
information. When curating my website, I made decisions of color to fit the overall vibe that the
research was giving off, crime and delinquent behaviors. To many people, this is a darker
subject, so I used a negative color scheme of red, black, grey, and white. Another decision that
affects the design quality of the website was the spacing and placement of information to raise
the effectiveness of the research and ease the navigation of the reader. I kept the information
spaced and didn’t crowd the pages with large amounts of writing to help the reader understand
The best part of the website was the design portion and placement of each portion of my
research. I was able to present the material in ways that reflected the main idea of the paper.
However, it was challenging to ensure that the navigation for each section was easily accessible
and propose the main concepts in a way that would be understood by most. If I had more time to
work on the project and continued my research on the topic of criminal behavior in adolescence,
I would provide more information as well as additional areas of the topic that I didn’t fully cover
in the paper or website on a separate page if the reader wished to learn more about a specific
subject. When finishing the website project, my professional goals slightly altered. I realized that
I don’t want to continue on a path where I simply do research everyday, I need something with
more movement and stimulation other than staying in one place for one purpose.
This can be applied to the preservation of the environment, cultural, and arts. And fieldwork is
the work conducted by a researcher in a natural setting rather than a laboratory. I have learned
that these two definitions can be used together during a research project such as mine. When you
work with sociology or criminology, you want to use the theories and ideas preserved throughout
the years and apply it to a fieldwork concept. My research project connected to the broad
definition of sustainability by using the past ideologies of sociologists regarding the culture of
the times and applying them with a different perspective to the criminology portion of crime
The fieldwork method that I felt most comfortable working with included the interview. I
felt like I would receive the most vital information from interviews rather than other fieldwork
methods such as observations. I would like to improve my use of observations for this subject
because it has a difficult application when using theory as the main evidence in the research.
There is not much physical observation that can be done for the topic, but it would be interesting
I view sustainability not only in the sense of the environment, but also in the preservation
of culture and arts in society. I view it from a sociological perspective to where it is imperative to
understand past cultures and rituals that had an impact on the modern way of life. This affects
had with fellow students and mentors throughout the past two years. I enjoy observing how each
person interacts with one another and the evolution of their character from the beginning of the
program to graduation. If I could go back to the beginning of freshman year, I would join Strong
College immediately. I lived in Guilford for the first year without having an affiliation with the
Residential program, however, after attending the events and meeting the professors, I joined at
the start of my sophomore year in order to continue living at Guilford Hall. Other than joining
the program earlier, I wouldn’t change much about the few years I spent in the company of those
in the college.
The courses taken in Strong and UNCG are similar in content, however, the smaller
groups allowed more discussion and stronger connections to the students and professors. The
residential college classes went towards my general education requirements at the university and
allowed a deeper understanding of the material. Other than the courses, my experiences in strong
helped my to connect to others both inside the college and to the community of the university. I
had the opportunity to be an Orientation Leader and mentor to other students to allow me to
grow close to those in my community and plan to continue that work next semester as an
Upperclassman Mentor.
Throughout my year as part of the Strong College, I have had amazing leadership
opportunities. The ones that produce the most personal pride include my gaming committee
position, orientation leader, and attendance at the events held by both Strong and the university. I
have enjoyed being able to provide help and mentoring to other students and get involved on
campus with friends and close acquaintances. Strong College has also impacted my ethical
approach of engaging with others that are different from myself. It allowed me to keep an open
mind to other students and have conversations with them to further understand the similarities
Regarding the Capstone course, my assignment timing was off on most occasions. It is
one of the many things that I regret in this class. I had a lot of personal and family things
happening throughout this semester and was distracted from major deadlines. I had to fly back to
Arkansas to handle some family business and attend court on behalf of my grandmother in a
dispute. I let these things distract me from my assignments and fell behind schedule.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to catch back up as I had hoped and I let it slip through my
fingers.
Following directions for the assignments were not a problem for me. I tend to do well
with following directions for an assignment most of the time because I enjoy the process if I
have clear guidelines to follow. I have set goals for myself as I continue my education including
improving my time management skills and motivation with eliminating distractions from my
work If I could change an aspect of my student life, I would change the way I finish my
assignments. I would start them earlier and use every bit of time provided to complete it on time.