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Bailey Smith

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

criminology courses needs to be applied simultaneously to provide an accurate description of the

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

resources as my paper developed.


After the completion of the bulk of my research and the finalization of my poster, I

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

aspect before rushing to write a summary of my findings. It is based on my time management

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 material without feeling overwhelmed.

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.

The broad definition of sustainability is the ability to be maintained at a certain level.

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

reasonings and prevention.

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

to find a way that it can be incorporated.

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

my education in my sociology classes and general courses by connecting the pieces of

sustainability to the aspects taught in the courses.


The most important part of my experiences at Strong college is the interactions I have

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

and differences between us as individuals.

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.

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