(5 credits)
All criminal justice professionals must understand the methods of extracting and using data and research—a critical function lending to the responsibilities of all roles in the system, including law enforcement, crime prevention, sentencing, and corrections. Students in this course explore how professionals apply basic statistical principles and research methods to contemporary criminal justice problems and issues in court, law enforcement, and correctional settings. Students learn how to evaluate data and research, represent data using graphs, and present data using statistical measures. They also consider ethical issues related to criminal justice research and technological advancements that influence current and future criminal justice data analysis and research.