Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2104: Victimology

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to provide you with an introductory knowledge of victimology. It aims to introduce you to the concept of “victim” and encourage you to critically engage with it. More broadly, it aims to teach you about the various discourses surrounding victim participation and provide you with a working knowledge of the various ways in which victims may be involved in the criminal justice process. In doing so, it aims to help you develop your critical thinking skills and engage in debates about victimisation and victims' rights, offenders' right to fair trial, etc.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate an understanding of victimology. 2. Assess different ways of understanding the term victim. 3. Engage with different ways in which victims might be involved in the criminal justice system. 4. Attempt to critically engage with academic discourses about victim engagement.
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. Demonstrate an understanding of the explanatory frameworks and their application to criminology. 6. Demonstrate a sound understanding of different sources of data and critically assess their reliability and utility in debating whether victim involvement in the criminal justice process is a positive development. 7. Clearly present research and policy in your arguments.
Personal and Key Skills	8. Present an argument orally and in writing in a clear and organized manner; 9. Analyze and attempt to critically assess sources of qualitative and quantitative data; 10. Demonstrate you can work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specific task.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Online test	1.5 hours total (3 elements of 30 minutes spread out over the term)	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10	Written
Participation in seminars	Active participation based on readings	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Oral

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
40	60	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	40	2000 words	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Written
Written examination	60	1.5 hours	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10	Written

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Written examination	Written examination, 1.5 hours	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10	August/September re-assessment period
Essay	Essay, 2000 words	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	August/September re-assessment period