Sample Postgraduate Research Proposals in Social Policy and Criminology

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the theoretical concepts, methodologies, policies, and key frameworks from two postgraduate research proposal samples: one on post-divorce fatherhood and the other on police governance.

Sociology of 'family practice'

A sociological approach developed by researchers such as Rosalind Edwards, Simon Duncan, Jane Ribbens McCarthy, Carol Smart, and Judith Glover that focuses on grounded accounts of everyday family actions, complex moral dilemmas, and the creative ways family members navigate social policy and legal frameworks.

Fatherhood (as a theoretical concept)

A dynamic and complex identity and 'practice' enacted across varied social contexts, which is simultaneously enabled and constrained by contradictory social institutions and norms.

One-year post-divorce criterion

A sampling requirement in Proposal One specifying that participating fathers must have been divorced or separated for at least one year to account for the emotional distress of post-divorce role adjustment (Madden-Derdich & Leonard, 2000).

Sure Start

An agency with Fathers' Workers whom the researcher in Proposal One contacted to facilitate recruitment of working-class fathers.

Grounded theorising (Glaser & Strauss, 1967)

An inductive, exploratory data analysis methodology based on reflexive engagement with material to allow concepts and participant terms to emerge from the data rather than using a theory-testing model.

Managerialism

An ideology originating in the 1980s via New Public Management and New Labour's 'modernisation' agenda that structures welfare provision and delivery around efficiency, competition, partnership, and markets.

Homo oeconomicus

The neo-liberal concept of the economic actor that serves as a dominant symbolic representation in reinventing the welfare recipient into a 'consumer' of public services.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Legislation that established statutory crime prevention partnerships, making 'partnership' central to a service-led, 'community safety' model of joined-up policing governance.

Multi-level governance

A framework for studying policing as an ensemble of interconnected structural and institutional power relations across design, management, national policy, and local service delivery.

Restorative justice (Thames Valley Police)

The empirical focus of Proposal Two, representing an innovative policing model involving victims, offenders, families, local authorities, and local businesses within a consumerist framework.

Peter Neyroud

The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police cited in Proposal Two for his innovative reputation, who granted access to force data, local areas, and officer observations.

Modernising Government (1999)

A UK government White Paper (Cm 4310) outlining New Labour's commitment to public service reform, partnership strategies, and the modernization of public service delivery.