Forensic Psychology MSc

Royal Holloway, University of London

This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

In this module you will develop an understanding of many of the key research techniques that are used in social, health, forensic, clinical and developmental research. You will look at both qualitative and quantitative research techniques, covering forms of data collection such as questionnaires, online data, interviewing and focus groups, observational research methods, computerised cognitive measures, and social neuroscience techniques. You will also consider other forms of data analysis, including grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, thematic analysis, content analysis, and the use of secondary data and meta-analytic and systematic review techniques.

You will carry out an independent empirical research project on a topic of relevance to forensic psychological theory and practice. You will have an academic supervisor from either the School of Law or the Department of Psychology who will aid you in the formulation of your research, oversee the process of applying for relevant ethical permissions, and offer guidance in the management of the research. You will identify a target journal for your research and write up your dissertation according to that journal's author submission guidelines.

In this module you will develop an understanding of cognitive, social and neuroscience approaches to forensic psychology. You will look at social approaches to different victim and offender groups, the neuroscience of psychopathy, interviewing victims, physiological approaches to deception, detection, and the role of eyewitness identifications in the legal system. You will also examine receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and confidence relationships as they apply to decision makers and estimator and system variables.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the ethical and professional considerations of forensic practice. You will learn to use and communicate information in forensic psychological practice, including approaches to assessment, treatment and consultancy, and organisational interventions. You will look at the core domains relevant to forensic psychological practice, including mental disorder, mental illness, crime and rehabilitation, assessment and treatment of personality disorder and psychopathy, and approaches to risk assessment. You will consider sexual offending, child sexual exploitation, material and the internet, female sexual offenders, violent offending and fire-setting, as well as a range of professional skills, including critical evaluation, reflection and reflective practice.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the main statistical methods used in psychology research. You will look at basic descriptive statistics before covering more complex techniques, including analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, correlation analysis, and simple and multiple regression. You will examine advanced statistical methods, such as structural equation modelling and factor analysis. You will gain hands-on experience in applying these methods of analyses to actual datasets and problems using statistical software, considering their respective strengths and weaknesses, and what type of problems each approach is best suited to address.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the legal and criminal justice context for forensic psychology, including theory relevant to legal and criminal justice processes. You will look at key debates such as the safeguarding of vulnerable witnesses and defendants, sentencing practices and disposal, including mentally disordered offenders. You will consider the pre-trial legal process, judicial contexts, and criminal law and procedure, including the law of evidence. You will also examine the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, and defences in criminal law, including expert testimony and cross-examination.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the criminological, sociological and psychological theories that are applied when working with young people in conflict with the law or involved in the criminal justice system. You will look at key debates and issues in the legal and criminal justice context for young people, such as the youth court processes, criminalisation of young people, and systemic approaches to intervention and rehabilitation from offending. You will the role of the psychologist in the youth justice system, young people and sexual exploitation, and girls and young women in the criminal justice system. You will also examine substance abuse by young people, developmental risk factors and trajectories for crime, and young people in prison