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Achieving Evidence-based Policing

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These free resources are organised into categories aligned to the College of Policing Curriculum and in agreement with police experts. You can study them at any time and anywhere.

Select the duration of study below and you will be taken to resources that match that duration

An hour or less of study 1-7 Hours of study More than 7 hours of study

 

An hour or less of study

Developing good academic practice

It’s important for you to understand the rules of the academic world right from the beginning of your studies. This course is intended to help you develop good academic practices in your studies and when producing assignments and completing assessments. Although designed as a course to work through, the content can also be used to dip in and out of, if you feel you need to improve your skills in a particular area.
Type of activity: Course

Evaluating the quality of information using the mnemonic PROMPT

The ever-increasing volume of online information available means it is important to think critically about what you find, especially if you are going to use it for study or work purposes. The OU Library has developed PROMPT, a way of evaluating any kind of information. You can use this structured method for evaluating any information you find online, and use it in your studies and beyond.
Type of activity: Learning resource

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1-7 hours of study

Conversations and interviews

What questions should you ask in interviews? In this course we focus on learning about, and so developing, skills in using particular inquiry methods connected to conversations and interviews. There are many ways of distinguishing between different methods of gathering information by asking people questions. In this course you will understand how to decide between the subtle different approaches needed of interviews.
Type of activity: Course

Issues in research with children and young people

Many people express their opinions about the lives of children and young people, whether from first-hand experience of their own families, from working with children or engaging with accounts in the media. This course considers how children and young people can be involved in the research process. Different definitions of research are explored through first-hand accounts by researchers across a range of disciplines and studies. Attention is drawn to the role of both researchers and participants
Type of activity: Course

Psychological research, obedience and ethics

This course teaches you about the importance of ethics in research that is undertaken by psychologists. You will read about the famous study on obedience conducted by Stanley Milgram, and watch two psychologists talk about their research with meerkats and chimpanzees. Giving you an understanding into the ethical issues concerning research involving non-human animals
Type of activity: Course

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More than 7 hours of study

Introducing observational approaches in research with children and young people

This course introduces you to analysing academic writing and, in particular, the way an article might be structured to clearly explain an investigation to other researchers. It explores observation of children and young people using qualitative observation approaches in small-scale studies. 
Type of activity: Course

Succeed with Learning

This course takes your life as its starting point, developing your awareness of just how much you have already learned and what you are capable of. It will suggest ways of 'fine-tuning', and building on, the expertise you have developed in your life. You will also learn some interesting theories about how we learn, and some of the key skills and tools to make your learning a success.
Type of activity: Course

Resources from Open University Library Services to help improve digital and information literacy skills

Welcome to Safari, a guided expedition through the information world. This site has been designed to help you to improve your digital and information literacy skills. By working through the activities highlighted in the different sections, you will gain confidence in understanding and unpacking the information, searching for information, and evaluating and organising the information you find
Type of activity: Learning resource

Understanding different research perspectives

This course explores the development of the research process looking at the different perspectives from which an issue or phenomenon can be investigated, highlighting methodologies that can be used to investigate a business issue. This course will sustain the development of a research study.
Type of activity: Course

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