Student Research
Engaging in Research as a Criminal Justice Student
The Department of Criminal Justice actively encourages student-faculty research collaboration. Each year, our faculty members work with students to generate research questions and develop testable hypotheses centered around a variety of topics. Many of our students leave UTC as co-authors of manuscripts published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Are you interested in research? Contact us!
Below are just few examples of student-faculty research collaborations that have resulted in publication:
Gun Violence
“The Impact of Neighborhood Characteristics on Routine and Gang-Involved Gun Violence: Are Structural Covariates Salient?”
Published in: Deviant Behavior
Student Co-Author: Dana Stripling
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt, Christina Policastro, and Gale Iles
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01639625.2024.2379933
“Analysis of the Factors Influencing Multiple Uses of Crime Guns: An Exploratory Study”
Published in: Journal of Criminal Justice
Student Co-Author: Samantha Scott
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt, Jared Rosenberger, and Courtney Crittenden
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004723522300020X
“Time in Crime: An Added Dimension to the Study of Crime Guns”
Published in: American Journal of Criminal Justice
Student Co-Author: Ellee Jackson
Faculty Co-Author: Rick Dierenfeldt
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12103-024-09769-5
Incarceration, Mental Illness, and Punishment
“Adverse Childhood Experiences and Co-Occurring Disorders: Is There a Relationship among ACEs, Mental Health Issues, and Substance Use Among Inmates?”
Published in: Journal of Drug Issues
Student Co-Author: Skylar N. Crick
Faculty Co-Authors: Courtney Crittenden, Christina Policastro, Tammy Garland, and Rick Dierenfeldt
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220426231176466
“Examining College Student Perceptions of Criminal Justice Outcomes Among Persons with Mental Illness”
Published in: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Student Co-Authors: Samantha Scott and Merideth Smith
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt and Gale Iles
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306624X19899642
“Time Lost as a Result of Wrongful Conviction: The Impact of Race and Official Misconduct across Offense Categories”
Published in: Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice
Student Co-Author: Ellee Jackson
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt, Sherah Basham, and Gale Iles
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15377938.2024.2375214
“Coping with Incarceration: How Women Adjust to Being Separated from Their Children”
Published in: Criminal Justice and Behavior
Student Co-Author: Skylar N. Crick
Faculty Co-Author: Courtney Crittenden
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00938548231223172
“Spare the Rod?: College Students’ Experiences with and Perceptions of Corporal Punishment”
Published in: Journal of Child and Family Studies
Student Co-Author: Zachary Rush
Faculty Co-Authors: Christina Policastro, Tammy Garland, and Courtney A. Crittenden
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-024-02806-1
Sex and Sexual Offending
“Faculty Perceptions of Consensual Sexual Relationships Between Faculty and Students”
Published in: Journal of Academic Ethics
Student Co-Author: April Carrillo
Faculty Co-Authors: Courtney Crittenden and Tammy Garland
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-019-09337-1
“Exploring Faculty and Students’ Attitudes About Consensual Sexual Relationships and Sexual Harassment on College Campuses”
Published in: Educational Policy
Student Co-Authors: April M. Gimlin and April Bennett
Faculty Co-Authors: Courtney Crittenden and Tammy Garland
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0895904818810522
“Support for the Death Penalty in Cases of Rape and Sexual Assault: Variation between Victim Age Categories”
Published in: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Student Co-Authors: Samantha Scott and Merideth Smith
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt, Gale Iles, and Jared Rosenberger
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306624X20983742
Crime, Media, Culture
“Media Consumption and Fear of Crime: Evidence of the Need for an Intersectional Approach”
Published in: Victims and Offenders
Student Co-Author: Hannah Ingle
Faculty Co-Authors: Jared Rosenberger and Rick Dierenfeldt
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564886.2021.1991069
“Freedom to Post or Invasion of Privacy? Analysis of U.S. Revenge Porn State Statutes”
Published in: Victims and Offenders
Student Co-Author: Tessa Cole
Faculty Co-Authors: Christina Policastro, Courtney Crittenden, and Karen McGuffee
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564886.2020.1712567
“Policy Preferences Related to Police Use of Deadly Force: Exploring the Impact of Social Media Consumption on College Major”
Published in: Journal of Criminal Justice Education
Student Co-Authors: Chance Reasonover and Ellee Jackson
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt, Tammy Garland, and Jared Rosenberger
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10511253.2023.2253416
“(Mis)Perceptions of the Use of Deadly Force by Police: Exploring the Role of Social Media Consumption”
Published in: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Student Co-Authors: Ellee Jackson and Chance Reasonover
Faculty Co-Authors: Rick Dierenfeldt, Jared Rosenberger, and Tammy Garland
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306624X241227408
Sexuality and Gender
“Oh, are you gay?”: An exploration of LGBTQ+ students’ lived experiences with microaggressions and finding safety on a university campus”
Published in: Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology
Student Co-Authors: Jadon Clark and Rileigh Arrington
Faculty Co-Authors: Christina Policastro and Courtney Crittenden
Link: https://assets.pubpub.org/gft6rxoh/391%20419%20Oh%20are%20you%20gay-31747076946092.pdf
“Heteronormativity in Criminology: Call for Inclusive Measurement of Sexuality”
Published in: Criminal Justice Review
Student Co-Author: Hannah Gateley
Faculty Co-Authors: Courtney Crittenden, Christina Policastro, and Karen McGuffee
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07340168221138572
“Exploring How Gender and Sex are Measured in Criminology and Victimology: Are We Measuring What We Say We are Measuring?”
Published in: Women and Criminal Justice
Student Co-Author: Hannah Gateley
Faculty Co-Authors: Courtney Crittenden, Christina Policastro, and Karen McGuffee
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08974454.2020.1826388
“Let’s Talk About Sex(uality): A Content Analysis of the Inclusion and Measurement of Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation in Published Criminological Research”
Published in: American Journal of Qualitative Research
Student Co-Authors: Skyler N. Crick and Heather Storey
Faculty Co-Authors: Courtney Crittenden and Sherah Basham