Naming paragraphs as part of the writing process
In my quest to expose the writing process I have structured this paper using named paragraphs. Each paragraph has a…
Docs and podcasts for my Illicit Markets course
Cultural accounts of illicit markets and criminal activities are the best way to develop a feel for them. Here are…
Doing a PhD? Just read this and it will immediately show you how to do it and make you feel better about yourself
… or possibly it will make you feel very much worse. Not sure. But I think you need to know…
Swindles of India and the lies we tell students
‘Common Swindles of India’ (Daly, 1931) is an impressionistic criminology where the author gathers together accounts from colonial Indian police…
Is it ever okay to override someone’s lived experience in your research? (This post discusses sexual assault)
Yes, absolutely, all the time, 100%, this is what you are here for, you must be prepared to do this…
Unit of analysis, unit of observation and what’s in your reality bag of tricks
I used to teach my students that they had to get the unit of analysis right and everything in their…
What’s the difference between description and analysis? The myth of the unfakeable banknote
I often say to students ‘describe, then analyse’. Well, how do you know which one you are doing and what…
Pour me some of that sweet, sweet critical sauce
<img> ‘Motherfuckin’ Critcal Thinking – How does that work?InsaneClownPosse.jpg'</img> A regular comment on students’ work from essays to PhD drafts…
I have no idea how to argue abstractly
One part of the academic skillset I have always thought made you a real academic is the ability to argue…
Writing tips
Social science writing is a set of conventions or styles. These conventions can be used to create distance on the…
