Best books to read when studying Criminology and psychology?

I'm due to start a BA in Criminology and Psychology in Feb and would love recommendations on what books are helpful, useful or interesting to read! Thanks

Reply 1

Scotland Yard

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Pikaboo23

I'm due to start a BA in Criminology and Psychology in Feb and would love recommendations on what books are helpful, useful or interesting to read! Thanks

I'm not sure about books relating to criminology itself but for psychology, I enjoy reading Oliver Sack's books. He was a famous neurologist, of "Awakenings" fame, although his books and cases do have an awful lot of psychology on them. There are other great books which I forget, sadly. Your university might have a list somewhere of recommended reading for your course, that'd be a good resource to check out for books! :smile:

Reply 2

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

Original post by Pikaboo23

I'm due to start a BA in Criminology and Psychology in Feb and would love recommendations on what books are helpful, useful or interesting to read! Thanks

Hi @Pikaboo23

From my experience with Psychology BSc, textbooks are often just used to supplement lectures and your course will provide you with the recommended texts to look over when you do those lectures. So, I don’t think it’s necessary for you to go pick up a bunch of books right now, because some of them might not be necessary for your course. Additionally, in assessments, you’re encouraged to read more scientific journal articles rather than textbooks, as they can be outdated.

I say all this to say, that there are a couple that I would possibly have to hand that personally helped me understand some difficult concepts. I would definitely recommend An Adventure In Statistics by Andy Field for an introduction into qualitative methods. He explains how to conduct some difficult concepts in a simpler and easy to digest way, and it’s great for a recap on a method that you’ve not covered in a while.

I would also look for Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology by Hugh Coolican, which covers an introduction to quantitative methods and was helpful for me for recapping and delving in on methods I found difficult to understand during a lecture.

Other than the textbooks for research methods, I would probably not go to grab any others for Psychology just yet until you start and receive your recommended reading list, unless it’s an introduction to Psychology textbook.

I hope this helps! 🙂

Estelle
Third Year Psychology Student
University of Huddersfield

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Pikaboo23

I'm due to start a BA in Criminology and Psychology in Feb and would love recommendations on what books are helpful, useful or interesting to read! Thanks

I was recommended the following book by someone who did a degree in criminology:
Criminal Psychology by David Carter.

Whilst it's probably the most relevant book that covers both criminology and psychology, I find the book falling a bit short to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it's a good academic book on psychology of criminals, but it doesn't explore the subject in as much depth as I hoped.

i have read Gamorrah by Saviano, which is a good book on the Italian underworld. Currently have Mafia Life by Varese in my reading list.

Law for Criminologists by Ursula Taylor is probably one of the very few law books that I can stomach, which is saying something from someone who hates studying law.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 4

bones-mccoy

The Dark Side of the Mind - Kerry Daynes
The Devil You Know - Gwen Adshead
The Mind of a Murderer - Richard Taylor
The Anatomy of Violence - Adrian Raine
Without Conscience - Robert Hare