DUE NLT 8PM EST SATURDAY -29 APR this is not a research paper but a proposal. see the specific details attachedtopic to your discretion
proposal.docx
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Your Proposal should be at least 10 to 15 pages in length.
this proposal is not like a “research paper” where you report on a topic
and simply review literature. Students need to write a “proposal” for
research which will highlight what the research problem is, what the
questions are, what the literature says about this problem right now,
and why it is important to conduct further research.
It is very important that you have each of the components that are
listed below, and that they are in the correct order (as listed below)!
Your proposal will consist of your title page, abstract, table of
contents, introduction, literature review, hypothesis/problem
statement, definitions and references. Please title each section in
bold. All of this must be in APA format. Each section will be briefly
reviewed below:
Abstract – A brief paragraph that summarizes what you want to
research and why it is important.
Table of Contents –
Introduction- Introduce your topic. Why are you exploring this topic?
In this section, it is appropriate to use a few sources that are not from
peer reviewed journals. These may include mass media, television,
newspaper, magazines, etc., information found on the Internet, books,
etc. In addition, peer reviewed sources should also be used. This
section is expected to be over 1 page in length however typically less
than 3 pages. This section should grab the reader’s attention to the
problem you want to look into – try and note why the information
might be important. Would it inform policy? Might it lead to more safe
conditions? Etc.
Literature Review – This section contains only peer reviewed
research that is related to your particular topic. I want to make it very
clear, you should choose a topic that has many (you will want no less
than 6 or 7) peer reviewed research articles for you to use. Do not
choose something abstract where you cannot find anything to support
your literature review. This is VERY important. Your instructor cannot
help you if you get to week 4 and you are unable to find any peer
reviewed research on your topic. It is very important that you check
this out in advance using the online library. You will struggle with the
course if you do not get this sorted out early. Peer reviewed research
articles are those that appear in criminal justice or public policy related
journals – they have passed a rigorous review process to validate the
research contained in the article. The review process for these journals
involves forwarding the research study to several researchers
associated with the journal and these researchers review the study for
reliability and validity, bias, proper research policies and procedures,
ethical treatment of research subjects, ethical practices of the
researchers, etc. If all of these and other criteria are met, the study
can then be published in that journal. I encourage you to ask the
library for help if you are still confused.
This literature review section is expected to be very thorough and
substantial. While there is no page expectation, it is expected that all
of the major peer reviewed research related to your topic will be
covered. This typically will be several pages and is to be in paragraph
form and not in list form. It is expected that there will be a smooth
flow between articles and subtopics – much like you will find in
published peer reviewed research articles. Do not turn in an annotated
bibliography for this section. Rather, students should talk about the
literature in summary fashion and note why the research is important
and what the findings suggest. You should read over a couple of
journal articles and note how they do their Introduction and literature
review. This will help guide you as you set yours up!
Hypothesis/problem statement – These are your research
questions (what you plan to measure/examine). This section may also
be in paragraph form. Research questions must be individual questions
that each measures only one item (one question = one measurement).
A couple of questions are expected in this section (typically 2 to 5).
You MUST put these questions in traditional hypotheses format. For
example: IF someone grows up in a poor neighborhood, they will be
more likely to be involved with crime than someone in a middle or
upper class neighborhood. OR, I hypothesize that women who are
educated about the prevalence of sexual assault will take more
precautions and as a result be less likely to be victimized in this way
(when compared to less educated women).
Please note: A question like: I want to study the frequency with
which women are subject to a sexual assault is NOT acceptable. It is
descriptive and not a hypothesis that you can test.
Definitions- Terms that may have more than one
meaning/interpretation must be clearly defined so that a reader knows
exactly what you are asking, measuring, examining, etc. For example
if using the term law enforcement officer, you must define this term.
Does it include municipal officers, county deputies, state officers,
federal officers, full time and/or part time officers, military police,
masters-at-arms, all of the above, only some of the above, etc.
Because of this, the term law enforcement officer must be defined.
What are your important terms or variables? DEFINE THEM!!
References – References are to be in APA format. If you have a
citation in the body of your work you must have the appropriate
reference in the reference section. Also if you have a reference in your
reference section, you must have a citation from that work somewhere
in the body of your work. The citations and references must match up.
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