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Description: Your final paper is a research proposal. For this assignment, you a
Description: Your final paper is a research proposal. For this assignment, you are tasked with choosing a research topic that interests you, creating a research question, independently reviewing extant scholarship on the topic, and designing a research project to contribute to our criminological understanding. Compared to your IRB protocol project, which is a writing exercise intended to mimic stages of completing social science research for a committee to ‘approve’ your project, this paper should be written for an audience of criminologists and academics familiar with research methods used in the discipline. That is, the tone is formal, scholarly, and reflects a mastery of understanding course material. Your paper will consist of the following sections: 1) An introduction, 2) A literature review, 3) A section describing the goals of the proposed study and contributions, 4) methods, 5) implications for research, policy, and advocacy, and 6) a conclusion.
Section Guidelines:
1. Introduction
This section should be one or two paragraphs and should be a well-written, opening section that grabs the reader’s attention. This section will introduce the topic of the research study, why this topic is pertinent to criminology, and give the reader an idea of what the rest of the paper entails. This section may include information such as definitions, scope of the issue, and major gaps/current critical issues in public and academic discourse.
2. Literature Review
This section should be 4-5 paragraphs and should transition smoothly from your introduction section to explain the focus of the research (topic), what it is, why it matters, what we know about it generally, and how academics have approached researching this topic. Beyond this, what has extant research found and concluded about this topic? Your literature review will be a synthesis that organizes information from key sources and discusses these sources in conversation with each other. You must use at least 4 scholarly/peer-reviewed sources from 2015 or newer. Remember that this section does not need to include everything ever known about the topic, nor does it need to include everything you read about it. The purpose of a literature review is to set the reader up for the second half of the paper, and the information is framed in such a way that the reader not only understands the research topic, but also why it is important and that more research needs to be done to fill gaps in knowledge/update findings/focus on how the topic impacts different groups etc. In this vein, your literature review should not read like a grocery list (e.g., “Source 1 found this. Source 2 found this. Source 3 found this.”) Rather, integrate your sources and write your literature review as if you were teaching the class about this topic.
Draw on our research article workshop from Friday 9/8 for tips on how to review research articles and how to write your literature review. Slides are available under the resources tab.
For tips on how to write a literature review, visit:
Purdue OWL (includes great ideas on how to organize lit review- chronologically, thematically, methodologically, theoretically)
Writing and Synthesis Tips (under resources tab)
Include a theoretical framework to guide your research study. This can be one paragraph that identifies and explains the theory. Cite your sources.
3. Proposed Study and Contributions
This section will be a paragraph that segues from the front end of your paper to your own ideas (methods, implications, etc.). Explain what we know about the research topic, what we don’t know, and how your proposed research study will address this.
This section should clearly state your research question. (i.e., you can use this template for the last sentence of the paragraph: “The current study aims to address the following research question(s): XXXXX?”)
4. Methods
Considering this is a class on research and evaluation in criminal justice, your methods section should be clear, thorough, and refined.The purpose of this section is to explain how your study will attempt to answer your research question.
Keep in mind that you are inspired by previous research, but this study would be your own. You do not necessarily need to create a brand new study in order to contribute to the field, but your study does need to add something or approach a topic in a way that previous research has not. Your methods must be grounded in the literature, which means that you will have in-text citations in this section. Consult methods sections in peer-reviewed articles for examples on how this section is typically written.
In this section, explain all proposed stages of your sample and analysis.
For example, if you are using quantitative data, clarify whether you are using primary or secondary data. Explain the sample (inclusion and exclusion criteria), total sample (N=), the parameters of the sample as relevant (some ideas- unit of analysis, age, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, geographic location, total number in each category). Identify and explain your independent, dependent, and control variables. How will you analyze your data? What statistical test would be most fitting for the research question you are trying to answer? How will you do this? Be as detailed as possible. Think through, step-by-step, how you would conduct this study.
For example, if you are using qualitative data, clarify whether you are using primary or secondary data. Explain your sample parameters, recruitment strategies (if applicable), process and timeline of data collection. Include inclusion and exclusion criteria. Explain your unit of analysis and/or participants. Once you collect data, how will you analyze it? Do you need to transcribe your data? Will you use inductive or deductive coding schemes? Will you code your data, and if so, how? Be as detailed as possible. Think through, step-by-step, how you would conduct this study.
In your methods section, take time to explain this method. Describe what this method entails, why it is appropriate for your research, and why it is more suitable than other methods in fulfilling the goals of your research project. Assume the reader has an understanding of criminological methods, but also show the reader that you know what you are talking about. In describing your methodological decisions, cite the textbook, other class readings, and refer to the methods used in studies from your literature review to concisely, but thoroughly, elaborate on the utility of this method.
Explain the potential risks and benefits of this study. Explain why these are important considerations, drawing on class discussions and readings about ethics.
Your methods section should also acknowledge potential limitations/barriers to your data collection and data analysis. For example, are certain groups excluded that would otherwise provide a more comprehensive understanding? Are you proposing using secondary data, which you therefore cannot control the collection of? Are you proposing qualitative data that is not generalizable? Remember that this aspect of research is always included in research articles – you cannot do it all, and that is okay. What is important is understanding where your study will fit in the broader conversation of scholarship, and frame these limitations as opportunities for future research.
A note on tone and audience: You may use “I” in the draft-writing process, but keep in mind that this is an formal academic paper. Stylistically, some researchers use first-person in their manuscripts, but try to only do this if it adds value to the description. Otherwise, it is acceptable to walk the reader through the methods by explaining it without using “I”.
One exception: you may include a positionality statement/reflexivity statement in this section. There are examples of this in the Hattery et al. article. You are not required to include a positionality statement, just as it is not standardized in academia. However, many scholars find that this adds value to the research study by acknowledging how your social location may shape your approach to research. If you have questions about positionality/reflexivity or would like to see more examples, ask the instructor.
5. Implications for Research, Policy, and Advocacy
Why is this research study important?
This section should be 2-3 paragraphs.
Will findings from this study do any of the following? (these are just some starting points – if they are relevant, identify and explain in-depth how the study would address this. Be realistic and detailed)
Improve our understanding of a topic
Findings will inform recommendations for policy at the campus, local, state, national, global level
Findings and conclusions from this study will illuminate current barriers/challenges/limitations within agencies, programs, services, systems, etc. and provide recommendations for improvement.
Findings and conclusions from this study will improve the treatment of, outcomes for, and wellbeing of victims and/or offenders of crime.
Findings will inform strategies that will improve our detection, investigation, and prevention of crime
Findings will inform education/prevention programming (if so, like what? for who?)
Findings will offer recommendations and future directions for academic research (if so, how)
Findings can be public-facing (e.g., for community members, translatable beyond academia)
Findings and conclusions from this study will contribute to reducing disparities across groups (if so, which groups? how?)
6. Conclusion
Your conclusion paragraph should restate your entire paper in a clear and concise manner. Tie up all loose ends and end your paper strongly by explaining the significance of your proposed research study.
Format
Your paper should be submitted via Blackboard as a Microsoft Word Document. Google Docs and PDFs are not accepted as a final draft.
Your paper should be written using an accessible font (e.g., Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri), size 12, with normal 1-inch margins. Your paper should be double-spaced.
Include subheadings for each section in your paper so it is easy for the reader to navigate (and easy for you to organize).
Your paper should follow the newest edition of APA formatting guidelines for in-text citations and reference list. Consult Purdue OWL for easy reference.
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