FINAL PAPER GUIDE FOR SUMMER 2022 Dr. Hayes

The research paper assignment for this class is split into several smaller assignments.These assignments are described in detail below. You are required to choose a topic inModule 2 by posting it in a discussion, and ideally stick with that topic as you move throughother stages.

Generally speaking, your goal is to choose a topic related to criminal justice policy andprovide a general overview. This should be a lengthy descriptive essay on a specific policyor policy proposal that is ideally not covered by the module readings or your textbooks.You must use APA format for this paper. If you do not have a current APA manual, I suggestyou acquire one, as they are relatively inexpensive. Most major booksellers (Amazon,Barnes and Noble, etc) have it priced around $20 the last time I checked. Minus anyreferences, figures, tables, etc., your paper should be a minimum of 10 pages of text. Iwould say no more than 15 pages of text if you were looking for a maximum. I tend to wantto move on to a new topic at that point.

A note on sources: Wikipedia is not allowed as a reference (this should not have to be said,but I am saying it anyway). You can, however, use Wikipedia to find sources, since somearticles on Wikipedia have a list of source information from academic journals and otheracceptable sources at the bottom of the page. Websites that are used as sources generallymust end in .org, .gov, or .edu, and the content must be approved by me. There are somegood research and governmental reports online, but your primary sources should bescholarly books and journal articles. Most nonfiction books and academic journals areacceptable content and will not need approval. I will let you know if any sources do notmeet approval as long as you submit a list of sources with the earlier assignments. You areallowed to use a reading or two from the course in your list of references, but the bulk of thereferences need to come from outside sources.

The Prospectus: The Prospectus is a short plan for your paper and includes the following:A title page, a summary OR outline, and an optional list of references (about 3-5preliminary references for now). If, for example, you plan to write a paper on violence inthe South, you would tell me in your abstract that this is your topic and follow that up bygiving me the theory you plan to use to explain this phenomenon. You would also want totell me if you are going to focus on any particular time period. Are you going to bediscussing the present, pre- or post- Civil War, the Civil Rights Era, etc. (following theexample of violence in the South)? There is no minimum word count for the prospectus,but it should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 to 2 pages of text, plus the title pageand references. The file for the prospectus should include a title page with your nameand a preliminary title in a standard format, followed by the summary, and optionalreferences (so, around 4 pages total). The prospectus is due at the end of Module 4

The Rough Draft: The Rough Draft of your paper needs to be a 60-70% completeversion of your paper. You should have your sources finalized at this point, even if you donot cite them all in your paper. I want to see a list of at least 10 sources. A maximum of 2can be web pages (as long as they are approved by me). Sources can be journal articles(peer reviewed), books, reports from government agencies, web pages (2 max.) and othercontent with my approval. The file for the outline should include the title page, the textof the rough draft, and the reference page in that order (all in one file). The roughdraft is due at the end of Module 6.

The Final Paper: This should be the complete product, revised to reflect any changes Isuggest in the final draft. The final paper must meet the guidelines set in the syllabus withregards to word count and follow all guidelines in the syllabus, on the research paper guide,and for all previous paper assignments. The final paper needs to have a title page, anabstract, the text, and a reference page, all in one file. The final paper is due at theend of Module 8

It is not appropriate to submit a paper used in another class for this assignment. Ifyou plan to use the same topic you have used for another class paper, this versionmust be substantially different from the one used in the other class, and you mustinform me that you are using a topic from a prior assignment, and tell me theProfessor / Instructor to contact regarding the previous assignment. The policiesregarding Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism apply to this assignment.

POSSIBLE TOPIC AREAS: Here is a list of general topical areas derived from past papers Ihave graded in this area. This may be helpful in developing a topic for your paper. If this isnot particularly helpful, feel free to email me. You are not required to choose from this list.

For Police and Society: For Rural Crime and Justice

Agencies use of social mediaPolicing and TechnologyIntelligence Led PolicingCrime mapping to improve patrol strategiesPolice – Community RelationsCommunity Based PolicingMilitarization of Police

Rural homicideDomestic Violence in Rural AreasMeth Production and Clandestine LabsAgricultural Theft and Rural CrimePoaching and Illegal Hunting in Rural AreasRural policing strategies for small agenciesMigrant communities and crime in rural areasRural culture and crime