Your research topic may be based in any subject area within Criminology and may be on any topic of your choice. For example, you may choose research topics that are related to one of the following: law enforcement, corrections, law, victimology, etc. However, you must specify a specific problem within that area. For example, you may be interested in police stress within law enforcement; or, you may be interested in learning more about the experiences of female inmates within a maximum security correctional setting. Whatever your choice of study, your paper should include the following:
I. Introduction to your research topic 1- 2 pages
What is the background of the topic?
Why would it be important to know more about the topic?
II. Literature Review- 2-4 pages
What has already been published (within the past 5-7 years) on the topic? Your literature review should include 5 peer-reviewed scholarly articles minimum on your topic.
Summarize this sample of articles on what has already been studied about the topic.
Are there gaps in the literature that you can identify?
How might future studies advance knowledge in the subject area?
III. Application 2-3 pages
How might you, as a social science researcher, go about studying this topic?
Who would you sample and why?
How would you anticipate collecting your data?
IV. Conclusion 1-2 pages
What did you learn by further researching this topic?
What would you project to be the strengths and limitations of your proposed study?
* Please note that your paper should also have a title page and a works cited page in addition to the above. ( NOT INCLUDED IN THE 9 PAGES ).
Please note that this academic proposal should be written in 3rd person. Your paper should NOT be written in 1st person. For example, \”I think\” or \”I would test this by…\” should not used. Instead, you might consider \”The present study will test….\”
