Unit 5: Midterm Assignment

You will draft the first several sections of your research proposal. Set up your proposal in APA format with a Cover Page, a section designated for the Abstract* (which you will write for final proposal), as well as sections for Introduction, Background and Literature Review, Research Design, Sampling*, Data Collection*, and References. Check out this PowerPoint for formatting requirements.

Note: You will leave space for sections marked with an asterisk (*) in the Midterm and complete them for the Final Assignment.

Complete the following sections for Unit 5:

•   Cover page: Follow APA formatting for the cover page, found on p. 515 of Rules for Writers

•   Abstract: Create the heading and leave a blank section. You will complete this in the final proposal.

•   Introduction: : Including a brief history of the problem, you present your problem statement, hypothesis, and identification of the independent and dependent variables in your study.

•   Review of Literature: Summarize at least 4 relevant/related research projects, their usefulness, flaws, and strengths. This part of the proposal can be taken from your Review of Literature from Unit 3, Research Design: Give a description of your research design and a justification of why this particular design was chosen.

•   Sampling: Create the heading and leave a blank section. You will complete this in the final proposal.

•   Data Collection: Create the heading and leave a blank section. You will complete this in the final proposal.

•   References: You must include correctly formatted APA in-text citations in the body of your paper, and a matching reference list in appropriate APA form.

Your paper should be 3 – 6 pages in length with a minimum at least 4 references in addition to the class text.

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Unit 3:Review of Literature

Review and summarize the relevant prior research relating to your selected research topic (as determined in your Get Write! Activity in Unit 1). “POLICE CORRUPTION”

•   Briefly summarize from at least 4 journal articles, government reports, or databases on your topic – be sure to identify the sources of your statistical data

•   Summarize statistical data where appropriate

•   Present the important information from each of the sources. (It is not a summary if you simply list what kind of information can be found in the article.)

•   What did these data sources and/or information reveal to you? Be sure to support your findings. Use proper citations when necessary.

You will find RELATED information and statistics from your articles (authoritative sources), which you can present in your Literature Review. You may not find specific information EXACTLY on your topic. This is not a problem. Be sure to summarize and indicate the main elements of the studies and any related statistics, data, or mathematical contributions made regarding the topic.

In addition to researching your general topic, you may be able to use information (data, statistics, and etc.) from the following criminal justice sources:

Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/

Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Furthermore, you may find state-level data by typing the name of your state and the words crime statistics in quotes; for example, “Florida crime statistics.”