In this paper, you will describe and analyze an original research proposal. Why is this criminological topic important? How do you know?

Guidelines for Final Research Paper  

The Big Picture

In this paper, you will describe and analyze an original research proposal. Why is this criminological topic important? How do you know? What does the literature review tell you about the social phenomenon you studied? How do your research questions connect to previous studies and research about your topic?

The Deliverables

• 15-20 page research paper with cover page and title
• Cite 15-20 scholarly (peer reviewed) sources (APA/MLA) in your paper
• An added page for references in APA/MLA format
• Appendix A:  Guiding Interview Questions
• Appendix B:  Questionnaire/Survey
• Appendix C:  Copy of Informed Consent Form

The Outline

1. Cover Page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Review of Selective Literature
5. Research Questions
6. Methods/Research Design/Unit of Analysis/Purpose
7. Data Analysis
8. Theoretical/Interpretive Framework
9. Discussion
10. Conclusion
11. Limits of Study
12. References/Works Cited
13. Appendix A, B, C

Guiding Questions for Each Outline Section:

Abstract

• Provide a brief summary of your main argument. What is the purpose of your research proposal? What are the most important 4-5 concepts, findings, or implications of your research?

Introduction

• Open your introduction with a story that grabs the reader’s attention and nicely leads into the discussion on the social phenomena that you selected. Provide a brief positionality/self-reflexivity discussion (what is the role of ‘the self’ as researcher in your project? How do your personal values inform the type of research you conduct?

• Which philosophical science approach informs your research inquiry? (e.g., Positivist, Post-Positivist, Constructivist, Pragmatist)? Explain your approach clearly. Specifically, how is ‘reality’ interpreted differently by your approach? Knowledge is viewed how by your approach? What is the role of your values in your approach? Explain clearly here
• Explain why your research topic is important to study?
• Explicitly state your thesis (main argument) and a quick snapshot of evidence to give us a preview of why you make the said claims/arguments.

Selective Literature Review

• What previous research provides a background for your findings?
• What key concepts and variables have previously been analyzed?
• What theoretical frameworks have previously been used?
• What does previous research tell us about the social phenomenon you chose to study? What findings have former scholars already put forth? What questions have already been answered by previous scholarship on your research topic?
• How do your particular research questions add new knowledge or perspectives to the existing literature?
• Did you cite 15 scholarly peer-reviewed sources?
• Remember to use APA/MLA in-text references

Research Questions

• List two or three questions you are investigating in your research project
• Are your research questions grounded by your selective literature review? What major themes/issues yet to be resolved are highlighted in your literature review?

Methods/Design

• Is your research method Qualitative/Quantitative/or Mixed Methods?
• What is your unit of analysis? (individuals, groups, institutions)?
• What is the purpose of your study? (Exploratory, Explanatory, Descriptive, Evaluative)?
• If qualitative, what qualitative inquiry approach will yield the best data for your study?: Narrative, Phenomenological, Grounded Theory, Ethnography, Case Study? Participant observation, Interviews? Explain clearly your approach to inquiry and procedures for your proposal?
• Describe the place/setting and the participants (Who, What, Where, Why, and How).
• If quantitative, what specific survey/questionnaire will be utilized? (Did you include survey in the Appendix)?
• Clearly define key concepts used in your proposed study (Define clearly with citations from previous scholarship).
• What key concepts will be used in your study? How will they be measured?
• What key variables are you measuring?  What are your Independent/Dependent variables)? Selective Literature Review is useful here.

Sample

• Sampling logic (How did you choose your participants)? What type of logic did you use? (Inductive/Deductive)? Describe procedures in detail (step by step).
• What type of sample did you use (e.g., Simple random, snow-ball, convenient, purposive, non-probability sample, probability sample, cluster sample)?
• If your sample is a random sample, what particular procedures make it random? Explain clearly here.
• How many participants are in your sample? How will they be chosen/recruited? Describe step-by-step procedures for obtaining research participants.
• Attach Informed Consent Forms to Appendix?
• How did you record your interviews? How long were your interviews? Will you be using semi-structured or structured questions? Open-ended, closed ended questions? Explain rationale clearly.
• Did/will you conduct participant observation at your site? Interviews? Case Study? Meta-analysis? Meta/synthesis? Describe clearly step by step.
• Questionnaires/Survey? Interview Questions? (Attach to Appendix)?

Data Analysis/Interpretive Framework

• Which theoretical framework (s) will you use to interpret your data?
• What conceptual/theoretical frameworks from your literature review will you use to code your data/interviews/participant observations/meta-analysis?
• How will you specifically code your data? Coding data is how you make sense of the patterns/themes that you interpret from field notes, survey, questionnaire, and interviews? What specific themes did you identify in your literature review?
• How do the patterns/themes relate to the conceptual/theoretical framework of the literature review?

Findings

• How did your data/evidence shed light on your research questions?
• How will the data generated in study contribute new knowledge to the criminological literature?
• What specific quotes from your research participant interviews will you use as evidence?
• Was a hypothesis test utilized in your study? How did it measure up to data?
• How are you incorporating the ‘voices’ of your research participants?
• How does your survey, questionnaire add evidence to previous arguments made with respect to particular social phenomenon studied? (Can causal correlations be made in arguments)? Explain the correlation between your Independent and dependent variables.

Discussion

• What are the big themes that you encountered?
• How do these findings relate to your selective literature review? (Use APA or MLA in-text references)

Conclusion

• What’s at stake in your research project?
• As you reflect on your findings, how did your research support or question the particular social phenomena that you selected?

Limits of Study

• Do you believe that your study had any shortcomings? What were they? How generalizable is your data? Explain in detail.

References/Works Cited

• Use APA/MLA to write a reference section. Cite at least one recent PhD dissertation/MA Thesis or Law Review Journal on research topic?

Appendix

• Copy of Guiding Interview Questions
• Copy of Informed Consent Form
• Copy of Survey or Questionnaire