Topic Choices Chose Thesis Proposal Criminal Jus
NOT TO
EXCEED 5 PAGES (NOT INCLUDING COVER) APA FORMAT
compose
a first draft of your thesis proposal. Submit including a title page and three
references related to your proposed topic. Ensure that the references are from
peer-reviewed journals, government sources, other appropriate academically
acceptable sources, or some combination thereof. The formal proposal should not
exceed five pages (title page not included).
The
proposal should explain the question or problem to be investigated and convince
the thesis professor that the question or problem merits investigation. It
should show that the student has read the relevant and recent literature on the
subject, and it should contain a list of academically appropriate resources
consulted during the preliminary stages of research. In general, the thesis
proposal should include background information related to the research topic,
purpose of the research, methodology, and analytic procedures to be used.
AGAIN:
Ensure
the proposal includes the following :
- Explain the
question or problem to be investigated and convince the thesis professor
that the question or problem merits investigation. - It should show
that the student has read the relevant and recent literature on the
subject, and it should contain a list of academically appropriate
resources consulted during the preliminary stages of research. - In general, the
thesis proposal should include background information related to the
research topic, purpose of research, methodology and analytical procedures
to be used.
topic
choices.- chose one of the five, if you do the first draft well enough I will
use you for the entire assignment. be mindful of the topic choice on factors
such as resources and content length. The future paper will be about 60 pages
so choose a topic that will be able to extend this long.
1. what
is the relationship between mental illness and crime?
2. Is
there a relationship between social class and crime?
3. What
is the effect of wrongful conviction?
4. Are
there any benefits to legalizing marijuana?
5. Has
capital punishment deterred crime?
___________________________MORE INFO_________________________________________
For an overview of the required components a thesis should
contain, see Appendix 1 BELOW
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Appendix 1: M.A. Theses
M.A. theses are expected to contain the following
elements:
Abstract: Includes the following components: purpose of the
research, methodology, findings, and conclusion. The body of the abstract is
limited to 150-200 words.
Introduction: Identifies student’s specific research
question and sets the general context for the study.
This section should include • a statement of the problem or
general research question and context leading to a clear statement of the
specific research question; • background and contextual material justifying why
this case or topic should be studied; and • a purpose statement.
Literature Review: Reviews the literature on a specific
research question. The literature review focuses on discussing how other
researchers have addressed the same or similar research questions. It
introduces the study and places it in larger context that includes a discussion
of why it is important to study this case. It provides the current state of
accumulated knowledge as it relates to the student’s specific research
question. • Summarize the general state of the literature (cumulative knowledge
base) on the specific research question: o Study one: summarize to include
researcher’s findings, how those findings were obtained, and evaluation of
biases in the findings. o Study two: summarize to include researcher’s
findings, how those findings were obtained, and evaluation of biases in the
findings. o Include a minimum of at least three of the most important studies.
• Include a short conclusion and transition to the next section.
Theoretical Framework/Approach: The theoretical framework
section develops the theories or models to be used in the study and shows how
the student has developed testable research hypotheses.
This section should include • an introduction discussing
gaps in the literature, how this study will help fill some of those gaps, and
justification for the theory or model to be used in study; • a summary of the
theory or model to be used in the study, including a diagram of the model if
appropriate; and • a statement of hypotheses to be tested. Research
Design/Methodology: Describes how the student will test the hypothesis and
carry out his/her analysis. This section describes the data to be used to test
the hypothesis, how the student will operationalize and collect data on his/her
variables, and the analytic methods that to be used, noting potential biases
and limitations to the research approach. It should include • identification
and operationalization (measurement) of variables; • a sampling plan (i.e.,
study population and sampling procedures, if appropriate); • justification of
case studies used; • data collection/sources (secondary literature, archives,
interviews, surveys, etc.); • a summary of analysis procedures
(pattern-matching, etc.); and • the limitations of study and bias discussion.
Findings/Results/Discussion: This section describes the
results of the study. Keep in mind that the “results” are the direct
observations of the research, while the “discussion” is the interpretation of
the results and research. This should include, as appropriate: • results,
including tables, graphs, statistics; • significance and interpretation of the
results; • discussion of results as they relate to thesis statement/research
question; • discussion of results as it relates to the theoretical framework/approach;
and • directions for future research.
Reference List: References the works the student has cited
(direct quotes or paraphrases) in the text.