Criminal Justice (CRJS) 433

Evaluation

To receive credit for CRJS 433, you must complete the three assignments and achieve a minimum course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of assignments is as follows:

Research Proposal: 20%

The student will be required to submit a research proposal outlining a particular issue that he/she wishes to examine. The proposal must articulate why this issue is important, the reason why the student is undertaking this research project, the implications for the criminal justice field, a tentative list of literature to be reviewed, why the literature is pertinent to the research topic, and a tentative list of subjects to be interviewed.

       Approximately 5-7 pages.

Literature review: 30%

The student must complete a review of at least 12 academic journal articles or books that relate to the topic he/she has chosen. The articles must be current (1990 to present) and must clearly pertain to the topic of choice. The purpose of the literature review is to afford students the opportunity to examine existing research and examine the scholarly debate. Students must indicate what the various authors are arguing and be prepared to critique these arguments. The literature review should also indicate what the authors are missing in their analysis, what questions do they not seem to be answering in their analysis. The literature review will be woven into the final research paper.

      Approximately 10-12 pages.

Research Paper: 50%

The final paper will be a synthesis of the literature review, any fieldwork the student has undertaken, and more importantly the student's critical analysis of the current trends and outcomes related to his/her particular project. The timelines for completion of these assignments will be set in collaboration with the instructor and student.

      Final paper: approximately 20-25 pages.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.