Goals of the Assignment:
Students will evaluate criminal justice sources to analyze and critique the integrity of the information presented, realize how information/misinformation is distributed, and how sources represent different points of view.
Students will demonstrate through writing the ability to synthesize criminal justice research and how such research is used for both criminological theory development and practical policy considerations.
Students will state a specific conclusion that is a logical explanation from the knowledge and analysis of research findings along with the limitations and implications of the findings.
Let’s talk about this. It is confusing on its face to you and to me. Some clarity might come in handy for each of you as you attempt to complete the various parts of this assignment.
#1 – you will pick a single theory.
#2 – the theory you pick will be from one of those that is not classical, nor a main stream theory generally accepted.
#3 – you will do research on the pros and cons of the theory using academic resources such as published academic articles and Supreme Court decisions.
#4 – Be sure you evaluate the reform measures the theory proposes.
#5 – From your analysis of the chosen theory, you will present an analysis of the theory’s applicability, along with limitations and implications.
You can find an excellent example of how to do this on pages 213-216 of your text book. Here the author takes a critical look at Conflict Theory, offers a summation, critiques of the theory and the solutions it offers, as well as policy implications.
How do you pick a good theory to analyze? Go to the very back of your book. The last couple pages offer summation charts of Chapters 6, 7, & 8 and the theories they cover. Pick one, just one, of the lesser known theories. That becomes the focus of your paper.
Do not pick one of the major theories, such as Conflict Theory, the General Theory, or Routine Activities Theory. Those have been analyzed and discussed in so much detail that it will be overwhelming if you try to narrow one of them down to a 4 page paper.
I hope that this helps clarify the Final Paper assignment for you. Remember, you need a cover page, your annotated bibliography will be the final pages of your paper. In between these two you will open with an abstract that summarizes your paper. Then, you will continue writing your analysis, evaluation, recommendations, and policy implications. The entire body of your paper should be only 4 pages.
