Students will write a scholarly paper that is a minimum of 8-10 pages in length (8-10 pages excluding the title page, abstract, and reference page) in proper APA style format.
References may be found in the APUS library or search engines such as Google Scholar. The paper must include at least five peer-reviewed sources that cover your chosen topic from the list below. Keep in mind that 5 is the minimum. A good quality research paper usually contains more than 10. Sources should be as current as possible. Do not forget to use in-text citations to credit your sources.
The references used for your research need to be peer-reviewed/scholarly journals. These journals typically have the following characteristics:
1. a panel of experts reviews articles before they are accepted for publication;
2. a scholar or specialist in the field writes articles;
3. articles report on original research or experimentation;
4. are often published by professional associations;
5. utilize terminology associated with the discipline.
The use of newspapers, news magazines, and similar periodicals must be kept to a minimum and will be acceptable only as sources for supplementary information.
References like “Wikipedia,” “Psychology Today,” and “Court TV” are not primary sources, are not peer-reviewed (reviewed for empirical integrity, accuracy, and authenticity), and are not appropriate references for scholarly writing (with the possible exception of use for anecdotal background information).
Research Paper Topics:
Students are to select from below list or choose another relevant criminal investigation topic. Students must receive permission for topics other than those below by emailing their professor for approval. I have chosen crimes against children as the topic.
Examples:
Hate Crimes
Crime Prevention
Crimes against children
Crimes against the elderly
Identity Theft
Juvenile Crime
Police Pursuits
Sex Offender laws
Wrongful Convictions
The paper should be of high quality, free of spelling and grammatical errors, and of original work. In addition, it needs to be in proper APA style format. Plagiarism or use of AI programs will not be permitted, and occurrences of it will result in the procedures outlined in the “Student Handbook.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once you have submitted the assignment, it is automatically run through a plagiarism checker. Do NOT directly quote. Instead, summarize and paraphrase entirely in your own words and phrases while properly crediting where that information came from.
