You are required to write a capstone paper that focuses on a specific topic in the field of criminology. The completed paper should be 10 pages, excluding the cover page, abstract, and references. All papers must be typed using Times New Roman 12-point font and double-spaced. Papers must include a minimum of 12 peer-reviewed scholarly sources. All in-text citations and references must be APA formatted. Word provides you a template, just look it up in the search engine.
Purpose: The purpose of the paper is for students to bring together knowledge and skills developed during their time in the Criminology program. To this end, not only will your paper provide detailed information on your chosen topic, but this information will provide the basis of a policy proposal to be detailed in this paper.
Paper Description
Introduction: The first section of your paper should introduce the paper topic. At this point, the topic can be discussed more broadly, e.g. family violence, prison programming. The introduction sets the stage for the rest of the paper. You need to demonstrate why your topic is important to the field of criminal justice (i.e. what is the purpose).
Literature Review: This is where you provide an overview of what academic research has been done on your topic. It is important you do NOT use this section to summarize the articles you are using for the paper. Rather, you should be synthesizing information and themes from across the studies you have found. Each paragraph should have citations from several articles. Your literature review alone should have a minimum of 10 to 12 academic sources.
Policy Proposal: This is the core of your paper where you will draw on the previously discussed research to develop a policy proposal. You should discuss a range of policy options, then make an argument for a specific proposal. Your argument should include a discussion of the criteria used to select a specific policy recommendation as well as the evidence supporting your proposal.
Although you are not collecting and analyzing your own data, this is where you would include available statistics on your topic and further discuss specific findings from research introduced in your literature review. Your discussion also may include program evaluations from government websites and other sources. This information forms the substance of your argument for a specific policy initiative. Information should both diagnose a particular problem (issue or situation) and argue for a solution that addresses the issue. You may be arguing for extending an already existing policy, modifying an existing policy, or creating an entirely new policy initiative. Think of the information from your research articles coupled with any additional information (e.g. statistics, policy and/or program evaluations) as the evidence supporting your proposal.
An essential component of this section is making associations between your topic and previous coursework. Your recommendation must consider how the policy will affect each component of the criminal justice system: law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Your discussion also needs to identify one or more criminological theories and apply it to your policy recommendation. For example, if you are recommending a policy to increase funding for a mentoring program in low income neighborhoods, you need to consider what criminological theories inform your recommendation, e.g. social learning, general strain, etc.… An important piece of this section also will be identifying ethical dilemmas/ issues related to your policy recommendation and consider how the issue/dilemma can be resolved/ addressed. Keep in mind that when advocating for a specific a policy recommendation, one must consider both practical (costs, legality, etc.…) and evaluative criteria (ethical issues, efficiency, goals, etc….).
Conclusion: In this last section you need to tie everything together from previous sections of the paper. Although you do not want a summary, you should highlight again the nature of the problem and why your policy recommendation is the best approach for addressing it. You also should highlight what outcomes are expected from your policy, including troubleshooting any potential barriers/ hiccups (e.g. suggest how various components of the criminal justice system could better coordinate their interactions in a way that would positively address any potential hurdles). Lastly, what do you see for the future in terms of both your policy and the problem/ issue it addresses.
