Criminology/Criminal Justice

Research Requirement:

Instructions Due by 11:59 PM, Sunday, Jan. 21. Purpose The goal of this assignment is for you to begin narrowing down your interest(s), focusing on a specific issue you intend to research throughout the course of this term. When conducting social science research, it is imperative that you construct good research questions to help you focus your research. This assignment will help with this.  You should think about the aspects of 4th Amendment violations you are interested in as you work to complete this assignment and how this activity will translate into a potential topic. Also, think about the possible obstacles you could face while researching. Part 1 - Research Questions This part is aimed at narrowing down your research and making it more focused. Provide a statement of a minimum of 250 words, justifying the importance of researching 4th/5th Amendment violations. As you prepare your justification, think about the following questions: How many 4th Amendment violations are reported annually in the U.S.? What can be done to reduce them? Why/how do they happen? How do the violations impact the justice system? What other questions come to mind related to 4th Amendment violations? List 3. Create 3 research questions based on your statement Part 2 - Hypothesis This part will take your research questions from part 1 and turn them into a hypothesis. Narrow your questions down to one good question. This question will drive the rest of your research. Conceptualize/operationalize your variables.  Identify your independent and dependent variables.  Make sure you define them based on how they will be used in your research. Create your hypothesis. Be sure you review 2.2 Developing Research Hypotheses. Make sure you identify the direction of your hypothesis (positive or negative correlation).  Also, remember that research questions are works in progress. THEY MAY (WILL) CHANGE as your research progresses. If you feel as though you need to change your research questions, make sure you review your hypothesis as well. The two are linked to each other. Submission and Grading Criteria Your submission should include all items, answered questions, and write-ups from Part 1 and Part 2 Structure 1” Margins on all 4 sides. Arial font, 12 pt font Indent new paragraphs. Double-spaced Use proper APA citation. MS Word document (.doc or .docx) Content Fully addresses all questions Free of grammatical and spelling errors Follow traditional academic paper requirements Worth 10% of your grade. Refer to the Assignment Grading Rubric in Course Resources.