Research Proposal Guidelines

Research Proposal Guidelines

Criminology 2254: Fall 2023

General Overview Your task is to write a research proposal on any topic within Criminology or Criminal Justice. In short, you will select a research question that you are interested in answering, you will write a brief literature review which will justify / explain why the research question is important and you will write a methodology section which explains how you would scientifically test your research questionKeep in mind that this is a proposal for research; you will not actually be conducting the study. You can assume that you will have an adequate level of funding and sufficient time to complete the study. Thus, your selection of research design does not need to be constrained by real-world constraints (e.g., time / money).

Guidelines for Research Proposal Part 2 (25%)

This portion of the Research Proposal expands on your earlier work. Everything for Part 2 must be written in complete sentences / paragraph structure. You will further develop your research design and will also provide a brief literature review to set up an argument / justification for why your research question is relevant. See below for the required content.

MY RESEARCH QUESTION/Topic: Will daily consumption of alcohol lead to higher rates of domestic abuse in a household?

Title Page: A title page is required; see below for formatting guidelinesLiterature Review (Length: < 8 pages)

Introduction (Length: ~1-2 pages)

What prior events or research motivates this project (i.e., why is this an important study)?

What is the purpose of your study?

What will this study add to the sum of knowledge in this area?

How might the findings of this study benefit decision-makers / policy makers?

Prior Research (Length: 1-4 pages)

What prior research has been conducted that relates to your topic / research question?

How are you building on prior research and improving it?

What are the gaps in prior research or problems raised by prior research designs that you will address?

You must include a minimum of 5 citations to previous literature using formal APA citation format. Be very careful about plagiarism. DO NOT USE DIRECT QUOTES. If you have any questions about APA / how to properly cite and reference your work, please let me know.

Research Question

State your research question from Part I

Research Design and Methods (Length: < 5 pages): Clearly state the details of your research design and methods. Include the following elements by using the headings below:

Design: Are you using an experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental design? Is your research question descriptive or causal in nature? What is the specific design type (e.g., interrupted time series design, static group comparison design?) Include a diagram or flowchart of your design. Why is the design appropriate to the research question?

Variables: State your independent variable and your dependent variable. Next, you will need to Conceptualize and Operationalize both variables. If you have control variables, you will need to state your control variable(s) and Conceptualize / Operationalize these as well.

Sampling: What population are you interested in? What sample will you select to be represent the population? What size do you estimate this sample will be (i.e., how many subjects are in your sample)? How will you construct a sample frame? Explain, in detail, your plan for sampling.

Data collection: How will you collect the data (e.g., self-report survey, focus groups, observational techniques, agency records)? If you are using a data collection instrument (e.g., a self-report questionnaire measuring antisocial behavior), provide an outline of what will be contained in this instrument (e.g., the types of questions / their formatting).

Limitations of research design: What are the potential weaknesses of your overall research design? For example, are there known limitations to how you conceptualized / operationalized your variables? Is there bias within the sample? Is there bias within the experimental design?

Ethical and Legal Considerations (Length: < 1 page): Discuss any ethical or legal concerns for your study. Be comprehensive, if you believe one of the below considerations does not apply, briefly state why. Some elements to include:

Are there any concerns regarding dangers or harm for human participants, including both study participants and researchers? If so, do you have compelling justification for risking this harm?

How will informed consent be handled? Will subjects be deceived in any way? If so, how is this justified?

Are there any issues of data confidentiality or anonymity and, if so, how will they be handled?

Do you anticipate that any legal issues might arise?

References: Include an APA-formatted reference list with a minimum of 5 scholarly sources.

Overall Presentation: Proper formatting (see below), no spelling errors, few grammatical errors, professional appearance.

Formatting

Use 12-point Times New Roman font. Your proposal must be double-spaced and follow APA format for references and in-text citations. A guide for APA style formatting is available at:

Your paper must also include:

A title page that contains a title, your name and student number, institutional affiliation, course name, course instructor, and date of submission.

A reference pageProofread your paper. Look for and edit grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. The instructor will not do this for students. The Learning Centre may help if you require assistance with your writing at:

Assignment Evaluation: Research Proposal Part 2

Component Description Value

Literature Review Clear introduction

Review of prior research

Restate the research question 20 marks

Research Design Identify the design

Diagram/flowchart

Justification 10 marks

Variables Independent and dependent variables

Identify any possible controlsConceptualize and operationalize all variables 10 marks

Sampling Identify population

What sample will you selectEstimate sample sizeSampling frame

Overall description of sampling approach 10 marks

Data Collection How will you collect the data?

Include any data collection instruments 10 marks

Limitations of Research Design Identify any potential weaknesses of research design 10 marks

Ethical/Legal Considerations Harm to participants? Informed consent? Confidentiality/anonymity? Legal issues? 10 marks

Follows Guidelines Correct number of pages per section

Integration of 5 scholarly sources 5 marks

Writing style Proofreading (spelling, grammar)

Structure (clear outline, flow)

Clarity 10 marks

APA format Basic formatting (12 point font, 1 inch margins)

Title page 5 marks

Research Proposal Guidelines

Criminology 2254: Fall 2023

General Overview Your task is to write a research proposal on any topic within Criminology or Criminal Justice. In short, you will select a research question that you are interested in answering, you will write a brief literature review which will justify / explain why the research question is important and you will write a methodology section which explains how you would scientifically test your research questionKeep in mind that this is a proposal for research; you will not actually be conducting the study. You can assume that you will have an adequate level of funding and sufficient time to complete the study. Thus, your selection of research design does not need to be constrained by real-world constraints (e.g., time / money).

Guidelines for Research Proposal Part 2 (25%)

This portion of the Research Proposal expands on your earlier work. Everything for Part 2 must be written in complete sentences / paragraph structure. You will further develop your research design and will also provide a brief literature review to set up an argument / justification for why your research question is relevant. See below for the required content.

MY RESEARCH QUESTION/Topic: Will daily consumption of alcohol lead to higher rates of domestic abuse in a household?

Title Page: A title page is required; see below for formatting guidelinesLiterature Review (Length: < 8 pages)

Introduction (Length: ~1-2 pages)

What prior events or research motivates this project (i.e., why is this an important study)?

What is the purpose of your study?

What will this study add to the sum of knowledge in this area?

How might the findings of this study benefit decision-makers / policy makers?

Prior Research (Length: 1-4 pages)

What prior research has been conducted that relates to your topic / research question?

How are you building on prior research and improving it?

What are the gaps in prior research or problems raised by prior research designs that you will address?

You must include a minimum of 5 citations to previous literature using formal APA citation format. Be very careful about plagiarism. DO NOT USE DIRECT QUOTES. If you have any questions about APA / how to properly cite and reference your work, please let me know.

Research Question

State your research question from Part I

Research Design and Methods (Length: < 5 pages): Clearly state the details of your research design and methods. Include the following elements by using the headings below:

Design: Are you using an experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental design? Is your research question descriptive or causal in nature? What is the specific design type (e.g., interrupted time series design, static group comparison design?) Include a diagram or flowchart of your design. Why is the design appropriate to the research question?

Variables: State your independent variable and your dependent variable. Next, you will need to Conceptualize and Operationalize both variables. If you have control variables, you will need to state your control variable(s) and Conceptualize / Operationalize these as well.

Sampling: What population are you interested in? What sample will you select to be represent the population? What size do you estimate this sample will be (i.e., how many subjects are in your sample)? How will you construct a sample frame? Explain, in detail, your plan for sampling.

Data collection: How will you collect the data (e.g., self-report survey, focus groups, observational techniques, agency records)? If you are using a data collection instrument (e.g., a self-report questionnaire measuring antisocial behavior), provide an outline of what will be contained in this instrument (e.g., the types of questions / their formatting).

Limitations of research design: What are the potential weaknesses of your overall research design? For example, are there known limitations to how you conceptualized / operationalized your variables? Is there bias within the sample? Is there bias within the experimental design?

Ethical and Legal Considerations (Length: < 1 page): Discuss any ethical or legal concerns for your study. Be comprehensive, if you believe one of the below considerations does not apply, briefly state why. Some elements to include:

Are there any concerns regarding dangers or harm for human participants, including both study participants and researchers? If so, do you have compelling justification for risking this harm?

How will informed consent be handled? Will subjects be deceived in any way? If so, how is this justified?

Are there any issues of data confidentiality or anonymity and, if so, how will they be handled?

Do you anticipate that any legal issues might arise?

References: Include an APA-formatted reference list with a minimum of 5 scholarly sources.

Overall Presentation: Proper formatting (see below), no spelling errors, few grammatical errors, professional appearance.

Formatting

Use 12-point Times New Roman font. Your proposal must be double-spaced and follow APA format for references and in-text citations. A guide for APA style formatting is available at:

Your paper must also include:

A title page that contains a title, your name and student number, institutional affiliation, course name, course instructor, and date of submission.

A reference pageProofread your paper. Look for and edit grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. The instructor will not do this for students. The Learning Centre may help if you require assistance with your writing at:

Assignment Evaluation: Research Proposal Part 2

Component Description Value

Literature Review Clear introduction

Review of prior research

Restate the research question 20 marks

Research Design Identify the design

Diagram/flowchart

Justification 10 marks

Variables Independent and dependent variables

Identify any possible controlsConceptualize and operationalize all variables 10 marks

Sampling Identify population

What sample will you selectEstimate sample sizeSampling frame

Overall description of sampling approach 10 marks

Data Collection How will you collect the data?

Include any data collection instruments 10 marks

Limitations of Research Design Identify any potential weaknesses of research design 10 marks

Ethical/Legal Considerations Harm to participants? Informed consent? Confidentiality/anonymity? Legal issues? 10 marks

Follows Guidelines Correct number of pages per section

Integration of 5 scholarly sources 5 marks

Writing style Proofreading (spelling, grammar)

Structure (clear outline, flow)

Clarity 10 marks

APA format Basic formatting (12 point font, 1 inch margins)

Title page 5 marks