APA STYLE

2 Peer-reviewed references per topic

300 word minimum per topic (must answer all questions fully regardless of word count)

Topic 1: Scenario

The mayor of a mid-sized town is concerned about gun violence and has asked you to conduct a quantitative study to identify characteristics of youthful offenders who commit crimes with firearms. The mayors goal is to reduce juvenile gun violence in the community.

Identify four quantitative tools that you could use to collect information to conduct this research. How do the four tools differ and how does the data collected address the overarching research question regarding juvenile gun violence in the community?

Which descriptive analyses might you use to examine the characteristics of youth who commit firearm offenses? Explain how the normal distribution (bell curve) can be used to analyze the quantitative data on the characteristics of the youthful offenders.

Topic 2: Quantitative Measures

Review the Table: Percentage of Boys Involved in Delinquency, by Gun Ownership Status and discuss your responses to the following questions:

– What is the unit of analysis?

– What types of quantitative measures are being presented in the table?

– What conclusions can you draw from the table about delinquent boys and gun ownership?

Reference: Lizotte, A., & Sheppard, D. (2001). Gun use by male juveniles: Research and prevention. OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice (p. 2).

Topic 3:

Consider the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; and related cities that have experienced protests surrounding law enforcement and the deadly use of force. From a criminological research perspective, suppose we wanted to conduct a study to identify strategies for addressing community members’ distrust of the police. Given all that you have learned to this point, how would you design the research study? In responding to this question be sure to address the following items:

– Discuss the type of data (quantitative and/or qualitative) you would collect and explain your rationale for the choice;

– Explain the sampling strategy you would use, including the type of sampling you would use to select study participants;

– Identify the types of data collection tools you would use to collect data; and

– Explain the steps you would take to ensure that you consistently and accurately collect and analyze your data.

Identify a public policy issue you consider important, then compare a selected theory and determine what factors like regulations, special interest groups, or principle stakeholders, assisted policy makers during the implementation process. Compare the effectiveness of the policy theory during the development phase with another policy theory. Explore different viewpoints from stakeholders such as what specific theory is preferred during the policy development phase. Ensure you use at least three peer-reviewed references to support your position. Develop the paper by using one of the textbook theories listed below:

a) Institutional Theory

b) Political Theory

c) Group Theory

d) Elite Theory

e) Rational Theory

Your assignment should be a minimum of three pages in length, not including the title and reference pages. Be sure your paper is double-spaced and uses 12-point font and one-inch margins. Use your own words, and include citations and references as needed to avoid plagiarism. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and be cited per APA guidelines.

                                                         Course Textbook:

Dye, T. R. (2017). Understanding public policy (15th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

The article assigned for reading in unit five, prepared by, Rosenberg, Groves, and Blankenship (2017) involves the idea of racial disparities associated with the criminal justice system. The article provides a summary of the information gained from the research of differences between Black and Whites who have experienced activities within the criminal justice system associated with violation of controlled substance law. The article also shares demographic information about the participants of the research study.  

1) Please review the article and identify two theorys which may be applicable to the information shared. Please explain your reasoning for the selected theorys.   

The paper for this course requires students to select one criminological theory and evaluate how that theory affects an individuals decision to engage in criminal behavior as well as how the theory assists criminal justice officials in understanding criminal behavior. 

This research paper is broken down into the following two components that will be completed during the course: 

1) During this unit, you will submit a draft of a research paper that discusses the selected criminological theory, including an overview of your research paper and a review of reference sources. 

2) During Unit VII, students will submit the final research paper. 

More detailed descriptions of each component are provided in the specific units. You will be expected to incorporate any recommended changes suggested by your professor to resources and the criminological theory section. 

Research Paper Part I 

For this assignment, you will submit part I of your research paper. Part I of the research paper includes both an overview of the research project and a review of source references. You will select the criminological theory you are writing about and locate four academic sources to support your paper. Then, you will give an overview of your topic and a brief review of the literature you have selected. This part of your research paper should have the following components: 

a) An overview of your selected theory. In this section, you must identify the criminological theory that will serve as the basis for your research project and briefly describe that theory. Then, relate that theory to the U.S. criminal justice system and explain how the components of the U.S. criminal justice system, law enforcement, the judiciary, incarceration, and rehabilitation, support this theory. 

b) A review of the literature that will be included in your final paper. This section should include at least four academic sources, and you should give a brief description of each source and describe why it is relevant to your chosen topic. It should also compare and contrast the findings of the sources you have selected in relation to your topic. The intent of providing a review of sources is to demonstrate the student is headed in the right direction with research for the paper. 

Your paper must be at least two pages in length, not counting the title and reference page. The references must include a minimum of four scholarly resources and/or legal cases (stare decisis) that you plan to utilize in the research paper. Your paper must be formatted using APA style, and it should include a title page, running head, and reference page. Any information from your selected sources must be cited both in-text and on the reference list.