Crime control and public policy

BEGIN SUMMARIZING RESEARCH

1. For this assignment you will first need to decide on your topic of investigation. Next, locate at least

three journal articles, which are related to your topic of investigation. Then summarize the

scientific research contained in them (about 3-5 pages). Again, you need to summarize the research

that you found, do not simply list the journal articles. Note too, that the research in the required

books for this class and the lectures can, and should, be used in your policy report.

o What I am looking for in the draft is that you are researching the evidence in favor of and

against a specific criminal justice policy or practice in a thoughtful way. It should be the

scaffolding of the main body of your policy report (namely, the section called Pre-Existing

Policies, Policy Options, and Research).

o The purpose of this draft is to help you with constructing a research-based policy brief

incrementally, a skill that will serve you now and in your future careers. The least successful

way to write a research paper is to start at or very near the deadline. The best way to write

it is to start your project early, and construct it over time, because it gives you the time to:

(a) think clearly about the topic; (b) fill gaps in your summary of research; and (c) make

revisions.

2. Also, document your research in a formal way; namely, begin constructing your Reference page.

For each research-based document you locate and summarize, document your source in a

reference list according to the Harvard Referencing Style or APA style.

o The purpose of this is to aid you in keeping track of your sources that you will cite in the

text, and how it should be correctly formatted. It will also show me that you are using a

variety of sources, but primarily relying on journal articles, books, and book chapters. I may

even recommend an article or two.