PAPER #1: ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
This paper will consist of 20-points and is due in Week 3. You are to submit your Abstract, Introduction and Literature Review that typically range from 7 – 15 pages in length with no less than 10 peer reviewed references. This Word document is to be uploaded to this assignment as an attachment. Please title your paper by your last name and the word “Paper #2”. For example, my paper would be called “lastnamepaper#1.doc” with “.doc” being the MS Word file extension.
IMPORTANT: The paper meet the APA 6th Edition format criteria established by the American Psychological Association.
Abstract:
An abstract is a condensed version of a longer piece of writing that highlights the major points covered, concisely describes the content and scope of the writing, and reviews the writing's contents in abbreviated form. In short, it should be a brief paragraph that summarizes what you want to research and why it is important usually between 100 and 200 words in length with pertinent references.
Introduction:
Why are you exploring this topic? In this section, it is appropriate to use a few sources that are not from peer reviewed journals. These may include mass media, television, newspaper, magazines, etc., information found on the Internet, books, etc. In addition, peer reviewed sources should also be used. This section is expected to be over 1 page in length however typically less than 3 pages with appropriate references. This section should grab the reader’s attention to the problem you want to look into – try and note why the information might be important. Would it inform policy? Might it lead to more safe conditions? Etc.
Literature Review:
This section contains only peer reviewed research that is related to your particular topic. I want to make it very clear, you should choose a topic that has many peer reviewed research articles for you to use. Do not choose something abstract where you cannot find anything. This is VERY important. Your instructor cannot help you if you get to week 4 and you can’t find any peer reviewed research. It is very important that you check this out in advance using the online library. You have to make sure of this or you will struggle with the class. Peer reviewed research articles are those that appear in criminal justice or public policy related journal articles that have passed a rigorous review process to validate the research contained in the article. The review process for these journals involves forwarding the research study to several researchers associated with the journal and these researchers review the study for reliability and validity, bias, proper research policies and procedures, ethical treatment of research subjects, ethical practices of the researchers, etc. If all of these and other criteria are met, the study can then be published in that journal. I encourage you to ask the library for help if you are still confused. The AMU library staff is very helpful in this area. Most journals on the inside cover describe the submission process for researchers. This is where if you see what is described above, the article has been peer reviewed. This process is what sets peer reviewed articles apart from those found in magazines, agency publications, books, etc.
These journals can be found in the library. If trying to find these online, instead of the inside cover, you need to go to the journal's web site and review their submission process to determine if it meets the criteria. On occasion a government document may be included in this section if, and only if, it is the premier publication on the topic.
This section is expected to be very thorough and substantial. While there is no page expectation, I do expect to see the entire major peer reviewed research related to your topic. This typically will be several pages and is to be in paragraph form and not in list form. I expect to see a smooth flow between articles and subtopics – much like you will find in published peer reviewed research articles. Do not turn in an annotated bibliography for this section…you need to talk about the literature in summary fashion and note why they are important and what their findings suggest. You should read over a couple of journal articles and note how they do their Introduction and literature review. This will help guide you as you set yours up!
References:
Incorporate all this sections references into one comprehensive list and should be in APA 6th Edition format. If you have a citation in the body of your work you must have the appropriate reference in the reference section. Also if you have a reference in your reference section, you must have a citation from that work somewhere in the body of your work. The citations and references must match up.
You will be strictly held to the APA standards. Proper citations, in format and use as well as proper references must be implemented.