Justice
Studies 301
Dr.
Menjívar
You will be preparing a
research proposal to study an issue of social relevance. For this
purpose you need to:
1. Select
a topic of social importance. (You may use the same topic for which you
conducted the literature review in the last take-home assignment, so that you
have that part of the proposal completed. However, this is NOT necessary.)
2.
Follow the guidelines provided in Chapter 4 of the Babbie book (pages 113-114) to
design your own study. The guidelines include several components plus questions
within them. Use these components as your outline and the questions as a
guideline to write the proposal. Make sure that in your proposal your
subheadings reflect this outline.
Each
of the components that Babbie outlines is important, so please include all
of those that apply (depending on the method you are using) in your design
(in the same order that they appear in the textbook). A paper that does not
cover those that are relevant for the particular design will be considered only
partly done, and will be treated as such for grading purposes.
Your
proposal should be at least five pages long, but most likely it will be
longer. Therefore, if you feel that you need more space to write a good
research proposal, please do not feel confined by this page limit. However, you
should not write more than ten pages. Please include a
references/bibliography section at the end where you list all the articles (or
books) you used for the literature review of the proposal.
You
will not conduct the research. However, in order to come up with a sound research
design, you must be aware of the implications that each step in the design
process will have on the results.
The
project, together with its oral presentation in class, is worth 20 percent of
the overall grade and the final written product is due on December 6th. The oral presentations will take place
during the last three class meetings. Remember, you may work alone or in groups
of up to five people. Completing the assignment alone or in groups will not
reflect on your grade; everyone in the group will receive the same grade.
However, remember to allocate work fairly and to contribute to the group effort
in the same fashion. The instructor is not responsible for overseeing how work
is allocated and will treat the final product as if everyone has contributed
equally.
Importantly,
make sure that you check spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc., as poor
writing will affect your grade. For this reason, you are strongly
encouraged to use the Writing Mentorship Program in the School of Justice and
Social Inquiry.
Also
remember, the proposal must be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins, and
in font 12 Times New Roman. Do not use any other font or format.