CRIMINOLOGY 1100 Introduction to Criminology: Instructions and Guidelines for Paper

General Criteria for Grading Papers

CRIMINOLOGY 1100 Introduction to Criminology INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR PAPER This document provides a summary of the following: • The general criteria used for grading papers • Instructions for the written assignment – including topic choices • Paper guidelines • Suggestions regarding how to locate academic articles and newspaper articles for inclusion in your paper • Detailed instructions regarding referencing in your written assignment • Grading rubric General Criteria for Grading Papers 1. Understanding and incorporation of course materials 2. Appropriate use of academic sources 3. Evidence of critical thought and analysis 4. Meets instructions re: Project Guidelines provided below 5. Grammar, syntax, spelling, organization 6. Proper referencing and citations (See Instructions for Referencing in Written Assignments below) See the Grading Rubric below for more specific details on expectations and grading. Instructions for Written Assignment Your essay of approximately 700-1,000 words (not including title page and reference list) is due by the start of class in Week 10. Your essay is worth 15% of your final grade. You are also required to write a 300- 400-word response, which is due in Week 11. You should select one of the following topics for your essay. Alternatively, you may determine your own essay topic. If you choose this latter option, you MUST discuss your proposed topic with me before you begin writing. Each topic requires the use of one or more newspaper articles as part of your discussion. Information regarding how to locate newspaper articles through Canadian Newsstand database is found below; you may also select newspaper articles from a current newspaper or from a news website. The newspaper articles you discuss should be cited appropriately. You must also include a minimum of one academic source in your paper. Information on locating and referencing academic sources is provided below and on the course website. Topic 1: Crime and Criminal Behaviour Criminology involves the study of criminal behaviour. What factors might explain how behaviour comes to be defined as criminal? Consider one or two examples from the media of behaviour that is not considered criminal, but which arguably results in harm to society. Should this behaviour be criminalized? Why or why not? Alternatively, consider one or two examples from the media of activity currently defined as criminal that you believe should not be illegal. Explain why you think this is so. (You can also consider an example of each type of behaviour.) Do you think the behaviour under consideration is deviant? Why or why not? How does this classification relate to whether it should or should not be criminal? 1 Topic 2: Moral Panics In class we’ve discussed the notion of moral panics. Define this term and identify the distinguishing features of moral panics; how do they develop? Select one or two news articles that you think exemplify a moral panic and explain why you think the selected phenomenon meets the features of a moral panic? Are there measures of social control proposed in the news article aimed at controlling the behaviour of individuals noted in the article? Discuss how you think the moral panic developed using one of the theories discussed in lecture (grassroots, elite-engineered, or interest group). Topic 3: Victimology Define victimology and discuss its historical roots as well as the emergence of victims' rights. Identify some of the services currently available for victims of crime. Do you think the needs of victims are currently being met in the Canadian CJS? Locate one or two news articles that discuss the role of victims in the Canadian CJS. Relate this article to your discussion of victimology and victims’ rights. What changes could be made to victim services to better meet victim needs? Your discussion should consider that the CJS must balance both crime control and due process models in responding to crime. Topic 4: Psychological Criminology Locate one or more media articles on a high-profile criminal offender and apply a psychological perspective on crime to describe and explain their behaviour. How useful do you think psychological theories are in general in explaining the phenomena of crime? Topic 5: Social Disorder and Social Structure Certain areas of the Lower Mainland (e.g., the Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside or Surrey’s Whalley Strip) are associated with high levels of poverty and social disorder. Chose one or two newspaper articles that addresses or relates to social issues in one or more of these areas and then apply a sociological theory to explain these phenomena. Formulate an overall opinion on the utility of sociological explanations in aiding in the understanding of crime in specific locales. Topic 6: Elite Crime Consider the disparity in the treatment of corporate or white-collar crime and street crime by the criminal justice system. Chose an example of each, as represented in the media, to compare. How would a critical or radical criminology explain this difference? Paper Guidelines Papers should be submitted electronically through the course website. Do not submit printed copies. Late papers will be penalized 10% for each day they are late including weekends. E-mailed or faxed assignments will not be accepted. Inability to meet deadlines requires advance notification to the instructor as well as appropriate documentation. Paper Format: In addition to adhering to the above information, each of the following components should be included in your paper. You may choose to use headings but you are not obligated to do so. That choice is yours. However, each of the below sections needs to be found within your paper. Title Page The title of your paper should convey the subject matter in 15 words or less. Do not call it something like "Crim 1100" (this gives no information about content), or "Criminology Paper" (not specific enough). Your 2 title should capture what the paper is about. Your name, student number, title of the course and date should appear somewhere on this cover page. Introduction The introduction should be just that – it introduces your topic and contextualizes it within the broader literature as appropriate, states your objective (thesis statement) and should provide an outline of what your paper discusses. Most importantly, it should provide a useful framework to the paper. My advice is to be specific about the topic you are addressing and if appropriate be sure to explain your approach to the topic. Make sure that you properly cite sources of the information. Discussion The body of your paper should provide a discussion that addresses each component of the topic you selected. It should also include a discussion of the newspaper article(s) you selected for inclusion in your paper and integrate the one or more academic sources you researched. Conclusions The conclusion should provide a summary of what you found. Having examined the literature and compared it to the media sources you found, what can you conclude about your topic? Are there questions that remain unanswered? If so, be sure to discuss them briefly. Including Academic Sources Outside research for your paper is required in addition to using the course readings and lectures (NOTE: you should only cite the lecture and the course text as required). At least two additional academic articles should be included as resources for your paper. Your paper should be referenced using APA style. This means using in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your paper. Information about APA style is available on the Kwantlen Library website: http://libguides.kpu.ca/apa. Academic references must be included throughout the paper; you must appropriately cite the sources of your information. Please note: wikipedia.com is not an academic source and should not be cited in a formal academic paper. How to Search for Academic Articles The KPU Library website includes an excellent Criminology Subject Guide. This is a great place to start when looking for Criminology-related material and information: https://libguides.kpu.ca/crim/. An important initial consideration is to ensure that the source you have located is academic or scholarly in nature. Academic or scholarly articles are different from articles in popular magazines or websites. They: • are written by experts for other experts • usually report on research • always include many in-text citations and a list of references or works cited by the author(s) • most importantly, have been rigorously critiqued and reviewed by experts for quality before being published. This is called peer-review. To determine if your article is an academic source, please see the following resources: • http://www.kpu.ca/library/databases/scholarly-publications • https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/scholarly-articles/ (This is a useful interactive guide to identifying a scholarly journal article and its key features.) • https://vimeo.com/72665593 (This is an informative video on general principles for evaluating 3 resources.) 4 To locate a relevant article, a good first place to look is the Summons search on the front page of the KPU Library website: http://www.kpu.ca/library. While Summons is a good general search tool, it is not comprehensive. Some material may be better located using specialized academic databases, many of which are also available through the library. These latter tools are also useful when you are starting with a particular topic or area of interest for which you want to find relevant material. Links to several of the major criminology research databases can be found under the Criminology Subject Guide: https://libguides.kpu.ca/crim/articles#s-lg-box-15617838 How to Locate Newspaper Articles You may select articles from current newspapers, you may use current or archived on-line articles, or you may choose to search the library’s on line resources – e.g., Canadian Newsstream can be found here: https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2443/canadiannews. This Canadian newspaper database contains full-text articles. It could be a useful resource to find articles related to your topic or to find articles that specifically support (or refute) the arguments you make in your paper. Instructions for Referencing in Written Assignments 1. Although APA notes that page numbers are preferred whether or not you are using a direct quotation or paraphrasing information. For this class, page numbers are required for both quotations AND paraphrases except in those instances when the material taken reflects the entire source. 2. Long quotations (4 lines or more) must be single spaced and indented from both the left and right margins. 3. All direct quotations in your paper must be in quotation marks. If you omit a few words or pages in a quotation, put the quote in quotation marks and connect the two segments by ellipses (i.e., three dots). If you change one or two words in a quotation put your word(s) in square brackets. Phrases which are direct quotes must be put in quotation marks. 4. Both quotations and paraphrases must be followed by its source and the page at which they are located. When quoting or paraphrasing cases with paragraph numbers, use the para. number, where it exists (e.g. para. 142). If using on-line articles use PDF versions whenever possible so that a page number is available. If a PDF version is not available, use the pages as they appear when the online article is printed in HTML format. 5. A paraphrase (a restatement of someone's idea in your words) must be followed by a reference to the source and page (or para. number, for legal cases and some on-line articles) of the idea. If your paraphrase is almost identical to the original source, use a direct quotation. When paraphrasing from a case, use the paragraph number instead of the page number, where it exists. Note: Formats which state that a page number is optional are not acceptable in this class. Page numbers are required for both quotations and paraphrases. 6. Changing only a few words or the order or words is a form of plagiarism commonly referred to as patch writing. It is unacceptable and is considered a form of academic dishonesty. For example: In original: “After initial analysis of the women’s interviews, focus groups were held with service providers from women-serving organizations, and the justice and child protection systems ... Twenty- eight service providers who work with women who experience violence and/or their children participated in focus groups on child custody and access ” (Varcoe & Irwin 2004:83). Patch writing (a form of plagiarism): Following the interviews, focus groups were held with service providers who work with women who experience violence and/or their children and women from the justice and child protection systems and women-serving organizations (Varcoe & Irwin 2004:83). The above is too similar to the original and is not acceptable because quotation marks are not used. 7. Using edited texts. When citing from an article found in an edited, you must cite the specific article used and its author(s) as well as the editors. For example: Blackell, G. and Johnson, H. (2012). Responding to Intimate Partner Violence. In J. V. Roberts & Michelle G. Grossman (Eds.), Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader (pp. 213-325). Toronto: Nelson Education. Your in-text citation would appear as (Blackell and Johnson, 2012, p.xx). Do not just cite the editor(s) unless they authored the specific articles or you are referring to collection in its entirety. 8. Using websites as references. Provide a complete citation (name of author and article) and a website address for all material obtained from the web when a PDF version is not available. Additional information regarding web citations are found in the APA Manual referenced above. The author of the website should be used within the body of the paper. The reference provided in your reference list should include the website address. The following is an example. British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General. (2000). Violence against Women in Relationships Policy. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/vawc/toc.htm. Your in-text citation would appear as (British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General, 2000, p.xx). 9. Acknowledge the use of secondary sources (e.g. Smith, 1986 as quoted in Black, 1988 at 24) although whenever possible you should refer to the primary source. In this example, the author of the article is Black who cited a 1986 source by Smith. When you do not go to an original source cited by another author you cannot cite the article as though you read it. This is known as a secondary source. You must acknowledge that you have taken the info from a secondary source in text and you do NOT include the reference in your reference list. Using the above example – you would include Black in the reference list but not Smith (you did not look at the Smith source, so you cannot include it in reference list). Be sure to avoid instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty. Information on academic integrity is available here: http://libguides.kpu.ca/academicintegrity I will assume that you have read and understood the above instructions. If you do not understand these instructions, please ask. If you are writing your paper and taking notes or quotations from the articles or texts, my advice is to put them in quotation marks and note the specific page numbers the first time around. If you are paraphrasing, note the page from where you have obtained the ideas. This approach will save you a lot of time and keep you from plagiarizing material. 5