final paper must be based on draft that’s attached in file.
Final draft -Term Paper:
Students will be required to write a 6-7 page assignment that examines different types of crime data in relation to a specific offence. You will be required to select a UCR crime that will allow you to practice your research skills as you explore how crime data is used by criminologists to create law and public policy.
You can choose from the following crimes to write about:
First-degree murder
Second-degree murder
Manslaughter
Sexual assault level 1
Sexual assault level 2
Sexual assault level 3
Robbery
Theft under $5000
Breaking and entering – residential
Once a specific criminal offence has been selected, students will begin to explore data currently available to the general public from Statistics Canada. To get an idea of what constitutes your crime, you should find the criminal code definition of the offence and the punishment associated with it. This criminal code definition should be included in your paper and properly cited.
Next, you will need to read and extract data pertaining to your offence from the Uniform Crime Report from Statistics Canada. You will need to provide the statistics of your crime at both the provincial (BC) and national (Canada) level for the most recent year available (2017).
Statistics should include:
How many actual offences were reported?
What was the crime rate (per 100,000)?
What is the percentage of change in rate? (What is the trend of your crime? Is it
increasing or decreasing?)
What is the crime severity index (CSI) value for your offence? (You will need to determine what category your offence falls within, such as violent vs. non-violent)
You will also need to find data that describes the level of victimization for your selected offence type. You will need to look at the General Social Survey to determine prevalence and/or characteristics or other notable aspects of your criminal offence type.
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For example:
Victim characteristics (e.g. gender, age, socio-demographic background, ethnicity, education levels, income levels, etc.)
Weapon choice
Location
Time
Next, you will need to select TWO criminological theories that explain why your selected crime occurs. You will want to explain what your theory is, who created it, and how it relates to your selected crime.
Theories that you can use (select 2)
Rational Choice Theory
Routine Activity Theory
Biosocial Theory
Psychodynamic Theory
Frustration-Aggression Theory
Modelling Theory
Moral Development Theory
Psychopathy Theory
Social Disorganization Theory
Status Deprivation Theory
Differential Association Theory
Labelling Theory
Strain Theory
General Strain Theory
General Theory of Crime
Life Course Perspective Theory
Students will be required to produce a first draft of their work on March 5th and is worth 5% of your final grade. Students will be required to print a copy of their work and to meet with the instructor during class to discuss their paper and ask any outstanding questions you may have.
Students should include a title page, their body of work, and a reference page for their work. The textbook, the Criminal Code, UCR and GSS data must all be cited in the reference page. Students are not required to include additional references, but are welcomed to include any if they see fit. This assignment will be due in class on March 26th and is worth 15% of the final grade for this course.
Grading:
The crime data report will be graded on the basis of demonstrated knowledge and incorporation of (familiarity with) the course materials, as well as, on the basis of quality of writing (i.e. spelling, grammar, sentence structure, referencing, etc.) It is expected that students will identify and incorporate appropriate academic sources and newspapers articles (should include a minimum of two academic journal articles outside of the course materials and one or two
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newspaper articles), demonstrate evidence of critical thought and analysis, meet the instructions of the paper guidelines and follow proper referencing and citations.
Referencing:
Referencing should follow APA style format. For further information
regarding appropriate referencing style, students should consult the
check-list at the end of these instructions, and the class notes from
the term. If you are uncertain how to reference your work, please
see the A.P.A. guide on the KPU Library website. If you need
some writing tips, please visit http://libguides.kpu.ca/apa for further information.
NOTE: Wikipedia.com is NOT an academic source and should not be cited in a formal academic paper.
Here are some additional reminders to keep in mind while writing your term paper:
1. You are welcome to use headings but they are not required.
2. The title of your paper should convey the subject matter in 15 words or less. Do not call it anything like “Crim 1100” (this gives no information about content), or “Criminology Paper” (not specific enough). Your title should capture the topic of your paper. Your name, student number, title of the course, date and your instructor’s name should appear somewhere on this cover page.
3. The importance of editing: The final step you engage in prior to submitting any paper you write should be to edit your work meticulously for grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. In addition, you should proofread your work carefully for unnecessary wordiness, repetition, and space-filler.
4. 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 should be put in quotation marks.
5. A quotation must be followed by its source and the page at which it is located. When quoting from an article that uses paragraph numbers instead of the page number, you may use paragraph number. 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.
6. 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, if a case and for some on-line articles) of the idea. Suggestion: if your paraphrase is almost identical to the original source, use a direct quotation. When paraphrasing you may use the paragraph number instead of the page number, where it exists. Note: The APA format which states that a page number is optional is not acceptable in this class. Page numbers are required for both quotations and paraphrases.
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7. Understand – 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.
8. 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.
9. Acknowledge the use of secondary sources (e.g. Smith, 1986 as cited in Black, 1988 at 24) although whenever possible you should refer to the primary source.
10. Submitting the same or similar assignments in two different courses is a form of academic dishonesty, even if you wrote the paper.
11. NOTE: Failure to indicate a quotation or to acknowledge the source of your ideas is plagiarism. Such behaviour, or any other form of academic dishonesty, will result in 0 out of the points allocated to your assignment. Further action may be taken under the University’s Policies and Procedures Relating to Student Discipline.
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Term Paper Checklist:
Ensure that your paper is securely fastened together. If your paper is not properly fastened together with a staple, the paper will not be accepted.