Project A: Research Problem
Select an appropriate criminal justice research topic. After selecting a topic, you will work on formulating a statement of the problem. The purpose of Project A is to introduce your topic, formulate a research question and hypotheses, and provide the justification or motivation for the research proposal. This course is intended to prepare you for professional presentations in your chosen field. It is also a foundation for masters level research papers. It is essential that you follow the instructions to establish the format upon which you will build your project. Project A Instructions The first page of Project A should be a title page which includes the title of your research proposal, your name, your instructors name, and the date. The introduction to your research topic will begin on the second page of Project A. Project A will explain what you are going to study and why this issue is important (statement of the research problem). You will need to propose what you will do and how your research will contribute to the literature in your area of study. After introducing your topic and describing the importance of the topic, you will formulate a research question related to your topic that you want to answer. Next, formulate a hypothesis that provides an answer to your research question (what you think you will find if you conducted a research study on your topic). A well-written hypothesis is similar to the thesis of a paper: it provides a statement that can be tested. Your hypotheses should be presented in just one sentence (remember, it is an idea and not a fact). The final product for Project A should be approximately three to four pages including the title page.