Each student will be required to submit a research project detailing a violent criminal or criminals of your choice. Each student will write a thesis statement regarding the subject or subjects. The thesis statement will look at the violent subject and how criminological theories could have an impact on their life. Emphasis should be on the background of the individuals studied and the criminal act(s) or the motivation(s) for the violent acts. Each student will write at least two (2) research questions to support thesis statement. During the course, you will have learned that many theories on criminal behavior overlap, and that it is not uncommon for more than one theory to explain why the criminal act(s) occurred. Your paper should apply these theories of criminal behavior to the subject’s life history. 1. The final paper should be 5 pages in length. 2. The final paper should follow an APA basic format including one-inch margins, 12-point Times Roman type, double spacing between each line and not more than that, and standard rules for manuscript preparation. 3. The paper must have at least five references cited according to APA guidelines, Sixth Edition, including proper in-text citations and references which are listed on the last page in alphabetical order. 4. No more than two of the five sources may be Internet sources; the other sources should be books the student reads to conduct his or her research. (NO WIKIPEDIA, MURDERPEDIA, ANY PEDIA SITES) BLOGS, STUDENT PAPERS, ETC are not acceptable. Only .edu, .gov, .org sites are acceptable. 5. All sources must be cited at least once in the paper. 6. Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed.) or http://apastyle.org/ 7. The paper must be written in the third person point-of-view. Do not use first person (I, me, my, mine, myself, we, our, ours, ourselves) except if it is included in a direct quotation. Do not use second person (you, your, yours, yourself) except if it is included in a direct quotation. 8. Writing style: Subheading Examples Introduction (you do not need to put it but you can) Research Questions Background of the Person/Crime Theory How Theory Links to Person Conclusion Teories we have used in class: Social Control Theory Neutralization Theory Self-Control Theory Labeling Theory Social Bond Theory Rational Choice Theory I can upload the powerpoints about the theories also.
