CRJ 705, Seminar in the Administration of Justice
Spring 2012
R. Shelden
Office: GUA 5141
Phone: 895-0251; e-mail: shelden@unlv.nevada.edu
Web site: www.sheldensays.com
Office Hours: Monday and Wed. 10-11, Tuesday, 8-11AM
Required Readings:
Books:
Click on titles to order:
1. Randall G. Shelden et al. Crime and Criminal Justice in American Society.
2. Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
3. Donna Selman and Paul Leighton, Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business and the Incarceration Binge.
Aim of the Course:
The aim of this course is two-fold. First, we will undergo a review of the criminal justice system itself. Most of you should have had several criminal justice courses during your undergraduate years. However, it has probably been a long time since you took the basic “introductory” course and so some of the basic concepts may have been forgotten. The book by Shelden et al. fills this void and provides a much different perspective than you probably had as an undergraduate.
Second, every semester that I offer this class we focus on one or two key policy issues confronting the criminal justice system. One issue is the impact of the war on drugs on incarceration and the relationship to race. The book by Alexander covers this issue very well. The other issue we will cover will be that of private prisons. The book by Selman and Leighton is one of the best ever.
Your grade will be based upon the following assignments. Final grades are based upon the following formula: 360-400 = A, 320-359 = B, 280-319 = C, 240-279 = D, below 240 = F. The relative weights of each of the above are as follows:
Assignment Points
Mid-term exam on Shelden et al. book 100
Class Participation (including talking points) 40
Initial “statement of the problem” 20
Research proposal 40
Draft of paper 60
Research paper 140
Send talking points and other correspondence via e-mail to profrgs@cox.net; send your talking points by every Monday, starting with second meeting (1/24).
Mid-term exam: This exam will consist of short answer and multiple choice questions and will cover the chapters assigned in Shelden et al. The exam will be given on March 6.
Research paper: Your research paper should be no longer than twenty-five (25) pages, plus the bibliography. This will be done in three stages. First, an initial “statement of the problem” will be written (maximum of one page, plus references). Second, a proposal will be submitted (maximum of five pages plus minimum of five references). Third, the final paper. Note the various due dates for these below. More will be said about this during the course.
Schedule of Assignments:
The following schedule is tentative and subject to change. You will be responsible for knowing any changes (and you do this by coming to class and checking my web site).
Date Topics and Assignments
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1/17 Overview of class
1/24 Chapters 1-2 in Shelden et al. Update on white collar and corporate crime: read "Is Wall Street a Gang?" It is a four-part series of commentaries on my web site (right side under "Commentaries."
New!! A must read. http://www.asc41.com/Criminologist/2012/2012_Jan-Feb_Criminologist.pdf
1/31 Chapters 6-7 in Shelden et al.
2/7 Chapters 8-9 in Shelden et al.
Statement of the Problem due midnight 2/6
2/14 Chapters 10 in Shelden et al.
2/21 Chapter 11-12 in Shelden et al; instead of chapter 11 read the following on my web site: http://www.sheldensays.com/poorhousestojails.htm
2/28 Research Proposal Due midnight 2/27; no class (study for midterm)
3/6 Mid-term exam; covers above chapters in Shelden et al.
3/13 Alexander, Introduction & chapters 1-2
3/20 Alexander, chapters 3-5
3/27 Alexander, chapters 4-6
First draft of paper due midnight 3/25 (10-15 pages plus references)
4/3 Spring Break
4/10 Selman and Leighton, Introduction and Part I
4/17 Selman and Leighton, chapters 3-4
4/24 Selman and Leighton, chapter 5 and Conclusion
5/1 Make-up day - this is reserved for Q & A about research papers and any other unfinished business
Research Papers Due by mid-night, May 6
5/8 End of semester celebration; a tradition begun several years ago where we all meet around 5PM at Metro Pizza for food, drink and celebration.
Research Proposal: Some Guidelines
The “initial statement of the problem” entails presenting to the reader the nature of the problem to be explored; this should be about a page or two. Include a few references.
The “research proposal” is a brief summary of a particular “problem” or one or more “key questions/issues” that will require some research to explore and will involve some literature review. The “problem” could be the relationship between two or more variables. This will be a more detailed elaboration of the “initial statement of the problem.” A minimum of five pages is required, along with at least five references.
Much later (when you start your thesis/professional paper) would come a brief summary of the methods you will use to conduct this study (e.g., field research, existing/secondary data research, survey research via a questionnaire or interview, etc.) and, finally, what do you expect to find (i.e., what are your major hypotheses) and how will you present these findings.
You can use this as a general guide for the thesis you may write for this graduate program. For specific examples look at a few that have been written by graduate students in the recent past, shown on my web site: http://www.sheldensays.com/studentspage.htm.
The structure of a research paper:
1. Title Page and Abstract - a brief summary of the paper (a short paragraph of about 100 words).
2. Introduction - introduces key terms and the research focus (here’s where your initial statement of the problem will come in handy, along with the research proposal).
3. Literature review - detailed examination of existing research relevant to the topic. Note: make certain you have various sub-headings (see examples from graduate students in the past noted above)
4. *Methodology - detailed description of how the data were gathered and analyzed. In this class, you will be doing “secondary data analysis” so in this section you will outline your primary sources (e.g., Bureau of Justice Statistics, various Internet sites).
5. *Findings/results - the presentation of the information uncovered during the research process.
6. Discussion and/or implications - examination of the findings and consideration of how they may impinge on relevant groups, communities, or agencies or how they fit into previous research/theory.
7. Conclusion – this is where you finally can express some of your own opinions on the problem you have researched.
8. References, notes, and/or appendices.
* Optional for a regular paper for a class. These sections are normally for theses, dissertations and academic journals. For this class you are mostly doing a literature review.
Format of Research Paper: Fonts, pagination, etc.
There are many different formats used by writers these days. I would prefer you use a font size of 12 using “Times New Roman.” Put page numbers at the bottom, either in the center or on the right (title page should not have a page number, so start pagination on the second page). There is a standard recommended by the UNLV Graduate College, which you can get from the UNLV web site (I don’t like this one at all!). There are plenty of other examples and formats available by just reviewing some standard academic journals. Examples can also be found on my web site, under the heading “Research Articles.” You may use the style found in many academic journals or in one of the books assigned for this class.
A word on “notes” and “references”
In many research papers/books/articles there is a section at the very end, just before or after the references section, known as “endnotes” since they appear at the end, in contrast to “footnotes,” which are found at the bottom of the page.[1] References are put at the very end of the paper/report, after the endnotes (except whenever I write a paper the “notes” are literally at the end, after the references), usually following some standard practice (e.g., APA style). Sometimes the endnotes contain all the references in addition to “explanatory notes.”
Note
[1]. Some have called this an “explanatory note” where you want to make a point or provide some additional information (e.g., a suggested book to read) that does not really need to be in the body of the text.