1.Paper –Each student must select a topic we cover in the course and conduct a brief review of relevant legal and social science literature on the topic using three (3) primary source, peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles that are not otherwise assigned as part of the required readings for the course. Students must summarize each of their three sources and reflect on each source in light of the material in the textbook, assigned readings, and what we cover in class, discussing similarities and differences in conclusions and integrating the source’s findings with course materials. Papers should be at least 8 pages in length; it is anticipated that papers will be approximately 10 to 12 double-spaced, typed pages in length (in 12-point font with one-inch margins). TOPIC

Threats: Organized Crime and Criminals

Paper Guidelines

Picking a topic

The goal for this paper is to deepen your understanding of one topic we covered in the course. You will be conducting a brief literature review on this topic, with the goal of broadening and deepening your understanding of course materials. Your topic should be sufficiently broad to identify relevant research and connect course materials, but sufficiently narrow to allow for a reasonable search process. For example, the topic “cybercrime” may be too broad; the topic of law enforcement training strategies pertaining to cybercrime may be more appropriate.

Searching for studies

Once you have a topic in mind, select several relevant key words and begin search for literature. You should search a wide range of academic search engines, including:

Google scholar

Academic Search Premier

LexisNexis

Or use the OneSearch option on the library website

If you’re accessing studies off campus, be sure to login to the library website (libraries.olemiss.edu, login on the top right) to ensure you have access to articles beyond the academic paywall. Once you have logged in to the library website, you can use the “OneSearch” or database directory to locate studies. You should be sure to limit your searches to peer-reviewed articles. For your paper, you need to identify three primary source, peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles that are not otherwise assigned as part of the required readings for the course.

Reading the research

Once you’ve identified a sufficient number of papers, you should begin reading and annotating the research. Things to consider for each study include:

The research questions- be sure they align with the type of studies you want to include in your literature review

The study sample and methodology- where did the authors get their data? Is the sample large, small, urban, rural, etc.? How are they analyzing the data?

The study’s findings- what did the authors find, and how do they interpret their findings?

The study’s policy implications- did the authors include policy implications? Are they realistic?

The study’s limitations- all research studies should include a discussion of their limitations toward the end of the paper.

The study’s connections to course materials- how does it relate to things we’ve covered in class?

Preparing the review

Once you’ve read your identified studies, the next step will be to organize them in a logical way and begin writing your literature review. You may organize the literature in all kinds of ways, according to:

Subtopic

Chronological order

Sample type

Findings

Methodology

Or any other number of organizational strategies. Pick the organizational strategy that makes the most sense for your papers. Once you’ve decided how to organize the literature, you can begin writing. In your review, you must summarize each of the three sources and critique each source in light of the material in the textbook and/or assigned articles and what we cover in class. Remember, critiques can be positive or negative. The goal is to compare your identified studies to course materials and integrate materials from all sources to demonstrate mastery of the material and topic. Be sure to consult the assignment rubric- located in the introductory module- for specific guidelines on how your paper will be graded.