Make-up Research Paper

Here are the requirements for the make up research paper. Any student that I encouraged to write it may write the research paper. So can those students that have asked me to write, provided that I agreed.

This is a research paper, which means that you will have to find academic sources, journal articles, books, cases, etc. A substantial part of the time invested in this article must be devoted to look for these sources. You are encouraged to use the library, Novanet electronic databases, specialized databases, and academic electronic journals. General web search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, will probably not be helpful. For the style and organization, please follow the requirements for the essay, which can be found on the course website.

If, according to the evaluation criteria, you write a very good paper, you can get up to 4 extra points in your midterm. However, if you did not get a passing mark you can get up to a passing mark even if that means more than 4 extra points. Also, under extraordinary circumstances, I may raise the mark by more than 4 points. The research paper may only raise your mark up to a maximum grade of B in the midterm. This is to ensure fairness to those that did very well in the midterm.

Topic: Mischief

1. Define mischief in Canada, California, and a European country of your choice. Mischief may have other names outside Canada, such as vandalism, destruction of property, or simply property damage.

2. Analyze the definitions of mischief using the theory of offense discussed in class.

3. Find a case for each jurisdiction (Canada, California, and the European country) on mischief and comment them.

4. Find, at least, two academic sources, i.e., journal articles or books, dealing with mischief from the perspective of one of the Criminology theories analyzed in class. Synthesize the authors’ opinion on mischief and analyze the authors’ ideas.

5. Conclusion.

6. Cite every idea that is not yours. Cite every paragraph where you do not use your own language. You have to cite within the text, using endnotes or footnotes, every time you use language or an idea that is not yours. Including the source only in the bibliographic reference is not enough.

7. Include a bibliographic reference at the end.

8. Send it to me by email and give me a hard copy in class.

9. Deadline: January 9, 2006 in class.

10. The length of the research paper will not exceed 10 double-spaced pages.

Passing requirements and scale of evaluation: a positive response must be given to the following questions in order to approve the research paper. The criteria are formulated in the form of questions which the teacher will ask with respect to each paper. All these criteria have the same value.

Evaluation criteria

1. Does the research paper adequately deal with the selected topic? Does the research paper show an understanding of the topic dealt with?

2. Does the research paper show a clear, coherent, and comprehensive treatment of the selected topic? Does it include all the sources, cases? Does it comply with all the requirements?

3. Does the research paper integrate knowledge acquired throughout the course? Does it make specific reference to theories discussed in class?

4. Does the research paper follow the required style, language, citation method, and organization?