Posted: February 28th, 2023

Criminal investigation

students will choose a contemporary investigatory method used by police and/or forensic scientists, using only articles from academic journals, official government publications, and reputable trade publications, to discuss in detail the entire criminal investigative process used in the method chosen, ensuring to incorporate major ideas and themes outlined in the readings and lectures.

Students are expected to write one concise and succinct research paper of 10 double-spaced pages of text (page numbers included) without going over the 12-page maximum. (Note: A cover page, abstract page and a work cited page do not count towards the 10-page minimum paper length requirement). The paper shall be written in APA 7th edition, Times New Roman 12-point with 1 inch margins (left, right, top and bottom) with indented paragraphs. 
The paper should synthesize major ideas and themes outlined in the readings and lectures and reflect critical analysis. For this project, students will choose a contemporary investigatory method used by police and/or forensic scientists, using only articles from academic journals, official government publications, and reputable trade publications, to discuss in detail the entire criminal investigative process used in the method chosen, ensuring to incorporate major ideas and themes outlined in the readings and lectures.

EXAMPLE: A student may wish to write their paper on the use of mitochondrial DNA in sexual assault investigations, or perhaps witness/victim racial bias in viewing physical suspect line-ups.

Since this is a graduate school level course, the use of Wikipedia, or popular culture magazines such as People, Jet, the National Enquirer, etc. are prohibited sources of information.

Grading of the Term Paper (Maximum of 30 points)
10 points for Content and Development (all relevant points are covered and thorough development of
topic material)
5 points for Organization (a logical sequence is followed and organization of thought is apparent)
15 points for Format and Length (APA format 7th edition, a minimum of (10) references, and a minimum of 10
pages in length – excluding a cover page and the work cited page), Readability, Style, Punctuation,
Grammar, and Spelling (good sentence structure, professional and academic vocabulary).

The final paper is submitted to Turnitin.   The acceptable Turnitin percentage is anything below 20% in the similarity report. A Turnitin plagiarism score of 20% and below shows that your paper is original. It also shows that your work is underpinned by enough sources, especially when well-cited and referenced. If your paper is over 30%, you need to edit and resubmit the paper.  If the final paper is over 20%, you will receive a zero for the assignment. 

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