The research project paper should consist of the following sections:
- Introduction: This section identifies the criminal justice field that
the student has selected and includes a brief
description of why this field is of interest
(recommended length: no more than one page).
- Competencies: In this section, you will identify at least three
competencies required for the selected criminal justice field and
explain why each is important to the field. This section
should be based upon research that you have conducted
about the selected field and supported with at least two cited
resources (recommended length: one page).
- Professional interview: In this section, you will summarize the interview
conducted with a professional working in their selected
field of criminal justice (NCIS Agent). It is important for you to
begin this section by identifying the person interviewed
and his or her current position (NCIS Agent) within the selected
criminal justice field (recommended length: one to two pages).
- Evaluation: In this section, you will evaluate the selected field of
criminal justice by discussing the following questions and
supporting the evaluation with cited resources (recommended
length: one to two pages):
- How did the competencies you identified for this field of criminal
justice align or differ from the
information obtained during the interview
with a criminal justice professional?
- What learning goal would you like to set for yourself during this
course, month, or year based on the
skill sets and requirements discovered
during your research and based upon the
interview with a criminal justice
professional?
While the level of detail in each section of the research paper will vary,
it is anticipated that the final paper will be approximately five to six pages
in length, not counting the cover and reference pages. Please click here to review the General Guidelines for Papers document
to obtain a description of other formatting requirements.
NOTE:
Part of the purpose of a reference is to lead your reader
back to the sources you used. Imagine a person reads your paper and wants to
find out more information about your topic. The reader can refer to your
reference list to locate the sources you used to find information. However,
certain types of sources, like a private conversation, cannot be located. No
one can read a transcript of your interview (unless you recorded it). The
information the interviewee passed on to you is not recoverable by other
researchers, so it does not go in the reference list. This kind of source
(interviews, private letters and e-mail, personal conversations, phone calls,
etc.) is called a personal communication. Cite it in text only, give initials
as well as the surname of the person involved, and give as precise a date as
possible. Again, this type of source is ONLY cited in text. There will be no
reference citation on the reference list.
The two examples of how personal communication citations can be done are
below:
- T. Smith (personal communication, March 19, 2013) indicates that …
- …from a police custody inspector’s prospective (T. Smith, personal
communication, March 19, 2013).
I have attached a template.