Hate Crimes

Evidence Evaluation Paper Due Date: Sunday, March 8 at 11:59pm Total Points: 100 Step 1: Choose a topic. The topic is “Hate Crimes” Choose a criminological topic that is a social issue of current importance and is relevant either locally (Tampa area), nationally (the US), or globally. Keep in mind you will need to find a press article and research articles that discuss your topic. If you have questions about if your topic is appropriate, just ask! Please dont ask me to come up with a topic for you. Step 2: Find a Press Article about your topic Find a popular press article about a criminology or criminal justice topic that is of interest to you AND cites evidence from a research study (see Canvas for an example of a story that would meet this criteria). This article must be in print (electronic print is fine) and must be from a reputable media source (i.e. not a random website, YouTube or TikTok video). Step 3: Find peer-reviewed journal articles (minimum of 3). Find the full-text of the journal article cited within the article. You can use the UT library to find this article and if it is not available at the library, use interlibrary loan to request it. This article will be considered your main research article. The goal of this paper is to determine if the article chosen by the media source represents an accurate representation of the research on the topic. Include two additional peer-reviewed journal articles that also examine the same topic. These will be your supporting evidence when discussing whether the findings from your main article are accurate. Therefore, when you are looking up articles you want to make sure these articles discuss the same exact topic as your main article even if the research approach is different. When looking for research articles, keep in mind they must adhere to the following criteria: Your articles must be academic, peer-reviewed articles. Only use recent articles (i.e., 2000 or later) in your review. Remember that some topics may require an even later date than this to be relevant today. You should use your judgment based on what you know about your topic. Do not include theoretical works, editorials, or book reviews, etc. You should focus on quantitative or qualitative studies only. Remember, this means that the study has a methods section that discusses how the data was collected and analyzed. Do not use a research report as one of your peer-reviewed articles. A research report is defined as a concise summary aimed at informing decisions or progress and often lacks the full methodology and/or theoretical framing of a research paper. A peer-reviewed article is defined as an article (usually academic) that details original research or provides critical analysis of a topic **I highly recommend that you watch the Introduction to Library Research video provided for you in the following link: The page also includes a handout with exercises for you to complete while you are watching the video if you would like to practice. You are not required to complete these and you will not be graded on them, however I believe completing these tasks will help you become more proficient at locating articles for your assignment.** Step 4: Write your evidence evaluation. Included below is a detailed outline of the material that should be included in your evaluation and the format it should be presented in. Section 1: Introduction (2-3 paragraphs) This section introduces your research topic to the reader. Mention your topic in the first sentence. Give a brief overview of the press article you found and what it has to say about your topic. Be sure to cite the source of your press article. Discuss why this topic is of interest to you and why it is considered a current issue in criminology/criminal justice Discuss the local/national/global impact of your topic Section 2: Literature Review (3-4 paragraphs) Review the journal article that was included in the press article you chose. This review should be very detailed, as this is your main article of interest. Include the following information in your review: The research question(s) and hypothesis(es) The variables of interest Specifically, what is the IV? What is the DV? The study may have more than one independent variable but you may focus on the main variable of interest. The study may have more than one dependent variable. You should discuss the results for each of the outcome measures included. The research methodology Quantitative or qualitative? Research design: survey, interview, experiment, etc. The study sample Who/what is data being collected from? The findings/results of the study What were the findings? Did the findings support the author(s)s hypothesis(es)? All results should be discussed Review the two additional peer-reviewed journal articles that discuss your topic. While you must review the same major areas of the paper, these reviews do not have to be as detailed as the review for your main article. These articles are used to determine the credibility of the findings from your main article, therefore, include enough detail to allow the reader to make an accurate comparison. Include the following information in your review: The research question(s) and hypothesis(es) The variables of interest IV and DV The research methodology Quantitative or qualitative? Research design The study sample The findings/results of the study What were the findings? Compare the findings to the findings of your main research article. Are your main research articles findings supported? Section 3: Evidence Evaluation (~3 paragraphs) The purpose of this section is to give a thorough review of the research findings, discuss the implications these findings have on your topic, and assess whether the media source accurately presented the findings. Summarize the findings from all 3 research articles. Combining information from all of the articles discussed, what were the overall findings? Were the findings from the studies the same? or did they differ across the studies? What is the main take-away from these articles? Do there appear to be any patterns to the findings? How do these findings inform your research topic overall? Discuss the implications of these findings to the real world. Does the author discuss how these findings can be applied to policy/practice? If so, give a brief overview. Discuss how the main research articles findings were presented in the press article you chose. Were the studys findings accurately described in the press article? Did the press article discuss all of the findings presented in the study? Give your overall impression of how the evidence was presented by the press. Section 4: Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) This section summarizes your papers findings and gives the reader your overall takeaway from the research you conducted. Restate your topic. Give an overall assessment of the research findings and how it affects your topic. Give your overall assessment of whether the media (press article) presented the evidence on your topic correctly. Section 5: References Your references/bibliography page must be written in APA style. Every citation on your reference page should also be found in your paper as an in-text citation (and vice-versa). More information on proper citation formatting can be found in the Week 2 PowerPoint: APA Research and also at the official APA style website: Feel free to use Google Scholars cite function to help you cite properly. Make sure you check the citation it provides for you because it does not always provide a complete or accurate citation!! Failure to cite properly will result in a loss of points. Writing Mechanics The evidence evaluation paper should be 4-5 pages in length (NOT including the cover page and reference pages), include 1 margins, 12-point conventional font (e.g., Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri), and include page numbers. The paper should be in APA style. You must include a cover page and reference page(s). Your cover page should include the title of your paper, your name, and the date. The title of your paper should reflect your research topic and/or the goal of your paper. You are also required to use titles/subtitles and include page numbers. More information on APA style and creating proper citations can be found in the Week 2 PowerPoint: APA Research. Proofread your paper. While grammar/formatting does not account for a larger percentage of your grade, you will lose points for errors that detract from my ability to easily read through your work. Additional Information DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Not including internal citations is plagiarism. If you do not include internal citations when discussing your three articles, you will lose points. Any information that is not considered common knowledge should be cited. Rememberwhen in doubt, cite! Direct quotes should be avoided and information taken from the articles, class lectures/textbook, or any other sources should be paraphrased instead. You will lose points if the majority of your article summary is a direct quote.