Mr.

Trokan
Criminal Justice CP
First Marking Period Research Assignment
The Challenge
The first marking period research project will encourage students to think more critically about crime causation
theories. Students will first be asked to develop a project that analyzes news articles for potential crime
causation explanations. Students will then be asked to write a brief response paper where they must make their
own explanation as to what they see as being the most useful crime causation theories.

Objectives: Students will be able to demonstrate the following:
1) Increased understanding of crime causation theories.
2) The ability to analyze news articles and current events
3) The ability to find good supporting facts and differentiate between a reliable source and an unreliable one.
4) A competency in using the MLA style of writing and citation.

Option A:
1. Identify 9-12 news articles about crime (each partner should cover three news articles)
2. Each partners contribution should be clearly marked (either in the body of the paper or in an addendum)
3. Analyze each article in roughly a paragraph each and identify a principal crime causation theory behind the
criminal acts that are discussed in the article
4. There should be a parenthetical citation for each news article within the body of the paper
5. Each news article should appear on the works cited page along with an accompanying link
6. There should be a coherent introduction paragraph and conclusion paragraph to the paper
7. Each partner also must write a one page response paper that expresses what he or she feels to be the one to
three most valuable crime causation theories along with a coherent explanation as to why he or she feels this
way.

Option B:
1. See Option A, but instead of writing the paper that is described in items 3, 4, and 6, make a poster, prezi,
glogster, googledocs presenation or other approved multimedia product
2. Complete all other item numbers as outlined for option A

The Rules
1) All written papers should be submitted to turnitin.com Option A Papers and all response papers
2) Students will use reputable news sites
3) Students will follow all rules as outlined for either Option A or Option B


Graded Segment(s)
Research Project. The research project will be due on Monday November 3
rd
. If the project is not submitted by
Monday it will be marked off 50%. If the paper is not submitted by Wednesday, November 5
th
, you will receive a 0 and
an automatic 55 for the marking period. Conversely, if you submit the project prior to Friday, October 31
st
, you will
receive 10 points extra credit (the research project is worth 20% of your marking period grade)

** Failure to submit a research project will result in an automatic 55 for the marking period




Useful News Sites that cover crime.
1. www.cnn.com
2. www.msnbc.com
3. www.foxnews.com
4. www.nytimes.com
5. www.latimes.com
6. www.theguardian.com
7. www.nj.com
8. www.chicagotribune.com
9. www.njherald.com
10. www.miamiherald.com
11. www.usatoday.com
12. www.wsj.com
13. www.washingtonpost.com
14. www.theglobeandmail.com
15. www.thetimes.co.uk

Possible Theories to explore
1. Social Disorganization Theory

2. Strain Theory

3. Cultural Deviance Theory

4. Biological Theories

5. Psychological Theories

6. Learning Theory

7. Control Theory

8. Labeling Theory

9. Life Course Theories

10. Self-Control Theory

11. Continuity Theory

12. Social Conflict Theory

13. Drug Crime connection theories

14. Victimization Theories