Overview : In Module Three, you completed a worksheet to identify and summarize five peer-reviewed scholarly articles (annotated bibliography), and in Module Four, you completed Milestone Two, a literature analysis of those five articles. For this worksheet, you will draft your research question, based on the literature analysis, and outline the data you will present in your final project.

Prompt:

• Develop a research question that addresses the contemporary criminal justice issue that you selected and the instructor approved for your final project.

• Outline the assumptions and limitations of your research question.

• Identity a criminological theory that best explains the reasoning behind your research questions.

• Outline which data you will present in your final project and how that data is related to your research question.

Instructions:

1. Make needed revisions to your Final Project Milestone Two: Literature Analysis, based on instructor feedback.

2. Save this worksheet to your computer.

3. Develop a research question, using the following process:

• Start with your issue and what you learned from the literature analysis.

• Then, ask yourself what more would you (and others) like to know about this issue?

• Translate what you want to find out about the issue into a question.

• Make sure your question is answerable and is neither too broad nor too narrow in scope. The question must be dialed down to focus on specific elements to make the scope of your research practical.

• Keep refining the question to ensure it is focused, encompassing what you (and others) would like to know for a specific population.

• Please refer to the resources in this module for more detailed information on writing an effective research question.

• Also consider the feedback you received on the research question you completed for the Module Five small group discussion and how that feedback may be used in the development of this research question for your final project.
 
Research Question:

4. List the assumptions related to your research question:

Assumptions

(For example, the population to be studied is readily accessible)

5. List the limitations of your research questions:

Limitations

(For example, degree to which the population sample accurately represents the entire population, or risks for bias)

6. Identify a criminological theory that best explains the reasoning behind your research questions. The criminological theories you may consider are those outlined in the overview for Module Two, as well as the assigned readings for Module Two.

Criminological theory:

Why and how it is closely related to your research question:

7. Identify some of the data (at least three and no more than four data pointssuch as facts, conclusions, or findings) you will present in your final project, from your five peer-reviewed articles, and describe how that data is directly related to your research question

Data Point

Why or how it is applicable to the research question?