Research Proposal, Part I- (Police Stress and the effect on the family)

Throughout this course, your Learning Team will submit a completed research proposal to your facilitator. The project will consist of two sections. This outlines the content needed in Part I.

This proposal must be professionally written, address all sections identified below, and be consistent with APA formatting guidelines. When writing, use section headings to indicate where the information may be found. Subheadings need not be used, though in long sections, they may facilitate organization.

1. Introduction: Explain the issue you are examining and why it is significant.

   1. Describe the general area being studied.

   2. Explain why this area is important to the general area under study.

   3. State your research problem first.

   4. Explain the background to the research problem.

   5. State your research questions.

   6. Justify the proposed study.

   7. List the issues that emerge from the problem.

2. Rationale: Explain how these questions are related to the larger issues raised in the introduction.

   1. Describe what specific claim, hypothesis, or model of criminal justice you will evaluate with these questions.

   2. Explain what the hypothesis will suggest about criminal justice theory if confirmed.

   3. Explain what the hypothesis will suggest about criminal justice theory if not confirmed.

3. Background or literature review: description of what is known about this area and short discussion of why background studies are not sufficient

   1. Summarize what is known about the field. Include a summary of background information on the topic from your literature review. You may include information from the book and class, but the bulk of the information must be outside sources.

   2. Discuss several critical studies done in this area, citing consistent with APA guidelines. Use current references, studies, and material that is fewer than 5 years old, unless it is the only literature that addresses the topic.

   3. Point out why these studies are insufficient. In other words, what questions do they leave unresolved that you would like to study?