CRIME AND JUSTICE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD
This project is three-pronged: a neighborhood canvas, data collection, and a 4-page paper. You must first choose a neighborhood to canvas. Generally, the neighborhood is the one you live in, because this is the one you have had the most access to and knowledge of. You can choose another neighborhood, however, if you wish. The primary questions are: how has crime changed in my neighborhood over the years? What is the perception of justice in my neighborhood? To answer these questions for your paper, you will have to: 1) collect background data about the neighborhood you choose to canvas, 2) analyze existing data (“secondary data”) about your neighborhood over the semester that is described in more detail below, and 3) collect original data about your neighborhood in the form of conducting interviews (interviews cannot be conducted before you complete your CITI certification). The paper will be graded on how well you are able to collect and analyze the various types of data and assemble them into a coherent narrative.
Collecting data about your neighborhood: You will begin by collecting background data about your neighborhood that will consist of information you find by searching online, at a library and/or elsewhere. It will include statistics and/or reports published by government agencies such as the police, health department, or the housing department (“secondary data”). The background data may also include reports and statistics generated by non-governmental agencies (like the ACLU, for example) and any articles that you can find about your neighborhood, including academic papers, magazine articles, newspaper stories and so on, that provide insight into it. You will use secondary source information and your own personal observations to write a description of your neighborhood.
Conducting interviews in your neighborhood: You will also conduct interviews – you must interview at least 3 ppl. They can be neighbors, family, business owners, policeman, postal workers, anyone who is in your neighborhood on a consistent basis. You will ask them about their connection in the neighborhood (how long have they lived there?) and of their perceptions of crime in the neighborhood: has neighborhood crime gone up or down? Why do they think? Has the neighborhood changed in any other way since they have lived there? These interviews must be anonymous and confidential! You may not use people’s real names or describe them in such a way that anyone who reads your paper will be able to identify them.
GENERAL TIPS FOR WRITING PAPERS
Please refer to the guidelines below on what is expected in a college-level essay:
FORMAT
- All work is typed
- Font is standard (12 pt.)
- 1” margins on all sides
- Double-spaced
- APA citation (please consult with the LIBRARY or WRITING CENTER for help on how to cite using APA format (the Purdue OWL website is also a great resource)
- At least 4 pages long (that is, at least 1,000 words)
- The introductory paragraph is at least SIX sentences long
- Spellcheck applied to FINAL draft
- The paper does not contain contractions (no “don’t,” “can’t,” “couldn’t”)
- Do not use first person pronouns (we, I, you, us, our, my, mine, me)
PAPER
- Focused, clear, uses a point effectively, and supports the thesis you are making; meaning:
- Does the essay answer the question that is asked?
- Does the essay critically analyze the subject matter?
- Is the information clearly, coherently and concisely synthesized and presented?
- Uses appropriate sources to make a sensible argument
- Integrates quoted material effectively
- Does not come entirely from just one source nor does it rely heavily on only one or two sources
- At least 5 sources (NO WIKIPEDIA, NO BLOGS!)
BONUS POINTS FOR
- A student generated visual aid
- Chart, graphic (not a picture you stole from the internet)
