Soc. 371D: Criminology
Extra Credit Guidelines
Dr. Nielsen
Summer 2018
There is one extra credit option in this course: reviewing articles in professional journals. A total of 10 extra credit points from these options can be accumulated during the course of the semester. The extra credit points will be added to the highest exam grade and be included in the calculation of the final course grade. All extra credit materials must be completed and submitted on or before august 8th at 5:00 p.m. EST; they may be handed in at any point in the semester prior to this date.
Reviewing articles in professional journals.
Students can review articles about crime or criminal justice published in professional journals. The articles are those that have been published recently (i.e., 2011 to 2018). The eligible journals include: Criminology, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, Crime and Delinquency, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Journal of Drug Issues, Social Problems, Social Forces, The Prison Journal, and Criminal Justice and Behavior. Other journals may be used but students should check with me first. No web-based material is acceptable (that is, web-based material that does not appear in a professional journal is unacceptable; it is acceptable to download and use articles appearing in the above named professional journals).
To receive extra credit for reviewing articles, students must a) read the actual article (the abstract is not enough); b) write a review of the article; and c) link the article to issues discussed in class. The review of the article should include a) the full citation (author, year published, article title, journal name, volume number, and page numbers); b) an overview of the article, including the theory/ies being tested and the main question(s) being asked; c) a brief overview of the research methods (e.g., used a sample of 600 incarcerated drug users); d) an overview of the findings of the study and the author’s (or authors’) main conclusions; and e) a copy of the first page of the paper. The review must be followed with a discussion of how the article relates to material discussed in lecture and/or the course readings.
Note that you should avoid direct quotes from the articles in your work. Any quotations that you do use, however, must be properly documented (i.e., in quotes and with the page number(s) noted in parentheses). Failure to do this is plagiarism and will be treated as such (see the Honor Code or me for clarification). Also, it is NOT acceptable to just read the abstract (either provided by a search engine or in the article itself) or to reproduce the abstract and present that as your review.
The article reviews will vary in length, although they will be a minimum of one and one-half pages. The reviews should be typed and written in complete sentences. Each review submitted is worth a maximum of 3 extra credit points.