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Northern Essex Community College

Module 15: Research Paper and Course Synthesis

Review all module materials and expectations carefully before beginning your work.

Module Overview
This final module is dedicated to the completion of your CRJ207 Final Research Paper. Throughout the course, you have examined how criminological theories explain crime, offender behavior, victimization, and system responses. This module asks you to bring those pieces together by selecting a focused topic and applying criminological theory and research to a real-world criminal justice issue. The goal is not to summarize the course, but to demonstrate your ability to think analytically and apply criminology in a practitioner-relevant way.
As you work on your final paper, focus on clearly defining the criminological problem, thoughtfully applying theory, and using research evidence to support your analysis. Strong papers move beyond description by explaining why certain theories fit, how evidence informs policy or practice, and what realistic responses are suggested by your findings. This assignment serves as both a capstone for the course and a demonstration of skills directly applicable to criminal justice professions.

Important: Carefully review all module materials, instructions, and grading expectations before beginning any activity.

Student Learning Outcomes
  • SLO1: Describe pre-Enlightenment theories of criminal offending
  • SLO2: Identify the role of free will and rationality in classical theory
  • SLO3: Identify several early biological theories, the issues related to these theories and compare them to more recent/current biological theories
  • SLO4: Provide examples of social process theories and criminality as a learned or culturally transmitted process
  • SLO5: Summarize how criminality changes over the life course and identify the connection between sociological mainstream theories and crime policy
  • SLO6: Illustrate and compare critical and mainstream criminology
  • SLO7: Summarize the basic tenets of conflict, feminist, and radical criminology
  • SLO8: Define criminology, crime, criminal law and the economic effects of crime
  • SLO9: Discuss various criminological research methods, identify the 3 elements of an experiment, and the importance of evidence-based research
  • SLO10: Discuss the major crime typologies
  • SLO11: Identify some of the effects of age, gender, social class, race, and location on crime
What You Will Do
  • Complete the Research Paper by the assigned due date
  • Late Submissions will not be accepted. 
  • Review all materials carefully before beginning the Research Paper.
  • Follow Research Paper instructions and grading rubrics closely.
  • Proofread all submissions before posting or uploading.
  • Ask questions early if anything is unclear.