Does participation in prison animal programs reduce recidivism among offenders?

Your paper must contain the following sections and sub-sections that are listed below in BOLD and underlined (i.e., Substantive Requirements below):

1. Abstract (summary of the overall paper—1 paragraph (250 words maximum limit)

Summarize the focus of your paper (this is your research question), the purpose of your paper (to review the existing literature that examines your research questions), the main findings/conclusions of your literature review, any areas of future study related to the your research question

Introduction (approximately 1- 1.5 pages)
Discuss your research question (e.g., what question or relationship will your paper focus on?) and problem statement (e.g., why is your topic important?); discuss the process in which X impacts Y, how does this relationship theoretically operate?
Overview and purpose of the paper (e.g., Link the above two areas and transition into the exact issue your paper will cover—the scope and areas of your paper and the organization of the paper, ending with a conclusion etc.)
Literature review (THE, big chunk of paper, approximately 9-10 pages)
Summarize, review and critique prior studies that have examined your research question/issue and related, relevant issues to your topic—CITE always
This should be a coherent discussion of the previous studies that have examined your research question, and the findings from those studies. Make general statements about the findings, followed by specific detailed examples of studies/articles that highlight your statements about the findings. In your discussion of specific studies you should discuss the methodology of each study—methods class! These include but are not limited to: type of data, sample traits (e.g., males/females? Race? Adults, kids? Offenders, general population…etc.), sampling procedure, observational period, type of study, analysis and main findings.

Minimum of 10 peer reviewed journal articles cited in text and references, a total of 15 overall distinct references/citations are required
Encourage the use of other non-peer reviewed materials (e.g., a book, web-based materials such information from the National Institute of Justice website or National Institute of Health website, etc. Cite all sources accordingly and following APA citation style guidelines.

4. Conclusion (approximately 2-3 pages)

Summarize the literature on your research question: what do we know, what do we not know, what areas are promising and require future research? What are the weaknesses and strengths of the existing research on your topic? What specific areas of research need further research and what types of research questions would contribute to the existing literature on your topic?

Technical Requirements/Issues

This proposal paper MUST be written professionally. DO NOT USE CASUAL LANGUAGE OR SLANG. NO BULLET POINTS.
15 pages maximum (not including references or abstract), no minimum on paper length
250 abstract maximum word limit
Typed or computer generated, no cover page, NAME AND DATE in the header
12-point font
1-inch margins top, bottom and sides
Double-spaced
Page numbers
Proper citation required, American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide
Minimum of 15 references/citations 10 of these must be peer reviewed journal articles as references, of the 10 articles, 2 must be from the list of journals specified in assignment #2
Maximum of 2 direct quote citations in the text. Penalty points for additional direct quotes. See Professor for approval if compelling desire to include more.
Paraphrase all statements
10-point penalty if paper is 10% plagiarized, and incremental 10-point penalty for each increase 10% increase in plagiarism. Automatic failure (F) of assignment if paper is more than 40% plagiarized, with option to submit to Honor Council for review.

Citation Issues

Cite when you:

Take direct quotes (page, author, year required for direct)
Paraphrase someone else’s ideas or prior research studies/findings (author, year)
See APA Style Guide for citation of authors in the text and in the references

Assessment

Your grade will be determined by your by:

the depth, scope and quality of your literature review of the existing published empirical studies on your topic
the structure and organization of your literature review
technical/logistical requirements of the paper
the logical consistency and presentation (e.g., minimal to no typos; correct citation styles, appropriate tense/grammar/punctuation, etc.).