TROY UNIVERSITY
CJ 3375
Introduction to Social Scientific Inquiry
SYLLABUS
Term 4 2016
Jan. 4, 2016 to March 6, 2016
For course syllabus posted prior to the beginning of the term, the instructor reserves the right to make minor changes prior to or during the term. The instructor will notify students, via e-mail or Blackboard announcement, when changes are made in the requirements and/or grading of the course.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Dr. Robert Mathis
Dept. of Criminal Justice
Troy University
321 William Jr. Street
Albany, GA 31707
229/639-3493
Fax: 229/435-5062 rmathis7064@troy.edu
INSTRUCTOR EDUCATION
Capella University – Ph.D. Public Safety
Columbus State University – Master of Public Administration Justice
Columbus State University – Bachelor of Science Criminal Justice
Columbus State University – Law Enforcement Command College
TEXTBOOK(S) AND/OR OTHER MATERIALS NEEDED
Basics of Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology
7 th Edition 2015, Maxfield & Babbie
ISBN: 978-1-285-06784-1
The textbook provider for the eTROY of Troy University is MBS Direct. The Web site for textbook purchases is http://www.mbsdirect.net/Index.htm
Students should have their textbook from the first week of class. Not having your textbook will not be an acceptable excuse for late work. Students who add this course late should refer to the “Late
Registration” section for further guidance.
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Recommended additional text:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2nd Printing)
Edition: 6TH 10
Author: American Psychological Association
ISBN: 9781433805622
Publisher: American Psychological Association
ADDITIONAL READING
Required: There may be word lists, review questions, and any other handouts posted on blackboard for study purposes.
Recommended: Current periodicals in the field of criminal justice and the social sciences are suggested for additional reading or to be announced via Blackboard throughout the term. Students can also go to the "External Link" button on Blackboard and research the current websites to find desired materials
LATE REGISTRATION
Students who register during the first week of the term, during late registration, will already be one week behind. Students who fall into this category are expected to catch up with all of Week #1 and
Week #2's work by the end of Week #2. No exceptions, since two weeks constitutes a significant percentage of the term's lessons. Students who do not feel they can meet this deadline should not enroll in the class. If they have registered, they should see their registrar, academic adviser,
GoArmyEd/eArmyU representative, or Military Education officer to discuss their options.
Also note that late registration may mean you do not receive your book in time to make up the work you missed in Week #1. Not having your book on the first day of class is not an excuse for late work after the deadlines in the Schedule.
ELECTRONIC OFFICE HOURS
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 9:00a.m. – 3:00p.m.
Troy instructors are required to respond to student messages within 24 to 48 hours.
PREREQUISITES: General studies math. The Troy catalog requests that all students take CJ 1101 before taking any 3000 to 4000 level courses.
ENTRANCE COMPETENCIES
The student must possess the knowledge and skills of a high school graduate and the capability to perform on a college level. Knowledge of basic English, grammar, and writing is assumed.
STUDENT EXPECTATION STATEMENT
Students are expected to have all work completed by the deadlines, and to make sure they have a textbook by at least the second week of class. If you have no textbook by week #2, you may want to consider dropping the course as you will be getting far behind in the weekly assignments and quizzes.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Principles of pure and applied research for the social sciences. Special emphasis is given to the types of research methods employed by social scientists including survey techniques, field research, quasiexperimental designs and analytical procedures currently used in the social sciences.
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PURPOSE (COURSE OBJECTIVES)/ STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to discuss, identify, or interpret the course objectives which will serve as a foundation for more specialized and advanced courses in criminal justice. Specifically, the student should be able to comprehend the:
Objectives
• Explain measurement procedures applied in criminal justice research
• Distinguish various research designs applied in criminal justice research
• Identify the unique ethical principles associated with criminal justice research.
• Develop a criminal justice research assignment, including the review of related extant scholarly literature, the application of appropriate research methodology and the identification of data sources and accurate data analysis procedures.
Students will demonstrate the above through application of introductory skills in the art of verbal and written communications. These applications are optional and will be assigned at the discretion of the instructor.
RESEARCH COMPONENT
See attached page at the end of this syllabus.
DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES AT TROY UNIVERSITY:
All Distance Learning courses at Troy University utilize Blackboard Learning Management System. In every Distance Learning course, students should read all information presented in the Blackboard course site and should periodically check for updates—at least every 48 hours.
Whether you’re experienced at taking online courses or new to distance learning, we’re here to help you succeed in your online education. If you have general questions about eTroy programs, courses, policies, services or other university-wide topics, please visit the eTroy web site; call 1-800-414-5756, or ASK TROY .
SITE MAP FOR YOUR BLACKBOARD COURSE SITE:
To obtain a site map to enable the student to navigate through the Blackboard course site, please go to the Blackboard course site and click on the "Site Map" button found on the left side of the computer screen.
TROY E-MAIL
All students were required to obtain and use the TROY e-mail address that is automatically assigned to them as TROY students. All official correspondence (including bills, statements, e-mails from instructors and grades, etc.) will be sent ONLY to the troy.edu (@troy.edu) address.
• All students are responsible for ensuring that the correct e-mail address is listed in
Blackboard by the beginning of Week #1. E-mail is the only way the instructor can, at least initially, communicate with you. It is your responsibility to make sure a valid e-mail address is provided. Failure on your part to do so can result in your missing important information that could affect your grade.
Your troy.edu e-mail address is the same as your Web Express user ID following by @troy.edu.
Students are responsible for the information that is sent to their TROY e-mail account. You can get to your e-mail account by logging onto the course and clicking “E-mail Login”. You will be able to forward your TROY e-mail to your eArmy e-mail account. You must first access your TROY e-mail account through the TROY e-mail link found on the Web site. After you log in to your TROY e-mail account, click on “options” on the left hand side of the page. Then click on “forwarding.” This will enable you to set up the e-mail address to which you will forward your e-mail.
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1.
Attendance will be required and email contact for participation in class discussion.
Students are expected to have completed the assigned material prior to the scheduled online timer period assigned. Each student is expected to be an active participant and make meaningful contributions to the class.
2.
An midterm exam will be administered via in class. This is a closed book exam and will contain 25 multiple choice, short answer, or fill in the blank questions worth four points each for a total of 100 points.
3.
4.
A comprehensive final examination will be administered in class. This is a closed book exam and will contain 25 multiple choice, short answer, or fill in the blank questions worth four points each for a total of 100 points.
Completion of a research paper to be submitted by email to Turnitin.com (see paper requirements at the end of this syllabus)
5.
A literature review (examples to follow will be posted in the courseroom) of your topic will be due by the mid-term testing period.
6.
A survey will be due during week 7 of the class.
Student responsibilities include reading the textbook, asking the instructor questions when concepts are unclear and ensuring that all work is done in a timely fashion by the due dates assigned. Instructor will respond to all questions via email within 24-48 hours.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
In addition to interaction and Email contact, students may be required to contact the instructor via
Email or telephone BEFORE the beginning of the course term for an initial briefing. Although physical class meetings are not part of this course, participation in all interactive, learning activities is required.
Student assignments and student/instructor communications will be conducted via Blackboard, although students will be allowed access to the instructor via telephone, mail, or fax if necessary.
.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY
Missing any part of this schedule may prevent completion of the course. If it becomes necessary to take an “I” or incomplete for the course, the student should complete a request for an incomplete grade form. This is the responsibility of the student and is not automatic. There must be a valid reason for such a request. If you foresee difficulty of any type (e.g., an illness, an employment change, etc.) which may prevent completion of this course; notify the instructor as soon as possible.
Failure to do so could result in a failing grade. There is no additional make-up work due to this class being taught in a non-traditional setting. Distance learning courses not entirely self-paced and the instructor has the right to assign due dates for all assignments and projects.
INCOMPLETE GRADE POLICY
Note: A grade of incomplete or “INC” is not automatically assigned to students, but rather must be requested by the student by submitting a Petition for and Work to Remove an Incomplete Grade Form.
Requests for an incomplete grade must be made on or before the date of the final assignment or test of the term. The form will not be available after the last day of the term. A grade of “INC” does not replace an “F” and will not be awarded for excessive absences. An “INC” will only be awarded to student presenting a valid case for the inability to complete coursework by the conclusion of the term.
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It is ultimately the instructor’s decision to grant or deny a request for an incomplete grade,
subject to the policy rules below.
Policy/Rules for granting an Incomplete (INC)
An incomplete cannot be issued without a request from the student.
To qualify for an incomplete, the student must: a.
Have completed over 50% of the course material and have a documented reason for requesting the incomplete. (50% means all assignments/exams up to and including the mid-term point, test, and/or assignments.) b.
Be passing the course at the time of their request.
If both of the above criteria are not met an incomplete cannot be granted.
An INC is not a substitute for an F. If a student has earned an “F” by not submitting all the work or by receiving an overall F average, then the F stands.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Self study of the textbook materials, student study guide, online quizzes, internet based writing assignments, and an online class discussion will be the primary methods of instruction used in this course. CJ3375 will be taught using online DL lesson modules. This course can only be completed successfully by students who have on-demand capability for communication with the instructor and student classmates. This is a distance learning class. It is not a "correspondence course" in which students may work at their own pace. Each week there will be assignments, on-line discussions, and/or exams with due dates. Refer to the schedule at the end of this syllabus for more information.
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Quizzes will be graded by the computer in BB along with the online midterm and final exam. All assignments will be read and graded individually by the instructor as well as the term paper and final exam. All grades will be posted in the student gradebook in Blackboard.
Attendance = 20
Paper =
Midterm =
30 (20 for paper and survey or literature projects 5 pts each)
25
Final exam = 25
Totals = 100
ASSIGNMENT OF GRADES
All grades will be posted in the student grade book in Blackboard and will be assigned according to the following or similar scale:
A
B
C
D
F
90 – 100%
80 – 89%
70 – 79%
60 – 69%
59% and below
Postings:
FA:
I post grades in Blackboard, in the Grade Center.
“FA” indicates the student failed due to attendance. This grade will be given to any student who disappears from the course for three or more weeks. See the Attendance section of this syllabus for additional information.
SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS
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Quizzes will be taken via Blackboard and graded immediately by the computer. The exams will be graded by the computer and taken also on Blackboard. All assignments will be submitted email to the instructor other than the quizzes and exams, and term paper can be submitted to Turnitin.com.
EXAMINATION SCHEDULE & INSTRUCTIONS
There will be on-line midterm and final examinations, completed via Blackboard. More information is provided under course requirements and course schedule.
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS:
1.
Students must have Email capability.
2.
Students must also have Internet access.
3.
Students must have Microsoft WORD. DO NOT USE MICROSOFT WORKS OR WORD PERFECT
TECHNICAL SUPPORT INFORMATION:
If you experience technical problems, you should contact the Blackboard Online Support Center. In order to contact the Blackboard Online Support Center a helpdesk ticket must be filled out concerning the issue. You may go to the below listed site and follow the prompts for filing a helpdesk ticket. A support person will contact you concerning your issue and your ticket.
Blackboard Support Center
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your coursework or with features in Blackboard that are generating errors, please click the link below:
Blackboard Support Center: http://helpdesk.troy.edu
NON-HARASSMENT, HOSTILE WORK/CLASS ENVIRONMENT:
Troy University expects students to treat fellow students, their instructors, other TROY faculty, and staff as adults and with respect. No form of “hostile environment” or “harassment” will be tolerated by any student or employee.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ADA):
Adaptive Needs (ADA)
Troy University recognizes the importance of equal access for all students. In accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the University and its Adaptive Needs Program seeks to ensure that admission, academic programs, support services, student activities, and campus facilities are accessible to and usable by students who document a qualifying disability with the University.
Reasonable accommodations are available to students who: are otherwise qualified for admission to the University identify themselves to appropriate University personnel provide acceptable and qualifying documentation to the University.
Each student must provide recent documentation of his or her disability in order to participate in the
Adaptive Needs Program. Please visit the Adaptive Needs Website @ http://trojan.troy.edu/etroy/studentservices/adaptiveneeds.html
to complete the necessary procedure and forms. This should be accomplished before the beginning of class.
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HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is academic dishonesty and is an unacceptable activity at Troy University. Based on United
States law, words and ideas are intellectual property and are protected from theft.
Defining Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is representing someone else’s ideas or work as your own original ideas or
work. Plagiarism encompasses many things, and is by far the most common manifestation of academic fraud. For example, copying a passage straight from a book, a website, or any other source into a paper without using quotation marks and explicitly citing the source is plagiarism. Additionally,
paraphrasing is plagiarism where you fail to cite your original source and, in some cases, where you
fail to use quotation marks as well. It is very important that students properly acknowledge all ideas, work, and even distinctive words or phrases that are not their own. (1)
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
• Turning in someone else’s work as your own
• Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (2)
Additionally, if you download a paper from the Internet and submit it as your own work or if you submit a paper you wrote and submitted in a previous class, you have committed acts of plagiarism.
Penalties:
At Troy University, penalties for plagiarism include, but are not limited to, a reduction of grade on an assignment and/or a course as well as such sanctions as loss of student privileges, probation, suspension, and expulsion. These penalties for plagiarism are described in the Standards of Content section of The Oracle: The Troy University Student Handbook. (4)
Guidelines to Academic Honesty:
If you are unsure if an assignment is plagiarized, use the following checklist for guidance:
You need to cite the specific source(s) in your work, even if:
1.
You put all direct quotes in quotation marks.
2.
You changed words used by the author into synonyms.
3.
You completely paraphrased the ideas to which you referred.
4.
Your sentence is mostly made up of your own thoughts, but contains a reference to the author’s ideas.
5.
You mention the author’s name in the sentence.
When in doubt, provide the proper citation to show that the ideas and materials are not your own. (3)
Academic honesty is a cornerstone of learning and should be practiced with all academic assignments.
Sources:
1.
http://www.virginia.edu/honor/plagiarism-and-paraphrasing/
2.
http://plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html (This must be pasted in a browser)
3.
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/plagiarism/
4.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/03/
5.
Oracle: Troy University Student Handbook, 2011-2012
LIBRARY SUPPORT:
The Libraries of Troy University provide access to materials and services that support the academic programs. The address of the Library Web site is http://trojan.troy.edu/library/.
This site provides access to the resources of all Campus and Regional Libraries, as well as to resources such as the
Library’s Catalog and Databases. Additionally, the Library can also be accessed by choosing the
“Library” link from the University’s home page, www.troy.edu
, or through the Libraries tab within
Blackboard.
FACULTY EVALUATION:
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In the eighth week of each term, students will be notified of the requirement to fill out a course evaluation form. These evaluations are completely anonymous and are on-line. Further information will be posted in the Announcements section in Blackboard.
HOW TO LEARN ONLINE:
Troy University eTroy is designed to serve any student, anywhere in the world, who has access to the
Internet. All Distance Learning courses are delivered through the Blackboard Learning System.
Blackboard helps to better simulate the traditional classroom experience with features such as Virtual
Chat, Discussion Boards, and other presentation and organizational forums.
In order to be successful, you should be organized and well motivated. You should make sure you log in to our course on Blackboard several times each week. Check all “announcements” that have been posted. Start early in the week to complete the weekly assignment. You should also go to the
Discussion Board early in the week and view the topic and question/s for the group discussion exercise. Make your “initial” posting and participate in the discussion. Begin reviewing for the exams early in the term. Do not wait until the last minute and “cram” for these exams. You should review the material frequently, so you will be prepared to take the exams. eTroy:
Whether you’re experienced at taking online courses or new to distance learning, we’re here to help you succeed in your online education. If you have general questions about eTroy programs, courses, policies, services or other university-wide topics, please visit the eTroy web site @ http://www.troy.edu/ecampus ; call 1-800-414-5756, or ASK TROY .
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TERM PAPER GUIDELINES
1.
This paper is to have an introduction, body and conclusion.
2.
References and citations are to be in APA format 6 th edition when used in the paper.
3.
Paper is to be 15 pages in length of text material. Cover pages, abstracts, and
4.
5.
references pages are to be completed with this research paper, but do not count towards the 15 page minimum requirement.
Proper grammar and spelling are required.
All topics must be sent to instructor in Week 1. The instructor will work with you on
6.
7.
selection of an appropriate topic for the research.
If you have questions, email the instructor directly.
Double spacing will be utilized.
8.
Use 15 resources and no www sites can be utilized unless properly constructed as outlined in the APA 6 th edition manual.
9.
No Wikipedia.com or other type materials will be accepted as a reference. (Please use scholarly journals or materials of this type and books).
10.
Do not use any cases or any case related material about famous celebrities.
11.
Do not cut and paste materials. This is your research use your own language.
12.
Cut and paste if noted in a paper will result in a zero being given. Students will different styles of font being utilized may be deemed as a cut and paste paper and could be graded with a zero. Please pay attention to your work and how it is submitted. Proofread all of your work before submission.
13.
The paper must be written in 3 rd
person. No I, he, or she references to 1 st
person.
14.
Papers will be graded on logic, flow, meaning and relevance to a subject as well as grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
15.
No bibliography will be accepted. A life history on a person is not a research component and will not be accepted if a person is given out as a topic. Information must include the person’s contribution to criminal justice and how it has impacted criminal justice.
16.
Personal interviews as a resource will not be accepted. All resource work must come from a peer reviewed journal, magazine, or other proper APA accepted sites .
17.
50% of the grading system comes from proper APA format, citations, references, and other guidelines for proper research writing. Not following APA guidelines will result in a poor grade.
18.
Papers must be submitted to turnitin.com before or by the due date of Feb. 28, 2016.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Syllabus
Read Chapters 1 and 2
Assignments: Chapters 1 and 2
Questions Chapters 1 and 2
Read Chapters 3 and 4
Assignments: Chapters 3 and 4
Questions Chapters 3 and 4
Read Chapters 5 and 6
Assignments: Chapters 5 and 6
Questions Chapters 5 and 6
Week 4 Mid Term Exam
Week 5
Week 6
Read Chapters 7 and 8
Assignments: Chapters 7 and 8
Questions Chapters 7 and 8
Read Chapters 9 and 10
Assignments: Chapters 9 and10
Questions Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Read Chapters 11 and 12
Assignments: Chapters 11 and 12
Questions Chapters 11 and 12
Week 8 Read Chapter 13
Turn in Research to turnitin.com
Assignments: Questions Chapter 13
Week 9 Final Exam
NOTE: THE INSTRUCTOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO
THIS SCHEDULE AS NECESSARY.
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