The goal of this assignment is to have you start reading the academic literature you will draw on in your final project. In the final project, the instructor will ask you to choose a specific proposed change to the criminal legal system in a particular place (for example, “State A is considering a cannabis decriminalization bill” or “County B is debating the creation of a vocational-training program in jail” or “City C is considering a bill that would defund the police department”). You will describe the proposed change and some of its goals, and you will be asked to draw on empirical research to predict whether the change will yield the desired outcome: will it work as intended?
To get ready for that final assignment, in assignment 3 you will choose one academic article about the effects of the type of policy you are interested in, and you will read it and write an accessible review of it. The review should be 2–3 pages long, and it should tell us:
- What is the paper’s research question?
- How does the paper answer that question? What kind(s) of data do they use, and how they analyze it?
- What conclusion do they reach?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the paper? Are there limits to how broadly its findings should be applied?
This assignment is due during week 11.
The details:
- Ideally, you should use an article that will be relevant to your final project topic. We will discuss the final project during week 9, so you should have enough information to choose a relevant article. If you’re uncertain about whether your proposed topic works, contact the instructor.
- The academic article you choose should be published (not a working paper) in an academic journal: it should not be a newspaper article or a report put out by a think tank. Google Scholar can be a useful tool for finding relevant research on a given topic; if you’re unsure of where to begin looking for papers on your topic of interest, reach out to the instructor for some guidance.
- This assignment should be written as a brief (not more than 3 pages) essay. It should be written in complete sentences, it should be proofread, and it should include enough information for readers to go look at any sources you cite.
Student Example
“Kentucky High Schools with SROs and Without: An Examination of Criminal Violation Rates” (PDF)
Note: This example appears courtesy of an MIT student and is anonymous by request.
