The purpose of this assignment is to continue your critical thinking and to solidify your research application skills. By completing this assignment, students will be able to:

▪ Identify a socially-relevant research question and describe why it’s important to study

▪ Design a data collection method that will gather the best possible information to answer your research question

▪ Present and justify the proposed project to the class

Completing your final project will increase your analytic and presentation skills. Such qualities are crucial for any future career! In your jobs, you may have to apply for funding, which includes an evaluation/research component. You may also need to give virtual presentations or pitch ideas to funders.

Your task will be to design a proposed (hypothetical) study to examine a victimization-related issue using the skills you've learned through this class. Then, you will present or "pitch" your study idea to the class!  

The project in total is worth 325 points

I encourage you to work with a partner or in teams of up to four people. You can work alone, however, working alone will result in more work for you versus dividing up among classmates. You are encouraged to work on tasks with your team. You are also encouraged to meet with Dr. Boppre over Zoom to check in.

Tasks

Team Topic and Research Question(s) Submission - 10 points

This assignment is designed to encourage you to form your team (or work solo) and brainstorm potential topics and research questions for your Smart Tank project! 

Article Summaries and Comparison Worksheet - 100 points

Find, summarize, and compare four peer-reviewed studies about your topic. 

This is where working in a team is beneficial. Alone, you would need to summarize four articles on your own. 

We have a whole week devoted to this to help guide you. More information will be provided on Blackboard. 

Smart Tank Methodology Worksheet - 100 points

Your main task is to develop your own methodology to study an important victimization-related issue facing the local community. You are proposing how you would conduct the research, but will not collect data or conduct the study because that is way too much in one semester! Click the link above for a worksheet you can save and use! 

Throughout the course, activities will be facilitated to help your team select a topic and the best methodology to answer your research question(s). You'll submit a draft of your worksheet, I will provide you feedback, then you'll submit a final draft that you can use for your presentation. 

You will work on required components throughout the term that you will use towards the worksheet detailing your methodology and virtual presentation. Your final methodology must be clearly defined, use full sentences and proper grammar, and meet all the criteria. Your responses must be detailed and provide sufficient information.

Your proposed methodology must include the following:

▪  Topic and importance 

Discuss what your paper will be about. Provide some context. What is the scope of the issue? Provide relevant statistics or figures about the topic here in the U.S. and Texas (if applicable).

▪  Research question(s) 

Are your research questions descriptive or explanatory? If explanatory, identify the independent and dependent variables. 

▪  Type of study (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed)

Describe your approach. If qualitative, will you use interviews? Focus Groups? If quantitative, will you use surveys? Official reports collected by agencies? 

▪  Proposed methodology

Will you use a census or sample? What is your sampling method (probability, nonprobability)? What type of sample will you use? What will be your sample size?

How will you collect your data? Will you collect secondary data from official reports or create new data? What concepts will you measure? How will you measure them? Be as detailed as possible. Include sample instruments or questions you would use (i.e., sample survey questions or interview questions). If you plan to use secondary data, discuss how and where you will obtain it.  

▪  Justification of your proposed study 

Why did you choose this methodology over other approaches? 

▪  Strengths and limitations of the proposed study 

How does your proposed study relate to generalizability? Will your findings be generalizable to Texas or the U.S.? 

▪  Importance or value of the study

How would the results of this proposed study help inform policies and practices in Texas or the U.S.?

I will score your methodology based upon the final worksheet submitted through Blackboard.

You must address all of these required components in your presentation:

▪  Describe your topic and why it is important to study

▪  Identify your research question(s)

▪  Discuss what previous research has found

▪  Describe your data collection method to answer your question(s) 

▪  Benefits and limitations of proposed method to justify why you choose your methodology

▪  Discuss why your study will be valuable - how will society benefit from the knowledge gained from your hypothetical study?

I'm open to formats! You can create a Tik Tok video, a PowerPoint with narration, whatever you are most comfortable with! 

Smart Tank Ratings - 20 points 

You will also be tasked with watching your classmates' presentations! You will score each team out of 10 points and your classmates will also score your presentation. 

The team receiving the highest judge’s score will earn the Smart Tank badge and 10 extra credit points each!

Team and Self-Evaluation - 20 points

Team members will score each other on their contributions. In other words, you will be scored as an individual for how helpful you are in developing the methodology throughout the semester and the final presentation.

If your team has a major issue with a team member (e.g., never shows up to meetings, doesn’t contribute), the remaining team members can vote to fire the problematic teammate at any point during the semester. If all members agree, the problematic team member MUST COMPLETE THE PROJECT ALONE ON A DIFFERENT TOPIC. 

You will also score your own contribution and work effort. If you work alone, only your score will be used.