Research Paper

The topic you select must be germane to the field of human services or your major (i.e. Criminal Justice, etc. for non-human services majors). It must be an original topic; no previous papers or assignments may be used. Additionally, Research Papers may not be completed on Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. Students should not write about a subject in which they possess a bias, or a desire to prove a preconceived notion. It should be a topic to be examined objectively as it will be written in third person, and should not reference personal experience. You should perform preliminary research utilizing the Stafford Library’s databases to help identify a topic and ensure that sufficient research is available to support your paper.

Identify 6 peer-reviewed articles from an online database (provided by Stafford Library) that you intend to cite in your Research Paper. Outside sources cannot be considered (such as websites, articles, or anything aside from primary sources).

The Research Paper must be formatted using APA style in formal third person. Do not include personal anecdotes or comments/narrative in your paper.

Citing Requirements

• The Paper must utilize both paraphrases and direct quotes, and not more than half of the citations can be direct quotes. This will enable you to obtain practice in both in-text citing techniques.
• If used, only one block quote is allowed.
• Copying or otherwise use of information from another source without proper citation is not allowed. Parenthetical citations must be used to tell the reader where the information comes from. Violation of this could be considered plagiarism.
• You must cite a minimum of 6 peer-reviewed articles.

The completed Research Paper should be 8-10 pages and include:

• 1 page: title page
• 1 page: abstract
• 5-7 pages: the body of Research Paper
• 1 page: references