CJT 225: Seminar in Criminal Justice 225

Ideas for research topics

Capital punishment as deterrent                               Legalization of marijuana
Community policing                                                   Lethal injection vs. electric chair
Crime statistic reporting                                            Mandatory minimum sentencing
Cyber crime                                                              Plea bargaining
Death penalty                                                            Presumptive parole
Domestic violence                                                     Prison overcrowding
Fiber evidence                                                          Prostitution
For profit prisons                                                      Racial profiling
Forensic genealogy                                                  Rehabilitation in prison
Forensic geology                                                      Riots
Fraud                                                                       Serial killers                                
Hate crime                                                                Three strikes you are out
Hate groups                                                              Undercover police
Identity theft                                                              Voting rights for felons
Illegal drug use                                                         Witness protection program
Innocence projects
International terrorism

Choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help generate topic ideas.

• Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy?
• Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or made you angry or anxious?
• Do you have a personal issue, problem, or interest that you would like to know more about?
• Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. These terms can be helpful in your searching and used to form a more focused research topic.

Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering.

Reading a broad summary enables you to get an overview of the topic and see how your idea relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great source for finding words commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful to your later research.