racial disparities in the criminal justice system
A minimum of five scholarly sources (not the same ones you used in the Background Essay) are required for this essay. These can be either academic peer-reviewed journal articles from a database such as Academic Search Premier or a chapter from a scholarly book.
The purpose of a literature evaluation is fourfold:
The first is to summarize and assess the state of existing knowledge on your narrowed topic. What knowledge exists and is generally accepted with regard to your topic? Are there important differences or disagreements among scholars? Are there significant problems or limitations with any of the research studies? Which research methods were employed in the various research studies, which were not, and with what consequences? What questions remain unanswered? What aspects or approaches seem relatively unexplored?
Through the process of reviewing existing knowledge you will also develop a more nuanced understanding of your topic, the second reason for conducting a literature evaluation.
This new understanding leads to the third reason, to raise questions for further research. In other words, what are you left wondering? What questions or aspects of the issue do you find have been unanswered, underexplored or overlooked? How would our understanding be improved by pursuing those questions or angles? At the end of this process, you will hopefully find that you can identify several potential research questions.
The final purpose of the literature evaluation, based on the sources that have been assessed and the new questions that have been raised, is to identify one specific and significant research question. This research question will drive your research from this point forward as you build towards the Final Research Article, in which you present an argument that attempts to answer your own research question.
Required Elements of the Literature Evaluation
Preface
Your Literature Evaluation will include a preface at the beginning that includes your research question and an overview of the current knowledge about the subject. The preface will introduce the
reader briefly to the sources and describe their scope and place in the current academic conversation, which is different than the popular conversation you looked at in the Background Essay.
Citation for each source
Each entry will include a bibliographic citation in APA format. Follow citation guidelines to create a citation as you would for a references or works cited page.
Evaluative Annotation
Includes a summary as well as an evaluation of points like the rhetorical context, the author’s credibility, the quality of the evidence, the source’s place in the academic conversation, and the value of the source to the current project. The example below is an evaluative annotation.
Conclusion: Proposed Research Question and Significance (include section heading): The conclusion synthesizes the knowledge confirmed your citations and annotations, while identifying areas for further research. After reviewing the literature, what do we know? What don’t we know? There should be an apparent connection between the new areas of inquiry and the summary of existing knowledge. Bring your conclusion to a close by identifying and discussing the significance of a specific research question that will drive the rest of your research project. Remember what you’ve learned about Research Questions! (Links to an external site.)
Final Organization
For your final annotated bibliography, arrange your sources in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. Include a header in the appropriate format.
Required Sources:
At least five scholarly articles (must be different from those you used in the BE). Use an electronic database such as Academic Search Premier (select “peer-reviewed” from the search screens of these databases) or Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) or find a chapter in an edited scholarly book.
At least two of the sources must be no older than three years. The sources should be diverse; you should not have more than two (of the five) articles from the same author or journal; if you do have more than two from the same author or journal, then you should have more than the minimum five sources. Ideally, your collection of scholarly sources should include a variety of research methods as well.
References and In-text Citations:
An APA-style References page, with all of the sources referred to in your literature review, must be included at the end of your essay. All quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing must also follow APA guidelines. In your presentation and analysis of sources, avoid heavy reliance on quotations to present the ideas of others. Excessive quoting can turn your literature review into a cacophony of different voices that frustrates the reader’s ability to find cohesion between the distinct ideas. In most cases, you are better off paraphrasing or summarizing, which you must do carefully to avoid plagiarism. Quote other authors sparingly and with purpose: to convey an idea that cannot be paraphrased without losing meaning or to convey the power of the original language.
