How to Select a Topic for the
Administrative Research Paper (ARP)The ARP is not a traditional term paper. Therefore, when selecting a topic for your paper it is essential to keep a few things in mind:
- Your topic must be a problem of some sort involving criminal justice administration. The best advice I can give you is to examine the table of contents in you text book and start by selecting a general topical area from there. Next, think about why that topic is a problem in criminal justice generally or in the agency you are most interested in.
- Your topic should, in essence, be a problem statement. For example, communication problems between police line staff and upper administration. Your topic is communications, it involves the police, and it specifies what, specifically, you intend to focus on. When you look at the requirements of the paper you will understand why it is important to have a problem focus in your paper.
- The topic should be narrow enough that you are not trying to reinvent the wheel, but broad enough so you can find adequate research on you topic. For example, "Communication in Criminal Justice" is far too broad to do anything meaningful. Conversely, "Hiring Problems in the Tax Fraud Division of the Internal Revenue Service" is probably too narrow and you won’t find enough research to do your paper. Your goal should be to start very broadly and narrow down somewhat from there.
- Remember, your topic should be something you are interested in—this makes the research much more fun to do. I will review your topics when you hand them in and provide plenty of guidance. The more time you put into selecting your topic, the easier the paper will be to write.
Below is a list of broad, general topical areas that can serve as a starting point for your topic selection:
Management Leadership Political Environment Occupational Climate Organizational Structure Organizational Frames Communication Motivation Job Design Goals and Objectives Employee Supervision Occupational Socialization Organizational Culture Power and Authority Organizational Conflict Employee Conflict Decision-Making Information Management Discretion Organizational Effectiveness Evaluation Research & Methods Organizational Change Organizational Development Planning Creativity Job Enrichment Group Dynamics Groupthink Employment Practices Hiring Practices Efficiency and Effectiveness Training Policies and Procedures
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URL: http://www.unt.edu/cjus/topic.htm