Description

PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE OPTIONS:

Durkheim’s concept of anomie is a powerful tool to help us understand deviance in modern first world societies. Using rates, not real numbers*, research the following**:

school or mass shootings in the US

From your research, discuss the prevalence and social costs (i.e., costs to society as opposed to economic costs) of this particular form of social deviance. This should make up approximately ¼ of your paper. 

Then apply a Durkheimian anomic analysis using his concepts of integration and regulation to show how and why this form of social deviance took hold in this society. This should make up approximately ½ of your paper. 

Finally, conclude with what, in your opinion, would need to happen for it to decrease. This should make up approximately ¼ of your paper. 

*Note: Rates are numbers out of /100, /1000, /10,000, etc. as opposed to real numbers which are actual incidences in a population over a given period of time. We use rates rather than real numbers because they allow for accurate comparisons. For instance, we can compare crime rates in Canada and the US because crime rates are displayed as incidences out of 100, or 1000, or 10,000. Because the US has 10 times the population of Canada, we cannot use real numbers (actual incidences) because it is not comparable to our much smaller population. When you are doing your research, look for RATES, not actual incidences. 

**Note: I recognize that some of these topics do not lend themselves to research using rates. In those cases, use whatever statistics are available to show prevalence in the population. 

Please note that the frameworks above are to provide you with a comprehensive structure for your paper but your paper should not be written in a question-answer format. ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE WRITTEN IN ACADEMIC FORMAT (i.e., proper paragraphs) – NO POINT FORM IS PERMITTED.

GRADING CRITERIA

Credit will be given for:

Completeness and citing - i.e. you must provide a comprehensive analysis, based on both critical thought and research. All instructions given in the framework must be followed and all aspects of that framework included in your assignment. All research sources must be properly cited in the text and there must be a Bibliography/References/Works Cited at the end of the paper. 

The quality and relevance of your analysis – i.e., the connections you make between your research and class materials, the choice of resources and research sources, and the conclusions that you come to based on these.

The structure of your paper – i.e. it must be organized in a clear and coherent manner, well-researched and critically-analyzed. This is an academic research/analysis paper, and must be organized as such, with an introduction, body and conclusion. DO NOT USE A QUESTION/ANSWER FORMAT. Any papers submitted in a question-answer format will be deducted a full letter grade for not following instructions.

Writing - regardless of the brilliance of your thinking on the subject, if it is poorly expressed, you will not get a good mark. Poor writing and grammar have a negative impact on the clarity and quality of your paper, and will be penalized.  Proof-read, spell-check, grammar-check, and double check.

REFERENCES

For all questions in this assignment, you are required to use external research sources beyond the lecture notes, which for this assignment, you MUST cite in the text and you must also provide a Bibliography/Works Cited.  

Every claim you make in a research paper must be supported research and/or evidence. If you cannot support it, it does not belong in a research paper. This includes your opinions – they must be informed by research otherwise they do not belong.  

All sources must be properly referenced IN THE TEXT and in the Bibliography/References/Works Cited. What this means is that any information you take from a journal article or other resource (that is not considered “common knowledge” and is not your own idea) must be referenced in the text. This does not only apply to direct quotes. Even when you take the information and put it in your own words (paraphrasing), you still must reference the author(s)/source of information in the text.  

You must use credible sources. You may not take information from online sources (such as Wikipedia or government websites) or any sources and present it as the majority of your paper (either quotes or paraphrased). You must use your sources to SUPPORT your argument/claims, not as the actual argument or claim. Papers that are made up essentially of paragraphs or quotes drawn from sources will be graded with an F. Please note that Wikipedia is NOT an academic source and should not be used as such. 

Improper referencing = PLAGIARISM.  Plagiarism is a very serious offence in the academic world, as it is essentially taking credit for someone else’s ideas.  The penalties for plagiarism become more severe as you progress through school. In this class, IF YOU TURN IN A RESEARCH PAPER WITH NO CITATIONS IN THE TEXT AND/OR NO BIBLIOGRAPHY, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN AUTOMATIC F because it means the entire paper was plagiarized. No exceptions.  

There three methods of citation that are acceptable in this course. I would prefer you use either APA or ASA but if you already know MLA you may use it. You can find instructions on different citation formats and how to use them on the Langara Library website.  You can also make an appointment with our Social Sciences Librarian, Emma Lawson, and she will assist you with your citations. Please note that “I didn’t know how” or “I have never had to cite my sources before” is NOT an excuse for improper or missing citations – it is your responsibility as a post-secondary student to follow the instructions and meet the requirements of the evaluative criteria in the courses you are taking. 

NOTE THAT ALL IN-TEXT CITATIONS must include page numbers where they are available.  Even if the citation method you choose states that page numbers are not required, for the purposes of this assignment, you must include page numbers in all in-text citations. For journal articles online, sometimes the page numbers are not immediately accessible; you may have to go into the full reference to find the page numbers and number the pages yourself.  Where no page numbers are available, such as with internet resources, you must cite according to the method chosen. Citation guides are available through the Langara Library at  HYPERLINK "https://langara.ca/library/research-help/citing-help/index.html" https://langara.ca/library/research-help/citing-help/index.html. 

You must include a Bibliography/References/Works Cited as the final page of your paper that includes all of the sources you used to write your paper.

FORMAT OF PAPER:

LENGTH

This paper must be typed, be between 1,100 - 1,300 words in length, double-spaced in 12-point font, properly referenced throughout and have a Bibliography/References/Works Cited as the final page. You must also include a Word Count (not including title page and Works Cited) at the end of your paper.

Instruction Files