SOC 3361 Correctional Continuum
Guidelines for Presentations
Presentations
Each group will be allotted approximately
30 minutes. Please show up early on the day of the presentation so that
we can set up prior to the start of class. You can bring a USB drive or have them on the cloud.
Plan on speaking for 25 minutes or less so that there is
time for questions and (hopefully) answers.
I expect the presentations to be more than general descriptive
information. Group members should review the relevant EMPIRICAL (e.g., research
articles) information in their area. A good chunk of your grade for this project will rest on the extent to which you uncover and explain solid research findings from academic/peer reviewed journals.
Take the topic of "corrections crime" as an example
How do we know how much crime happens in prison or jails?
What are the trends over time for corrections crime?
What are the known causes of corrections crime?
What are the types (e.g., inmate to inmate, inmate to staff, staff crime)?
What can be done to reduce crime within corrections settings?
Obviously, if the topic has already
been covered in class, the presentation should bring in additional
information (not just rehash class material).
I would expect that each group uncover at least 10 scholarly
articles/books/book chapters on their topic.
While internet sites are relevant, they are generally
not the same as peer reviewed articles or editor reviewed books/book chapters.
In other words, 10 web addresses does not equal 10 sources.
Each group MUST USE POWERPOINT to organize the presentation
Please print a "handout" version (e.g.,
several slides per page) of your slide show and bring it to class the
day of your presentation
The first slide should be an OVERVIEW OF YOUR
TALK (what areas will the presentation cover)
Don't read off the slides!!
Don't pack slides with 10 pt font quotes--keep the slides
general/broad
To avoid technical problems, I will provide a laptop
so put your presentation on a flash drive
The presentations will be scored on the following criteria:
ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATION and overall
quality of the preparation
This means that presentation covers the material
in a meaningful manner, rather than just spewing a bunch of facts
and quotes
This also means that group members should not repeat
what other group members have already covered
The quality of the research presented
The quality of the power point slides
Video Clips must be RELEVANT to presentation and should be a maximum of a few minutes (definately less than 5 minutes).
Research Tips
Don't simply "google" on the internet or search through the library
general catalogue (although, these might also uncover some research).
Your "best bets" are to (1) use the criminal justice abstracts
search engine from the library web page and (2) use corrections textbooks
to find recent cites to research (and then find that research).
If you can find a very recent article (e.g., past 2-3 years), look at
their reference page to find more articles. For older articles, you can look at whether someone has cited this article in recent research.
In the search engine, make sure to try a variety of searches
You might also ask me or other professors if they are aware of sources
