Each student must complete a research project that conforms to the requirements described in this handout: FS 662 Supervised Graduate Research Project Requirements. Each student is required to do original research: that is, students must either collect their own data, or conduct secondary data analysis in an original manner. The research project will utilize a methodology appropriate for the research topic. Each thesis should be organized into a five-chapter format on a topic related to the field of forensic science, preferable drawn from the core required courses.

2. Human Subjects Research Policy: Researchers at NU shall observe the University guidelines in designing research projects involving human subjects. For more information and application process; please contact: the lead faculty of the forensic program Dr. Ismail M Sebetan (isebetan@nu.edu).

3. Committee:
Committee will be formed of 3 individuals (a chair and 2 supervisors). At least one of the committee members should be a NU faculty (Full time or adjunct Faculty).

4. Submission guidelines:
• Approval of the committee members with their signatures on the approval page.
• Final approval will be decided by the instructor of your FSC662 class.
• Binding your approved project should be done according to the binding guidelines.
• Submit your bound copy with CD or FLASH DRIVE containing your thesis & power point
(your name & title of your research must be written on your CD to Dr. Sebetan).
• The Grade will be issued by the instructor of FSC662 class after receiving the bound
copy & the CD/Flash drive .

Note:
Address:
Dr. Ismail M. Sebetan
11255 N. Torrey Pines Rd.,
La Jolla, CA 92037

Section 1: Organization of Contents

Elements

The following preliminary pages (numbered in lowercase Roman numerals) precede the body of the thesis, in this order:

• Title page
• Thesis approval pages (one for chair, two supervisors, class instructor & the director of the Forensic program)
• Copyright page (if you plan to register a copyright)
• Dedication page (optional)
• Acknowledgments (optional)
• Abstract
• Key words after the abstract (3 -5 words)
• Table of contents
• List of tables (if appropriate)
• List of illustrations (charts, graphs, figures) (if appropriate)
• List of symbols (if appropriate)
• Preface (optional)

Paginated in Arabic numerals is the text and other pages following the preliminary pages arranged in the following order:

• Text (chapters of the manuscript)
• References
• Appendices

Title Page

All Masters Theses must carry the following information on the title page:

A research project submitted to National University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Forensic Sciences.

Note: Refer to sample page in back.

Project Approval Page

A completed thesis must have the signatures of the three committee members, and the forensic program lead faculty. Type only as many lines as there are committee members signing. Signatures must be in permanent black ink. Refer to sample page in back.

Copyright Page

This page is necessary only if the project is to be registered with the Federal Copyright Office. Refer to sample page in back.

Dedication

Use discretion in making a dedication. The dedication should be consistent with the topic of the research.

Acknowledgments

Use discretion in making acknowledgments. It is customary to acknowledge special assistance from extramural agencies. There is no obligation that assistance received from members of the committee be acknowledged. Acknowledgments should be couched in terms consistent with the scholarly nature of the work. Your name and date should not appear on this page.

Abstract

All abstracts must be double-spaced and the title should simply be ABSTRACT. The abstract should reflect clear information concerning the contents of the thesis.

Key words (3-5 words)

Table of Contents

The table of contents is designed for the convenience of the reader. It should include the acknowledgment page, abstract, list of tables, list of illustrations, list of abbreviations or symbols, appendices and references as well as the major sections in the text. Do not list the “Title Page” or “Table of Contents” in the table of contents. Please note the following:

• You must have dot leaders between the end of a heading and its page
number
• Headings in the table of contents should appear as they do in the text

List of Tables

The term “table” applies to numerical and statistical data set in vertical or horizontal alignment. If there are tables in your text/appendix, a list of tables must be included. The “List of Tables” is on a page by itself and arranged in the same general format as the Table of Contents. Type the table numbers in Arabic numerals, and the titles in capital and small letters, with period leaders extending from the last letter of the title to the page number. Please note:

• Titles may be shorter than they appear in the text as long as they are not misleading. Titles may not be longer than the titles in the text.
• Numbering of tables. You have two options: (a) You may begin by numbering the first table with the numeral “1” and continue to number your tables consecutively throughout the entire manuscript; or (b) you may number the first table in each chapter with numeral ‘1″ and continue to number your tables consecutively within each chapter. For example, if chapter four has three tables and chapter five has three tables, the numbering would be as follows: 4.1 4.2 4.3; 5.1, 5.2, 5.3.

Single space within titles which are longer than one line, but double space between each entry.

List of Illustrations (charts, graphs, figures)

This list is also placed on a page by itself and arranged in the same general format as the Table of Contents. Designate figure numbers with Arabic numerals, and plate numbers, if any, with capital Roman numerals. If the thesis contains both figures and plates, arrange them on separate lists.

List of Symbols

If symbols are needed in the text, a list should be provided to explain their definitions or meanings. The list should be placed on a separate page and included where specified by these instructions.

Preface

A preface, while optional, enables you to explain your purpose and perhaps justify your choice of a topic. The preface is also an appropriate place to present an overview of the project, including a description of what is to be found in each chapter. If utilized, it is part of the preliminary pages (numbered with Roman numerals) and therefore precedes the main text.

Text

The organization of the text varies somewhat with the subject matter. The project is divided into five chapters, each chapter titled and beginning on a new page. In general, the content of the five chapters include:

Chapter I: Introduction

The first chapter provides an overview of the project. The specific subsections of this chapter will vary, depending on the subject matter. In general, the first chapter should include the following information:

Background of the Study: provide a brief history of the ideas and issues related to the research topic. This section should not be a review of the literature (though some information may be repeated in the literature review), but a description of the events leading up to this research.

Problem Statement: this is the heart of the research project. This subsection states the reason(s) why this research project is important. A good way to approach the Problem Statement is to address the following: Because of x and y, there is a problem in society (or the criminal justice system or the field of forensic science); if only we knew more about things might be better. The research project should be designed to answer z, which is the research question.

Purpose and objectives of the Study: list the component parts of the research question. Rarely is a problem in forensic sciences one-dimensional. This subsection should describe the specific elements of the problem being addressed by the research.

Rationale of the Study: develop the reasons for examining the elements described in the purpose and objectives section. Explain why those elements were selected, how they relate to the topic of the research, and how they related to each other. In other words, explain how will accomplishing the purpose and objectives answers the research question, and is something we should care about.

Definition of Terms: list definitions for only those terms which might be unfamiliar to the reader, especially those which can be considered terms of art and operational definitions.

Limitations of the Study: describe self-imposed limits on the research, including those that relate to both the breadth and depth of the inquiry. Also include limitations that exist due to factors beyond your control. Describe the (potential) effects the particular limitations may have on your research.

Theoretical Framework: if the research is driven by, or relates to, a particular theoretical orientation, provide a brief overview of that orientation and how it relates to the research.

Research Hypotheses: based on the purpose and objectives, what are the expected outcomes for the research? Hypotheses are essentially predictions about the answers to the research question and its component parts. The research hypotheses are a critical element of the research project: they will guide the literature review; heavily influence the research methodology needed to obtain data that will either support or reject the hypotheses; and provide the focus for data analysis, discussion, conclusions, and recommendations.

Summary of Remaining Chapters: Describe the content of the remaining chapters. If a preface is utilized, this subsection is not necessary.

Chapter II: Literature Review

The second chapter should not be confused with the Introduction in Chapter I. The introduction provides a review of the topic; the Literature Review summarizes what has been said about the topic. The Literature Review is not a series of book (or journal article) reports. A good literature review tells a story about the topic, using scholarly published works to support what is written. The chapter should be organized in such a way as to (a) bring together the most important writings about the research question in general, followed by (b) a closer examination of the writings related to the component parts detailed in the Purpose and Objectives subsection of Chapter I. It is very helpful to the reader if the ideas are presented in the same order throughout the thesis.

This chapter will contain the greatest number of citations, so it is important that they be done correctly. Each citation must have a corresponding listing in the Reference section.
The Literature Review should not include data that will be used to answer the research question or test your research hypotheses. If the project is utilizing an analysis of published research to answer the research question, the Literature Review should provide the background and take the reader up to the point where those studies begin.

Chapter III: Methodology

In general, this chapter describes how the data were collected that answer the research question and its component parts. It is important to utilize appropriate methods of data collection in order to be able to support or reject the research hypotheses. This chapter should begin with a description of the research methods used in the research, including a description of the dependent and independent variables, if any. Chapter III will most likely include the following subsections:
Setting: if important to the research, describe the time and place of data collection.

Description of the Subjects: depending on the type of data used in the project, this subsection can include either subjects involved in primary data collection, or those described in published research studies. If the project involves human subjects, it is necessary to first obtain their consent in writing.

Description of the Research Instrument(s): fully describe all questionnaires and tests, if appropriate. Include a copy of questionnaires in the Appendix.

Procedures: describe in full detail how data were collected. If different methods were used, each method must be described. This subsection should also include a description and rationale for any statistical procedures used to support or reject the research hypotheses.

Chapter IV: Results

This chapter includes a presentation and analysis of the data. The tone of the chapter is purely objective, devoid of assumptions and interpretations.
Following a summary of the research data, Chapter IV should be organized in
manner consistent with the research hypotheses: first, present data related to the
first hypotheses; and second, analyze those data to determine whether the first
hypothesis can be supported or rejected. Follow this sequence for each hypothesis.

Tables are an effective way to present quantitative data. Qualitative data should be summarized, as opposed to verbatim transcriptions.

Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

This chapter involves (a) a discussion of the research project, including the findings, interpretation of the results, and problems and/or limitations; (b) a conclusion: what did we find out? what did we learn? and (c) recommendations for changes in policy or practice, future research, or anything else that will direct solutions to the problem(s) that were the focus of the research.

References

Only those works cited in the text appear in the Reference section and, conversely, every work in the Reference section must appear in the text. It is important to properly cite all references. References style should be according to APA manual.

Examples:

Tokita, K., & Schmid, K. (1963).Variants of alpha1-acid glycoprotein. Nature, 200, 266.

Johnson, A. M., Schmid, K., & Alper, C. A. (1969). Inheritance of human alpha1-acid
glycoprotein (orosomucoid) variants. J Clin Invest, 48, 2293 – 2299.

Schmid, K. (1975). Alpha1-acid glycoprotein. In: Putnum FW, editor. The plasma proteins.
Vol. 1 (pp. 183 – 228). New York, NY: Academic Press.

Giblett, E. R. (1969). Genetic markers in human blood. Oxford and Edinburgh: Blackwell.

Schmidtmann, U. (1999). PGM1 (phosphoglucomutase-1) polymorphism. Ph.D. Thesis,
National University, San Diego, California.

Pollanen, M.S. (2000). The forensic value of the diatom test for drowning. Forensic
Pathology Unit, Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, 26 Grenville Street Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M7A 2G9. Retrieved June 20, 2003 from:
Http://erin.utronto.ca/academic/FSC/FSC239Y-Drowning.HTM