Hello fellow Criminology/Criminal Justice enthusiasts,
I am a typical overwhelmed graduate student looking for some help. Since I’ve exhausted most other options, I naturally turned to the internet for guidance. I was in the process of finishing my master’s degree when all progress came to a screeching halt thanks to the program’s thesis requirement. I know this is extremely common, by my situation is a bit unusual in that I’ve had no problem when it comes to the actual writing portion of the project. I had an easy time coming up with hypotheses, procuring data, analyzing it, and writing about the results. The committee member in charge of the project supervised me through the process and he thinks I have a good product. My only problem is that the project requires the approval of three committee members and, for the life of me, I can’t find a second or third committee member. Everyone I ask seems to think it will be a large time commitment which would be understandable if it was a Doctoral dissertation, but since this is a simple research project of 50 – 60 pages with a huge chunk of it already written this should not be the case. And so, I’ve come to this forum hoping to find potential candidates to fill these roles
Background on the study:
The first hypothesis is simply that there will be a moderate negative correlation between the two variables: 1.State Brady scores (from the Brady Campaigns annual scorecard), and 2. State firearm homicide rates. (i.e. the higher the Brady score, the lower the firearm homicide rate). This hypothesis is based on the literature review which shows inconsistent or inconclusive results with similar studies on state gun laws and firearm homicide. The second hypothesis is much more interesting and insightful. It suggests that when the homicide population is broken into age groups, the correlation between the two variables will be stronger as age increases. Currently, the population is broken into five age groups: 1.) 14-24 years, 2.) 25-34 Years, 3). 35-44 years, 4). 45-54 years, and 5.) >55 years. Therefore, if the second hypothesis is correct then group 5 will have a stronger correlation coefficient than group 4, which will have a stronger coefficient then group 3, etc.
Who can be a committee member:
The criteria for this is much more flexible than you might think. Since the study is related to criminology, I prefer the committee members be professionals in the field or at least have an advanced degree in the subject or a similar subject. (i.e. a PhD or Master’s degree), however this does not have to be the case. Acceptable committee members could specialize in writing, APA format, data analysis, etc or simply be considered experts in the subject matter. Committee members do not have to do any paperwork or attend a thesis defense. Committee members literally just advise the student until they produce a paper that the members deem acceptable and then sign the final product.
If any of you could help or know someone who could help, it would help me immensely. Thank you.