Introduction to Forensic Psychology

In the Final Project, due by Day 7 of Week 11, you are asked to demonstrate your knowledge of the major concepts studied in this course for each forensic psychology subspecialty. For the Final Project, you should include itemized sections for each of the following subspecialties:

• Criminal
• Juvenile
• Civil
• Investigative
• Correctional
• Police
• Briefly describe the major roles and responsibilities of a forensic psychologist in that subspecialty.
• Describe any seminal court cases that may have influenced the practice of forensic psychology within the subspecialty.
• Explain at least two of the most common ethical dilemmas and/or challenges encountered by the forensic psychologist in the subspecialty. Be specific. Explain how you might resolve each dilemma.
• Explain any unresolved controversial issues a forensic psychologist might face in the subspecialty.
• Describe any research relevant to each subspecialty.

For each subspecialty:

Note: A superior Final Project demonstrates breadth and depth of knowledge, and critical thinking appropriate for graduate-level scholarship. The Final Project must follow APA Publication Manual guidelines and be free of typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors. The Final Project should be 12–15 pages, not counting title page, abstract, or references. Please note that quantity does not always correspond to quality, and a well-written Final Project that includes all of the necessary information may be accomplished in fewer than the maximum number of pages. The Final Project for this course will be evaluated according to all four indicators in the Application Assignment and Final Project Writing Rubric located in the Course Information area.

References

You must use scholarly research to support your work and cite the references using APA guidelines. Be very cautious when stating your opinion or using terms suggesting absolute facts or values, as these MUST be supported by references. Note that textbooks, including course texts, are composed of information cited in other sources (see the reference section in the course text). With this in mind, an adequate number of appropriate references is expected. A good “rule of thumb” is to include approximately 3 or more pages of references in APA style. Please note that you must use primary sources. Peer-reviewed journal articles should make up the bulk of your references (80%). If referring to a book, be sure to include all information in APA style, including specific page numbers. Note that an article referred to in a book is a secondary source.