Let’s start with the research question that will be the subject of all your projects this semester.  

Please come up with a topic in criminal justice and then a specific question related to that topic which will be the subject of your projects
Do not be too general with your research questions.  you must be very explicit and specific with your research questions.  if your interest is “political corruption in law enforcement” then make sure you ask a specific question related to that area.  But it cannot be “how much political corruption is there in law enforcement?”  That is not a question that entails research.  However, you can ask, “what motivates a police officer to take bribes?”  You see, I was very specific.  So when you say, “corruption,” you must specify what you mean by corruption.  There are many examples of corruption. In the question I posed, I specified “bribes” as the form of corruption I was looking at.
Remember: your question has to be specific because only then can you actually study it.  There are many reasons why things happen.  But there are a few narrow reasons very particular things happen.