Overview
Research is the essence of scholarly discourse. The graduate student should, at a minimum, be given critical thought in a way that exposes gaps in literature and offers new insight into more improved methodologies and policymaking. The Socratic method is the workhorse of a young scholar. Succeeding in failing to disprove a hypothesis is the hallmark of achievement in this regard. For this course of study, you should identify critically apparent flaws in current cybercrime policymaking and offer improved pathways to digital intelligence, enforcement, crime reduction and prevention. To do that, you must have a foundation upon which to build this hypothesis. We begin this process with the Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography assignment.
Instructions
The exact requirements for the Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography assignment are outlined as follows:
Length of assignment (see Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography Template)
Include any information that is excluded from this length (e.g., title page, abstract, reference section, etc.)
Format of assignment: APA
Number of citations: 6
Acceptable sources (e.g., peer reviewed or scholarly journal articles published within the last five years)
Context
In Module 7: Week 7 of this course, you will submit an original Research Paper based upon a current problem or trend in cybercrime today. You will have a choice between several topics for this assignment (listed numerically below). These topics will be closely associated with a certain or a specific problem in the cybercrime profession or discipline today that you will develop and defend.
The literature review in the body of this paper must cite at least 8 scholarly resources that are specifically related to the hypothesis and Thesis Statement (current, relevant, credible, and each carries its weight) with a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources.
As the body of your Research Paper will require an argumentative position, be sure to obtain scholarly resources that serve to answer the following questions (as the research paper must provide answers to all the questions a person would ask if one defended the hypothesis to another person):
What is the current problem?
What does the literature say about the problem?
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What is the solution?
What gaps in the literature will my solution address?
What do my critics say about the problem and my solution?
What are the implications of my research?
And a conclusion.
For you to have a rudimentary understanding of what might be necessary for such an undertaking, you will complete a Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography assignment. This will provide you with the structure and direction needed to move forward with your initial hypothesis. You must choose one of the following thesis statements for your Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography assignment.
Be sure to review the Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography Template before embarking on this venture.
Choice of Thesis Statements
US Citizens should (or should not) be compelled to disclose passwords to law enforcement.
The use of encryption should (or should not) be regulated by federal, state, or local authorities.
Viewing illegal images of exploited minors posted on a website does (or does not) constitute possession.
Private companies engaged in commerce within the borders of the United States should (or should not) be compelled to provide “back doors” to law enforcement to circumvent proprietary encryption coding.
Licensed operators of motor vehicles who have been involved in a collision investigated by law enforcement that resulted in a serious bodily injury should (or should not) submit their smartphone or handheld device for a forensic examination to determine if the operator was using the device at the time of the collision. This policy would model implied consent laws for breath testing where licensed drivers, in exchange for the privilege to drive, consented to the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) during the licensing process.
Sending a sexualized image or recording of one’s self to another adult person through electronic means constitutes (or does not constitute) consent. Consequently, the receiving party may (or may not) convert the image to their own use.
Because most Peer-to-peer software requires that the user share (knowingly or unknowingly) downloaded content and that the software creates another copy of the illegal material for another user to download to their own computer, users sharing child pornography with others via their Shared Folder should (or should not) be charged with
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manufacturing rather than distributing child pornography.
Internet Service Providers (ISP) should (or should not) be compelled to provide subscriber activity to federal law enforcement agencies within the US Government.
Cybersecurity protection and defense for privately held national infrastructures (power grids, airlines, etc.) should (or should not) be federalized under the Department of Homeland Security.
Parents of minors sending child pornography (sexting) to each other should (or should not) be civilly and/or criminally liable for such behavior.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the SafeAssign plagiarism tool.
