To prepare:
- Research and select an advanced issue in forensic psychology from the “Master List of Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology,” in the Learning Resources that will be the topic of your Final Project throughout the course. Note: The issue may be the same issue you identified for this week’s Discussion, or you may choose a different issue from the “Master List of Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology,” in the Learning Resources.
- Consider how you would describe the issue and explain why you selected it.
- Identify at least 4 scholarly resources related to your chosen issue—3 current peer-reviewed journal articles (not older than 5 years) and 1 resource from this week’s Learning Resources or from your own internet search of a scholarly resource.
- Review the “Final Project Overview” document, located in the Learning Resources, to familiarize yourself with the overall requirements for the Final Project. Manage your time accordingly.
- For your Assignment, use the graduate course APA Course Paper Template (APA 7) accessed from the “Walden Templates” web resource in the Learning Resources.
Assignment (1- to 2-page paper, not including title page and references page)Address the following in your paper:
- Briefly explain the background of the current advanced issue in forensic psychology you selected from the “Master List of Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology” in the Learning Resources and why you selected it.
- Identify at least one unique population impacted by your select issue.
- Include at least 4 scholarly resources relevant to your chosen advanced issue—3 current peer-reviewed journal articles (not older than 5 years) and 1 different scholarly resource from this week’s Learning Resources or your own internet search of a scholarly resource.
FPSY 8400: Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology Week 1: Master List of Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology
© 2025 Walden University, LLC Page 1
Master List of Advanced Issues in
Forensic Psychology
Instructions: For the Week 1 Discussion, you must choose one advanced issue in
forensic psychology from the list below. For the Week 1 Assignment, you must also
choose one advanced issue in forensic psychology from the list below. The issue you
choose for the Week 1 Assignment will also be the issue you examine for your Final
Project due in Week 10. The Week 1 Assignment focuses on the “Issue Description”
component of your Final Project. Note: The issue you identify for the Week 1 Discussion
can be the same issue you select for the Week 1 Assignment and Final Project, or you
may choose a different issue for each from the list below.
1. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
a. Discuss challenges facing forensic psychology professionals for one of the
following areas: diversity, equity, or inclusion.
b. Focus must entail the role of the forensic psychology professional and not just a
selected forensic population.
2. Social Determinants of Health in Forensic Settings and/or Populations
a. Select only one determinant factor for the focus of your project.
3. Insanity Evaluation (select only one of the following issues)
a. Parole hearings
b. Sentencing decisions
c. Civil commitment cases
4. Expert Witness Qualifications and Witness Testimony (select only one of the
following issues)
a. Effective vs. ineffective practice
b. Licensure vs. non-licensure and qualifications in your home state
c. Consulting
d. Testifying
e. Empirical evidence
5. Differentials of Instrumental vs. Expressive Crime
FPSY 8400: Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology Week 1: Master List of Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology
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a. If you select this issue, you should not discuss known or media-populated
cases.
6. Crime Scene Analysis (for this issue, you must include all the following):
a. Staging
b. Undoing
c. Posing
d. Signatures
7. Trait/Characteristic Differentials of Psychopathic vs. Sociopathic Offenders
a. If you select this issue, you should not include or discuss specific offenders
(e.g., Ted Bundy, Joseph Couch, Adam Lanza, etc.)
8. Interview Techniques for Psychopathic vs. Sociopathic Offenders
9. Terrorist Recruitment (select only one of the following):
a. Recruitment techniques
b. Influence of social media
c. Threat minimization
d. Terrorist profile (Note: Do not discuss known historical figures)
10. Working with Juvenile Offenders (select only one of the following)
Note: As this program is not designed for licensure, please do not discuss treatment)
a. Evaluating levels of dangerousness
b. Types of facility placements available (e.g., group residential care, detention,
maximum security, etc.)
c. Best Practices in Interviewing
d. Recidivism
e. Delinquency Prevention
11. Human Trafficking and/or Prevention (select one or more of the following):
Note: Sex trafficking, whether child or adult, is not an approved topic for the Final
Project.
a. Forced labor
b. Debt bondage
c. Domestic servitude
d. Forced marriage
FPSY 8400: Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology Week 1: Master List of Advanced Issues in Forensic Psychology
© 2025 Walden University, LLC Page 3
e. Recruitment and use of child soldiers
f. Trafficker profile (Note: Do not discuss sex traffickers)
12. Prison Populations (Select one of the following)
a. Historical event (e.g., federal investigation for sexual misconduct at Julia
Tutwiler Prison for Women)
i. Discuss how a forensic psychology professional could establish a
prevention program to mitigate future events—be detailed and evidence-
based
b. Crime within prisons (e.g., inmate on staff assault, etc.)
c. An overview of a state or federal prison located within your region. Overview
must include the following:
i. Type of inmates housed (e.g., violent, min/max security, death row, sex
offender, etc.) (Note: Do not identify offenders by name)
ii. Demographics
iii. Programs offered and eligibility (e.g., sex offender rehabilitation for first-
time offenders, anger management, GED classes, etc.)
iv. Locate at least one publicly available facility ethical issue (e.g.,
investigation of misconduct, mistreatment, violation of inmate rights,
public Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) violation/investigation, riots,
etc.). Discuss how a forensic psychology professional could establish a
prevention program to mitigate future events—be detailed and evidence-
based.
,
8
Title of the Paper in Full
Student Name
Program Name or Degree Name (e.g., Master of Science in Nursing), Walden University
COURSE XX: Title of Course
Instructor Name Comment by Author: Although not an APA rule, a common practice in higher education is to include a faculty member’s degree when naming them on the title page. Here are a few examples: Dr. Jane Smith John Doe, MA If you aren’t sure if your instructor has a certain degree or how they prefer their name to be listed, you can always check the Contact the Instructor section of your classroom and/or ask them directly. Degrees are not included in citations or references.
Month XX, 202X
Abstract
This is the abstract, which is typed in block format with no indentation. Abstracts are not required for all course papers. Please ask your instructor if you have questions regarding whether an abstract is required for a particular assignment. The abstract briefly summarizes your paper in 250 words or less. Your readers should be able to fully understand the content and the implications of the paper by reading the abstract. Writing this section after the paper itself may be helpful. For additional tips on writing abstracts, see the OASIS webpage on abstracts.
Title of the Paper in Full
When you download a Walden template, the first step is to save it locally to your computer using the “Save As” command. Documents should not be maintained in the Download folder. When you are ready to use the template for a paper, you will open the template and use “Save As” to give the document a new name. Once you have renamed the document, you can use the Save command as you write.
This template’s margins, page numbers, and page breaks are set for you, and you do not need to change them. Do not add any extra spaces between the heading and the text (tip: check Spacing under Format, Paragraph, and make sure that it is set to 0”). Instead, just use a standard double space, indent a full ½ inch (preferably using the tab button), and start typing. To indent your paragraphs, do not use the space bar. Instead, use the Tab key on your keyboard or use the Paragraph settings so the first line of a paragraph is automatically indented. While APA allows writers to choose a font that is “accessible to readers” (American Psychological Society, 2020, p. 44), and offers a few recommended types and sizes (see Section 2.19), this template uses Times New Roman size 12. The introduction should receive no specific heading because readers assume that the first section functions as your paper’s introduction.
After considering these formatting issues, you will need to construct a thesis statement. This statement provides readers with a lens for understanding the evidence you will present in the body of your essay (each paragraph and thus evidence within those paragraphs you include should support and apply to this thesis statement).
Once you have established your thesis, begin constructing the introduction. A structure for writing an introduction follows:
1. Start with what has been said or done regarding the topic.
2. Explain the problem with what has been said or done.
3. Offer a solution in a concise thesis statement that can be supported by the evidence.
Level 1 Heading
This text will be the beginning of the body of the essay. Even though this section has a new heading, make sure to connect this section to the previous one so readers follow your ideas and evidence. The first sentence in each paragraph should start with a topic sentence, which summarizes the main point in the current paragraph. Make sure each paragraph contains only one topic, which helps establish a clear scope for your paragraph. When you see yourself drifting to another idea, make sure you break into a new paragraph. You can use the MEAL plan as a way to organize your paragraphs. In short, think about your paragraphs in this way: a new idea, new paragraph.
Another Level 1 Heading
Here is another Level 1 heading. Note that, when you add additional headings, you should use the APA levels available in the Styles area of your toolbar. If you enter them manually instead, you may need to delete the automatic indent that appears because Word thinks you are beginning a new paragraph. Again, the topic sentence of this section should explain how this paragraph is related or a result of what you discussed in the previous section. Consider using transitions between sentences to help readers see the connections between ideas.
Level 2 Heading
The Level 2 heading designates a subsection of the previous section. Using headings is a great way to organize a paper and increase its readability, so see Section 2.27 of APA 7 and the Heading Levels webpage for details on heading formatting (APA 7 also has a chart detailing heading formatting in the inside front cover). For shorter papers, using one or two levels is all that is needed. You would use Level 1 (centered, bold font with title case) and Level 2 (left aligned, bold, title case). This template provides examples of APA’s four heading levels but remember to use headings intentionally to indicate your paper’s organization. Too many headings (e.g., headings for each paragraph) can be distracting, while too few headings can make your paper’s organization unclear.
Level 3 Heading
Level 3 and 4 headings introduce some new formatting. Level 3 headings are in italics, and Level 4 headings are indented. All headings are in title case. The number of heading levels needed in a particular paper is not set, but longer papers may benefit from another heading level, such as this Level 3 heading (which is left-aligned, bold, italicized, and title case), in order to clearly organize and identify the nesting development of ideas.
Level 4 Heading. One crucial area in APA is learning how to cite. Make sure to cite source information throughout your paper to avoid plagiarism. This practice is critical; you need to give credit to your sources and avoid copying others’ work. Review the OASIS Plagiarism Prevention Resource Kit for guidelines on citing source information in your writing.
Level 1 Heading
APA can seem difficult to master, but following the general rules becomes easier with use. OASIS offers many resources and services to help. Explore the APA Style section of our website, submit a question via Ask OASIS, or register for an OASIS Live session.
Level 1 Heading
The conclusion section should recap the major points of your paper. A conclusion can be one paragraph, but it can also be a few paragraphs, depending on the length of your paper. However, perhaps more importantly, the conclusion should also interpret what you have written and what it means in the bigger picture. To help write your conclusion, consider asking yourself these questions: What do you want to happen with the information you have provided? What do you want to change? What is your ultimate goal in using this information? What would it mean if the reader of your paper took and used the suggestions in your paper?
References
The following references are intended as examples only. These entries illustrate different types of references but are not cited in the body of this template. In your paper, be sure every reference entry matches an in-text citation, and every in-text citation refers to an item in the reference list. For additional examples, see the Common Reference List Examples page.
American Counseling Association. (n.d.). About us. https://www.counseling.org/about-us/about-aca
Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with consequences. Educational Leadership, 76(1), 26-33.
Bach, D., & Blake, D. J. (2016). Frame or get framed: The critical role of issue framing in nonmarket management. California Management Review, 58(3), 66-87. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.3.66
Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health: Frameworks of Power. Routledge.
Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24(2), 225–229. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225
Johnson, P. (2003). Art: A new history. HarperCollins. https://doi.org/10.1037.0000136-000
Lindley, L. C., & Slayter, E. M. (2018). Prior trauma exposure and serious illness at end of life: A national study of children in the U.S. foster care system from 2005 to 2015. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 56(3), 309–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.06.001
Osman, M. A. (2016, December 15). 5 do’s and don’ts for staying motivated. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/5-dos-and-donts-for-staying-motivated/art-20270835
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Wiley.
World Health Organization. (2018, March). Questions and answers on immunization and vaccine safety. https://www.who.int/features/qa/84/en/