Getting Started - Assignment | Serial Killer Research (Sawyerr) - Research Guides at Lone Star College

Course Assignment

You're writing a profile about a specific serial killer from the list provided by Dr. Sawyerr!

Biographical information and criminal activity may be gleaned from news articles, court documents, books or documentaries.
Characterization of the killer: this is where your scholarly source will most likely come into play.

Locate 5 sources:
- your textbook
- 1 scholarly source
- 3 credible sources, like news articles or websites or e-books
  - Caution! There's a LOT of true crime blogs and podcasts out there. Be picky and critical.
APA References page of your sources
15-min max presentation on your killer
- your presentation also needs APA references: references list at the end, parenthetical citations on slides!

Serial Murder: Pathways for Investigation
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DOJ, FBI report that gets into defining the motive types and organized vs disorganized classifications.

Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators
The first 2/3 of this FBI page explain some myths of serial killers, what the definition is, and complicating factors to an investigation.

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Prepared by: Behavioral Analysis Unit-2
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
Critical Incident Response Group
Federal Bureau of Investigation
"Profiles in Terror - The Serial Murderer" (Holmes, 1985)
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Explains the four different motive types. To read article, look for "URL(s): PDF" (below the title, about the journal info).

Learn the Terms
What does scholarly really mean, and how is it different from other types of sources.