Discuss how your proposed research fits into the studies that have already been done – how is it similar and how is it different?

Social Work Research I

Major Written Assignment
Project Description and Final Participatory Action Research Proposal

Task: Develop a detailed research design that is acceptable for a final research proposal.

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to (1) learn how the parts of a proposal fit together; (2) explain your proposed research study in detail; (3) learn how to integrate anti-racist principles into research and consider groups who have traditionally been left out of research

Learning Objectives
1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the range of insider/outsider positions a researcher can take. In addition, will demonstrate an understanding of related issues of a studys trustworthiness, transferability, and ethics.
2. Students will be able to apply these concepts to specific research studies and propose a research study of their own, grounded in Participatory Action Research (PAR) principles.

Format: Use headings to differentiate the sections of your paper as they are listed in the assignments.
You will complete this assignment in parts as described below, over the course of the semester. The work that you do in your journaling assignments will help to form the foundation for this more formal writing.
You will also create a Google folder that includes your proposal and all related materials (consent forms, screening tool, surveys, articles you have reviewed, etc). You will share the google folder with your instructor. They will provide you with the email to use for this purpose.

Recommended Methods: Students will choose to propose a quantitative survey project or a qualitative interview project. Students will be able to edit and alter consent forms provided by the instructor to match their study protocols.

Requirements: In this assignment, your writing should be formal, as if your audience consists of reviewers who would be evaluating your proposal for IRB approval or funding. You can write in the first person, describing what you might do and be sure to proofread for writing and punctuation errors. Written mechanics will be 2 points of the grade. Strong peer-reviewed articles that you have read for the literature review can be models for acceptable professional writing about research. A reference page must be included using APA style. This is especially relevant to item II described below.

Part I of the assignment should be 6-7 double-spaced pages.
In addition, each part should have a cover sheet, reference page, and Appendix in electronic folder form with either your consent forms, survey questions/items for a quantitative PAR study or interview/focus group questions for a qualitative PAR study, and your elevator pitch.

Citations and Reference pages: References pages must be included for both parts in APA style. All information that comes from another source MUST be cited using correct APA citation style within the text of
your document and that source must be included in the reference page.
The following outline provides a guide for writing this assignment. All of the following should be included in your final proposal.

Part I (Due week 8)
Introduction, including problem statement
This section includes a statement of your research problem and informs your reader that this is indeed a problem worthy of social work research and one that is important to populations that have been marginalized by structures in our country. A good problem statement concisely makes the reader aware of the scope of the problem so that he/she will understand why this problem is worthy of research. Using facts and statistics or concrete examples taken from previous studies (cited appropriately from articles found in your literature review) is an extremely effective way to grab your readers attention and help him/her to quickly understand why this is a problem worthy of research.
Your concise problem statement should include answers to all of the following:
I.
Why is this problem relevant to social work?
What is the scope of the problem? For example, how many people and what proportion of the general population does it affect? What systems, institutions, and policies are affected by this problem?
Why is research about this topic necessary? For example, how does it affect a marginalized or under-served population? Is it a newly emerging topic? Does this problem affect a lot of people? Is there a social justice or ethical element related to research about this topic? Has prior research not provided an adequate explanation or understanding of the problem or an effective solution?
What remains unknown about this problem?
Include a statement about why principles related to participatory action research are important for your project, specifically. Please cite 1-2 of the PAR related sources that you are reading for class in your justification.
Discussion of Literature Review
II.
o Write several paragraphs about past and current research about your topic.
You should include 5 studies to get a feel for the range of research out there on your topic.
o Discuss how your proposed research fits into the studies that have already been done – how is it similar and how is it different? What is new about your work and why is it important to add to what is there?
o Discuss how your idea and consideration of marginalized communities will set your work apart from the other work in the field.
Methodology decision
Here you should write a brief paragraph to describe whether you have chosen to conduct a quantitative survey project or a qualitative interview, focus group, mapping, or visual description project. Describe in a few sentences why you chose the method you chose and how it will give voice to and elevate the perspectives of your participants. This is how you will choose your methods. If you plan on using survey methods, identify the 2 or 3 ideas that you are most interested in studying. Your instructor will suggest finding validated survey questionnaire items to help you measure those ideas. If you choose qualitative focus group or interview methodology, you will be developing an interview guide with questions that you will ask of your participants. If you choose any of the other methods (i.e., mapping or visual description), you will be identifying things you might study or look for. The guide referenced above provides examples to help you think about this. Please see the attachment that gives additional details about approaches to data collection for the recommended methods for this project.
Project Description (How would you carry out the study that you are proposing?)
III.
o What is the purpose of your study: exploratory, descriptive, etc.?
o In very specific terms, what is your research question?
o Will your study be quantitative or qualitative? What is your rationale for the chosen method?
o If it is quantitative, state your hypothesis. Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable. How will your variables be defined operationally? (Translation of variables into operational terms).
o If it is qualitative, what are the sensitizing concepts you have identified from the literature? How would you define these with participants?

Last Completed Projects