Running Head: TITLE OF PROPOSAL NOT TO EXCEED 50 CHARACTERS Page #
[Insert Title Here]
[Insert Name Here]
Dominican University, Graduate School of Social Work
Social Work Research Methods
Title page includes title of
report, name of the investigator, university and course name, uses APA running
head. The title should serve to provide a focus for your research proposal. (3
points)
TITLE OF PROPOSAL NOT TO EXCEED 50 CHARACTERS Page #
Abstract (7 points)
Write a concise abstract in 150-250 words addressing the rationale, importance of the research
topic,
research question(s), research method, research design, sampling methods,
anticipated results of the study. Indicate the number of
words.
Format of Paper
Format the assignments using a 12 font on 81/2 by 11 inch paper with 1-inch margins. Double space the text and only use one side of the paper. Use APA style for the manuscript and the references. Use subheadings to organize the paper. Ideas are coherent, logical, and clear. Language is succinct and concise. There is a mastery of sentence structure and good flow of ideas. Typographical errors are not present. Paper is typed. Keep within page limit.
TITLE OF PROPOSAL NOT TO EXCEED 50 CHARACTERS Page #
Introduction/Literature Review Section (20
points)
(Insert your title of the literature review here)
Your
literature review will go here and clearly lay out a statement of the problem
you are proposing to research.
- What is the topic of the research? One sentence will clearly state the problem of you are addressing in your research proposal. Include a description of the problem statement in a short summary. (4 points)
- What is the significance of your research proposal? In this section include the purpose of the study. The section will start with “The purpose of this study is to…” This section will share whether the research purpose and goals are exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, or evaluative. (4 points)
- Coverage of the literature and flow of the report. This section will set the context for your research proposal; review what is known so far. It will start with a more general review leading to more specific conclusions. (4 points)
- Clarity of writing, coherence, techniques, and APA format. Writing must integrate published sources with appropriate acknowledgement and avoiding plagiarism. For a useful resource go to http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Acknowledging_Sources.pdf. See https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ for any questions on APA format (4 points)
- Synthesis of writing, research question(s), and hypothesis (if appropriate). See research questions information below. (4 points)
Research Questions
The research question(s) will be clearly supported by your literature review. A research question poses relationships between variables as a question. The following are guidelines for research question development: (a) formation of question or questions are based on theory, previous research (eg., the literature review), and experience (Onwuegbuzie & Leech 2006); (b) stated in the form of a question; and (c) are focused and clear (i.e., specific and feasible). Included below are the three types of research questions (Creswell, 2010):
The research question(s) will be clearly supported by your literature review. A research question poses relationships between variables as a question. The following are guidelines for research question development: (a) formation of question or questions are based on theory, previous research (eg., the literature review), and experience (Onwuegbuzie & Leech 2006); (b) stated in the form of a question; and (c) are focused and clear (i.e., specific and feasible). Included below are the three types of research questions (Creswell, 2010):
- Quantitative—Specify the specific variables to test (e.g., What is the relationship between the perception of the new educational initiative and job satisfaction?).
- Qualitative—Specify a concise open-ended question that begins with what or how and use verbs such as discover, explore, or understand. Example: How did the employees respond to the new educational initiative? What impact does the initiative have on the employees’ roles?
- Mixed method—Specify an explicit question so that the data can be analyzed to address the specific mixed method design. For example, if a triangulation approach with a convergence design was chosen, the question would be, “To what extent does the quantitative and qualitative data converge? How and why?”
Research Design (50 points)
Your
research proposal will cover the following areas: philosophical orientation,
methodology, and methods. There should be a coherence between the research
“problem and questions” and rationale for the research design. In addition, the
role of researcher, relationship with research, ethical considerations,
validity and reliability will all be influenced by this coherence. The
points assigned in each section add up to at total of 50 points for the
research design section.
Definition of Terms (4 points)
Identify
and provide appropriate definitions for concepts in the study. If you are doing
a quantitative study, define and operationalize the independent and the
dependent variables of the study. Provide complete definitions and,
if necessary, appropriate references. Include as many terms or variables as
needed. This is the conceptualization of your research and variables. If
you are doing quantitative research describe how you will control for identified
extraneous variables.
Philosophical/theoretical
orientation (4 points)
Discuss the philosophical/theoretical orientation for your study. What knowledge claims are being made by your proposed research? What is the theoretical perspective or orientation that informs the design of the research? (Creswell, 2010, pp. 5-12).
Discuss the philosophical/theoretical orientation for your study. What knowledge claims are being made by your proposed research? What is the theoretical perspective or orientation that informs the design of the research? (Creswell, 2010, pp. 5-12).
Your theoretical approach to this research might be more from a positivist, critical theory, constructionist philosophical orientation or paradigm. There are many more philosophical orientations; these are the three we discussed in class.
- Positivist/Post–positivist – This paradigm often looks at research as deterministic or explaining the relationships between variables or cause and effect (causal or predictive). It is also thought to be reductionist and predictive, often testing a theory. Within this paradigm research begins with understanding the theory and then collects/analyzes data to test the theory. Generalizability, being objective, separation of subject/object (relationship between the researcher and research objects) are all influenced by researching from this theoretical orientation.
- Critical Theory – This paradigm often looks at research as a tool for social justice. It often advocates for exposing systems of oppression and creating social change. It is also thought to be emancipatory and support the empowerment of people impacted by issues of participants impacted by inequality and marginalization. Power, privilege, inclusion, and voice are all influenced by researching from this theoretical orientation. Forms of critical theory include feminist theory, critical race theory, and queer theory, etc.
- Constructionist – This paradigm often looks at research as socially constructed, where meanings are constructed as people engage with and make sense of the world. It is thought to be inductive and generative, where meaning is created from the interactions and “data” collected. Within this paradigm, research begins with an area of inquiry, in which new meaning, understanding, knowledge, and possibilities are developed through interactions. Contextualizing, reflexivity, relationality are all influenced by researching from this theoretical orientation.
Methodology (4 points)
Identify
and explain the rationale for the research method/methods (either quantitative,
qualitative, and/or mixed methods). What strategies of inquiry or
methodology will inform your research? (Creswell pp. 15-18). These
might include quantitative methodology such as experimental research or surveys
that primarily uses positivist/post positivist claims e.g. testing hypothesis;
qualitative methodology such as ethnography or grounded theory or narrative
research that primarily uses constructionist, critical theory and other
naturalist/interpretivist ways of thinking about how meaning is constructed; or
mixed methods that combines quantitative and qualitative methodology such as
observations and interviews with quantitative survey data.
Methods (5 points)
Identify
and explain the choice of the research design for the study. What methods
of data collection and analysis will be used? Methods might include the use of
questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observation,
Sampling (5 points)
Identify
and explain the rationale for the specific type of sampling method. For
quantitative research, this section should include the following elements: (a)
the target population or sample that is representative of the population you
are researching with specific demographic information; (b) the size of the
sample that will yield representative findings; and (c) a sample selection
method (such as forms of probability and nonprobablity sampling) d) strategies
to limit possible bias e.g. gender bias (Rubin & Babbie, 2014, pp.
382-387). For qualitative research, this section should include the
following elements; (a) sample size considerations to ensure the data is not
too large that it is difficult to extract meaningful “thick, rich data” and at
the same time be able to achieve data and theoretical saturation (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2007, p. 242), and
(b) sampling technique and criteria to represent the diversity and breadth of
relevant experienes.
Data Collection (5 points)
Describe
data collection procedures. Please include information on participant selection
criteria, properties of the instruments, setting, sampling procedures, and how
the study will be implemented. Include surveys, interview questions, and/or
standardized or newly developed instruments in the appendix, where
possible.
Anticipated Ethical Issues (4 points)
Discuss the ethical issues of the study. What are the ethical risks of
the proposed procedures to participants? How were these risks minimized?
Include an informed consent form in the appendix.
Validity and Reliability (5 points)
Discuss
how you will address validity and reliability of your research as appropriate
for your chosen methodology. Identify the issues related to validity,
reliability and feasibility. If you proposed a quantitative study, identify
issues related to internal and external validity issues as they relate to the
study. Integrate a minimum of three concepts each from internal and external
validity as they relate to the study. Please use the classical concepts of
threats to internal and external validity to explain how they connect with your
study.
Data Analysis (5 points)
Indicate the appropriate data
analyses that will be used. The proposed data analysis methods should be based
on the research questions and the research design selected for the
study. Discuss the fit between the methodology, data collected and the
methods for data analysis. Specify the procedures for organizing, coding,
and interpreting the data. For quantitative data, what statistical test(s)
is/are appropriate for your data? If you are using a qualitative research
method, explain how the data will be coded and analyzed. Based on the
anticipated data you will be collecting, how would you use the data to support
your conclusions?
Presenting Findings (10 points) (5 points)
Describe
and illustrate how the data would be presented with appropriate use of
statistical or qualitative language to present data. For example, you may
present a table with the results of the study, use of pie charts or bar charts
to illustrate the results, or poems
developed by participants. Be specific regarding the information
that would be included. For example, for quantitative research you may use
numbers in the tables and figures to illustrate the relationship between the
variables. These tables and/or charts could be placed in the appendix or in the
text or the appendix. For qualitative research, explain briefly how the
“results” will be presented and who will present them.
Discussion (20 points)
Rationale (10 points)
Introductory
paragraph provides overview of the study. Explain the implication and
rationale for your choices in research methodology. What might be
considered an alternate methodology? If you proposed a qualitative study, what
might have been other ways/methods to approach the study? If you proposed a
quantitative study what other data collection method might there be for the
dependent variable or variables?
Limitations (5 points)
Discuss limitations to your research. Include recommendations for
future research.
Significance of the Study (5 points)
Write a conclusion that discusses the significance (either in terms of
practice, policy, administration, and/or education implications) of the
study
TITLE OF PROPOSAL NOT TO EXCEED 50 CHARACTERS Page #
Appendices
Consent Form(s)
Develop
an adequately written consent form for the proposed study addressing basic
principles in an ethical consent form – the consent form should be included in
the appendix
Research Instruments
Include
any research instruments identified or developed for the research
proposal.
Research Journal Entries
Include research journal entries in the appendix.
TITLE OF PROPOSAL NOT TO EXCEED 50 CHARACTERS Page #
References (10 points)
- Cite references in the text and the bibliography using APA style
- Write paper using APA style
- References match the citations in the narrative, and all references are complete and written in APA format.
Creswell J. W., &
Plano Clark, V. L. (2010). Designing
and conducting mixed
methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Onwuegbuzie,
A. J., & Leech, N. L. (2006). Linking research questions to mixed methods
data analysis procedures. The Qualitative Report, 11(3), 474-498.
Retrieved November 16, 2014 from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR11-3/onwuegbuzie.pdf
Onwuegbuzie,
A., & Leech, N. L. (2007). Sampling designs in qualitative research: Making
the sampling process more public. The Qualitative Report, 12(2),
238-254. Retrieved November 16, 2014 from
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR12-2/onwuegbuzie1.pdf
Rubin,
A., & Earl Babbie (2014) Research Methods for Social Work. 8th
ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole
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