18 Nov SOCW 3308-002 Spring 2021 1

SOCW 3308-002 Spring 2021 1

 

Instructions for Research Proposal Paper

Student Learning Outcomes: Addresses competencies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9.

Instructions:

The goal of this assignment is to challenge you to integrate and apply majority of the

information that you will learn through this class over the course of the semester to

develop a research proposal. The research proposal can be quantitative or qualitative.

Once you have identified a problem, you will then undertake a brief literature review on

the topic and come up with objectives/research questions that your proposal will seek to

address/answer. You then select an appropriate methodology based on consultation with

the instructor. The mode of data collection may include surveys, interviews with key

stakeholders, focus groups, or analysis of existing data, among others.

Your research proposal will typically involve: (1) identifying the problem; (2) describing

the nature and extent of the problem; (3) conducting a literature review of the problem

and what past studies have found with respect to your problem; (4) identifying gaps in the

literature and state the objective(s)/research question(s) that the proposal will be

addressing; (5) proposing a method for that you will want to use to carry out the research

and explaining the process in detail; (6) proposing a method that you will use in

collecting the data; and (7) discussing possible implications that could arise if you are

able to carry out the proposed research.

Please submit the assignment using the Canvas Assignment tab:

1. Final Research Proposal Paper

Save the file using the following format for the name:

For example:

MyName – Final Research Proposal Paper.doc

Papers should be typed, double spaced, using 1-inch margins, 12 point Times New

Roman font. Title and reference pages are required. An abstract is not required. Follow

APA 6th Edition style guidelines. The Research Proposal Paper (not including title

and reference pages) should be between 5 to 7 pages. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOCW 3308 002 Spring 2021 2

Dr. Aaron Hagedorn

Please follow the outline listed below to structure your paper and ensure that you are

including all of the relevant information.

I. Introduction and Background (5 pts.)

a. Introduce the problem and briefly state the magnitude of the problem.

E..g., Opioid misuse is a major public health issue in the United States,

and has emerged as the greatest contributor to substance overdose-related

deaths among adults (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2017).

Recent estimates confirm that opioid addiction among the adult U.S.

population is at an all-time high, with some studies reporting that as low

as 4% (Edlund et al., 2010; Vowles et al., 2015) to as high as 23%

(Jamison, Butler, Budman, Edwards, & Wasan, 2010; Meltzer et al.,

2011; Meltzer et al., 2012) of adults in the U.S. are addicted to opioids.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

examined data on all-cause mortality, and found that drug overdoses

exceeded more than 60,000 in 2016, greater than any year on record

(O’Donnell, Halpin, Mattson, Goldberger, & Gladden, 2017).

a. Identify the gap in the literature. E.g., Although a number of public health

measures have been put in place in the U.S. to address the unprecedented

epidemic of opioid overdose (Hahn, 2011; Hampton, 2004; Jones,

Fullwood, & Hawthorn, 2012; Substance abuse and mental health

services administration, 2009), the use of MBSR as a therapeutic

intervention to treat individuals with OUD has not been fully tried and

tested, and certainly none among individuals suffering from comorbid

CLBP and OUD.

II. Literature Review (15 pts.)

a. What else has been done in terms of researching this or similar

problems and what has past studies found regarding this problem?

b. What has studies found with respect to the effect of age, race, gender,

sexual orientation on this problem

c. Where else has your methodology been used?

d. What can we learn from what others have done regarding this

problem?

E..g., Analyzing data from the CDC, Rudd et al. (2016) also found that the

rate of opioid overdose-related deaths in 2014 increased significantly for

both sexes across all age and racial groups in the U.S. This increase in

opioid overdose-related deaths in part has been attributed to the increased

prescribing of opioid analgesics in the management of postoperative pain

(Ballantyne, 2017; Paulozzi, Jones, & Mack, 2015; Phillips, Ford, Bonnie,

& National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017;

Sadhasivam & Chidambaran, 2012; Stumbo et al., 2017). As a result,

some treatment interventions have been developed to treat comorbid

CLBP and OUD and to prevent relapse. CBT is one behavioral

intervention which has received considerable support in treating

individuals with SUD, including opioid addiction (Bell, daCosta

DiBonaventura, Witt, Ben-Joseph, & Reeve, 2017; Dowell, Haegerich, &

Chou, 2016; Park et al., 2016; Rasu, Sohraby, Cunningham, & Knell, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOCW 5308 008/014 Spring 2020 3

Dr. Philip Baiden

2013). However, a burgeoning number of studies suggests that

interventions which include a mindfulness component, such as MBSR, are

more effective in preventing relapse than CBT (Bell et al., 2017; Dowell et

al., 2016; Park et al., 2016; Rasu et al., 2013).

III. Objective(s)/Research question(s)/hypothesis(es) (10 pts.)

a. What are your objectives, or what questions are you trying to answer,

or what are your hypotheses?*

*If you are proposing a qualitative study then you will not need a

hypothesis. You should have a hypothesis if you are proposing to use a

quantitative methodology and especially a quasi-, or experimental design.

E.g., The following two hypothesis-driven objectives will be addressed: 1)

To conduct a randomized clinical trial (RCT) to test the relative efficacy of

mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), cognitive behavioral therapy

(CBT), and treatment-as-usual (TAU) in treating patients with comorbid

opioid-use disorder (OUD) and comorbid chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Hypothesis: The MBSR and CBT components of the interdisciplinary

intervention program will be more efficacious than the TAU component;

2) To investigate the physical and mental health outcomes produced by

these interventions, as well as individual differences in outcomes.

Hypothesis: The measurement of individual variations in the

biopsychosocial measures will serve as outcomes, and enable us to

develop unique “flags” for change to document the efficacy of the

interventions.

IV. Methodology (50 pts.)

a. What will be the sample size

b. What sampling method will you be using (i.e., probability, nonprobability, etc.)

c. Design (i.e., qualitative, quantitative, exploratory, survey, quasi-, or

experimental design, etc.)

i. If you are proposing a quasi or experimental design, describe in

detail the key component of the intervention and how it will be

delivered

ii. E.g., Mindfulness has been defined by Kabat-Zinn (1994) as

“paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present

moment, and non-judgmentally” (p. 4). A key component of MBSR

is meditation which is often compared with normal everyday

mental functioning, and may be a valuable intervention for

individuals with OUD, whose mental state is often craving for

substances or preoccupied with thoughts about how to get their

“next fix” (Aleksandra Zgierska et al., 2009). MBSR encourages

individuals to be mindful of their cravings and acknowledge that

these cravings are fleeting (Katz & Toner, 2013). It uses evidencebased practices to lower the likelihood and severity of relapse for

individuals with SUD after receiving treatment (Bowen et al.,

2014). The intervention draws on select components of relapse-

 

 

 

 

SOCW 5308 008/014 Spring 2020 4

Dr. Philip Baiden

prevention therapy (Marlatt & Gordon, 1985) in identifying

underlying risk factors and common precursors of relapse (Daley

& Marlatt, 2006; Kabat-Zinn, 1994; Kabat-Zinn & Hanh, 2009;

Marlatt & Gordon, 1985). Bowen et al. (2009) undertook a RCT to

test the efficacy of MBSR in substance use relapse-prevention and

found that, compared with a 12- step program, MBSR was

associated with decreased alcohol and drug use during a 2-month

post-intervention period, and a decreased craving for drug use and

increased acceptance and awareness during a 4-month postintervention period. Various systematic reviews (Bell et al., 2017;

Dowell et al., 2016; Park et al., 2016; Rasu et al., 2013) and metaanalyses (Bell et al., 2017; Dowell et al., 2016; Park et al., 2016;

Rasu et al., 2013) have also found MBSR to be effective in helping

individuals to cope with their clinical and non-clinical problems.

Most recently, Cherkin et al. (2016) and others (Bell et al., 2017;

Dowell et al., 2016; Park et al., 2016; Rasu et al., 2013) have also

found that MBSR was as effective as CBT in reducing pain and

disability in CLBP. To the best of our knowledge, although

supported by other studies (see e.g., Brewer et al., 2009; Zgierska

et al., 2008) of MBSR in treating individuals with SUD, this

present proposal is the first RCT to investigate the efficacy of

MBSR, CBT, and treatment-as-usual (TAU) on 12-month follow-up

outcomes.

iii. How will be intervention be delivered?

E.g., The MBSR intervention group will receive an integrated

mindfulness-based meditation, which will be a manualized 10-week

intervention designed to reduce risk factors associated with

addiction and psychosocial distress due to pain (Kabat-Zinn,

1982; Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Following the approach suggested by

Garland et al. (2016), the MBSR sessions will involve mindfulness

training to target automatic-habit behavior that can help regulate

negative emotions and foster a sense of meaningfulness in life.

MBSR participants will be provided with psychoeducation on

topics about substance use and addiction, as well as general

coping skills for CLBP.

d. How are you going to collect your data? (e.g., in-depth interview,

focus group discussions, face-to-face questionnaire, mailed

questionnaire, telephone question, or online survey?)

e. If qualitative, state some of the key interview questions or focus group

questions and include an interview guide as an appendix

f. Measurement (NOT NEEDED IF YOU ARE PROPOSING A

QUALITATIVE STUDY)

i. What is your dependent and independent variables and how will

you measure them?

ii. What has past studies found with respect to the reliability and

validity of your measures?

 

 

 

 

SOCW 3308 002 Spring 2021 5

Dr. Aaron Hagedorn

V. Implications (5 pts.)

a. What are some of the possible implications that could results from

undertaken this research?

Overall quality of the paper (10 pts.)

Technical Components – APA, reference page, etc. (5 pts.)