How does mental health stigma impact the overall wellbeing of incarcerated African American men?

Introduction, background, Problem statement, research question, Significance of the Study, Research Objectives, Scope
of the study, Definition of Key Terms, Organization of the study, Literature REVIEW, METHODOLOGY, References.

I. Problem Statement and Study Rationale (1 page)

A. The Problem
 What is the problem to be studied? Describe it briefly.
 What are the characteristics of those who are affected by this problem?
 How big is the population of persons who are affected? Is there a specific subpopulation in which you are interested and if so, justify why this group should be targeted for study.
B. Study Rationale
 Why does this problem merit the attention of social work professionals?
 What are the consequences for the persons affected by the problem if it is not addressed or better understood?
 How could an increased understanding of the problem specified be useful or beneficial for social worker practitioners, educators, and researchers in their work?

II. Literature Review (4-5 pages)

A. Literature Review  
Conduct a review and synthesis of 5-8 current studies (research articles where data is collected and analyzed) in which you provide a critique of the literature on your stated problem including the following:
The main themes/research questions that have been addressed by the studies 
A comparison and contrast of key findings

A critique of the adequacy of the research including a general statement of the quality and amount of studies addressing the specific aspect of your topic in which you are interested, identifying what areas have and have not been adequately investigated by the available studies, whether the studies appear to be based on or driven by a particular theory, whether the measures used appear to be appropriate, the extent to which they address special populations including urban and historically disadvantaged populations, whether or not there appear to be any ethical issues or problems, etc.

B . Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
Select an appropriate human behavior theory (macro or micro) and discuss how it provides a conceptual framework for understanding the problem you identified. Specifically, discuss the applicable concepts of the theory that can be used to explain the prevalence of an issue/problem, how the concepts you are studying are related, or why an intervention could reasonably be expected to improve an outcome of focus, depending on the type of research question you selected.  

C. Research Question and Hypothesis

Conclude the literature review section by stating your refined research question and hypothesis (if appropriate) based on your analysis of the literature and the human behavior theory you selected.

III. Methods 

A. Variable Specification
State the independent and dependent variables for your study. Consider limiting them to one of each to keep things simple.
 Provide conceptual (nominal) definitions for each. Briefly discuss how these variables fit with the human behavior theory you selected to conceptualize your study.
State how will you measure the independent and dependent variables (operational definitions). Describe each measure to be used. Provide information on reliability and validity if applicable. Comment on the strengths and limitations of using each measure with your intended sample. What are the diversity considerations, if any, related to sampling?
State the demographic data will you collect on your participants.

B. Research Design 
State the specific study design you propose to use to answer your research question (i.e. true experimental, cohort, pre-post one group, etc.) It is not sufficient to only indicate longitudinal or cross-sectional. State a specific design and provide a full explanation as to why you selected it and why you rejected other possible designs (i.e., why this is the best design for your situation based on research methods available and feasibility for the study within the context it would occur).

C. Participants/Sampling

What is your target study population? Describe the desired demographic characteristics of the participants of your study. State how many participants you propose to include in the study and justify your number.

Describe your proposed sampling procedure. It should align with your study design. 

Describe how you would recruit and select participants. How would you identify people who would participate? If you plan to use a random sample, how would you obtain a sampling frame? What procedures would you use to select potential participants from the sampling frame? How would you solicit potential participants? Where would you “find” them?

D. Protecting Participants from Harm

What level of risk does this study represent for participants (low, medium, high)? State how you would protect the privacy of the participants and otherwise protect them from being harmed in the conduct of your study. Where will you store the data collected and signed consent forms? How will you prevent signed consent forms and other identifying information from being associated with individual participants when storing the data?

Describe the procedures you would use to ensure informed consent from potential participants for the study. Provide a consent form that you construct for the study in the appendix of this paper.

What issues related to diversity need to be considered in the design of this study?

        
E.  Procedures
Describe the procedures you will use to collect the data. For example, will you use face-to-face or web-based surveys/questionnaires, observation guides, interview schedules, focus groups, etc.?  Include a description of the timing of observations/measurement of variables, and implementation of the intervention if your study involves one. Address any special circumstances necessary.

Describe how you will process the data to prepare it for analysis (e.g., how you will enter the data from your measures into a computer program/app to analyze it). 
Restate the research question from the literature review section and describe how you will analyze the data to answer it (i.e., what statistics will you use to answer the research question/address the hypothesis.)  Indicate why you selected the statistics that you did, based on the level of measurement of the data collected and the purpose of your research question.

References
Appendices
1. Formatted data collection instrument with directions for participants
 2. Formatted consent form