Paper details
CONCEPTUAL PAPER OUTLINE
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Introduction to the chapter (no heading)
1. Lead in statement
2. Topic introduced
3. What is this paper about? Overarching question
Statement of the Study Issue
1. What is the social problem you are discussing?
– Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied
– Place the problem into a particular context
2. What was done and why
a. Declaration of originality (e.g. mentioning a knowledge void, gap in the literature)
3. Specific issues proposed for the paper
Purpose of the Study
1. Indication of the central focus of the study
2. Specific issues and research questions are clearly stated
a. What are you going to cover?
b. What will you not cover, and why?
c. How do you explore the questions?
3. Specific groups identified
4. Geographic area (Optional, national? State? City?)
Significance of the Study
1. Why is your study important?
2. What contribution might this make to future generations?
3. How will this add to the body of knowledge and literature?
4. How might this information be used?
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Introduction to the chapter (no heading)
Historical Perspective
1. Provide a historical context to your problem.
b. Cleary describe the multifaceted ways the concept has emerged from the first time it was determined to exist and how it plays out today.
c. Briefly discuss results of research that describes the onset of the study topic and examines the impact it has on a population over time.
First study issue (you should name it)
1. Investigate the literature thoroughly about the issue and synthesize the findings from various studies
2. Provide explanations rather than statistics alone.
3. This is not an article summary; that is, you should not merely restate the information from the articles but rather synthesize the information using your critical thinking
Second study issue (you should name it)
1. Investigate the literature thoroughly about the issue and synthesize the findings from various studies
2. Provide explanations rather than statistics alone.
3. This is not an article summary; that is, you should not merely restate the information from the articles but rather synthesize the information using your critical thinking
Afrocentric Perspective
1. Review the literature on Afrocentric perspective.
2. Explain the concept of Afrocentric Perspective and identify the core values of Afrocentric Perspective from the scholarly articles or books pertaining to your study topic.
3. Describe your understanding of Afrocentric Perspective and its importance in your study. Elaborate what Afrocentric perspective provides for better understanding of clients or solution for the problems when applied to your topic. You may use examples.
Theoretical Framework
1. Review theories you learned in other courses or have found in the literature. Choose one or two theories that can best explain the relationships between the key variables/concepts you are discussing.
2. Provide an overview of the theory and rationale for using the theory in your paper.
3. Apply theory to your social problem.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
Introduction (no heading)
Methods of the Study
1. Discuss whether the study is a systematic review, meta-analysis, content analysis, or other methodology. Most likely you are doing a comprehensive literature review, or a systematic review.
2. List how many of each kind of publication you summarized. (For example, 31 social work journal articles, one child welfare monograph, five book reviews, four internet transcripts, one manuscript). Explain how you found them (e.g. which databases you used, such as JSTOR). Be specific about your key word searches. Describe any exclusion criteria (what articles you did not use) and explain why.
Limitations of the Study
1. Discuss methodological challenge in conducting your study.
a. Difficulties in identifying and sorting out the literature
b. E.g., difficulties in defining the key words, few in numbers in academia (before assuming this to be true, though, consult with a librarian!)
2. You may find some limitations are commonly found through the literature you investigated.
a. Elaborate them using critical thinking and explain why these limitations exist.
b. Assess the impact of those limitations in relation to the overall findings and conclusions of your study.
c. E.g., small sample size, sampling bias (selection effects), lack of available and/or reliable data, problems in measurement, cultural and other types of bias, fluency in language, etc. as it relates to your study.
3. It should be about the limitations of YOUR STUDY. Don?t list the limitations of each study you reviewed one by one.
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
Introduction (no heading)
Critical Appraisal of first study issue (you should name it)
1. Empirical evaluation of predictors of desirable or undesirable consequences
a. What were the overall results of the literature review?
b. Were the results consistent from one study to another?
c. How precise were the results?
2. Applicability of the results in social work practice
a. Evaluation of effectiveness
E.g., What are some practice applications from the results if any? What policy/programs have been developed from the results if any? What effects does intervention (program, or policy) have on the issues if it already exists? What expectation do we have for the future intervention (program, or policy) based on the results?
b. Evaluation of understanding of client?s environments and experiences
E.g., Can the results be used universally? Does applicability depend on the certain condition? What condition may limit applicability?
c. Evaluation of generalizability
Critical Appraisal of second study issue (you should name it)
1. Empirical evaluation of predictors of desirable or undesirable consequences
a. What were the overall results of the literature review?
b. Were the results consistent from one study to another?
c. How precise were the results?
2. Applicability of the results in social work practice
a. Evaluation of effectiveness
E.g., What are some practice applications from the results if any? What policy/programs have been developed from the results if any? What effects does intervention (program, or policy) have on the issues if it already exists? What expectation do we have for the future intervention (program, or policy) based on the results?
b. Evaluation of understanding of client?s environments and experiences
E.g., Can the results be used universally? Does applicability depend on the certain condition? What condition may limit applicability?
c. Evaluation of generalizability
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
Introduction (no heading)
Summary of the Study
1. Summarize key points from literature review.
2. Make statements connecting first problem to second problem.
3. Support all statements with evidence from the literature
Implications for Social Work
1. Suggest a course of action to promote changes in practice, policy, and research.
2. Base your suggestions on the arguments you have previously established.
3. Suggest how the information from your paper might be used by practitioners, policy makers, or researchers.
a. How could the information be used for interventions?
b. What policy changes need to take place? At what level? (state, national, school districts, agencies).
c. What does future research need to cover? What populations, what topics, what questions?
Other tips:
? Keep the focus consistent; that is, if you?re looking at a national problem, keep the focus on national data. Make it clear when you?re using a case example (of say, state policy in New York) or an agency in Iowa.
? Be consistent and systematic in your approach. If one of your study problems is looking at internalizing behaviors, which you defined as mental illness and academic achievement, make sure you cover both topics every time and do it in the same order every time.
? Cite every 1-2 sentences. When in doubt, over cite!
? You can change the headings as needed; you still need to have each section as laid out in this outline, but you could change a heading from ?Theoretical Framework? to the title of your chosen theory, for example.
? If you are not doing data collection, try to avoid using the word ?study?. Instead, try to use the term ?social problem?. Choose your wording so that it?s most appropriate for your paper.
? Important: When you cite a journal article that covers a piece of research, you should be citing the findings from that study. You should NOT be citing anything from the literature review of that article; if you find something useful in the literature review, go find the original source and cite that.
o The exception to this rule is if you find a published literature review. Much like your conceptual paper, a published literature review establishes a point of view and makes an argument. What you will be citing is the argument this literature review has established.
? Use verbatim references sparingly. Paraphrase, reword, translate and restate the information in your own words as much as possible.
? Avoid Word for Word Plagiarism
o A word-for-word example of plagiarism is one in which the writer directly quotes a passage or passages from an author’s work without the use of proper quotation marks.
o If you use an author’s specific word or words, you must place those words within quotation marks and you must credit the source (author?s last name and page number).
o Avoid long or frequent quotation unless you have a special reason for quotation.
