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Substance abuse treatment options and approaches for pregnant women


Research Paper Instructions


This paper will be completed in three steps, each of which will be assigned points toward your final grade. These steps are:


1)     

Submission of a topic, outline and list of references for your paper (10 points, due Week 5)


2)     

Selection of topic and development of an Annotated Bibliography (10 points, due Week 6)


3)     

Submission of an 8 – 10 page paper (20 points, due Week 8)

Selection of Topic, Outline and References – (
Due Module 5)


1)     

Select a topic that is related to the scope of this course.  The topic should be one that has personal and professional interest to you. It should have some relevance to substance abuse counseling and families. Choose a fairly specific topic; topics that are very broad generally do not result in good papers.  For example, instead of choosing the topic “Women and Substance Abuse”, which is too general, you might narrow your focus to “Special Treatment Needs of Chemically Dependent Women” or to “Effective Treatment Models for Pregnant Substance-abusing Women”.

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2)     

Conduct searches of online journal articles, web sites, and other internet information sources to find 10 to 15 current sources of information about your topic. In addition to using a search engine such as Google, you must also use library databases such as EBSCOHost to find current professional journal articles. These should be references that contain information relevant to your topic which you will cite in your final paper.


3)     

You may only use online sources if you can access and read the entire article. If you can only access an abstract of a journal article, you may not use it – even if the abstract is very interesting and relevant to your topic. Some full journal articles may be available through the GCU interlibrary loan process, which will allow the university to email you a copy of full journal articles that you cannot access directly through EBSCOHost.


4)     

In the course of locating journal articles and other references, you will begin to refine your topic.  This frequently means narrowing your topic and/or adjusting the scope of the topic to reflect the kinds of information and current themes that you have located in the professional literature.  Based on this refinement:



a)     

Develop a title for your paper that reflects its scope and contents.



b)     

Develop an outline for your paper that includes, at a minimum, the following headings:



i)       

Abstract



ii)     

Overview or Introduction



iii)   

Major topics and subtopics



iv)   

Summary or Conclusion



v)     

References



c)     

You do not need to include content for outline sections 1, 2, 4, or 5 above. However, Section 3 (major topics and subtopics) must be clearly identified in outline form.  Your total outline should be approximately 1 page long (double-spaced).



d)    

Create a list of 10 – 15 tentative references that you plan to cite in your paper.  Your reference list must be in correct APA format. As you develop your paper, you may discover that you need to replace some of these references with stronger ones. Your final reference list should include only those references that you actually cite in your paper.

Annotated bibliography – (
Due Module 6)


An annotated bibliography is a bibliography of professional literature sources that incorporates your own critical assessment of each source.  For this course you are required to write a paper and an annotated bibliography of resources about a topic related to family issues and substance abuse.  Each student may choose a topic of personal interest for his/her paper; however, if you have any question about whether your topic is course-related, please consult with your instructor before proceeding. 


1)     

Select 5 or 6 of the best sources to arrive at a set of resources that are current, empirically based, and whose contents you believe to be of high quality based on the author/s’ credentials, the research design, publication in peer-reviewed journals, commentary by other professionals, etc.  The articles must be related to your research paper topic and should represent sources of information that you would use as references if you were writing a paper on your topic.

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2)     

Write an annotated bibliography using your top 6 to 8 references.  Identify your topic at the top of the page. Each bibliography item should include a brief descriptive summary of the contents of the source material, followed by your assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, and significance of the information for your topic.  Each entry should be approximately one-third to one-half page in length, single-spaced.  Each entry must begin with an APA style bibliographic reference for the article/source, followed by your narrative assessment.


3)     

Submit your Annotated Bibliography to your instructor by the end of Week 6.


4)     

Your Annotated Bibliography will be assessed based on the quality of the resources selected and the quality of your assessment of each resource as it relates to your selected topic.

Final paper – (
Due Week 8)


Your final paper will be eight to ten pages long (double-spaced, excluding reference section).  It will include the following sections:


1)     

Abstract: a brief summary (approximately 250 words) of the contents of the paper


2)     

Overview/introduction that describes the importance of the topic you have selected (both its personal/professional significance to you and its significance for our current professional understanding of families and addictive disorders) and the scope of the paper (topics to be addressed).


3)     

Major topics and subtopics, including appropriate headings that correspond to your outline and that help the reader to follow the development of your selected topic. Your paper must demonstrate your understanding of the material studied in this course and the professional references you have selected. You must use correct APA style for in-text citations.  Every in-text citation must have a corresponding reference in the References section of your paper.


4)     

Summary/conclusion that restates the scope/purpose of the paper, summarizes the key points resulting from your research, and raises questions that are of interest to you or that are not yet answered in the professional literature.


5)     

Final References – 10 to 15 references, compiled in correct APA format. Every reference must have at least one corresponding in-text citation, and every in-text citation must be included in your list of references.



 

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