Research Proposal

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COUN 5083

Signature Assignment - Research Proposal Template

You will answer the questions located in the Research Proposal Template, in a narrative, illuminating the current literature and how the literature informs your proposed study.  Then you will conclude your assignment with the implications that this study could have upon the counseling field in light of these implications.  Please follow the steps below, answering all the questions in each section.

Must only be 3 pages in length

This length does not include the title page, abstract, and reference page

Your section headings will include: Literature (with Research Questions as a subheading and with other subheadings as needed) and Integration (subheadings as needed).

Must be formatted in current APA formatting.

At least five citations and references must be included (include in-text citations, along with page number). Acceptable sources include peer-reviewed literature such as journal articles and books.

Please follow this template to write your Benchmark Research Proposal Assignment:

Literature Review

(No more than 3 pages)

The purpose of the literature review is to make a compelling case for the study (i.e. the research topic/question that you are proposing). Each assertion must be supported by a citation . The literature review must be no more than 3 pages and must include at least 5 citations and references from peer-reviewed literature in current APA format. 3 out of the 5 citations must be published within the last 5 years. Conclusions from peer-reviewed articles must be provided to make a compelling case for the significance of the problem . In addition, relevance to the counseling field must be established, and the literature review must include an articulation of how the proposed study fills a gap in the peer-reviewed literature. You will need to demonstrate scholarly writing skills, paraphrasing the literature with no quotations . Along with a narrative of the previous literature surrounding the topic, the literature review portion of your research proposal must also explain the following:

· What is the problem statement (gap identified in the literature) this research addresses? This must be stated clearly, using citations to tell the narrative.

· What is the purpose of the research proposal (how this study fills the gap)? This must be stated clearly.

Research Questions

· What is (are) the research question(s)?

· Why is this research question important?

· What research design will help answer your questions and why (see Heppner et al. Chapter 6)? (Descriptive lab, Descriptive field design? Experimental lab design? Experimental field design?)

· Will your research produce qualitative or quantitative data?

· If quantitative:

· What is the researcher’s hypothesis? What is the null hypothesis?

· What variables are you planning to explore?

· If qualitative:

· What strategy of inquiry fits best with this research?

· Considering the chosen strategy of inquiry, what is one way you can enhance trustworthiness of the data?

Implications

· How will this research investigation contribute to the field of counseling?

Page 2 of 2

ExtraResources.docx

Topic of Interest: Does intensive child-centered play therapy effect (impact) children on the autism spectrum?

Gap Statement: According to Schottelkorb et al., (2020),

“That our study used a small sample size, no follow-up was performed to ensure changes persisted post-intervention, and there was limited diversity in the sample due to the study taking place within one area of the northwestern United States. Another limitation of this investigation is that all evaluation of change was done through parents’ reports of symptoms on the SRS-2 and CBCL (p.70).”

Reference

Schottelkorb, A. A., Swan, K. L., & Ogawa, Y. (2020). Intensive Child‐Centered Play Therapy for Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Pilot Study. Journal of Counseling & Development, 98(1), 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12300

This article researched intensive child-centered play therapy and how it impacted social functioning and externalizing problems in children diagnosed with autism. The results of the study showed that children on the autism spectrum who were involved in child-centered play therapy treatment showed great improvement in their social behavior and had a reduction with externalizing, attention problems, and aggression.

Variables To Be Measured

This study will use intensive child-centered play therapy (CCPT) treatment as the independent variable and preintervention and postintervention scores of the SRS-2 and child behavior checklist (CBCL) completed by the parents during these two periods as the dependent variable.

Cultural Consideration

In counseling, there are individuals who would be considered as vulnerable populations. According to Balkin and Kleist (2022, p. 55), these are individuals defined as being “vulnerable to coercion or undue influence”. Children, and children with a behavioral or mental diagnosis, are among this special population. I would need to take care that I am protecting the rights and welfare of the participants, not causing any harm, informing the participants of the nature of the study in a way they could understand and gain consent and assent from them, as well as their parents or guardians, and make sure that the participant does not feel coerced into the study if they do not wish to participate (Balkin & Kleist, 2022, pp.55-56).

Reference

Balkin, R. S., & Kleist, D. M. (2022). Chapter 3 Ethical and Multicultural Issues in Counseling Research. In Counseling Research: A Practitioner-Scholar Approach (2nd ed., pp. 55-56). American Counseling Association.

Experimental (Chapter 7)

 

Participants

Who are your participants and their demographics?

For this study, 23 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ages 4-10, were selected to participate. These children were from five elementary schools in the Northwestern United States and were reported to have moderate to severe levels of symptoms. The children were made up of 19 (83%) male and four (17%) female, with 22 children being of Caucasian descent and one child being of African American descent. Five (22%) of those children attended public developmental preschools for half a day, while 18 (78%) attended public elementary schools for full days (Schottelkorb et al., 2020, p. 65).

 

Methodology

Your study uses a between two groups or within-subjects design and randomizes participants. Define which one. Incorporate any methodology changes mentioned in the gap statement(s). State your approved research question.

For this study, the preintervention vs. postintervention time components would be the within-group variable and the child-centered play therapy (CCPT) vs. wait-list control would be the between-group variable (Schottelkorb et al., 2020, p.67). The methodology changes mentioned in the gap statement were that the study was limited and the sample size was small due to the study taken place in one area of the United States; changes were examined through the children’s parents’ reports of their symptoms on the Social Responsiveness Scale – 2nd edition (SRS-2) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL); and, the parents’ positive experiences during the intervention could have had an impact on their scores during the post-assessment period, nor was there a follow-up to ensure changes continued with the children postintervention (Schottelkorb et al., 2020, p. 70). The research question looked at does intensive child-centered play therapy effect (impact) children on the autism spectrum.

 

Data Collection

How will you collect your data?

For this study, the parents had to complete the SRS-2 and CBCL on their children. The children were randomized into two groups, with 12 receiving CCPT treatment and 11 receiving no treatment or the wait-list control group. An experimental design was implemented and lasted for six weeks. Once that time was complete, the parents had to complete the assessments again (post-test), then children who were in the wait-list group received six weeks of CCPT (Schottelkorb et al., 2020, P.67).

What instrument does your study use?

This study utilizes assessments or surveys. The two instruments utilized in this study are the SRS-2 and the CBCL.

What instrument could you add to your study to extend the research?

To extend the research, direct observation could be utilized to assess any change in symptoms outside of the parent report and changes in other settings, such as in a classroom setting (Schottelkorb et al., 2020, p. 70).

Provide the Cronbach’s alpha for all instruments you will use.

The SRS-2 had a score of .95, stating that it has a total reliability coefficient and valid for identifying individuals with ASD, and that it has a significant interaction effect between group and time. The CBCL had reliable/test-retest coefficients between .68 and .92, and valid for identifying individuals with internalizing and externalizing behaviors (Schottelkorb et al., 2020, pp. 66-67).

IntensiveChild-CenteredPlayTherapy.pdf
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