AFRICAN AMERICANS AND AUTISM

Research question: What are the perceived challenges/barriers experienced by African American parents who have a child with Autism and living in a rural area in accessing and maintaining mental health services for their child?

Introduction: at least two paragraphs

Problem Statement

Provide a one- to two-paragraph statement that is the result of a review of research

findings and current practice and that contains the following information:

1. A logical argument for the need to address an identified gap in the research literature that

has current relevance to the discipline and area of practice. Keep in mind that a gap in the

research is not, in and of itself, a reason to conduct research. Make sure to clarify the

problem that led you to the gap.

2. Preliminary evidence that provides justification that this problem is meaningful to the

discipline or professional field. Provide three to five key citations that support the

relevance and currency of the problem. These references need not all be from peer reviewed

journals but should be from reputable sources, such as national agency databases

or scholarly books, and should ideally be from the past 5 years.

Purpose

Present a concise, one-paragraph statement on the overall purpose or intention of the

study, which serves as the connection between the problem being addressed and the focus of the

study. (I’m using a qualitative approach with a generic method.) For other approaches, clarify why an alternative approach is needed and useful for this

project.

Significance : Provide one or two paragraphs, informed by the topic in the problem statement, that describe the following:

1. How this study will contribute to filling the gap identified in the problem statement: What

original contribution will this study make?

2. How this research will support professional practice or allow practical application: Answer

the So what? question.

3. How the claim aligns with the problem statement to reflect the potential relevance of this

study to society: How might the potential findings lead to positive social change ?

Background

Provide a representative list of scholarship and findings that support and clarify the main

assertions in the problem statement, highlighting their relationship to the topic, for example,

“this variable was studied with a similar sample by Smith (2013) and Johnson (2014)” or

“Jones’s (2012) examination of industry leaders showed similar trends in the same key

segments.” Some of these resources may have already been mentioned in the first sections of the

prospectus and can be included here, also.

Framework

In one paragraph, describe the theoretical/conceptual framework in the scholarly

literature that will ground the study. Base this description on the problem, purpose, and

background of your study. This theoretical or conceptual framework informs, and is informed by,

the research question(s) and helps to identify research design decisions, such as the method of

inquiry and data collection and analysis. I would like to use Ecological theory in this paper

References

On a new page, list your references formatted in the correct style APA

Must cite throughout this paper