HHS 460 Research Methods in Health & Human Services
Week 5 -Final Paper
Your final assignment for this course is a Final Paper that will focus on
evaluating research studies and reports to analyze a specific topic within a
Health and Human Services research area. You will select a topic area in
Week Three of this course that will be used for the Final Paper. Examples
of possible topic areas include:
- Program effectiveness of community-based mental health
treatment facilities. - Perceptions of ethical competence among human service
- professionals working in long- term care.
- Treatment intervention outcomes for veterans with
post-traumatic stress disorder. - Characteristics of successful job placement programs
for special needs adults. - Trends in health care legislation and impacts on health
and human service delivery. - For your Final Paper, you will elaborate on each section of your Final Paper
- Outline from Week Three. You must utilize at least eight peer-reviewed
- sources that were published within the last 10 years; these will be the same
- sources that you identified in your Week Three assignment. Your sources
- must present actual research studies that correspond to the problem or
- background of your selected topic area. Your Final Paper must address the
- following:
- Describe your selected topic area. Your description of the problem or background of your topic area should include more detail than the overview you provided in Week Three.
- Summarize the components, attributes, and/or various
segments of the topic area you have selected. For example: -
- What is the research problem or issue?
- Who or what is affected by this problem or issue?
- What are some specific examples of research studies,
evaluations, reports, literature reviews, etc. that address it? - What are the findings of these sources, and what are
their implications on the health and human services field?
- Evaluate the research reports and/or theories from the
studies presented in your minimum of eight peer-reviewed resources.
This analysis should add to the exploration of the problem or background
of your selected topic area.
Writing the Final Paper
The Final Paper:
- Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages (excluding the
title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as
outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. - Must include a title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a
succinct thesis statement. - Must address the topic of the paper with critical
thought. - Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
- Must use at least eight peer-reviewed sources from the
Ashford University Library. - Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in
the Ashford Writing Center. - Must include a separate reference page, formatted
according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be
used to evaluate your assignment.