Barriers to Employment for Formerly Incarcerated Black Men: A Research Proposal

Posted :

Oct 2, 2025

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The topic is : Barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated Black men

I attached the rubric and annotated bibliography. Must use 5 of the article from annotated bibliography but it must include at least 10 peer reviewed journal and Grammarly free.Due 10/2 EST 8pm

Objectives:

To propose a research study relevant to social work practice that integrates all course content and concepts and that will demonstrate the student’s mastery of the course.
To demonstrate mastery of a scientific and scholarly writing style consistent with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
To demonstrate writing skills that evidence appropriate organization, development and presentation of ideas, and excellent grammar, syntax, and critical thinking skills.
To effectively use office hours and consultation with the professor in the process of completing the final draft of the proposal.

Requirements:

This assignment requires that you write a formal research proposal that presents a research question and proposes a research design to answer it. This paper should be written in a formal, academic or scholarly manner in APA format. In this relatively short assignment you will provide a brief description of a social problem (one that falls under ADEI), a compelling rationale why social workers should try to address the social problem, and a brief description of what must be learned next and how to do it in order to address the social problem.

COVER PAGE

Include a standard cover page, per APA format. This does not count toward your 5-7 page limit. Be sure to include the author’s note.

ABSTRACT

Include a standard abstract, per APA format. This does not count toward your 5-7 page limit. Be sure to include your keywords.

INTRODUCTION (Do not include a heading that says “introduction” per APA format. Instead, it should match the title of your paper)

The goal of this section (based on your significance section) is to provide a brief description of a social problem, a compelling rationale why social workers should try to address the social problem or phenomenon, and a brief description of what must be learned next to address the social problem or phenomenon.

In your introduction, do the following:

Briefly describe your chosen social issue or problem. This section may include information from other sources (e.g. a scientific journal, a credible web page, newspaper article, or book) that give statistics that help the reader understand the magnitude of the issue or problem.
Include why this social problem or issue is important; in other words, why should we care about this social problem? Imagine you are competing for grant funding– this section should convince the funders why it is important to conduct a study focused on this social problem or social issue.

HEADING: LITERATURE REVIEW

Briefly describe what is already known or what has already been researched on this social issue or problem. This section may highlight, for example, what we know about the causes of the social issue/problem, or what we know about the consequences of the social problem.
This section might also highlight what kinds of interventions already exist to address this social problem.
Use at least 10 peer-reviewed journal (books, websites, newspaper articles do not count) citations. Use your annotated bibliography to help you with this section.

Subheading: Research Question

Link the information you have already provided in your literature review about what is known on this social issue/problem to a gap in the knowledge base. This gap should then link closely to the research question that you will be proposing.
Your proposed research question will generate knowledge that will hopefully fill in that gap. This paragraph should provide clear logic that shows how your research question builds off and extends the existing knowledge base.
At the end of this section, state your proposed research question(s). These research questions should be revised from your original research questions to reflect an answerable, feasible question!If you are doing an experimental design (pre/post-test) or a correlational study (seeing if one variable is correlated with another variable), include your hypothesis. If you are doing a descriptive or exploratory design or a needs assessment, do not include a hypothesis.

HEADING: METHODS

Subheading: Setting

Describe the setting where your study will be taking place. Describe the agency or research group where this research will be conducted. Who is served by the agency? Describe the population served.

Subheading(s): Sample, Sampling Strategy, and Recruitment (this could be 2-3 separate headings)

Describe the sampling strategy that you will use. If you are using qualitative methods, describe which sampling strategy (think Emmel reading) that you will employ. Justify why your sampling strategy is feasible and will help you answer your research question.
If you have not already described the population from which you will draw your sample (in the setting section), describe your population and ideal sample here.
State how many people you hope to enroll in your study, and how you will recruit them.

Subheading: Study Design and Methodology (this could be two separate headings)

Describe the design of your study and the methods you will use. Are you doing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods? If you are doing qualitative, are you doing interviews, focus groups, short-answer surveys, content analysis, or something else? If you are doing qual, will you use structured interviews/questionnaires, semi-structured, or open? How will you develop your interview guide? If you are doing quantitative, are you doing cross-sectional or longitudinal? If using an experimental or quasi-experimental design, specify which design type you are using. If you are doing an intervention (e.g. training, support group, class), describe the intervention. If you are doing a survey, briefly describe your measures (e.g. Beck Depression Inventory, PHQ-9, GAD-7, COPES questionnaire, etc.). Include sample questions and psychometric properties (reliability, validity) of your measures with appropriate references. If you are doing quantitative, be sure to state how you are operationalizing your variables (e.g. “depression will be measured by scores on the PHQ-9,” or “Coping skills will be measured using xyz instrument.”

Subheading: Analysis

Quant folks: Briefly describe how you think you will collect and analyze your data. Will you be using any software (Excel, SPSS, or something else)? Describe what kind of descriptive statistics you might use to describe your sample (age, gender, race, depression scores, etc. with means, medians, etc.). If you are doing an experimental or quasi-experimental design, suggest what time of inferential statistics you might want to use (t-test, ANOVA, chi-square, correlations, etc.).
Qual folks: Briefly describe how you think you will collect data and analyze it. Will you audio record interviews or focus groups? How will they be transcribed? Will you take notes during the groups or interviews? What type of qualitative software will you use in analysis (NVIVO, ATLAS, etc.)? How will you analyze the data? It would be best to cite a source or two in this section.

*NOTE: You are not expected to know all about your analysis methods at this point. For pointers, read the methods section of some studies that use similar methods to what you might be using.

Subheading: Ethics Considerations

Please describe at least 3 ethical considerations that you have in conducting your study. Then explain how you plan to address these ethical concerns as a researcher. Cite any literature that is guiding your choices, such as the NASW code of ethics, the Belmont Report, or the other readings found in our ethics module. Use APA format and include references, as this section will appear in your final research proposal.

HEADING: DISCUSSION

Include a brief concluding statement summarizing the research problem or phenomenon and how you will investigate this through your study.

Subheading: Strengths and Limitations

Briefly discuss at least two strengths AND two limitations of your study methodology, with a particular focus on internal and external validity of your study (See slides from class 5 and class 6). You may also reference any strengths and limitations of your sampling strategy.

REFERENCES

Include APA formatted references. This does not count toward your 5-7 page limit.

APPENDIX (optional)

Feel free to include an appendix if you would like. Appendices frequently include things like: a copy of the measure you intend on using, a copy of your interview guide or questionnaire, or more specific information about your sample (like a list of treatment centers you will be calling, a list of songs you will be coding, a list of schools you will be surveying, etc.). If you include an appendix, be sure to reference the appendix in your writing (e.g. For a complete list of songs to be coded in these years, see Appendices A, B, and C).

Avoid using first-person language, idioms, stigmatizing or biased language, or informal language.

Research Proposal Outline Rubric

COVER PAGE

Include a standard cover page, per APA format. This does not count toward your 5-7 page limit. Be sure to include the author’s note.

INTRODUCTION

Briefly describe your chosen social issue or problem. This section may include information from other sources (e.g. a scientific journal, a credible web page, newspaper article, or book) that give statistics that help the reader understand the magnitude of the issue or problem.

Include why this social problem or issue is important; in other words, why should we care about this social problem? Imagine you are competing for grant funding– this section should convince the funders why it is important to conduct a study focused on this social problem or social issue.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Briefly describe what is already known or what has already been researched on this social issue or problem. This section may highlight, for example, what we know about the causes of the social issue/problem, or what we know about the consequences of the social problem.

This section might also highlight what kinds of interventions already exist to address this social problem.

Use at least 10 peer-reviewed journal (books, websites, newspaper articles do not count) citations. Use your annotated bibliography to help you with this section.

Subheading Research Question

Link the information you have already provided in your literature review about what is known on this social issue/problem to a gap in the knowledge base. This gap should then link closely to the research question that you will be proposing.

Your proposed research question will generate knowledge that will hopefully fill in that gap. This paragraph should provide clear logic that shows how your research question builds off and extends the existing knowledge base.

At the end of this section, state your proposed research question(s). These research questions should be revised from your original research questions to reflect an answerable, feasible question! If you are doing an experimental design (pre/post-test) or a correlational study (seeing if one variable is correlated with another variable), include your hypothesis. If you are doing a descriptive or exploratory design or a needs assessment, do not include a hypothesis.

📌 Guidelines: Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

1. Cover Page (APA Format)

Include paper title, your name, institution, course, professor, and due date.
Add an Author’s Note (per APA 7th guidelines).

2. Abstract (150–250 words)

Briefly summarize:
- The social problem (employment barriers for formerly incarcerated Black men).
- Why it matters (social justice, racial equity, ADEI relevance).
- What your study proposes (research question, design).
- Keywords: e.g., incarceration, reentry, employment, barriers, race.

3. Introduction (1–1.5 pages)

Start with statistics (recidivism rates, unemployment rates among formerly incarcerated Black men).
Define the problem (systemic racism, criminal records, stigma, lack of resources).
Argue why social workers must care: aligns with ADEI, social justice, and community reintegration.
Lead into the gap in literature that your proposal will address.

4. Literature Review (2–3 pages)

Use at least 10 peer-reviewed sources, including 5 from your annotated bibliography.
Organize by themes:
- Structural barriers (criminal record discrimination, policies).
- Individual challenges (education gaps, mental health, substance use).
- Social stigma and racial bias.
- Existing interventions (reentry programs, workforce development, policy reforms).
Conclude with the gap: what still needs to be researched.

5. Research Question (½ page)

Example: “What are the primary barriers to employment faced by formerly incarcerated Black men, and how do these barriers intersect with systemic racism and reentry policies?”
If using hypotheses (for quantitative designs): Formerly incarcerated Black men with higher educational attainment will face fewer employment barriers than those without.

6. Methods (2 pages)

Setting:

Community-based reentry programs, workforce development centers, or parole/probation offices.

Sample & Recruitment:

Target: 50–100 formerly incarcerated Black men, ages 21–55.
Sampling: purposive (through reentry programs) + snowball.
Recruitment: Flyers, community partners, parole officers.

Study Design & Methodology:

Qualitative (semi-structured interviews exploring lived experiences).
OR
Mixed methods (survey on barriers + follow-up interviews).
Sample survey measures: employment status, discrimination experiences, program participation.

Analysis:

Qualitative: Thematic analysis using NVivo.
Quantitative: SPSS, descriptive stats (means, percentages) and inferential tests (chi-square, regression).

Ethics Considerations:

Protect confidentiality (aliases, anonymized data).
Address stigma (trauma-informed interviewing).
Voluntary participation with informed consent.
Ground in NASW Code of Ethics & Belmont Report principles (beneficence, justice, respect).

7. Discussion (1–1.5 pages)

Summary:

Restate the problem (systemic barriers to employment).
Highlight the contribution (filling a gap in ADEI-informed social work research).

Strengths & Limitations:

Strengths: community relevance, ADEI lens, potential policy impact.
Limitations: small sample size, possible self-report bias, limited generalizability.

8. References (APA 7th)

At least 10 peer-reviewed journals, including your annotated bibliography sources.

9. Appendix (Optional)

Example interview questions.
Survey measures (if quantitative).

🔑 Tips for Success:

Keep the paper 5–7 pages (excluding cover, abstract, references).
Use headings/subheadings exactly as rubric requires.
Maintain a scholarly, APA-7th compliant tone.
Proofread for Grammarly-free writing.

Remember! It’s just a sample. Our professional writers will write a unique paper for you.

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