HDFS 461: Program Development & Proposal Writing

• Develop a proposal for a human services program to meet a community need

  Step One: Document the problem. Find statistical information which defines the scope of the problem, comparing national statistics to state and local statistics. For more information see Statistical Resources on this page for some useful websites.

  Step Two: Develop ideas for the program. Considering what you have discovered about the scope of your problem, what sorts of interventions are likely to work?

  Step Three: Gather research to support the proposed program. State your hypothesis, identify key concepts and list as many synonyms for your key words as you can come up with.

  Step Four: Obtain the information. Research articles can be found using good databases and the OSU Libraries catalog is useful for finding books and government reports.

  Step Five: Evaluate the information. Here are some tips from the Library Research Tutorial

  Step Six: Find funding for your program. See Funding Resources on this page for some ideas.

  Don't forget to cite your sources using the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. See the section below on Style Guides for help.

Here are some often useful websites for obtaining statistical information. Be aware that search engines miss most of the best statistical information. Give some of these a try before "going Google."

FEDERAL/NATIONAL STATISTICS:

Statistical Abstract of the United States  Collected by the Census Bureau from a wide variety of sources, this is the country's most authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Also useful as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web.

FEDSTATS  An invaluable resource that provides access to the full range of official statistical information produced by the Federal Government by letting you search for which Federal agency produces which particular statistics.

LexisNexis Statistical  Search this database for statistics tables from U.S. government, major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities. Downloadable charts, tables, and Excel files!

Child Trends Databank has the latest national trends and research on over 80 key indicators of child and youth well-being, with new indicators added each month. Provided by Child Trends, a national leader in the field for over 20 years.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) from the U.S. Dept. of Education, the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education from preschool to postgrad.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) from the CDC, the nation's principal health statistics agency.

ChildStats.gov offers easy access to statistics and reports on children and families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health,

behavior and social environment, and education. Includes America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008 from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

 

• Once you define the parameters of your problem, the next step is to find some research on the problem, and possibly some other kinds of programs that address it. The best way to do this is to use an article database. Here is a list of possibilities, depending on the subject you are investigating (health, education, social issues, etc.)

  There are many more available to you than this, but these may be good places to start!

  If the articles you find are not full text in the database and you need some assistance in locating them, look for the Link to full text button on the page for help. You can also visit the Libraries' page, Find Books and Articles or ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

• Academic Search Premier
  Full text for nearly 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.
  Coverage Dates: 1975 - present
• Sociological Abstracts
  Index to articles from journals in sociology, social work and other social sciences.
  Coverage Dates: 1963 - present
• PsycInfo (via PsycNET)
  Index to journal articles, series and books for all areas of psychology including animal, applied, clinical, developmental, educational, general, human experimental, general, physiological, social and sport psychology, and treatment and prevention.
  Coverage Dates: 1887
• Ageline (AARP)
  Abstracts the literature of social gerontology as well as aging-related research from psychology, sociology, social work, economics, public policy, and the health sciences. It covers aging-related issues for professionals in aging services, health, business, law, and mental health.
  Coverage Dates: 1978

Don't forget to cite your sources using the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. See this handy guide from another OSU, Ohio State University, for assistance.

Many of the databases provide citation assistance. Take a look for the icon or link to "Cite this article" or "Choose a bibliographic style." These sometimes only show up when you go to print, save, or email the article, and different databases use different terminology.

Always check your references for accuracy! These citation "machines," while a great help, often get the little things wrong, so review the citation before you add it to your bibliography.

• Patricia Moran
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• Leah Burgy
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• Chris Ward
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  202-B Ed Hall, 737-1080
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