Outline Considerations (As Applicable – Not all bullets may apply in your specific topic):
1. Descriiption of the General Topic
a) Review of an Individual Substance of Abuse (History, treatment, considerations)
b) Evidence-Based Treatment
c) Ethical Dilemmas
d) Consideration for Special Populations or Demographics
2. History of Topic
a) Etiology, timelines or progression of addressing specific drug use
b) cultural/societal shifts in attitude or interventions of drug trends/use
c) Development of Clinical Programs / ASAM Development and Overview
3. Parameters around screening, evaluation, or assessment of issue.
a) Outcome Measures, Assessment Tools/Instruments for Specific Topic
b) Evaluation and Assessment of Specialty Populations/Cultures/Demographics
c) Evaluation, Placement, and Transition Planning in ASAM Levels of Care
4. Special considerations around treatment of the issue.
a) Local, national, global perspectives and approaches (harm reduction, policy, etc.)
b) Ethical considerations or, social work values
c) Special interventions, staffing, or service delivery in ASAM Level of Care
5. Outcomes and Data to Support or Dismiss (Literature Review)
a) Incidences of use, relapse, success (across populations, drugs, geo-areas, etc.)
b) Treatment outcomes (extraneous variables, reliability/validity, effective vs. non-effective)
c) Limitations and/or strengths of data collection or ASAM Level of Care
Paper Requirements
1. Research paper should reflect graduate level writing and meet APA Formatting.
2. Research paper should cover all applicable areas outlined above in outline.
3. Research paper should include ten (10) peer-reviewed articles in bibliography that were written
from 2010 and newer (older resources may be available with request).
4. Research paper should be no less than 10 pages and no more than 20 pages (excluding cover
pages and bibliography), written in 12pt font, Times New Roman, double-spaced.
