Fieldwork Research Project

Conduct a Fieldwork Research Project in order to apply the learning in a real world exercise. This is sometimes called Action Research. The purpose of the fieldwork is to learn by doing. It is intended for students to develop preliminary skills and abilities to conduct a social research project including data collection and analysis. It is required that for the fieldwork project you will include and have some direct contact with people with disabilities as participants as captured in the Disability Rights Movement slogan, “Nothing About Us Without Us.” Many students visit disability programs, conduct interviews, focus groups or surveys as part of their fieldwork. Fieldwork is done in the field. It is not an Internet or Facebook project. You must have direct contact with people with disabilities in real world situations. The research question to be answered should be specified in the project proposal. It can be any of the topics covered in the course. students have interviewed individuals with disabilities and/or families about a course topic, conducted surveys (for example, investigated emergency management systems in their town, examined accessibility of subway lines, transit systems, neighborhood restaurants, businesses, movie theaters, polling places or banks), created a training program in their place of employment or conducted other field research in the community. Fieldwork Proposal: a one-page proposal including an annotated bibliography is due 10/13 . You can submit the fieldwork proposal earlier for review, if desired, to provide more time for the project. The purpose of the proposal is for you to receive feedback from your fellow students and the Professor. The more detail you provide, the better feedback you will receive. The Proposal should include: What is the topic of your fieldwork project? Describe the goal of the project. Why did you pick this topic? What resources are you planning to use to complete your project (field visits, interviews, surveys, training sessions, etc.). What data will you collect as part of the fieldwork (i.e. interviews, surveys, observations, focus groups, etc.)? How will you analyze the data (compare, contrast, use a spreadsheet?) What research, making connections have you done to date? What resources have you found? What contacts have you made? How will people with disabilities be involved in the project? Remember, Fieldwork is not an Internet or Facebook project. For those conducting interviews and/or surveys, the proposal must include: Proposed questions The number of participants How will participants be recruited? Three (3) Peer-reviewed journal articles and an annotated bibliography formatted in APA format. The journal articles should inform the fieldwork you are conducting. The journal articles cannot be from course readings (see below for tips on finding Peer Reviewed journal articles and how to write an Annotate Bibliography? Fieldwork Project Report (5 pages, 20 points) - The Project Report is a report, not a research paper, however, it should include the following: Description of the project Description of what you did for the project An analysis of the data you collected during the fieldwork along with a chart of the data. A section detailing the project results (conclusions) A section reflecting on what you learned and/ what surprised you (please remember to include this section). At least 3 peer-reviewed professional journal references using proper APA format for references and citations. You are free to format the report in any manner you find useful. Titles, headings or subheadings are optional. The Report should be 5-10 pages not including title and reference pages. The reference pages should not include the annotated bibliography. There is no upper limit on the number of pages but more is not necessarily better. . Photos of the people (with their permission, of course) or the project site are welcome.