Sample #1
Gifted and Talented Inter/Mentor Program Preliminary Research Proposal
“Baby Don’t Fear the dentist”
I.
Research Question:

What is the variation in anxiety level of patients before and after exposure to the
dental world and what methods affect this variation?
II.
Overview of Research

The specific area in the field of dentistry that is being researched is anxiety.
Although anxiety may not appear to be much of a threat, it is actually quite deadly
and can have devastating affects on ones future. One type of severe anxiety that is a
part of this research paper is known as dental phobia. Dental phobia is basically a
severe fear of the dentist world. Many people who suffer through Dental Phobia
often endure huge amounts of pain due to their intense fear causing themselves
physical pain. I will be researching different methods and treatment techniques that
are less time consuming, less painful, less side effects, and less expensive.

Multiple articles discussing the broad topic of anxiety in general will be used to
provide background information on my topic so that readers can see the roots of
dental anxiety. In depth research observations will also be analyzed and used to
provide evidence for my goals. Data collections of tests conducted by previous
physicians will be analyzed to get a better image of how wide spread dental anxiety
is in the general human population. Furthermore, I will get to interact with real
patients and interview them on their experience with anxiety if they wish to do so.

Patients and the general public must realize that dental anxiety may seem
unconquerable at first but can be overcome. If it is not overcome, then an individual
may not only cause harm to themselves but may also hurt the people around them.
However, some treatment methods are either too painful or too expensive for some
patients so new methods must be researched.
III.
Primary Research Methodology

To answer my research question, I will use the observations of previous physicians
who have done in depth research on dental phobia to get a better understanding
and be able to create my own ideas and hypothesis. Previous surveys and tests
conducted will also be analyzed and be used to back up any opinion or fact that I
discuss in my paper. Data collection such as numbers, percentages, and even charts
will be used to better prove my thesis. If there is no evidence backing up a
statement, then readers will less likely believe in my words and my research.
Furthermore, I will conduct interviews with patients and understand how it is like to
be in their shoes. A great thing about my mentor, Dr. George D. Garbis, is that he
too went through dental phobia at a young age so getting real live personal
experience is an added bonus for my paper.

Both qualitative and quantitative data will be used for my research paper. I have
already analyzed a survey conducted on the French population which showed that
there is a huge amount of people in the general community who suffer through
dental anxiety. These percentages and numbers will be able to back up my thesis
that dental anxiety is everywhere even when people think it isn’t. Furthermore, I
will analyze facts that were scientifically proven to support my thesis and also help
me generate more hypothesis’s that I can use to allow my paper to be easily
understood by anyone of any age.
IV.
Significance of Research

Even if their tooth is about to break in half, people suffering through dental anxiety
would rather stay at home instead of going to the dentist. The most dangerous thing
about dental phobia is that these patients start off with minor aches that could be
easily fixed if they went to the dentist immediately, however, they do not go which
causes the ache to grow worse into an illness or infection. Furthermore, anxiety in
general could prevent people from accomplishing their dreams and goals. By being
anxious, a person will start to doubt their own abilities which will make them start
to psychology become negative. Even if somebody has trained for multiple hours on
an upcoming event, they tend to mess up because they were nervous and anxious.
General anxiety is discussed in my essay because dental anxiety branches off of
anxiety. People with dental anxiety will not only cause physical and emotional harm
to themselves but also to their future if they are not able to overcome this barrier.

The intended audience of the project is on patients who are suffering through and
fighting against dental anxiety. Dental anxiety is wide spread and is slowly growing
in communities. Large portions of populations have been scientifically proven to be
suffering through some kind of anxiety toward dentists.

After this audience reads my paper, I hope that my research will mitigate their levels
of anxiety and allow them to feel more at ease when going to the dentists. I hope
that people who are suffering through dental phobia or any level of dental anxiety
will see that there are many techniques dentists can use to help a patient go
through a procedure in their own comfortable preference. I also hope that people
will realize that if they keep trying to reject the dentist, then their minor pains and
aches will later on grow into something that is painful beyond belief.
V.
Product Overview

The product of my research will be a published paper which I would like to possibly
send to the Maryland Dental Association so that they can publish it in their weekly
articles. By having a paper such as mine will better promote the harms of dental
anxiety and allow more people to feel relaxed and at ease when coming to the
dentists. Because my main area of interest in this topic is anxiety, I will also send my
paper to the American Psychological Association so that they too can add my paper
to their weekly articles to allow readers to learn about different types of anxiety. In
general, I wish to spread the information I have learned to other people because
dental anxiety is such a fast growing epidemic that is deadly and secret that many
people are unaware of its harmful effects. I would also like to make my research
into an article of some sort to place at Garbis Dental Associates so that patients will
feel better knowing that they are not alone and that there is nothing to worry
about. I hope that my paper will allow readers to overcome their fear and be able to
go to their local dentists relaxed and ready to start a new chapter in their life.
VI.
Evidence of Adviser/Mentor Review (with Timestamp)
Re: Preliminary Research Proposal
Natalie Kelly [nkelly@umcp.edu]
Sent:Tuesday, November 05, 2013 7:55 AM
To: Jim Vance
This proposal looks good, but I have attached a Word document that might help you polish it up a bit.
NK
Sample #2
Gifted & Talented Independent Research Program
Preliminary Research Proposal
“Scoliosis & Depression, an Area of Need”
l
Each student in the G/T Intern/Mentor or Independent Research Program must carry out an
advanced research project for a real purpose and present this to a professional audience which is
capable of evaluating the quality, authenticity, and novelty of the project. The following
information, provided by the student, gives an overview of the proposed research project as it is
currently planned.
I.
Research question:
The research question proposed is given that there is an increased risk of depression for
patients with scoliosis, how might that risk be decreased, prevented and treated? This question
will help lead to the goal of finding which aspects of the recovery process of patients with
scoliosis who potentially become depressed needs to be addressed and recognized more, and
which treatment needs to be performed on patients more than others.
II.
Overview of Research
The specific areas of this study will be in scoliosis and depression, focusing on the
emotional process a patient goes through when diagnosed with scoliosis until his/her treatment is
done and the various methods of treatment used to treat these patients. Different methods of
treatments are to be researched to see each aspect and the importance of each technique.
The resources that have been used and will be used to acquire information about these
topics will be mostly journal articles of medical journals. These will help provide information
that links the two topics more rather than providing separate information of the two topics.
Interviews can be done as well with scoliosis patients. Along with these sources, non-fictional
books and informational websites can be used for general background information to provide
information needed to understand the articles that go more into depth with the topic.
The real problem in today’s society that is related to this topic is that the emotions of
patients with scoliosis may not be recognized as much, since not many people have the
condition. Those who do have emotional issues may potentially become depressed. Those who
do become depressed are most likely to go through the usual treatment given by a physician.
However, there are many side effects that come with certain treatments, such as antidepressants,
and some treatments may not be as effective. Due to this problem, patients may have to be
treated a longer time than expected. The more effective a treatment can be, the more quickly the
patient can complete treatment.
III.
Primary Research Methodology
The research methodology that will be used to answer the research question is descriptive
research. This question makes it impossible for quantitative data to be collected; only qualitative
can be collected. Therefore, descriptive research will be conducted to gather information and
data. Most journal articles analyzed are experiments in which doctors and other professionals had
researched and developed conclusions from. From each of these discoveries and conclusions,
valuable information can be used towards my research. Observation and changes over time are
also very important to record when researched.
As for data collection, qualitative data will be collected. This data will be collected
through interviews and observations. Interviews of physicians and scoliosis patients can be
conducted to see which method of therapy is more favored, used, etc. Interviews with patients
will help give some insight and general ideas of one’s change in emotions from diagnosis until
treatment is over. There may be some conflict in this, however, since there is confidentiality in
one’s medical records, so it will be a challenge to work around that. Notes will be jotted down,
such as which treatments have been used, emotions, benefits and disadvantaged in each
treatment, and what each treatment is best at. All of these notes plus noted results will be written
in an experimental notebook.
IV.
Significance of Research
The proposed problem is important because it is crucial to know which methods are the
most effective when treating depression. Some methods may be better than others in certain
areas, so it is very important to be able to use the methods that will most effectively help the
patient. The intended audience of this project is basically anyone who knows someone in the
same situation as this question proposes and wants to help that person. Doctors and other
professionals can also keep in mind the benefits of each method when decided how to treat a
patient. Also, families with a member who is a scoliosis patient could understand how to help the
patient even more. Through this project, hopefully the intended audience will understand better
the mental journey a scoliosis patient goes through when diagnosed and treated and will learn
how to better help these people.
V.
Product Overview
The product that will best communicate the research on this topic would be a published
article. This article would communicate all my findings and my conclusions from my research in
an effective manner. Since the data collected will not be quantitative, an article will effectively
describe findings for the audience to understand at its best.
VI.
Evidence of Adviser/Mentor Review (with Timestamp)
Re: Preliminary Research Proposal
Joanna Gadsby [gadsby@umbc.edu]
Sent:Tuesday, November 05, 2013 7:55 AM
To: Tina Robinson
This proposal looks good, but I have attached a Word document that might help you polish it up a bit.
JG