Search form

Ask an Advisor Answers

Question:
Hello, I am part of the Psychology of Social Change Class. My professor, Ronald Harvey, mentioned you can help me and my partner. We are doing a project about drug and alcohol prevention. We are looking for effective ways to approach our research. Any information or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
Answer:

 
          Thank you for writing to us with your question. Our first recommendation would be to narrow down your topic. That is because drug and alcohol prevention is a very big topic. You could easily spend years learning all there is to know about it, more time than you have for this course project.   
           Instead, you could ask “What is it about this topic that I want to learn?” and “What specific questions do I have?” Asking these questions should help lead you to a research topic that you can handle within the course time you have available.
          Doing so will also help you find the sources that are most relevant to your question.  Since we don’t yet know what your questions are, we cannot be specific.  But one good place to start might be  https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/prevention.  Since you are writing to us here in the U.S.  we are most familiar with U.S. sources, and this is one of the best ones.  It comes from the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is the U.S. federal agency that is responsible for drug and alcohol prevention.
          Check it out if you are able.  This site also links to many other sources that might be of interest to you.  Much of what you find there should  also be relevant to Bulgaria, though we are sure you can also find many other  sources that are more directly relevant to your own country.
            We hope these thoughts may be helpful to you.  Thanks again for writing, and all best wishes for a successful project as your research continues.

Question Date: Wed, 03/08/2023