Research Proposal On Antidepressants

Research Proposal: Are antidepressants as effective as the pharmaceutical companies claim?

Introduction: For my research project I would like to explore the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. Antidepressant drugs are used are used to treat major depression and other conditions, some of which include anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, chronic pain and other disorders. Around the world antidepressants are used to cure these types of mental illnesses. It is argued by both medical professionals and other people whether or not they believe that antidepressants work. According to Mayo Clinic one in ten Americans take an antidepressant. Today, antidepressants have became the most common way around the world to treat major depression

and other mental illnesses.
While I conduct to I plan to be as level headed and unbiased as possible, however my prior interest in this topic has put me at odds with people that support the use of antidepressants. I believe that antidepressants are as effective as the pharmaceutical companies claim. However, it is possible through further research, that I will find evidence that claims they are not as effective.
My purpose is to build an argument supporting the use of antidepressants.

To support my argument, I will need to inform my readers about the positive effects of antidepressants and then discuss governments role and how they can benefit from antidepressant drugs. My audience are my classmates (from many different backgrounds and studying different majors) and my professors. Although there is a wide range of articles and research on this topic, I believe the general public is not fully aware on the positive effects of antidepressants. My goal is that after reading my paper, the person will have a better understanding on the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. I will be creating a research paper to explain my research and arguments to my audience. The printed copy of my paper will allow my readers to read my findings at their own pace and it will provide them with the easiest way to find the sources that I used to conduct further

research.
I plan to begin my paper with some background information , mostly recent findings unless I find something compelling from the past that I believe the audience must know to better understand the information I will be presenting. I will probably focus on a specific mental illness and positive effects antidepressants have on it.
Research Question: Are antidepressants as effective as the pharmaceutical companies claim?
Review of Literature: The book that originally sparked my interest in this topic was Katherine Read Dunbar’s Antidepressants, which talks about both positive and negatives of antidepressants and how it effects the human brain.

I have also came across in publications including WebMD, mention the uses of antidepressants. On the other hand I have found other articles that contradict the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. I have also information on from the Mayo Clinic that talks about different antidepressants and which ones work better for different mental illnesses.

Search Plan and Relevant Sources: I will need to continue to seek out of range perspective on antidepressants as I develop my own argument. I plan to conduct some field research by interviewing people that have used antidepressant drugs. My friend, who would prefer to keep her identity private, has suffered from depression and has used antidepressants to treat her mental illness has a agreed to an interview. I also plan to do some further research and see if a doctor who prescribes antidepressants if they would be willing to set up an

interview.
I have located multiple print sources on the subject through the library’s catalog, and by reading through the citations and sources used by the authors of these books, I have come across other books that I may use to further my investigation. In addition, I have used simple keywords and advanced searches on multiple search engines including Google and Bing to find several magazines, newspapers and scholarly journal article that have provided contrasting point of views on the effectiveness of antidepressants. From first person accounts of antidepressants to research that has been conducted on this topic, my research ranges in a wide variety.
I would also like to that a look at specific cases and read about the actual outcome of the use of antidepressants. The American Journal of Psychiatry and other medical articles might be a good place to start my research. When I complete my first draft, I will conduct more research to help answer any questions that I have come across from my earlier research or expand on supporting evidence that I have already developed.
Project Timeline: I have until December 2nd to complete my research paper. I have conducted multiple sources and plan on completing my proposal by September 29th. After that, I plan on conducting my interviews and completing my annotated bibliography by October 28th. I plan on starting my research paper around the time of November 13th and completing my draft and having it reviewed by my classmates and professor before the final due date. After my final draft is due, I will reflect on my paper and summarize the most important points to prepare for my presentation in class.
Key Challenges: Finding a first hand source will probably be my biggest challenge throughout all of my research, but I do have some people in mind that I plan on asking to help me understand the positive effects/ the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. I will contact them to get a feel for their willingness and availability. I believe that I have found some strong pieces of evidence for my paper, but I believe that my current research maybe a little to motivated towards my bias towards the topic.
Another challenge I believe I will encounter is time. I have conducted some field research quickly and have very little time to interview my sources to complete my first draft. I am also concerned that my topic may be a little to narrow and I will need to broaden the topic in order to complete my paper. There are a lot of related issues that are interesting to my topic including other alternatives to antidepressant drugs and other uses for antidepressant drugs. Broadening my scope of my project may be difficult given the relevance of topics that I choose to address.