This document is a research proposal submitted by Teagan Crist and Kristiena Shafer for their 10th grade World Literature class. Their proposed research topic is the rehabilitation of war veterans affected by PTSD. They plan to research the organizations that help veterans recover from PTSD, the specific treatments used, and statistics on treatment effectiveness. Their research questions focus on learning about these organizations, treatments, and how communities can help raise awareness and support veterans suffering from PTSD.

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Teagan Crist and Kristiena Shafer
Research Design Proposal
10th Honors World Lit/Comp
Lester and Hamilton
Spring 2012
Research Paper Topic
We would like to do our project on the rehabilitation of war veterans affected by PTSD. Our
research will mostly consist of the organizations that help these veterans, the specific treatments these
organizations use, and the statistics of how treatments ended up helping or not helping veterans
affected by PTSD.
What I know about the “Topic at this Point” and “Why We’re Interested in This Topic”
 What we know:
o PTSD, also known as post-traumatic stress disorder, is a common mental illness
acquired by soldiers during combat. It is often brought about by traumatic
experiences or by seeing others go through such experiences. The symptoms
include but are not limited to: nightmares, flashbacks, anger, anxiety, insomnia,
and substance/alcohol abuse. Some treatments for PTSD include: hypo-therapy
(therapy with horses), canine-therapy, group therapy, physical activities, yoga,
and meditation. Specific treatments are more effective on certain individuals
depending on the level of PTSD. One in every five suicides in the US is a veteran
who was possibly suffering from PTSD and failed to get the help they needed.

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Some veterans with PTSD often turn to drug use and alcoholism to self-
medicate themselves in order to distance themselves from their illness.
 Why we’re interested:
o Neither of us really have a personal reason as to why we chose this topic,
however through the books we have read we have become interested in how
this illness effects veterans. PTSD is a seriously undermined mental illness that
needs to be brought to light; some people do not even consider it to be an
actual mental disability. We feel as though PTSD needs to be recognized for its
dangerous effects on veterans and their families.
What We Want to Learn
We hope to acquire more knowledge on PTSD, its effects on the veterans who it harms, and the
organizations that work with these veterans to help them escape this mental illness. We want to find
more information on the organizations and their success at curing, or at least improving, the symptoms
these veterans face. We would like to learn more about the treatments veterans go through to help
them fight the PTSD and how successful these treatments have been. We are also very curious as to why
the military and government have cast a blind eye on PTSD for so long and why they provide treatments
only while the soldiers are still able to fight in the wars. We are interested to learn how we as a
community and country can help the veterans accept their illness and seek help.
Our Initial List of Questions We Have About Our Topic
1. Why do veterans view PTSD as a weaker disability than a physical illness?
2. How does the VA (Veterans Association) persuade veterans to work through the
treatments?

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3. What physical treatments have been the most successful?
4. Is PTSD completely curable?Or is it like diabetes, which can be controlled but not cured?
5. What reasons do veterans turn to drugs instead of seeking professional help?
6. What are the veteran suicide rates? Have they increased entering Iraq/Afghanistan?
7. How can more veterans be urged into rehabilitation?
8. Can PTSD change someone’s personality or just effect their emotions?
9. How can people better understand PTSD and the role it plays?
10. Why does the military keep deploying veterans affected by PTSD?
11. How can we raise awareness of PTSD in the community?
Our Three Primary Research Questions
 Question 1: What are the organizations that help veterans recover from PTSD?
 Question 2: What are the treatments used by these organizations?
 Question 3: What can we do as a community to help 1) raise awareness, 2) help the
cause?
Our Research Plan
 Resources: Googlenews, Academic Search Complete, Gale Opposing Viewpoints,
Student Research Center
 Managing Information: Netvibes, Scoopit, Google-Docs
 Time Management: We plan to do a lot of our work in class, but most of the work will
take place out of class. Weekends will be efficiently used as well as time after school.
Any needed communication can take place via email and calls.
 Citation management tool: Easybib

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 We plan to divide the work fairly between us. Work will be balanced depending on
personal schedules and deadlines. We hope that we can keep ourselves from
procrastination – this will be definitely a challenge, but we plan to overcome it.
Content Creation Tool
In our Digital Multigenre Text, we plan to incorporate the following:
 Voicethread/Zen
 Skit or “One Act” related to the issue
 Found poem
 Character or issue recipe
 Artwork/Original Photography
 Free verse poem
 Worldle or Tagxedo
Google-docs will be used for organization of the text.
Netvibes will be used to present the information.
Final Learning Project
After careful thought, we have decided to do the Digital Multigenre Text because we feel it is
the best medium to show creativity while presenting the information. Netvibes gives the reader a
variety of ways to examine the topic while using creative tools to keep them interested. We think it
would benefit us more if we used a shaping sheet instead of a mindmap to organize our research topics
and subtopics.
Works Cited

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Ainspan, Nathan D. "From Deployment to EMPLOYMENT." U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
137.2 (2011): 44-49. Academic Search Complete.Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://proxygsu-
sche.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
9h&AN=58545733&site=ehost-live>.
Bartley, Nancy. "For Soldiers Back from War, Working with Horses Offers Help with
PTSD."The SeattleTimes 4 Mar. 2012. The Seattle Times. 04 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar.
2012.
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017667503_ridingvets05m.html>.
Bochniak, Agnieszka, and Krzysztof Korzeniewski."Drug Abuse in the Armed Forces."Archives:
The International Journal of Medicine 3.3 (2010): 371-75. Academic Search
Complete.Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://proxygsu-
sche.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
9h&AN=56561319&site=ehost-live>.
Burch, Audra D.S. "For Veterans Suffering from PTSD, Yoga and Meditation Bring Peace of
Mind." The Sacramento Bee. 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/25/4364739/for-veterans-suffering-from-ptsd.html>.
Chandler, Candice. "Veterans Rehabilitate Wolf-Dogs, And Themselves."Global Animal. 14
Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.globalanimal.org/2012/03/14/veterans-
rehabilitate-wolf-dogs-and-themselves/69738/>.
Dad: Son 'wasn't the Same Dan' after War. CNN. 24 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/03/24/nr-whitfield-parents-ptsd.cnn>.

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Donna Miles. "Disabled Vets Experience 'Miracles on Mountainside'" United States Department
of Defense. 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=67720>.
Miles, Donna. "Disabled Vets Experience 'Miracles on Mountainside'" U.S. Department of
Defense. 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=67720>.
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Gale,
Cengage Learning, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
<http://ic.galegroup.com:80/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?disp
layGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=true&action=2&catId=GALE%7CAA
A000028861&documentId=GALE%7CPC3010999027&userGroupName=cant48040&js
id=6fbe4a1d0537f85c45909008095f0bf2>.
Resnik, Linda, Daniel W. Bradford, Shirley M. Glynn, Alan M. Jette, Caitlin Johnson
Hernandez, and Sharon Wills. "Issues in Defining and Measuring Veteran Community
Reintegration: Proceedings of the Working Group on Community Reintegration, VA
Rehabilitation Outcomes Conference, Miami, Florida." Journal of Rehabilitation
Research & Development 49.1 (2012): 87-100. Academic Search Complete.Web. 26 Mar.
2012. <http://proxygsu-
sche.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
9h&AN=73437312&site=ehost-live>.
Sanserino, Michael. "VIETNAM VETS FINALLY FIND HELP FOR OLD SCARS; New
Pressures Prompt PTSD Treatment." 2008: 1A. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.
Web. 26 Mar. 2012.

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<http://ic.galegroup.com:80/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGrou
pName=News&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&document
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a1620a293eed>.
"There May Be an APP to Help Veterans Fight PTSD." United States Department of Health and
Human Services.Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/ptsd.html>.
Thompson, Mark. "Bringing Dogs to Heal."Time 176.21 (2010): 54. Student Research
Center.Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://proxygsu-
sche.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=u
lh&AN=55204125&site=src-live>.
Watson, Julie. "U.S. Soldier Charged in Afghan Shooting Rampage; PTSD at Issue."
Timesfreepress.com. 24 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
<http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/mar/24/us-soldier-charged-afghan-shooting-
rampage/?breakingnews>.