Qualitative Proposal

A Sample Qualitative Dissertation Proposal Prepared by Alejandro Morales

NOTE: This proposal is included in the ancillary materials of Research Design with permission of the author.

LANGUAGE BROKERING IN MEXICAN IMMIGRANT FAMILIES LIVING IN THE MIDWEST: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

by Alejandro Morales

A DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Major: Interdepartmental Area of Psychological Studies in Education (Counseling Psychology)

Under the Supervision of Professor Oksana F. Yakushko Lincoln, Nebraska April, 2006

2 Chapter 1 Introduction It is estimated that approxmately 33.1 million of immigrants (documented and undocumented) live in the United States (Camarota, 2002). Like other groups living in the U.S., immigrants are a heterogeneous group and their reasons for coming to this country vary (Felicov, 1998; Santiago-Rivera, Arredondo, Gallardo-Cooper, 2002). For example, there is a clear distinction between a person who immigrates voluntarily and refugees who involuntarily leave their countries of origin due to fear of persecution. Refugees are individuals who have to flee their countries because of persecution and fear of being killed. A great number of these individuals have been tortured or have seen friends or relatives being tortured (Amnesty International, 2002). Given that a significant number of refugees are victims of torture or witnesses of torture, their adaptation to their new environment is more challenging than other immigrants (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001). There are also within-group differences among immigrants who share the same culture. For example, there are clear distinctions within the Latino immigrant group as not all undocumented individuals who cross the border between Mexico and the U.S are of Mexican descent (Felicov, 1998; Santiago-Rivera, Arredondo, & Gallardo-Cooper,...