I thought about your aim and questions. I think it is difficult to recommend just another formulation. Therefore, I would rather pose some questions for reflection for you which might help you to set the right focus for your work.

What do you really want to know? Think about it without pressure of formulation.

What is your research interest: Are these the mental health needs of young people? Then how could you gain insight in these needs? Do you want to ask them? (Interviews? Focus groups....?) - Then your research question should be open ended, so that there is a lot of room for exploration.

Then you could for example have a main question, such as:

What kind of support do adolescents need at school for the promotion of mental health?

And subquestions such as:

What are the mental health needs of adolescents with regard to school support in the UK?

What are the limitations of current mental health support systems in schools in the UK?

What are the potential benefits of social workers for the promotion of mental health of adolescents in schools in the UK?

...These are just some thoughts. However, you address several topics with your aim and research questions and I am not sure if this is too much for a Master thesis. It depends on how you would like to answer your questions?

=> health needs: Ask youth or teachers?

=> What is in place? Normally this is a topic for a literature review - maybe this can be answered beforehand in the introduction part of your thesis to justify the research gap?

=> What are limitations? Literature review? Expert interviews? Interviews with youth? Also important: Do you think of schools in the UK in general or special schools or just one region..... This must be very clear from the beginning!

=> Social workers: I think this is a completely new question. How do you want to find out? Questionnaire? Interviews, who will you ask?.......

I think you should be very clear in what you want before you formulate the questions. Then formulation is just a small part...

I hope this helps a little bit.

Good luck for your thesis!

Best wishes

Tamara

Title rewrite instead of "The missing piece: If social workers were placed in UK schools, would the crisis in young people's mental health be alleviated?"

"Social workers in UK schools: would young people's mental- health crisis be alleviated?"

Research question; Can social workers located in UK schools allivate young people's (aged 11-18 yrs.) mental-health crises?

Béatrice Marianne Ewalds-Kvist

Hi,

That is fantastic and makes so much more sense. I really appreciate it. I am dyslexic and struggle to write my sentences in a concise manner.

Many thanks

Caroline

Also, your question says your aim is to...

To recognise the mental health needs of young people and to promote appropriate support in the environment where they are in the most-School.

But your research questions are...

What is the current support systems in place within the UK for this identified group and what are the limitations?

What could the potential outcomes be for young people if social workers were placed in Uk school settings?

The research questions and study title aren't really aligned with the aim as you have described it. You might modify the aim to something like "To understand outcomes and limitations of current mental health support systems for UK youth, as well as potential for improved outcomes if social workers were placed in schools."

Todd L'Herrou

Thanks, this aim definitely seems more aligned.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate the advice and support.

Caroline

I thought about your aim and questions. I think it is difficult to recommend just another formulation. Therefore, I would rather pose some questions for reflection for you which might help you to set the right focus for your work.

What do you really want to know? Think about it without pressure of formulation.

What is your research interest: Are these the mental health needs of young people? Then how could you gain insight in these needs? Do you want to ask them? (Interviews? Focus groups....?) - Then your research question should be open ended, so that there is a lot of room for exploration.

Then you could for example have a main question, such as:

What kind of support do adolescents need at school for the promotion of mental health?

And subquestions such as:

What are the mental health needs of adolescents with regard to school support in the UK?

What are the limitations of current mental health support systems in schools in the UK?

What are the potential benefits of social workers for the promotion of mental health of adolescents in schools in the UK?

...These are just some thoughts. However, you address several topics with your aim and research questions and I am not sure if this is too much for a Master thesis. It depends on how you would like to answer your questions?

=> health needs: Ask youth or teachers?

=> What is in place? Normally this is a topic for a literature review - maybe this can be answered beforehand in the introduction part of your thesis to justify the research gap?

=> What are limitations? Literature review? Expert interviews? Interviews with youth? Also important: Do you think of schools in the UK in general or special schools or just one region..... This must be very clear from the beginning!

=> Social workers: I think this is a completely new question. How do you want to find out? Questionnaire? Interviews, who will you ask?.......

I think you should be very clear in what you want before you formulate the questions. Then formulation is just a small part...

I hope this helps a little bit.

Good luck for your thesis!

Best wishes

Tamara

Thanks so much for this Tamara Schloemer

It has got me really thinking about my aims of the overall topic and what can be reasonably analysed within my word count. I appreciate it hugely.

Caroline