Research and Evaluation for Social Work Practice -- #132
Fall Semester 2000
Instructor:Sandy
Schram
Office Phone: 610-520-2622
Fax: 610-520-2655
Email: sschram@brynmawr.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Karen Clarke (k2clarke@brynmawr.edu)
Tyrone Harvey (tharvey@brynmawr.edu)
Debbie Stewart (dstewart@brynmawr.edu)
Computer Lab Phone: 610-520-2625
Course Description
The general goal of this course is to make social work research an active rather than a passive component of the practice of each graduate. As social workers, we have a professional obligation to contribute to knowledge in our field. This course facilitates the development of an understanding of the scientific method as a systematic, rigorous approach to professional knowledge building and to evaluating and extending existing knowledge and practice at the client, program, community, and national levels. Explicit links are made between sound research and effective practice. The ultimate goals of such research are to enhance human well-being, alleviate poverty and oppression, and promote social and economic justice. The fact that all research involves often complex ethical and value choices is continuously stressed. Explicit procedures for assuring the ethical conduct of research are demonstrated, critiqued in assigned readings, and required in student projects, including the necessity of obtaining informed consent; inclusion of safeguards to insure confidentiality of research data; assurance of voluntariness in subject participation; and appreciation for not using vulnerable populations as research subjects, just because they may be more readily available. Existing research and student projects are also critiqued in terms of their relevance and generalizability, particularly to women, racial, ethnic, and other minority groups, and to those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Course work is further reinforced by the ongoing requirement that students expand their technological skills, using the computer resources at the School and at the College.
Students will develop understanding of basic concepts and steps in the research process, which are implemented in the development of a research proposal that relates to either their work site or another human service agency with which they are familiar. Along with the course in Data Analysis (#131), this course enables students to incorporate research methods into all aspects of social work practice.
Educational Objectives
Students will develop the research skills necessary to evaluate interventions designed to bring about change at any system level. More specifically, students will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to:
(1) promote critical analytic skills for developing, implementing, and critiquing research problems and questions appropriate to all levels of practice, including practice at student field placements or work sites;
(2) select appropriate quantitative and qualitative approaches to guide research on a particular topic, including the use of available data, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, surveys,intensive interviewing, and participant observation;
(3) implement procedures for assuring the ethical conduct of research, including the necessity of obtaining informed consent; inclusion of safeguards to insure the confidentiality of researchdata; assurance of voluntariness in research participation; and an appreciation for not using vulnerable populations as research subjects, just because they may be more available;
(4) use current technology, including the Internet, and a variety of existing social science and social work databases for understanding specific human conditions and biopsychosocial interventions;
(5) design studies that contribute to knowledge about social work clients, practice, and policy;
(6) critique existing research in terms of its ability to rule out other possible explanations for findings;
(7) critique existing research in terms of its relevance and generalizability, particularly to women, racial, ethnic, other minority groups, and people from different socioeconomic classes;
(8) develop procedures for coping with organizational and sociopolitical issues in agency-based research concerning such issues as how research projects get framed to how data access can be affected.
Course Expectations
Students are expected to complete assigned readings in advance of class meetings. In addition to assigned readings in the text, there are required journal articles, which raise important issues about the topic in question. You should be prepared to discuss these articles for the week that they are assigned.
Class attendance is a routine expectation and it is assumed that students will take an active role in class discussions.
Grades for this course are "Satisfactory" and "Unsatisfactory" in accordance with School policy. In order to achieve the intended outcomes for the course, the student must complete all work with an evaluation of Satisfactory and conform to APA style guidelines. Satisfactory on the Final Exam will be a 70 or above. Late submission of assignments must be negotiated in advance with the instructor. It is assumed that all written work will be completed independently, unless otherwise specified.
All written work must be produced with a word processing program (e.g., MS Word, Word Perfect). Students who are not already familiar with such programs should see the Teaching Assistant and make use of her help in the School's computer lab at the very beginning of the semester. The College's Computer Center also has equipment and services available for all students' use
Assignments
In addition to required readings, class participation, and a final exam, there are the following written assignments:
Assignment #1 -- Problem Identification and Formulation of Research Questions DUE:Week 5:Oct. 2-4
Assignment #2 – Research Proposal: This assignment will be completed in three (3) stages..
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) (1994). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (You may use these two brief on-line guides to APA format, one for citing electronic formats, the other for citing print formats.)
BMC Library WEBPAGE for Social Work Resources (i.e. PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, Ageline, etc.): http://www.brynmawr.edu/Library/Docs/socwork.html
NYU World Wide Web for Social Workers: http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw/
All other assigned readings will be available on E-Reserves. Go to http://trires.brynmawr.edu, then click Find Your Course, and search by Instructor's Last Name.
COURSE OUTLINE
Session
1 Sept. 5, 6 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE
2 Sept.11, 12, 13 FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH
Discussion: In-class Exercise #1
Fact
Claims
3 Sept. 18, 19, 20 ETHICS AND POLITICS OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH
BMC IRB Policy and Procedures: http://www.brynmawr.edu/grants/IRBPol.html
BMC IRB Appendix and Forms:: http://www.brynmawr.edu/grants/APPEND.html
Rubin & Babbie, Chapter 4.
4 Sept. 25, 26, 27 PROBLEM FORMULATION, CONCEPTUALIZATION, AND OPERATIONALIZATION
Rubin and Babbie, Chapters 5, 6 & Appendix C.
5 Oct. 2, 3, 4 MEASUREMENT: GENERAL ISSUES
Rubin and Babbie, Chapter 7, Appendix D.
For your information, the library subscribes to the following database that you might find useful.
Health and Psychological Instruments (HaPI): http://www.brynmawr.edu/Library/Docs/socwork.html#tests
DUE: ASSIGNMENT #1 – Problem Identification and Formulation of
Research Questions
6 Oct.9, 10, 11 CONSTRUCTING MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
Rubin and Babbie, Chapter 8.
Oct.16, 17, 18 FALL BREAK
7 Oct. 23, 24, 25 THE LOGIC OF SAMPLING
Land, H., & Hudson, S. (See Week 6)..
Rubin and Babbie, Chapter 9 & Appendix C.
Recommended:
Burt, M. R. (1996). Homelessness: Definitions and counts. In Homelessness
in America (pp. 15-23). Edited by J. Baumohl. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx
Press.
8 Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 1 SURVEY METHODOLOGY
Rubin & Babbie, Chapter 12.
DUE: ASSIGNMENT #2 – STAGE 1: Problem Statement, Research Question,
Conceptualization, Operationalization, Hypothesis(es), and Literature Review
9 Nov. 6, 7, 8 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: CAUSAL INFERENCE AND GROUP DESIGNS
Rubin and Babbie, Chapter 10.
10 Nov. 13, 14, 15 SINGLE-SUBJECT DESIGNS
Rubin and Babbie, Chapter 11.
DUE: ASSIGNMENT #2 – Stage 2: Methodology and Survey Instrument
11 Nov.20, 21, 22 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS I
Soss, J. (1999). Lessons of welfare; Policy design, political learning,
and political action. American Political Science Review, 93 (2):
363-380.
12 Nov. 27, 28, 29 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS II -- ETHNOGRAPHY
Required Reading:
Loseke, D. R. The battered woman and shelters. (All)
13 Dec.4, 5, 6 UNOBTRUSIVE RESEARCH: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
Rubin and Babbie, Chapter 14.
DUE: ASSIGNMENT #2, Stage 3 – Final ResearchProposal
14 Dec. 11, 12, 13 PROGRAM EVALUATION
FINAL
EXAM -- DURING EXAM WEEK -- DEC. 18, 19, 20
Additional Recommended Research Texts
Alreck, P. L, & Settle, R. B. (1995). The survey research handbook (2nd ed.). New York: Irwin Professional Publishing.
Babbie, E. R. (1995). The practice of social research (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Bloom, M., Fischer, J., & Orme, J.G. (1995). Evaluating practice: Guidelines for the accountable professional (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Blythe, B., Tripodi, T., & Briar, S. (1995). Direct practice research in human service agencies. New York: Columbia University Press.
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis for field settings. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Corcoran, K., & Fischer, J. (2000). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook (3rd ed., Vols. 1 & 2). New York: Free Press.
Drew, C. J., & Hardman, M. L. (1985). Designing and conducting behavioral research. New York: Pergamon Press.
Fisher, J., & Corcoran, K. (1994). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook (2nd. ed., Vols. 1 & 2). New York: Free Press.
Fortune, A. E., & Reid, W. J. (1999). Research in social work (3rd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Grinnell, R. M., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). Social work research and evaluation (5th ed.). Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers.
Hudson, W. W., & Nurius, P. S. (Eds.) (1994). Controversial issues in social work research. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kazdin, A. E. (1998). Research design in clinical psychology (3rd ed.). New York: Allyn and Bacon.
Kerlinger, F. M. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
King, G., Keohane, R. O., & Verba, S. (1994). Designing social inquiry: Scientific inference in qualitative research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Miller, D. C. (1991). Handbook of research design and social measurement (5th ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Monette, D. R., Sullivan, T. J., & DeJong, C. R. (1998). Applied social research: Tools for the human services (4th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Newman, W. L. (2000). Social research methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Padgett, D. K. (1998). Qualitative methods in social work research: Challenges and rewards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reid, W. J., & Smith, A. D. (1989). Research in social work (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Reinharz, S. (1992). Feminist methods in social research. NY: Oxford University Press.
Riessman, C. K. (Ed.). (1994). Qualitative studies in social work research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Rosenberg, M. (1968). The logic of survey analysis. New York: Basic Books.
Rossi, P. H., & Freeman, H. K. (1993). Evaluation: A systematic approach (5th ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Schuerman, J. R. (1983). Research and evaluation in the human services. New York: The Free Press.
Sherman, E., & Reid, W. J. (Eds.). (1994). Qualitative research in social work. New York: Columbia University Press.
Tripodi, T. (1994). A primer on single subject design for clinical social workers. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Wallace, W. L. (1971). The logic of science in sociology. New York: Aldine.
Yegidis, B. L., Weinbach, R. W., & Morrison-Rodgriquex, B. (1998).
Research
methods for social workers (3rd ed.). NY: Allyn and Bacon..