Social Work Research Methods. Reginald O. York
This chapter provides an overview of evidence-based practice and examines how the evidence-based practitioner goes from one step to another. Also included is a review of issues and criticisms of this perspective. Students will engage in an exercise that applies evidence-based practice to a practice of interest to themselves.
Part 2: Conducting Different Types of Social Work Research
The purpose of this part is to understand the different types of social work research and to gain greater motivation to engage in it. The theme of learning by doing is furthered by the use of research exercises that illustrate how social work research works. Some of these studies call on the reader to analyze their own data. This part starts with a discussion of the social survey, the main vehicle used to collect data for social work research.
Chapter 5: Conducting Research That Employs Social Surveys
In this chapter, the reader reviews the basic form for the collection of data for social work research—the social survey. Several forms of the social survey are examined (questionnaires, interviews, online, etc.) with specific tips for best use. A major emphasis is a set of guidelines for developing the instrument for the survey when the evaluation of practice is the purpose of the study.
Chapter 6: Conducting Research That Describes People
The nature and phases of descriptive research are the key themes of this chapter, which begins with a summary of how descriptive, explanatory, evaluative, and exploratory research are similar and different. Qualitative and quantitative description are distinguished, and the reader sees how the quantitative study illustrates how to describe people through statistics such as the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation. The level of measurement of the variable is presented as a necessity for selecting the proper descriptive statistic. The learning-by-doing exercise in this chapter calls on readers to undertake a descriptive study of the traits of the good work manager. They collect and analyze data on this theme to see (a) what traits are most valued and (b) whether the study subjects exhibit a sex-role stereotype about what it takes to be a good work manager. They employ statistical tests in the examination of the data using Internet sites. Thus, in this chapter the reader implements the research process in brief form, from A to Z, with help on the nature of the issue and the measurement tools to be employed.
Chapter 7: Conducting Research That Explains Things
The reader reviews how explanatory research examines the relationship between variables, which requires the use of inferential statistics. The development of the knowledge base that justifies the study hypothesis is one theme, and the role of theory is a part of this examination. The reader is taken through the four phases of research regarding a study of the relationships between stressors, stress, and social support (as a stress buffer). Critical concepts such as the study hypothesis and the dependent and independent variables are examined. The Pearson correlation coefficient is the statistic employed in the examination of the empirical relationships between these variables. The reader is taken through the entire research process, including the collection and analysis of their own data, using the Internet. The goal of this chapter is for the reader to acquire an understanding of critical concepts in explanatory research and inferential statistics for testing the hypothesis.
Chapter 8: Conducting Research That Evaluates Services
Because the evaluation of practice could be argued as being the most important use of research methods for the social worker, the evaluative research study is given a lot of emphasis in this text. The key themes include the analysis of the behavior being treated, the comprehensive description of the intervention being used, and the research design employed. A review of the system of evaluation (input, process, output, and outcome) provides a framework for understanding the various things that may be evaluated in human services, and places outcome evaluation, the key theme of this chapter, into perspective. The reader is taken through the steps in evaluative research with regard to an example of the treatment of depression in a mental health facility. A set of practice exercises are given, one for each phase of the evaluation process.
Chapter 9: Conducting Qualitative Research That Explores the Unknown
In this chapter, the reader examines exploratory research that is appropriate for a subject where little is known. Qualitative and quantitative research are compared. The flexibility of qualitative research is presented as having a natural connection with exploratory studies, but not an exclusive one, given the various forms of qualitative research. The goal of this chapter is for the reader to gain an understanding of the nature of qualitative research as well as an understanding of key concepts and methods in studies of this type. Information from this chapter will be used in a later chapter where the reader engages in the analysis of a set of qualitative data.
Chapter 10: Conducting Program Evaluations
The evaluation of an entire program (e.g., the Child Welfare Program of Hampton County) is the focus of this chapter. The program evaluation is contrasted with the more specific evaluation of an intervention (e.g., the evaluation of this support group service for these victims of violence), the latter being the focus of much of this book. The systems concepts of input, process, output, and outcome serve as the guides for this presentation. Readers learn about the examination of client need, the review of service quality, the calculation of service outputs, and the examination of client outcome.
Part 3: Conducting Each Phase of Social Work Research
The purpose of this part is to acquaint readers with knowledge about the phases of social work research and skills in the development of each. Readers will gain an enhanced appreciation of research by engaging in the design of their own study with one component included in each of the chapters in this section. Emphasis will be given to evaluative research.
Chapter 11: Developing Your Knowledge Base and Your Intervention
This chapter reviews how knowledge serves as a guide for research methods, and how to describe the intervention in evaluative research in a comprehensive manner. Among the concepts reviewed for the knowledge base are theory, observation, conceptual clarity, documentation, and organization. Tips for presenting the literature review are examined. Readers are given an exercise on the development of the knowledge base for a study they will conduct using the knowledge addressed in this section of the book. The readers learn how to describe the intervention in evaluative research with regard to objectives, structure, model, and personnel. Also examined are the themes of evidence for the intervention and treatment fidelity, the extent that the planned intervention was actually carried out in the study. Readers engage in exercises with regard to both the development of a knowledge base and the description of their own interventions.
Chapter 12: Drawing Your Study Sample
Drawing a study sample from a study population addresses the issue of the generalization of study results. In this chapter, the reader views this theme with regard to various methods of drawing a study sample (e.g., random sample, convenience sample, purposive sample) with special emphasis on generalization from a random sample or one that is not random. A unique idea in this book is the theme of logical generalization when you do not have a random sample. Logical generalization has a special place in social work research because social work students and practitioners normally do not have the opportunity to draw a random sample when engaged in the evaluation of practice. But they want to engage in generalization even if it is logical rather than based on scientific knowledge of sampling distributions.
Chapter 13: Measuring Your Study Variables
Perhaps the first task in measurement is to determine the suitability of measuring variables in a quantitative or qualitative manner. After a review of this question, the reader will be taken through a series of tasks related