Social Work Research Methods. Reginald O. York

      1 The ability to demonstrate cultural competence in the determination of a research question

      2 The ability to demonstrate cultural competence in the development of research methods

      3 The ability to demonstrate cultural competence in the analysis of data

      4 The ability to demonstrate cultural competence in the drawing of conclusions for a research study

      1 You will briefly describe the research study you would like to undertake.

      2 With regard to your proposed study, reflect on the theme of cultural competence with regard to the development of the research question. How will you address this theme? In other words, how will cultural competence be demonstrated by you with regard to the development of your research question?Example: In my study of the expressed needs of the clients of the Hampton Behavioral Health Center, I will collect data on race, gender, and income to see if the needs of our clients are different among categories of these variables.

      3 With regard to your study, your will reflect on how you will demonstrate cultural competence with regard to the methods you might employ in the determination of how variables will be measured and how you will select study participants.Example: In my study of the expressed needs of the clients of our agency, I will compare the respondents to my survey with our agency data with regard to race and gender to see if the different groups are represented in our study sample at the same rate as they exist in our agency. If 30% of our study respondents are African American but only 10% of our study respondents are from this group, I will be concerned about the extent to which our African American clients are appropriately represented in our study sample.

      4 With regard to your study, reflect on how you will demonstrate cultural competence when you analyze data.Example: In my study of the needs of the current clients of my agency, I will analyze data on the relationship between variables such as race and gender and the expressed needs of our clients.

      5 With regard to your study, reflect on how you will demonstrate cultural competence when you draw conclusions.Example: In my study of the expressed needs of our current clients, I will draw conclusions that are based partly on the results of my analysis of data on the representativeness of racial groups in our study sample. If a group is not appropriately represented, I will make a note of this fact in the study conclusions. This would suggest that our data are not appropriately representative of this group and that other means should be employed to obtain information from this group.

      1 Ethics provide rules of behavior based on moral values. It does not depend on research for validation because it is more like philosophy than it is about science. Ethics are monitored by professional organizations through mechanisms such as the code of ethics.

      2 Cultural competence refers to competence that recognizes the influence of culture with regard to practice. In social work research, this means incorporating knowledge about culture into the design and execution of the research study.

      3 A concept that binds ethics and cultural competence is the vulnerable population. People in a vulnerable population are viewed as vulnerable because they are likely to view their participation in research to be necessary because of the population in which they reside, and thereby, they may feel compelled to participate.

      4 Human subjects research is research involving a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual or identifiable private information.

      5 The Code of Ethics of the NASW provides a guide for ethical practice.

      6 Social workers should not undertake research that has serious potential of causing harm to the study subjects unless the benefits of the research clearly outweigh the harm.

      7 Social work researchers should obtain informed consent from study subjects before undertaking the activities of the research project.

      8 The social work researchers should engage in actions that protect the privacy of the human subjects of research. This entails protecting the identity of the subject in research reports. This protection is best maintained when the data are collected anonymously.

      9 The principle of respect deals with autonomy and self-determination. People should be allowed to choose for themselves the risk they will undertake. Study subjects have full autonomy when they can understand the risks involved and have the freedom to volunteer without coercion.

      10 The principle of beneficence requires that the social work researcher minimize harm and maximize benefits. If the researcher can find a less harmful way to conduct the needed research, then that way must be used instead of the more harmful ways.

      11 The principle of justice requires us to design research that does not unduly target its risks to certain groups of people and fails to treat different types of people equably or fairly.

      12 The IRB in major institutions monitors the protection of human subjects in research. This body reviews research proposals from researchers, including students, to ensure that the rights of human subjects in research are protected.

      13 The NASW has articulated 10 standards related to cultural competence among social workers. These 10 standards include ethics and values. These standards require the social work researcher to understand his or her own culture and to apply knowledge of other cultures in their practices.

      14 The methodology of the social work research study should include culture as a theme when appropriate, including measurement tools that are culturally sensitive.

      15 In social work research, cultural competence means knowing how cultural factors have meaning for different aspects of the research process. For example, does the research question adequately reflect culture? Was culture considered in the definition of variables and the analysis of data? Was it considered in the conclusions that were drawn?

      16 A rare study on cultural competence among social workers revealed a high level of competence among them.

      1 Do you believe that there is a need for the existence of the IRB for human service research? What is likely to happen, and how often do you believe it will happen, if there were not an IRB to review proposals for the use of human subjects in research that relates to human services? For example, how many of your fellow students do you believe would violate ethical principles if they did not have to submit their ideas for IRB review?

      2 What do you believe are the legitimate interests of the IRB and what are not their legitimate interests. For example, is it legitimate for this body to review your plan for the administration of a scale to a group of your clients when you are conducting a study whose results will be made public? Is it legitimate for this body to evaluate the overall quality of your study methods? What about the importance of the subject you plan to study?

      3 Which