SocW 505
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WELFARE RESEARCH

Instructors for Autumn 2007:

• Andrea Doyle*
  
• Anne E. Nicoll*
  

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is the first of a two-quarter research sequence, beginning in winter quarter and culminating in a capstone presentation in spring quarter. In Research I students are introduced to a range of methods for informing evidence-based social work practice. Emphasis is placed on critical appraisal of the literature, development of research questions, and strategies and techniques for conducting practice relevant research. Students are expected to engage in a critical analysis of the underlying beliefs, approaches, and assumptions of various research methods, particularly as it relates to promoting social justice. Students also are expected to consider issues of social justice and diversity in the application of research methods. Students will be responsible for developing a proposal in Research I that can be refined, implemented, and made ready for presentation in Research II.

COURSE GOALS

The goals of this course sequence are two-fold: 1) to prepare students to use research to inform practice and, 2) to provide students with the foundation-level research skills necessary to evaluate their own practice and contribute to the professional knowledge base.

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of Research I, students will be able to:

1. critically evaluate existing research to assess its quality and relevance to practice;
2. translate professional literature for the purpose of informing social work practice at all system levels;
3. identify ways in which gender, race, ethnicity, social class, age, and other forms of social stratification and disenfranchisement influence and are impacted by the social research process;
4. assess social work settings for existing evidence-based practice, program evaluation methods, research projects, participatory action projects, or other processes for collecting and analyzing data for program improvement (e.g., Quality Assurance committees or Total Quality Management teams);
5. analyze agency tools for collecting data on program and performance quality and efficiency, including their strengths and limitations;
6. examine recurring problems in practice as opportunities for further evaluation and/or research, especially regarding issues of social justice and diversity;
7. identify processes and structures for conducting program evaluations and/or research within agencies;
8. evaluate and apply ethical standards in practice research, including the purpose and process of human subjects protection;
9. develop and articulate clear and testable research questions that are supported by theory; explain how the theory relates to the practice needs and context in question; explain how the study will strengthen practice and promote social justice;
10. delineate the goals and objectives of an intervention relevant to social work practice; articulate how those goals reflect understanding of individual and group differences; specify the mechanisms through which the intervention will effect change in the client or target population; and specify what outcomes are sought through intervention as well as factors other than intervention that need consideration;
11. choose and develop reliable and valid measures for diverse groups; identify approaches for measuring constructs relevant to social work intervention such as social justice;
12. articulate the internal and external validity of a variety of designs (including but not limited to single case design, surveys, experimental and quasi experimental, participatory action research, etc.) and their ability to answer practice relevant questions.
13. draw a sample appropriate to the research question, population(s), and design chosen.
14. select and apply appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative methods of data analysis.

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