Social Work 501: Advanced Research Methods

Fall Semester 2015 Social Work 501: Advanced Research Methods

Mariposa 1013; Thursdays. 8:30am to 10:20am Professor: Dr. Arturo Baiocchi, MA, PhD

Office Hours: Mondays 1:30-2:15; Wednesdays 5:00-6:00 Office: Mariposa 5043

Phone: 278-4227

Email: [email protected]

(note: emails will usually be answered on Mondays or Wednesdays) ______________________________________________________________________________

Overview

The emphasis of this course is on developing an integrated research project and exposing students to the excitement, challenges, and rigor associated with doing “actual research” in the community. The course will be structure around a set of research activities associated with academic and applied research projects: conducting literature reviews, defining a research question/hypothesis, formulating a research plan, accessing institutional permission and

cleaning/exploring data that may speak to these questions. Student will continue on with these activities into the second semester in SWRK 502, successfully completing an Integrative Research Project that meets the requirements for the culminating experience of the Master’s program.

This course builds on the skills that student gained in SW210: Methods of Social Research but will solidify/apply these skills to an actual research project. Students will be assigned to one of three ongoing research projects in the first semester based on their interests/expertise (though it will be the professor’s discretion). The three projects are as follows:

1. A single-system evaluation of a new homelessness program that provides parenting interventions to families that have recently transitioned out of shelters/domestic violence center. The program applies a modified “Healthy Families Approach” model of service provision, wherein an Early Childhood Specialists regularly visits with families that have recently transitioned into permanent housing.

2. A recent needs assessment of residents living in a public housing community in Sacramento, planning for a major redevelopment effort in the next set of years. The project is attempting to understand the unique needs, and particularly the unmet needs, among member of this community, as well as their concerns/perspectives about

redevelopment efforts (tentative topic).

3. An explorative research project examining the motivations, life stories and circumstances of individuals who are homelessness and have recently traveled to Sacramento. The project will explore the magnet myth of social services; whether having more social services attracts homeless to a region (tentative topic).

Because research is about contributing to a body of knowledge, we will first spend some time

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getting acquainted with the literature process (identifying a body of research, defining a topic, conducting a review, synthesizing a critical summary). The goal will be to identify what is generally known about each of the above topics, the type of research done in these areas, and the types of questions and theories that have driven this research. Students will work in groups in each of the above research topics to identify relevant literatures, and later more specifically in research pairs to draft a formal literature review around a more specific topic. Ideally, research pairs will identify a gap in the current body of research in which the available data can speak to.

During the last third of the semester research pairs will begin integrating their literature reviews with the current data available and formulate a research plan for a preliminary analysis to be conducted in the second semester.

General Course Objectives

The goal of this first semester of the 501-502 research sequence is to familiarize students with the process of developing a research project. Upon the completion of the course students will:

1. Understand the mechanics and strategies of conducting a literature review

2. Identify a research topic associated with one of the three ongoing research projects 3. Develop a critical research literacy that enables them to identify the relative strengths

and weakness of specific research projects; the take away points vs. the cautious skepticism of consuming research

4. Conduct a formal literature review that adheres to the conventions of a research article 5. Explore the opportunities and constraints of “real data;” the possibilities and limitations

of any dataset

6. Formulate a reasonable research project informed by the particular literature

Council on Social Work Education Accreditation

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) requires that all social work students develop certain core competencies during their training and education (www.cswe.org). These accreditation standards, called EPAs

, define 41 distinct competencies associated with professional social workers practice. This seminar sequence will help student cultivate the following core EPAs competencies, skills and associated practice behaviors.

Competency #4: Engage In Practice-informed Research and Research- informed Practice

Professional social workers understand quantitative and qualitative research methods and their respective roles in advancing a science of social work and in evaluating their practice. Social workers know the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and culturally informed and ethical approaches to building knowledge. Social workers understand that evidence that informs practice derives from multi-disciplinary sources and multiple ways of knowing. They also understand the processes for translating research findings into effective practice.

Class activity: Through the process of conducting a formal literature review student will apply critical thinking to engage in analysis of quantitative and qualitative research

1

 EPAs stand for Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards  

methods and research findings. Student will draft their literature review by considering how research evidence can inform and improve practice, policy, and service delivery.

Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Professional social workers understand that evaluation is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. Social workers recognize the importance of evaluating processes and outcomes to advance practice, policy, and service delivery effectiveness. Social workers also understand theories of human

behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge in evaluating outcomes.

Class activity: Through the process of revising their literature review students will apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical perspective. Students will also assess evidence of certain claims and findings, and how these inform practice effectiveness at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Course Readings

Much of the readings in this course will be self-determined; meaning that students will work in groups to search, identify and digest the relevant readings. As a class, however, we will read from one required textbook that outlines the process of conducting a literature review

Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences 6

Edition. Jose L. Galvan : (2015)

In addition I will assign individual research report and articles in PDF form throughout the semester. These readings will be available via SacCT.

Course Requirements

Assignments Requirements _Grade ^{% of}

⇒ Class/Group Participation

40 total points Actively contribute to seminar discussions. And

ongoing group activities. ^20%

⇒ Homework Activities

20 total points Complete weekly homework assignments and

activities ^10%

⇒ Literature Review Test

40 total points Online midterm that tests your competency as a

“literature reviewer” as defined by Galvan. ^20%

⇒ Seminar Literature Review Paper 100 points

Complete a literature review/annotated

bibliography ^50%

Total: 200 points 100%

⇒ Class/Group Participation (40 points; 20% of Final Grade)

While there will be little in the way of formal lectures in this graduate seminar, attendance and in-class participation will nonetheless be crucial components of the course. Indeed, discussions during a seminar is a key aspect of the “graduate student experience,” in my opinion, because they allow students to go beyond surface-level review of concepts—often associated with an undergraduate course—and deliberate the nuances of a particular topic. With this goal in mind, seminar sessions will be guided by students’ engagement with the different research topics and issues that we address each week.

Students will also engage in a fair amount of group work and teamwork during class sessions (as well as during outside class time). During the fourth session the class will be split into three core research groups that align with the three research topics: Healthy Families, Public Housing and Homelessness. Within each of these groups there will be 2-3 research pairs working on a more specific topic related to the research group (e.g., health disparities within public housing). The idea is for similar research pairs to work together in broader research groups and develop a repository of similar articles that could be cited across multiple literature reviews. That is to say, research teams will share and work together throughout the semester to identify some common research articles that may apply to different but similar topics. There will be a couple of sessions dedicate to group work, in which pairs will present to their respective group some of the articles that they have found. Students will use peer-review form to evaluate how each member of the group has contributed to these communal research efforts (i.e., did the research pair present a new article every week? was the presentation useful? etc.)

Evaluation:

Students will be assessed on their ability to engage and contribute to thoughtful and critical discussion of social work research. Attending every session in their entirety is a requirement for a high grade in this course. Please let me know if you are unable to attend every session in their entirety (due to work, family or medical reasons). Though discussions will be guided, in part, by students’ interests and insights, students should be prepared to answer the professor’s direct questions about the readings, the specific concepts raised, and their implications to other research articles. Students will also be assessed via a peer-review tool by other members of their research groups at least twice in the semester.

⇒ Homework Activities (20 points; 10% of Final Grade)

From week to week there may be different research tasks and activities to complete. To keep students on track these will occasionally be assigned as homework assignments to be completed by the following session. Some of these research activities will be directly linked to the

suggested research tasks/questions listed at the end of chapter of the Galvan textbook. The professor will identify these homework assignments in class throughout the semester.

Evaluation:

Homework assignments will be graded on a complete vs. incomplete fashion. Students

should note that the professor will provide feedback and expect a high quality of work

on each assignment.

⇒ Literature Review Test (40 points; 20% of Final Grade)

Midway through the semester students will take an online midterm test based on the literature review strategies outlined in his textbook. Advice books of these kinds are very helpful but sometimes they can be so straightforward that one really glosses over the nuanced details that are outlined. The midterm test is to encourage students to take the time to really study these strategies. In addition, the midterm will contain questions specific to the research project that the student is assigned (questions about the public housing survey). Researchers are expected to know, really well, the specifics of the projects that they have been assigned.

Evaluation:

The midterm will be an online SacCT test and will consist primarily of multiple choice questions with a couple short-answers. Students who need to score a B or higher before they can pass this class (there will be a second final test for students who score below a B).

⇒ Seminar Literature Review Paper (100 points; 50% of Final Grade)

There will be a final, cumulative, literature review paper due at the end of the semester. Further instruction will be provided about this paper midway through the semester (guidelines and strategies). Students will be encouraged to start on the term paper early on in the semester.

Accommodations

The university is committed to providing every reasonable academic accommodation to students with disabilities. The Office of Service to Students with Disabilities (SSWD) provides university academic support services and specialized assistance to students with disabilities. Individuals who need such accommodation must notify the instructor to arrange said accommodation. This instructor is committed in every effort to accommodate all special needs. Disabilities that may require special accommodations are encouraged to contact the Office of Service to Students with Disabilities in Lassen Hall 1008 (916.278.6955, http://www.csus.edu/sswd/sswd.html).

Academic Honesty Policy:

This is probably the part of the syllabus that students gloss over, if not skip altogether. And in all honesty, I dislike writing out policies like these in syllabi because I don’t feel my job is to police students, particularly graduate students, about their conduct. Nonetheless, it is important to emphasize a couple of key points about academic honesty. The below I am paraphrasing from the University Policy Manual in the section pertaining to Academic Honesty (see CSUS website: http://www.csus.edu/admbus/umanual/UMP14150.htm). The below comments are also inspired by syllabi written by Dr. Eric Grant in our division.  

Cheating and Plagiarism are both bad things to avoid, intentionally or unintentionally. Academic work is based on an expectation of mutual trust and honor. When students plagiarize and/or cheat, they violate that trust and undermine the purpose of higher education. It is expected that you will do your own work on all class assignments, papers, etc. To be clear:

Cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work

through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Cheating includes but is not limited to:

1. Copying, in part or in whole, from another’s test or other assignment.

2. Submitting work previously graded in another course unless doing so has been approved by the course instructor or by department policy.

3. Submitting work simultaneously presented in more than one course, unless doing so has been approved by the respective course instructors or by the department policies of the respective departments.

4. Altering or interfering with grading or grading instructions.

5. Any other act committed by a student in the course of his or her academic work that defrauds or misrepresents, including aiding or abetting in any of the actions defined above.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating. Plagiarism is the use of distinctive ideas or works belonging to another person without providing adequate acknowledgement of that person’s contribution. Regardless of the means of appropriation, incorporation of another’s work into one’s own requires adequate identification and acknowledgement.

Plagiarism is doubly unethical because it deprives the author of rightful credit and gives credit to someone who has not earned it. Acknowledgement is not necessary when the material used is common knowledge. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

1. The act of incorporating into one’s own work the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts thereof, or the specific substance of another’s work without giving appropriate credit thereby representing the product as entirely one's own.

Examples include not only word-for-word copying, but also the "mosaic" (i.e., interspersing a few of one’s own words while, in essence, copying another’s work), the paraphrase (i.e., rewriting another’s work while still using the other’s

fundamental idea or theory); fabrication (i.e., inventing or counterfeiting sources), ghost-writing (i.e., submitting another’s work as one’s own) and failure to include quotation marks on material that is otherwise acknowledged; and

2. Representing, as one’s own another’s artistic or scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, paintings, drawing, sculptures, or similar works.

Cheating or plagiarism will result in a failing grade for that assignment. Additionally, if you turn

in an assignment that has been “lifted” from others, you will receive a failing grade for that

assignment, without the opportunity to redo the assignment. Finally, the instructor will follow the

policies as outlined in the relevant Sacramento State student rights and responsibility documents

regarding all occurrences and/or possible occurrences of cheating and/or plagiarism. This

information can be obtained through the University Policy Manual in the section pertaining to

Academic Honesty (see CSUS website: http://www.csus.edu/admbus/umanual/UMP14150.htm

Semester Schedule

Below is a tentative schedule of readings/assignment for the semester.

Session # and Date Topic & Readings

Session 1: September 3

Introduction to Research

• Syllabus (PDF)

Labor Day: September 7

No Monday Classes!

Session 2: September 10

Reviewing

(note we will be meeting at 9:30 this day)

• Review the Needs Assessment document

• Healthy Families Initiative

Session 3: September 17

Library Search Session with the SW Librarian

• SW Literature Review

• Chp1 Galvan

Session 4: September 24

TBA

• Chp2 Galvan

• Chp3 Galvan

Session 5: October 1

TBA

Session 6: October 8

TBA

Session 7: October 15

TBA

Session 8: October 22

Literature Review Midterm due

Session 9: October 29

TBA

Session 10: November 5

TBA

Veteran’s Day November 11

Session 11: November 12

TBA

Session 12: November 19

TBA Thanksgiving Break November 26

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Session 13: December 3

TBA

Session 14: December 10

TBA Final due on December 18

).