GEORGE WARREN BROWN SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY FALL MSW Research Seminar S INSTRUCTORS:

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1 GEORGE WARREN BROWN SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY FALL 2010 MSW Research Seminar S CREDIT HOURS: 3 GRADE: LG ROOM: Goldfarb 39 DAY/TIME: Monday, 9-12am CLASS DATES: September 13 December 20, 2010 INSTRUCTORS: Megan Petra Office: Brown 2 Office hours: by appointment Phone: mpetra@wustl.edu Nora Wikoff Office: Brown 9 Office hours: by appointment Phone: nwikoff@go.wustl.edu I. COURSE DOMAIN AND BOUNDARIES The MSW Research Seminar is a two-semester course (MSW Research Seminar I and MSW Research Seminar II). Its primary purposes are to: (a) facilitate student progress in developing and implementing the research project, and (b) provide research content not obtained in other research courses offered in the MSW program. Students undertake a research project of their interest for two semesters. This course is required for students taking the Research Specialization. The MSW Research Seminar I is designed to provide students with expertise in planning and implementing social research. Students will learn how to build a professional knowledge base and study social issues scientifically. Ethical issues related to conducting research and sensitivity to diversity (including issues of gender, disability, culture, race, socioeconomic class, sexuality, religion and oppression), particularly as they relate to research, will be addressed throughout the course. In MSW Research Seminar I students will evaluate research of others as they develop their research question(s) and a research proposal to study their question(s). They will also improve their statistical skills as they attend computer lab every week and work with secondary data throughout the semester. Prereq: S : Statistics and S : Research Methods for Social Work Practice.

2 Students may take other required courses for Research Specialization (S : Evaluation of Programs and Services or S : Social Policy Analysis and Evaluation, and S : Applied Linear Modeling) concurrently with MSW Research Seminar I. II. CORE COMPETENCIES AND PRACTICE BEHAVIORS Core Competency Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments Engage diversity and difference in practice Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment Practice Behaviors Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge, and practice wisdom Recognize the extent to which a culture s structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance privilege and power Use research evidence to inform practice Frame empirically answerable questions from needs/problems encountered in practice Locate the best available empirical evidence of any type Critically evaluate empirical evidence Critically evaluate the effects of policy on practice using best available evidence Specify, design, execute, analyze and communicate empirical research at multiple levels (contribution to EBP data) Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the processes of assessment, intervention, and evaluation III. TEXT/REQUIRED READINGS Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2009). The practice of research in social work. 2 nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Additional required readings will be on Blackboard. Recommended reading Previous students have found the following book very helpful while learning to use SAS: Delwiche, L. D., & Slaughter, S. J. (2003, 3 rd Edition). The little SAS book: A primer. NC: SAS Institute Inc. ISBN

3 IV. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE This two-semester seminar employs student-centered learning and a group discussion format. Each week during fall semester, students will read two sets of materials: articles in their area of interest and assigned readings. The first set of reading materials is aimed at sharpening a student s substantive knowledge in the area of his/her interest and is, therefore, student-specific. Each week, each student will locate, read, and critically analyze at least three peer reviewed articles in the area of his/her interest. Each week during the first half of the semester, several (pre-designated) students will share their findings based on these readings. The second set of reading materials is designed to sharpen students technical and theoretical skills related to proposal writing. Each student will read the same assigned readings and come prepared to participate in class discussion and submit their assignments on the due date. We introduce and develop the knowledge of this course through lectures and discussions centered on the weekly topics. Each week during the second half of the semester, several (pre-designated) students will share their preliminary research proposals. V. ROLE OF INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENTS The instructors will facilitate the student s learning experience through lectures, computer lab exercises and outside consultation with students. The instructors will provide timely feedback on student performance. You are expected to attend class on time and be prepared, complete all required readings and assignments in a timely manner, and participate actively in class. If you experience problems with attendance or meeting deadlines, it is important that these difficulties be discussed promptly with the instructors. If you have a disability or impairment that requires an accommodation, please contact the Washington University Disability Student Services at the Disability Resource Center, Voice/TTY: , FAX, After having contacted them, please contact the instructors. If English is your second language, and you need special assistance in lectures, reading assignments, and/or testing, please contact the instructor and seek assistance from the writing lab, Brown Hall, Room 308, VI. ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING CRITERIA Assignments Readings and summaries. Each student must read at least three articles published in peerreviewed journals (in the area of their interest) and critically analyze the content of these articles. A short written summary and analysis will be submitted to instructors weekly via Blackboard before class begins. Other readings for each week are assigned below.

4 Presentations. Students will give several in-class presentations over the course of the semester: a summary/critical evaluation of an existing peer-reviewed article in their area of interest, an overview of their early research ideas and focus, an explanation presentation of their preliminary model, and presentation of their full proposal at the end of the semester. SAS lab. Students will complete weekly SAS lab activities and will submit a Word version of their log to the instructors weekly via Blackboard before class begins. Three formal SAS lab assignments will be due during the semester, submitted via Blackboard before class begins (see course outline, below). Research proposal. At the end of the first semester each student is required to produce a research proposal, to be submitted via Blackboard on 12/13/10 by 4pm. The final research proposal will be modeled after requirements for professional grant proposals, and may include secondary analysis of existing data or collection and analysis of new data. Students should follow guidelines contained in the APA publication manual (6 th edition) in writing their proposal. A typical proposal includes a clearly-thought-out research question, literature review, relevant theory and hypotheses, and operationalization of concepts and variables. It will also discuss the research design, internal and external validity, reliability and validity of instruments, ethical issues, data collection and analyses procedures to be used in the study. Further instructions will be distributed over the course of the semester. Peer review. Each student will peer review several 2-3 students preliminary versions of their research proposals, and will return the proposals, with written feedback, to the authors within one week (see course outline, below). The peer review feedback form should also be submitted to instructors via blackboard before class on 12/6/10. Authors will then revise their proposals and submit final copies to the instructors the following week. Grading Reading articles in area of interest 10% 13 literature reviews (5%) 1 article presentation (5%) SAS lab write-ups 15% lab 1 (5%) lab 2 (5%) lab 3 (5%) Class participation 10% Class and lab participation (5%) o Active participation in class o Research interest statement o Weekly SAS lab logs Peer review (5%)

5 Research proposal 65% Research idea presentation (5%) Preliminary model presentation (5%) Final proposal presentation (5%) Specific aims draft (5%) Research theory/model draft (5%) Literature review draft (5%) Ethics statement draft (5%) Methods draft (5%) Final proposal (25%) Note: because the instructors will not be teaching the spring semester continuation of this seminar, there will be no incompletes given, unless extraordinary circumstances apply and an incomplete is negotiated in advance with instructors. SAS lab write-ups will be evaluated in the following areas: demonstrated understanding of statistics and use of SAS, and clear presentation of findings (including variables and research question for assignment where applicable, tables, presentation of statistical results, and interpretation of results). The proposal will be evaluated in the following areas: thoroughness in formulation of a research question, literature review, use of relevant theory, selection of appropriate analyses techniques, lack of redundancy, accuracy of reporting, clarity, and creativity. Grading scale The overall grade will be calculated according to the following scale: A = 95% and above A- = 90-94% B+ = 87-89% B =84-86% B- =80-83% C+ =77-79% C =74-76% C- =70-73% D+ =67-69% D =64-66% D- =60-63% F =<60%

6 VII. COURSE OUTLINE Week (date) Topic Due today In class 1 (9/13/10) Introduction to course and research in social work 2 (9/20/10) How to go from an interest area to a researchable problem Literature review (how to find info beyond library search engines, evaluating quality of info found) Engel & Schutt: Chapter 1, Appendix B & C Booth, Columb, & Williams: Chapters 3 & 4 Class intro, nature of social work research Intros, initial student interests and research questions Intro to SAS and dataset (accessing SAS, libname, opening data sets, proc contents, footnote, pageno, comments) Read and summarize three articles in your area of interest. Review the research question, methodology, and findings, and evaluate each of these sections. 2 students present articles Narrowing down to a research question Intro to SAS part 2 (formats, temporary vs. permanent datasets, drop, keep) Guest speaker: Lori Siegel to talk about going beyond library search engines Summarize 3 articles, observing how research questions are formulated and answered.

7 Week (date) Topic Due today In class Write a one-page summary of your area of interest and brainstorm at least 5 possible research questions that you could study. Include potential sources of data if known. 3 (9/27/10) Theory/ modeling (science/ logic: deductive/ inductive reasoning, etc.) Engel & Schutt: Chapter 2 Shoemaker, Tankard, & Lasorsa: Chapter 7 (Name_ArticleSummary_2) (Name_Log_1and2) One-page description of area of interest and possible research questions (Name_InterestAreaAndResearchQu estions) 3 students present article Theory/modeling Logic of science Univariates (proc freq, proc means, proc univariate) Summarize 3 articles, observing their use of theory 1 st SAS assignment (univariates open data sets, run proc freq, proc mean, etc.) 4 (10/4/10) Proposal writing Monette, Sullivan, & DeJong: Chapter 17 pp Creswell Chapters 5, 6, 7 (Name_ArticleSummary_3) (Name_Log_3) 1 st SAS assignment (univariates) due (Name_SASassignment_1) 4 students present article Elements of proposals Recoding variables Summarize 3 articles Write a specific aims section (1-2 pages, doublespaced), including problem statement, specific aims, and the knowledge to be gained by your

8 Week (date) Topic Due today In class study 5 (10/11/10) Use of existing data 6 (10/18/10) Measurement (nominal, ordinal; how to measure complex concepts; scales vs. indexes; Monette, Sullivan, & DeJong: Chapter 8 pp Generating New Knowledge From Existing Data: The Use of Large Data Sets for Nursing Research Secondary data analysis in family research Supplemental reading Promise and Pitfalls in the Use of Secondary Data-Sets: Income Inequality in OECD Countries as a Case Study Weighting and Adjusting for Design Effects in Secondary Data Analyses (Name_ArticleSummary_4) (Name_Log_4) Specific aims due (Name_SpecificAims) Engel & Schutt: Chapter 3 (Name_ArticleSummary_5) (Name_Log_5) Guest Lecturer: Erin Robinson to speak about secondary data analysis 4 students present article Formats (temporary vs. permanent, placement of format statements, applying formats to variables) Summarize 3 articles, noting use of secondary datasets in articles 2 nd SAS assignment (data management: recode variables, recode missing values, format statements, merge data with keep statement) 3 students present research ideas Measurement Chi-square (review of recoding with logic behind how to choose to recode, chi-square)

9 Week (date) Topic Due today In class reliability, validity) 7 (10/25/10) Ethical issues in research 8 (11/1/10) Sampling and causation in research 2 nd SAS assignment (data management) due (Name_SASassignment_2) HRPO web site NASW code of ethics (research section, 5.02) de.asp Alexander & Solomon: Chapter 9 & 11 (Name_ArticleSummary_6) (Name_Log_6) Theory assignment due (Name_TheoryDraft) Engel & Schutt: Chapter 4 & 5 (Name_ArticleSummary_7) (Name_Log_7) Ethical statement due (Name_EthicsDraft) Summarize 3 articles, noting how concepts are operationalized and critiquing the measures used Write a 1-2 page description of theory applicable to your proposed research study. Include a model (figure). Guest Speaker: Catherine Striley to speak about ethics in research design 3 students present research ideas Correlation (scatter plot, pearson and spearman) Summarize 3 articles, discussing ethical issues Write a description of ethical issues inherent to your proposed research. This may be a human subjects protection section and/or ethical implications of your research 3 students present research ideas Sampling and causation T-test (normality and equal variance assumptions, independent samples t-test, Wilcoxon nonparametric alternative)

10 Week (date) Topic Due today In class 9 (11/8/10) Research design Engel & Schutt: Chapter 6 & 7 (Name_ArticleSummary_8) (Name_Log_8) Literature review due (Name_LiteratureReviewDraft) 10 (11/15/10) Quantitative methods (surveys, etc.) 11 (11/22/10) Qualitative methods (interviews, Engel & Schutt: Chapter 8 (Name_ArticleSummary_9) (Name_Log_9) 3 rd SAS assignment (bivariates) due (Name_SASassignment_3) Engel & Schutt: Chapter 9 & 10 Supplemental reading Summarize 3 articles, paying special attention to sampling Write a literature review for your study, 4-5 pages. 4 students present research ideas Research design One-way ANOVA (proc GLM, normality and equal variance assumptions, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric alternative) Summarize 3 articles, noting research design issues 3 rd SAS assignment: bivariates (correlation, chisquare, t-test, one-way ANOVA) 3 students present preliminary model Creating and administering surveys Simple regression (proc REG, assumptions) Summarize 3 articles discussing development and administration of surveys (if applicable)in studies Write a methods section, 4-6 pages, for your proposed study 3 students present preliminary model

11 Week (date) Topic Due today In class focus groups, observation) Beyond the Qualitative Interview: Data Preparation and Transcription Techniques to Identify Themes Simplifying Qualitative Analysis Using General Purpose Software Tools (Name_ArticleSummary_10) (Name_Log_10) Methods section due (Name_MethodsDraft) Qualitative methods: design, data collection, analysis Multiple regression (proc REG, assumptions) Summarize 3 articles, discussing qualitative methods and analysis used (if applicable) Revise all sections of your proposal and compile into a complete draft 12 (11/29/10) Mixed methods (how and why to combine both in a study) 13 (12/6/10) Finding funding, grantwriting, reporting Creswell, Chapter 10 Using Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Design: From Theory to Practice Alexander & Solomon: Chapter 17 (Name_ArticleSummary_11) (Name_Log_11) Full draft of research proposal finished by today Monette, Sullivan, & DeJong: Chapter 17 3 students present preliminary model Use of mixed methods in research Logistic regression (proc LOGISTIC, assumptions) Summarize 3 articles, noting the use of mixed methods (if applicable) copies of proposal draft to peer reviewers today Review assigned proposal drafts, using template given in class 4 students present preliminary model

12 Week (date) Topic Due today In class results of research 14 (12/13/10) Student proposal presentations 15 (12/20/10) Student proposal presentations Engel & Schutt: Chapter 13 pp (Name_ArticleSummary_12) (Name_Log_12) Turn in peer review forms to instructors, and give copies to students you reviewed (Name_PeerReview1) (Name_PeerReview2) (Name_ArticleSummary_13) (Name_Log_18) Final research proposals due (Name_FinalProposal) No homework due Real-world research: grants and reports Factorial ANOVA (proc GLM, assumptions, interactions, Friedman s two-way nonparametric) Revise draft of proposal, incorporating peer reviewer comments Student proposal presentations No lab or homework today Student proposal presentations Potential secondary data sources Federal and Local Datasets International Datasets -Site maintained by The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. -Contains data and statistics from Federal Government Agencies. -Site maintained by General Services Administration. -Provides links to local and federal data. -Library of Congress -Provides a list of International Organizations and links to their data pages

13 Social Science Datasets Population Datasets Miscellaneous Datasets -United Nations -Access data collected by the various United Nations System organizations. -World Bank -Development data -Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -Access Social and Economic Development data -The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research -Housed at the University of Michigan -Access social science data - U.S Department of Homeland Security -Access National and State level immigration statistics -The Population Research Institute (PRI) -Housed at Princeton University -Access demographical datasets -U.S Census Bureau -Access demographical statistics University of Wisconsin Data and Information Services Center