Social Work 763 Section 60625D Social Work Research Methods II: Issues in Research for Social Work Practice 3 Units Spring 2010 Instructor: Devon Brooks E-Mail: devon.brooks@usc.edu Office: MRF 307 Office hours: By appointment, in person and via video chat Seminar Day: Tuesday Seminar Time: 1:00 3:50 Seminar Location: SWC 108 Course Pre-requisites: SoWk 762 I. CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Research methods to provide students with advanced methodological knowledge in two areas related to social work practice: psychotherapy outcome research and program research. II. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION Building on Social Work 762 Advanced Research Methods, this seminar will offer students a critical and guided opportunity to apply research concepts and methods to research in their areas of interest. Topics covered in the seminar will address (a) problem identification, (b) formulation of research questions and hypotheses, (c) intervention processes, (d) study design, (e) measurement issues, (f) data analysis, (g) ethical, cultural, and political issues, and (h) the application of findings to theory and practice. SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 1 of 10
III. SEMINAR OBJECTIVES 1. The primary objective of this seminar is to provide doctoral students with advanced methodological knowledge of and practical experience with social work research. 2. A secondary objective of the seminar is to enhance students research repertoires and individualized approaches to the conduct of research by exposing them to a range of research philosophies, styles, and strategies. 3. Finally, the seminar also aims to expose students to challenges related to conducting social work research in complex urban settings that are culturally diverse and dynamic. IV. SEMINAR FORMAT / INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS Two primary learning/teaching modalities will be used in this seminar: (1) critical discussion, interaction, and transaction among the instructor and students and (2) didactic presentation by the instructor. The online teaching and learning environment provided by the University s Blackboard Academic Suite will support and facilitate student to student communication and interaction outside of class as well as access to instructor support. The URL for Blackboard is https://blackboard.usc.edu. V. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOME OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course students will be able to demonstrate the ability to Learning Outcome Objectives 1. Recognize and understand advanced concepts, principles and methods of social work research, particularly as applied to their areas of interest. 2. Think critically, dynamically, and creatively about social work research. 3. Identify and address conceptual, operational, technical and practical limitations of conducting social work research on topics of their choosing and understand the implications of the limitations for social work knowledge, practice, and policy. 4. Show sensitivity to ethical, cultural, political, and practical considerations relevant to their chosen topics. 5. Discern how methodological issues being debated particularly in the field of social work may or may not be relevant to their chosen topics, and if relevant, how Primary Method(s) of Assessment Discussions Quizzes Discussions Discussions Quizzes Discussions Discussions SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 2 of 10
to address those issues. 6. Address special issues in the conduct of research on their chosen topics with regards to diverse populations based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural background. 7. Contribute to and strengthen the scientific base of the social work profession. VI. SEMINAR ASSIGNMENTS, SESSION DUE DATES & GRADING Assignment Session Due % of Final Grade Quiz 1 3 10% Quiz 2 4 10% Quiz 3 5 10% Quiz 4 6 10% Assignment I - Primary Data IRB Approval and 9 35% Research Brief Assignment II - Secondary Data IRB Approval and 15 20% Research Brief Seminar Discussion and Participation 1-15 5% Seminar assignments are described below. Additional details will provided and/or discussed in class. Quizzes There will be four quizzes, each worth 10% of your final grade for a total of 40%. Later quizzes will build on previous quizzes, and in this sense, each quiz will be cumulative. However, each quiz will focus on a different aspect of research methods. Quiz #1 will address the scientific approach (including scientific inquiry) and causality; Quiz #2 will address internal validity and design (experimental and non-experimental); Quiz #3 will address external validity, sampling and populations; and Quiz #4 will address measurement and data collection. Quizzes may include (but are not limited to) the following types of questions/items: essay, short-answer, multiple choice and true/false. Assignment I - Primary Data IRB Approval & Research Brief / Brief Report Assignment II - Secondary Data IRB Approval & Research Brief / Brief Report Students are asked to complete two major assignments this semester. The first is a research brief or brief report based on primary data. This means that the data presented in the study were collected by you. Assignment I is designed to give students experience with a textbook approach to carrying out research, that is, moving from problem specification, to conceptualization, to design and implementation, to data SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 3 of 10
analysis and synthesis. In order to complete this assignment, you will be required to obtain human subjects approval prior to collecting data, and this will require that you receive an istar account (see the Required Websites section of the syllabus) Your research brief should be of or near publishable quality. The second major project is a research brief based on secondary data. Increasingly, researchers (including student researchers) rely on secondary data to address research issues and questions. In some ways, the processes involved in carrying out primary and secondary research are comparable, but there are some very real differences between the two approaches. As a result of these differences, new researchers sometimes find it difficult to navigate between primary and secondary research. Assignment II is intended to give students experience with a non-textbook approach to carrying out research. As with the first assignment, this research brief should be of or near publishable quality. Guidelines Each research brief should be an original piece of work, written entirely from scratch! The briefs may not contain material prepared for any previous or concurrent assignment or purpose. Each research brief should consist of a (a) problem statement, (b) brief literature review, (c) methodology section, (d) results and/or (d) discussion, and a (e) conclusion and/or implications sections. Each methods section should consist of a discussion of the following: design, sampling, measurement, procedures, data analysis and limitations. Each research brief should be written using APA format. Examples of research briefs / brief reports will be provided. NOTE: Assignments I & II require you to complete the USC Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI) human subjects education training course. In order to complete the training course, you must receive and istar account (see http://www.usc.edu/admin/provost/oprs/private/docs/oprs/stud_res.pdf) (attached). Seminar Discussion and Participation Students are expected to attend all scheduled seminars, to contribute to the development of a positive learning environment in the seminar, and to demonstrate their learning through written and oral assignments, and through seminar participation. Seminar participation should consist of meaningful, thoughtful, and respectful participation based on having completed assigned and independent readings. VII. REQUIRED AND SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS & RESOURCES Required Textbook Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Nachmias, D. (2008). Research methods in the social SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 4 of 10
sciences (7th Ed.). NY, NY: Worth Publishers. Required Guidebook for APA Style Formatting American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th Ed.). Washington: APA. Required Websites USC UPIRB: University Park Institutional Review Board: http://www.usc.edu/admin/provost/oprs/upirb/. USC Human Subjects Protection Training; istar: http://www.usc.edu/admin/provost/oprs/training/istar.html#obtain Recommended Books Campbell, D., T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Palo Alto, CA: Houghton Mifflin Company Boston. Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: design and analysis issues for field settings. Chicago: Rand McNally. Shadish, W. R., Cook, T., D., & Campbell, D. T. (2001). Experimental and quasi experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Recommended Websites National Associate of Social Workers: http://www.naswdc.org. National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) -- A public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines: http://www.guideline.gov. The Elements of Style A rule book for writing. You can read it online: http://www.bartleby.com/141/. USC Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/studentconduct/ug_plag.htm. Forum: Qualitative Research An online journal of qualitative research: http://www.qualitative-research.net. Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research: http://www.iaswresearch.org. Society for Social Work Research: http://www.sswr.org. American Evaluation Association: http://www.eval.org. NOTE: Additional required and recommended readings may be assigned by the instructor throughout the semester. SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 5 of 10
VIII. ATTENDANCE POLICY Students are expected to attend every class and to remain in class for the duration of the session. Failure to attend class or arriving late may impact your ability to achieve course objectives which could affect your course grade. Students are expected to notify the instructor by email (devon.brooks@usc.edu) of any anticipated absence or reason for tardiness. University of Southern California policy permits students to be excused from class, without penalty, for the observance of religious holy days. This policy also covers scheduled final examinations which conflict with students observance of a holy day. Students must make arrangements in advance to complete class work which will be missed, or to reschedule an examination, due to holy days observance. IX. STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another s work as one s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/scampus/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/sjacs/. Additionally, it should be noted that violations of academic integrity are not only violations of USC principles and policies, but also violations of the values of the social work profession. X. STATEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the instructor as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. XI. EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION To receive information, call main number (213)740-2711, press #2. For recorded announcements, events, emergency communications or critical incident information. To leave a message, call (213) 740-8311 For additional university information, please call (213) 740-9233 Or visit university website: http://emergency.usc.edu SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 6 of 10
If it becomes necessary to evacuate the building, please go to the following locations carefully and using stairwells only. Never use elevators in an emergency evacuation. UNIVERSITY PARK CAMPUS ACADEMIC CENTERS City Center Front of Building Orange County Faculty Parking Lot (12 th & Olive) MRF Lot B San Diego Building Parking Lot SWC Lot B Skirball Front of Building VKC McCarthy Quad WPH McCarthy Quad Do not re-enter the building until given the all clear by emergency personnel. XII. STATEMENT ABOUT INCOMPLETES The Grade of Incomplete (IN) can be assigned only if there is work not completed because of a documented illness or some other emergency occurring after the 12th week of the semester. Students must NOT assume that the instructor will agree to the grade of IN. Removal of the grade of IN must be instituted by the student and agreed to be the instructor and reported on the official Incomplete Completion Form. XIII. POLICY ON LATE OR MAKE-UP WORK Late or make-up work will NOTbe accepted without prior approval from the instructor. XIV. POLICY ON CHANGES TO THE SYLLABUS AND/OR COURSE REQUIREMENTS It may be necessary to make some adjustments to the syllabus during the semester in order to respond to unforeseen or extenuating circumstances. Adjustments that are made will be communicated to students both verbally and in writing by the instructor. XV. CODE OF ETHICS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS Approved by the 1996 NASW Delegate Assembly and revised by the 2008 NASW Delegate Assembly [http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp] Preamble The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human wellbeing and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession s focus on individual wellbeing in a social context and the wellbeing of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living. Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. Clients is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. These activities may be in the form of direct practice, community organizing, supervision, SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 7 of 10
consultation administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and implementation, education, and research and evaluation. Social workers seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs. Social workers also seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities, and other social institutions to individuals needs and social problems. The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession s history, are the foundation of social work s unique purpose and perspective: service social justice dignity and worth of the person importance of human relationships integrity competence. This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work profession. Core values, and the principles that flow from them, must be balanced within the context and complexity of the human experience. XVI. COMPLAINTS If you have a complaint or concern about the course or the instructor, please discuss it first with the instructor. If you feel cannot discuss it with the instructor, please discuss it with your advisor (that s what they re there for). If you do not receive a satisfactory response or solution, contact Malinda Sampson, PhD Services Manager or Dr. Michàlle Mor Barak, PhD Program Director for further guidance. XVII. TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN THIS COURSE Be mindful of getting proper nutrition, exercise, rest and sleep! Come to class. Complete required readings and assignments BEFORE coming to class. BEFORE coming to class, review the materials from the previous session AND the current session, AND scan the topics to be covered in the next session. Come to class prepared to ask any questions you might have. Participate in class discussions. AFTER you leave class, review the materials assigned for that session again, along with your notes from that session. If you don't understand something, ask questions!! Ask questions in class, during office hours, and/or through email! Keep up with the assigned readings. Don t procrastinate or postpone working on assignments. Don t cheat or plagiarize! SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 8 of 10
Tentative Course Schedule: Overview Session Topics Chapters Assignments 1 Jan 12 Introduction to course 1-3 Becoming a social work researcher and educator Refining your areas of interest, strengths and needs Problem specification 2 Jan 19 Knowledge, truth yada yada yada 5-6 From assessment to evaluation to research Causality and threats to internal validity 3 Jan 26 Experimental and Non-Experimental Designs Random assignment 8 Quiz #1 The Scientific Approach & Causality 4 Feb 2 Generalizability and threats to external validity Populations and sampling methods Random selection 5 Feb 9 Measurement and data collection Validity and reliability 7 Quiz #2 Internal Validity & Design 9 Quiz #3 External Validity, Sampling & Populations 6 Feb 16 Observational methods 10-11 & 18 Quiz #4 Measurement & Data Collection 7 Feb 23 Survey research Developing questionnaires, scales, indices and items 12 8 Mar 2 Qualitative research 15-16, 19 9 Mar 9 Choosing the right analysis 13 Assignment I SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 9 of 10
Session Topics Chapters Assignments Discussing your findings and implications Primary Data IRB Approval Identifying next steps and Research Brief 10 Mar 23 Secondary data Appendix B Identifying and using secondary data sets 11 Mar 30 Developing researchable questions from secondary data Appendix A 12 Apr 6 Transforming samples/populations 14 13 Apr 13 Transforming variables 17 Selecting the right analysis Presenting someone else s data 14 Apr 20 Feeling good about secondary data 4 Ethical, cultural, political, and practical considerations: Primary and secondary data/research 15 Apr 27 Course wrap up Course evaluations Assignment II Secondary Data IRB Approval and Research Brief SoWk 763 / Spring 2010 Professor Devon Brooks Page 10 of 10