Developing Your Research--From Topic Idea to Research Questions September 10, 2010

1. Developing Your Research--From Topic Idea to Research QuestionsSeptember 10, 2010 Edward Cohen, Ph.D. ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen 1

2. Agenda for Today • A review of the purposes of social work research • Examples of social work research topics • From topic idea to research questions • Descriptive studies • Explanatory / evaluative studies • Exploratory studies • How does this fit into your 298 paper? ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen 2

3. Grading and Evaluation • Class participation 10% • Bibliography 10% due 9/24 • Written Assignment #1 15% due 10/15 • Midterm exam 20% due 10/29 • Article Critique 15 % due 11/26 • Written Assignment #2 30% due 12/10 ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

4. Written Assignments • Bibliography • Written Assignment #1 – Introduction, Background and Theory sections of a research project proposal • Midterm exam • Article Critique paper • Written Assignment #2 – Introduction, Background, Literature Review, and proposed Research Questions (assessed for Writing Competency) ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

5. Writing Competency • University requirement • Final paper of 240 is the School’s “test” • Elements evaluated: • Assignment instructions are followed • Content (i.e. understanding of research concepts) • Sentence & paragraph structure • Grammatical usage ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

6. How does it all fit together? • 240 Final Paper (Written Assignment #2) will then be completed in 242 – a research proposal with complete Methods section • Should 240/242 topic serve as the final year 298 Project topic? • No—not expected. 240 and 242 are preparatory for 298 • Can it? It can, but it almost never works out that way… ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

7. Class Discussion: • What is “social work research”? • What are the typical subjects of SW research? • What are your interests? • How do you turn those interests into research questions? ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

8. Types of Social Sciences Research—Descriptive Counting people, things, etc. • “How many homeless people have a mental illness? What types of MI do they suffer from?” • “What is the average length of substance abuse treatment by parents involved in the child welfare system” • “What are the dropout rates for high schools in San José?” • Others? ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

9. Types of Social Sciences Research—Explanatory Relationship between variables (factors that are likely to vary) • ‘Is there a relationship between the length of time homeless and the severity of mental illness?” • “Do parents involved in child welfare who successfully complete substance abuse treatment have higher rates of child and family reunification than those who don’t complete SA treatment?” • “Do schools with social workers have lower dropout rates than schools without social workers?” • Others? ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

10. Types of Social Sciences Research—Exploratory • “Qualitative” research • “What kinds of daily hassles do homeless people with mental illness experience, and how would they describe coping with them?” • “How would parents involved with child welfare describe the benefits of substance abuse treatment?” • “How is ‘dropping out’ perceived by students of various ethnicities?” • Others? ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

11. Discussion question: Imagine you are asked to evaluate whether a therapeutic intervention is effective, for example whether group therapy aimed at helping victims of domestic violence helps them reduce stress. Would this be a descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory type of research? ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen

12. Reading Assignments—Student Reports • At each class students will be assigned to provide up to a 5 minute summary of a topic for the following week • Each student will do this at least once in the semester—counts towards class participation • Procedures: 2-3 students per class will volunteer for topics suggested by Instructor • Assignment made by Instructor if no volunteers • Random selection of a student to report on readings is always possible! • Next class: “Promoting Evidence-based Practice…” • What do the authors mean by “using research evidence”? Jonathan • Describe one of three applied models of evidence based research. Glorialee ScWk 240 Week 1 Edward Cohen