Central Michigan UniversityCollege of Humanities and Social & Behavioral Sciences

Course Syllabus

SOC 300 Social Research Methodologies 3 (3-0)

Fall 2006Instructor: Michael A. Dover

Anspach 034AOffice Phone: 774-3432E-mail: dover1m@cmich.edu

General Office Hours: W: 3:00-5:00; TH: 2:00-3:00; (Or by Appointment)

(Please turn page for hyperlinked table of contents)

Syllabus Hyperlinked Table of Contents (August 28):

I. Bulletin Description and additional comments . ....................................................... 1II. Prerequisites: Math competency, SOC 100 or 201 or 221....................................... 1III. Rationale for Course Level. ........................................................................................ 1IV. Textbooks and other required materials to be furnished by student...................... 1V. Special Requirements of the Course. ......................................................................... 2VI. Methodology. ................................................................................................................ 2VII. Course Objectives: . ........................................................................................................ 2

SOC 300 Course Objectives:....................................................................................... 2SOC 350 Course Objectives:....................................................................................... 3SOC 200 Course Objectives. ....................................................................................... 3Additional Course Objectives for this Section of SOC 300:. ................................... 4Table of Course Objectives in Relation to Program Objectives:............................. 7

VIII. Course Outline............................................................................................................... 7Due Dates of Exercises and Assignments:. ................................................................ 71. Tuesday August 29........................................................................................... 72. Thursday August 31:. ...................................................................................... 83. Tues. Sept. 5...................................................................................................... 84. Thurs. Sept. 7. .................................................................................................. 85. Tues. Sept. 12.................................................................................................... 86. Thurs. Sept. 14. ................................................................................................ 97. Tues. Sept. 19.................................................................................................... 98. Thurs. Sept. 21. ................................................................................................ 99. Tues. Sept. 26.................................................................................................... 910. Thurs. Sept. 28 . ............................................................................................. 1011. Tues. Oct. 3.. ................................................................................................... 1012. Thurs. Oct. 5................................................................................................... 1013. Tues. Oct. 10. .................................................................................................. 1014. Thurs. Oct. 12................................................................................................. 1015. Tues. Oct. 17. .................................................................................................. 1116. Thurs. Oct. 19................................................................................................. 1117. Tues. Oct. 24. .................................................................................................. 1118. Thurs. Oct 26.................................................................................................. 1119. Tues. Oct. 31. .................................................................................................. 1220. Thurs. Nov. 2. ................................................................................................. 1221. Tues. Nov. 7. ................................................................................................... 1222. Thurs. Nov. 9. ................................................................................................. 1223. Tues. Nov. 14. ................................................................................................. 1224. Thurs. Nov. 16. ............................................................................................... 1225. Tues. Nov. 21. ................................................................................................. 1326. Tues. Nov. 28. ................................................................................................. 1327. Thurs. Nov. 30. ............................................................................................... 1328. Tues. Dec. 5..................................................................................................... 1329. Thurs. Dec. 7 (Last day of classes)................................................................ 1330. Final Exam Session - Final Presentations Continued and Retest of the

BSW Exam Material. COURSE PORTFOLIO OF CORRECTEDASSIGNMENTS DUE (WITHOUT IDENTIFYING INFORMATION). 14

IX. Evaluation:. ..................................................................................................................... 14X. Course Policies:. ................................................................................................................ 14

1. Attendance and participation. ............................................................................... 142. Timeliness............................................................................................................... 143. Classroom behaviors. ............................................................................................. 154. Preparedness. .......................................................................................................... 155. Plagiarism/Copying................................................................................................ 156. Disability accommodations. ................................................................................... 157. Make-ups. ................................................................................................................ 158. Late papers/assignments. ........................................................................................ 159. Extra credit. ............................................................................................................ 1510. Grading questions. ................................................................................................ 1511. Departmental Policy relevant to SOC 300. ......................................................... 1512. Other. ..................................................................................................................... 1513. Religious holiday policy. ....................................................................................... 15

XI: Assignments. .................................................................................................................... 16Due Dates of Exercises and Assignments................................................................. 16Goals of the assignments. .......................................................................................... 16Group and/or Individual Research Project and Poster Presentation. .................. 18Research Proposal (10 Points). ................................................................................. 20Quizzes. ....................................................................................................................... 22Informational Abstract and Critical Appreciation of an Evidence-Based Practice

Research Article (10 Points).......................................................................... 24 Evaluation of an Evaluation Research-Based Article’s Research Methodology:

10 points. ......................................................................................................... 28X. Master Syllabus Bibliography. ................................................................................. 29

Refworks Bibliographical Materials for this Course:. ........................................... 29Appendix A: Relationship of Additional Course Objectives to Program Objectives...... 40

I. Bulletin Description and additional comments

SOC 300 Master Syllabus Description: Gathering, coding, and analyzing data, testingrelationships among variables, controlling for variables, and conducting simple statisticaltests.

Although this is a quite brief course description, both last Fall 2005 and this Fall theinstructor is providing extensive commentary as part of efforts to better conceptualize what isdifferent in this social work section of SOC 300. First, it should be pointed out that beginningFall 2007, social work students will be taking SOC 350 (which requires a SOC 200prerequisite), and SOC 300 will no longer be offered.

Following is the SOC 350 Master Syllabus Description: Data collection methodologies andissues. Covers participant observation and survey research, and two of the following: experiments/single subject design; program evaluation; interviewing;ethnography/community studies.

In this year’s social work sections (Fall and Spring), efforts will be made to work towards thetransition between these two courses, by introducing content which will begin to beintroduced in SOC 350, as well as continuing to explore how the social work section of thiscourse is related to the specific Curriculum Content guidelines of the Council on Social WorkEducation related to Research.

II. Prerequisites: Math competency, SOC 100 or 201 or 221.

III. Rationale for Course Level

Additional social work relevant rationales for class consideration: Social workersmust be provided with the knowledge of research and its methods in order to conduct researchfor informed, effective, and accountable practice within the framework of research ethics.Toward that end, it is essential that social workers have the foundation knowledge, skills, andtools necessary to conduct research as well as retrieve and critically evaluate the existingones. It is also important that such a preparation for research practice be reinforced with theuse of appropriate statistical procedures and computer technology. This course trains studentsto meet the increasing demands to develop knowledge and to demonstrate practiceeffectiveness with the help of such procedures and technology, in a responsible and ethicalmanner. It further aims at the preparation of students for more advanced research methods forclinical as well as management, community, and policy practice.

IV. Textbooks and other required materials to be furnished by student:

Allen Rubin and Earl Babbie (2007), Essential Research Methods for Social Work. Belmont,CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. (343 pp.)

Lectures and exercises also rely upon material from the following textbooks used last year,which however are not required or recommended for purchase:

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Allen Rubin and Earl R. Babbie (2005), Research Methods for Social Workers, FifthEdition. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole (bundled with: Kenneth M. Rosenberg (2004),The Excel Statistics Companion. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.) (789 pp.)

David A. Patterson and Randall E. Basham (2006), Data Analysis with Spreadsheets. New York: Pearson Allyn/Bacon.

V. Special Requirements of the Course

Adobe Acrobat Reader Installed and Available for your useData storage device (flash memory drive)Time in computer lab outside of classPossible evening or weekend work Recommended: Microsoft Excel 2003 installed and/or available for your use

VI. Methodology

Lecture, class discussion, independent data collection, group work, analysis, and report writing. In addition, the instructor’s course website, Blinkpro bookmarks and onlineread-only Refworks database makes available additional readings and resources in support ofthis course. In this section, students work with other students on one of several groupresearch projects in collaboration with the instructor.

VII. Course Objectives:

The following listing list three sets of relevant course objectives, both the official SOC 300Master Syllabus objectives, and the new SOC 350 objectives, and, as was done in Fall 2005as well, a set of additional course objectives for this section. These additional objectives arelisted both in order to facilitate social work faculty and student discussion of the nature of theresearch component of our social work major and to guide the nature of the textbooks,assignments, and other class content used in this section. These objectives overlapconsiderably with the existing SOC 300 objectives, but also add additional social work relatedcontent. In support of this list of objectives, this section presents extensive discussion of therelationship between CSWE foundation program content related to research, CSWEFoundation Program Objectives and CMU Social Work Program Objectives.

SOC 300 Course Objectives:

1. Students will be acquainted with the processes of various types of research insociology and the social sciences and with the problems associated with them.

2. Students will have the background needed to begin to read critically andintelligently research studies in sociology, social work, social psychology, andrelated fields. (Program Objective 1.)

3. Students will have a background in the techniques of research so that they will be

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able to conduct their own research projects with the assistance of faculty or otherqualified professionals.

4. Students will be acquainted with the special applications of research proceduresused in evaluation research and will be familiar with some of the unique problemsassociated with this type of research.

5. Students will be prepared for more advanced courses in research methodology.

SOC 350 Course Objectives:

1. demonstrate knowledge of the basic steps in the research process.2. discuss issues of the reliability and validity of measurement and of time in quantitativeand qualitative research.3. demonstrate knowledge of the ethical and political dimensions of social scienceresearch. (Program objective two).4. explicate the advantages and disadvantages of various quantitative and qualitativeresearch strategies for exploring various types of research questions. 5. discuss the key features of participant observation and survey research. Makeappropriate choices about design issues when implementing a participant observation orsurvey research project. 6. discuss the key features of two of the following designs—experiments/single subjectdesigns, program evaluation, interviewing, ethnography/community studies. Makeappropriate choices about design issues when implementing such projects.7. demonstrate a critical awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of publishedresearch in the lay and professional press.8. design a research study, collect and analyze appropriate data, and write up and presentresults.

SOC 200 Course Objectives

Additional SOC 200 Course Objectives which are relevant to the data analysis component ofSOC 300 in Fall 2006:

1. articulate why social scientists engage in systematic empirical research2. articulate the nature of scientific methods as they apply to social science research.3. identify and apply basic ethical considerations in social science research and makecritical decisions about the ethical treatment of human subjects in research4. explicate key issues of social science research design, including measurement and unitof analysis.5. show a basic understanding of probability theory and its implications for sampling insocial research and have the skills to draw basic samples. 6. construct logical hypotheses, clearly identifying independent and dependent variablesin social science analyses.7. calculate by hand and with computer software basic uni- bi- and multivariate tables,

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graphs, and statistics using social science examples.8. read and interpret accurately uni-, bi-, and multivariate tables, graphs, and statisticsusing social science examples.9. choose appropriate tables, graphs, and statistics to explore social issues and testhypotheses.10. interpret competently measures of statistical significance used in social research.11. use computers effectively to communicate and to locate social science data andfindings.

Additional Course Objectives for this Section of SOC 300:

As was the case last year, there are additional course objectives introduced on top of thoserelated to SOC 300 and SOC 350. This year, however, those additional objectives and theSOC 300 and SOC 350 objectives are mapped to the CMU Social Work Program Objectivesto which they are deemed to be related. (See table below.) In addition, for each of theseadditional courses objectives, there are specific course assignments and aspects of coursecontent to which they are related. While this had been done for social work courses in themajor, it had not yet been done for the research course in the major. For a full explanation ofthe rationale for mapping these course objectives to these program objectives, see thefollowing link:

All 16 additional course objectives, numbered 1-16, are listed below along with the programobjectives they support and the assignments and course content which support them. Bycompletion of this course, students are expected to be able to demonstrate (through course activities, assignments and/or exams), the following additional objectives:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts related to the ability to plan and carry outculturally competent research that avoids bias and minimizes problems of reliability andvalidity related to the diverse ways in which research subjects are situated within social andeconomic structures and within the rural, suburban and urban contexts (Program objectives 3,9 and 13.) (Relevant assignments and course content: Quiz covering RB Chapter 5 andrelated lecture content as well as optional reading in the course bibliography and website;abstract of published evidence-based practice research assignment; evaluation of publishedevaluation research assignment.)

2. Demonstrate knowledge of the history and current status of research related to social worktheory and practice, with special attention to the recent evolution of evidence-based socialwork practice and the use of empirical evidence in advocacy for social welfare and socialjustice (Program objectives 4 and 5.) (Relevant assignments and course content: Quizcovering RB Chapter 1content on evidence based practice, lecture on the evidence forevidence based practice, and optional reading in the course bibliography and website;abstract of published evidence-based practice research assignment; evaluation of publishedevaluation research assignment.)

3. Identify guidelines which facilitate conducting research consistent with the ethics of the

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social work profession and the ethics of the discipline of sociology (Program objective 2.) (Relevant assignments and course content: Quiz covering RB Chapter 1content on evidencebased practice, lecture on the evidence for evidence based practice, and optional reading inthe course bibliography and website; abstract of published evidence-based practice researchassignment; evaluation of published evaluation research assignment..)

4. Based upon a literature review-related assignment and upon informational and criticalreviews of peer-reviewed research in social work and social science, articulate therelationship between theoretically-guided or empirically-suggested hypotheses and the logicand method of empirical research guiding social work practice and social welfare policy(Program objectives 7, 8 and 9.) (Relevant assignments and course content: Quizzes coveringRB Chapters 6, 7, 12; lecture and instructor-provided worksheet on the evaluation ofpublished research; optional reading in the course bibliography and website includingHolosko, 2006; Assignment One (literature review, hypothesis generation and hypotheticalresearch design);abstract of published evidence-based practice research assignment;evaluation of published evaluation research assignment.)

5. Understand and be able to apply the initial stages of the research process, includingliterature review, hypothesis generation, and hypothetical research design (Program objective9).(Relevant assignments and course content: Quizzes on several chapters; Assignment One;Group research project; research proposal; research report.)

6. Understand the basic assumptions, concepts, foundations, and limitations of the traditional scientific approach and challenges to these foundations (Program objectives 1 and 9).(Quizzes on RB chapters 1 and 2; lecture content; abstract of published evidence-basedpractice research assignment; evaluation of published evaluation research assignment.).

7. Know how to gain access to substantive and methodological research literature related togeneralist social work practice and to be able to effectively communicate the findings of thisresearch (Program objectives 6 and 9). (Assignment One; Rui Wang’s website; classroominstruction; course website content; abstract of published evidence-based practice researchassignment; evaluation of published evaluation research assignment.).

8. Understand the principles, logic, limitations, and alternative conceptualizations of qualitative and quantitative research designs used in the evaluation of social work practice,social service organizations and social welfare policy, with specific attention to forms ofempowerment evaluation research and participatory action research. (Program objectives 8, 9and 14.) (Quizzes on RB chapters including Chapter 18 on Qualitative Data Analysis assupplemented by questions based upon reading of Berg’s chapter on qualitative research;lecture materials regarding empowerment evaluation research; qualitative data analysisassignment).

9. Understand concepts and methods of human needs assessment and service needsassessment research, and its relationship to assessing assets and strengths of individuals andcommunities (Program objectives 4, 9, and 14). (RB Chapters 12-14; Lecture content on

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needs assessment research.)

10. Understand the common logic and differential methods used in social work generalistpractice evaluation designs, social service program evaluation designs, and social welfarepolicy evaluation designs. (Program objectives 8 and 9.) (RB Chapters 12-14; Lecturecontent on needs assessment research)

11. Be able to work collaboratively in a group in consultation with the instructor in order toapply basic principles and methods of sampling and be able to understand the relationship ofsampling to the generalizability of the results of social research. (Program objectives 9, 10, 11and 12) (Quizzes based upon RB; Group research project; research proposal; researchreport)

12. Be able to work collaboratively in a group in consultation with the instructor in order toapply basic principles of problem formulation and measurement and be able to demonstrateunderstanding of key concepts related to measurement and its relationship to the reliabilityand validity of social research. (Program objectives 9, 10, 11 and 12.) (Quizzes based uponRB; Group research project; research proposal; research report)

13. Be able to work collaboratively in a group in consultation with the instructor in order tocollect qualitative and quantitative data from individual respondents, and to worksupportively in a group to enable group members to prepare an individual report of one aspectof the group research project’s results). (Program objective 9, 10, 11 and 12) (Group researchproject; research proposal; research report; qualitative data analysis assignment;quantitative data analysis exercises)

14. Prepare, enter, and manipulate data using microcomputer spreadsheet and statisticalprograms, including the ability to perform and interpret analyses of descriptive univariateanalysis, including calculation and interpretation of standard deviation. (Program Objective9.) (Quiz on RB chapter 17; Quantitative analysis exercises; group research project;research proposal; research report).

15. Prepare bivariate tables and perform Chi-Square analyses of the relationship between twovariables using Excel and SPSS, as well as performing and interpreting Chi-Square analysescontrolling for variation within the categories of a third variable. (Program objective 9.) (Quizon RB chapter 17; Quantitative analysis exercises; group research project; researchproposal; research report).

16. Understand basic principles of inferential statistics, including interpretation of the tests ofstatistical significance produced by Chi Square analysis. (Program objective 9.) (Quiz on RBchapter 17; Quantitative analysis exercises; group research project; research proposal;research report).

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Table of Course Objectives in Relation to Program Objectives:

The relationship of these and the SOC 300 and SOC 350 course objectives to social workprogram objectives is outlined in a table:

SOC 300ObjectiveNumbers

SOC 350 ObjectiveNumbers

AdditionalObjectiveNumbers

1. Critical Thinking 1 7 4,62. Value Base - 3 33. Nondiscrimination - - 14. Oppression/Justice - - 2,95. SWK History/ Structure - - 26. Generalist Practice 2 - 77. Theory and practice - - 48. Social Policy - - 4,8,109. Research Related 1,3,4,5 1,3-8 1,4-10,11-13,14-1610. Communication Skills - - 7, 11-1311. Supervision - - 11-1312. Function in organizations - - 11-1313. Rural Practice - - 114. Client Strengths - - 8,9

VIII. Course Outline

1. Tuesday August 29:

Course Introduction and pretest of 25 of the 50 question BSW exam preparationmaterial questions related to research (the odd questions). This uses the anonymous surveycapability of Blackboard. On the last day of class this same set of questions will be re-administered to half the class, with the other half receiving the even questions. In-classassessment procedures of this kind are recommended by the CMU Center for Learning andTeaching. The results are not used for program assessment, but to guide section contentdevelopment and to supplement other forms of instructor feedback. What are some of thepros and cons of such an assessment strategy? Can we identify any problems with reliability,validity, sampling, etc.? (Hint: does it make a difference whether the instructor is privy to thequestions?)

First Half: Introduction to Course (Review Syllabus and explanation of therelationship of CSWE curriculum content on research and CMU’s program objectives to theadditional course objectives of this section).

Began by talking about Katrina and asking, what do we still need to know aboutKatrina, one year later. One person said something about housing. I raised the question ofsuicide, what do we need to know about the precipitants of youth suicide and suicideattempts, pointing out increasingly practice will be based upon evidence-based procedures.

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Did best to go over syllabus.

Second Half: Blackboard anonymous survey pretest of 25 questions from BSW exampreparation material.Introduced the survey with this question?What are some of the pros and cons of such an assessment strategy? Can we identify anyproblems with reliability, validity, sampling, etc.? (Hint: does it make a difference whetherthe instructor is privy to the questions?)One student identified the memory factor problem.Went through the next week and following Tuesday’s classes.

Afterwards, did a survey, “The test was very hard.” SA, A, N, D, SD1,20,5, as a “behind my back survey”, asked student in first row to help.

Then asked if there where other factors that might affect results (I was thinking of the ideathat this wasn’t being taken for a grade).

Finally, asked about questions we might ask for SWK 100 and SWK 250 students.

2. Thursday August 31:

Assignments for Thursday August 31: Bring the Rubin-Babbie textbook to class;install Adobe Acrobat Reader on a computer to which you have access; bring a thumb drivefor data storage to class; read the syllabus posted on the website. Reading Due: RB Chapter.

1: The Utility of Research in Social Work

First Half: Hand out and review syllabus again.

Selected coverage of Chapter 1

Second Half: Coverage of Quantitative Data Analysis Exercise Assignment One dueThursday 9/7. Initial coverage of Chapter 17: Quantitative Data Analysis.

Go to faculty server

3. Tues. Sept. 5

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 1 Quiz, read Chapter 2

First Half: Chapter 1 Quiz: The Utility of Social Work ResearchSecond Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 2

Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251

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4. Thurs. Sept. 7

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 2 quiz; Quantitative Data Exercise 1 Due

First half: Review Exercise 1 and demonstrate exercise 2 due Thurs. 9/14Second half: Chapter 2 quiz: How Do Social Workers Know Things?

5. Tues. Sept. 12

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 3 Quiz

Take home quiz on chapter 3 due by class time.Go over quiz 3 answers and present frequencies for 1-3Go over Exercise 2 Discuss what a "variable" is, how to determine if a variable is nominal, ordinal orinterval/ratio, etc.. We also need to discuss the difference between an independentand a dependent variable.Present some of the results from previous researchPerhaps go over SPSS basicsDivide class up into groupsRemind about need to select article abstractTeach them how to go on Refworks, perhaps have them go explore.

Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251 Write exercise 3

6. Thurs. Sept. 14

Assignments: Exercise 2 due

First Half: Review Exercise 2 and demonstrate exercise 3 due Thursday 9/21Second Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 17: Quantitative Data Analysis

7. Tues. Sept. 19

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 17 Quiz; Email instructor the citation andpublisher/author abstract of the article you propose to use for your Informational Abstract andCritical Appreciation of an Evidence-Based Practice Research article, assignment dueOctober 10.

First Half: Chapter 17 quiz: Quantitative Data Analysis Utilized Second Half: Review Chapter 17 Quiz; Selected Coverage of Chapter 4 on ethics

Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251

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8. Thurs. Sept. 21

Assignments: Exercise 3 due; Prepare for Chapter 4 quiz

First Half: Review Exercise 3 and demonstrate exercise 4 on correlations.Second Half: Chapter 4 Quiz: Ethical Issues in Social Work Research

9. Tues. Sept. 26

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 5 Quiz;

Go over quiz answers, assign next quiz, assign abstract proposal, show assignment forabstract. Remind to read Writing Research Proposals assignment.Do the M, M and M exercise on blackboard.Do the paper pencil ION Class drill.Break into groups.

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 5Second Half: Chapter 5 quiz: Culturally Competent Research

Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251. The instructor will be available for evening lab timeand/or extended office hours for help with the exercise due Thursday.

10. Thurs. Sept. 28

Assignments: Exercise 4 due; Prepare for Chapter 6 quiz; Read and be prepared todiscuss Rubin-Babbie text’s Appendix A: Writing Research Proposals

Go over results of Exercise 3A very briefly

Go over results of Exercise 3BExplain status of approval of the abstractsExplain Exercise 4 Announce Quiz on Chapter 6 which will be take home.Introduce using my paper how to think about formulating questionsBreak into groups

Second Half: Selective Coverage of Chapter 6 and discussion of Appendix A.

11. Tues. Oct. 3.

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 6 quiz

First Half: Chapter 6 QuizSelected Coverage of Chapter 7: Conceptualization in Quantitative and Qualitative

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Inquiry

Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251

12. Thurs. Oct. 5

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 7 quiz;

First Half: Chapter 7 quizSecond Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 8: Measurement

13. Tues. Oct. 10

Assignments: Read Chapter 8 and the lecture support for Chapter 8. First half: Groups meet to select roles and discuss topics and report this via minutes to

the instructor by Tuesday evening via the group pages.Second half: A. Chapter 8 support discussed, questions about Chapter 8 readings.B. Examples given of abstract assignment.

14. Thurs. Oct. 12

First half: Groups meet to discuss questionsChapter 8 take-home quiz due.Note: Abstract returned with grade and suggested corrections.

Assignments: Prepare for Quiz on Chapter 9

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 9; Second Half: Quiz on Chapter 9Questions deadline 10/13

Post by Friday take home quiz for chapter 10 due next Thursday.

15. Tues. Oct. 17

Informational Abstract and Critical Appreciation Assignment Due.

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 18 quiz on Qualitative Data Analysis; Emailinstructor the citation and publisher/author abstract of the article you propose to use for yourEvaluation of an Evaluation Research-Based Article's Research Methodology assignment dueTuesday Nov. 7.

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 18: Qualitative Data AnalysisLab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251

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Quiz on Chapter 18 Cancelled.

16. Thurs. Oct. 19

Read Berg chapter on qualitative data analysis (on reserve)

Assignments: Chapter 10 Take-Home quiz due Friday 11:00 pm

All Class: BRIEF Coverage on Chapter 10: Sampling and Surveys and training insurvey research by Prof. Mary Senter, visit to the CATI (Computer Aided TelephoneInterviewing) lab.

17. Tues. Oct. 24

This is the week of the Interviewing for the Department Survey, M-F 6:30-9:30, sat andsun 1:00-4:00

Exercise 5 assigned and introduced, due Tuesday November 14 by 9:00 pm.

First review of Qualitative Data Analysis Assignment due Tuesday November 7 by9:00. We will go over this in depth on Tuesday October 31.

Abstract assignment returned with grades.

Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251 The instructor will be available for evening labtime and/or extended office hours for help with the Qualitative Data Analysis Exercise dueTuesday October 31

Quiz on Chapter 11 to be posted by class time.

18. Thurs. Oct 26

Class will meet for the purpose of finalizing all group research project questionnaires. The instructor will make arrangements for use of the lab by the groups.

Take Home Quiz on Chapter 11 due Friday 11:00 pm

19. Tues. Oct. 31

Corrected abstracts assignment due as hard copy.

Assignments: Qualitative Data Analysis Assignment due Friday 11/3 by 5:00 withportfolio including complete set of exercises and corrected abstract assignment.

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Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 12 quiz

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 12: Group Designs for Evaluating programsand practice

Take Home Quiz on Chapter 12 due by class time Tuesday 10/31

Lab: 5:30-9:00 Tuesday Anspach 251 The instructor will be available for evening lab timeand/or extended office hours for help with the Qualitative Data Analysis Exercise and withQuantitative Data Analysis Exercise 5

20. Thurs. Nov. 2

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 13 quiz: Program evaluation

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 13: Program evaluation

Second Half: Initial discussion of the Evaluation of a Research-Based Article’s Research Methodology assignment due Tues. Nov. 21.

Take Home Quiz on Chapter 13 due by Friday 11:00 pm

Department survey data available for classroom use on this date.

21. Tues. Nov. 7

Assignments: Prepare for Chapter 14: Single-Case Evaluation Designs;

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 14: Program evaluation

Take Home Quiz on Chapter 14 due

Qualitative Data Analysis Assignment due: Tuesday, 11/7, 9:00 pm

Lab: 5:30-9:00 Tuesday Anspach 251 The instructor will be available for evening lab timeand/or extended office hours for help with the Qualitative Data Analysis Exercise and withQuantitative Data Analysis Exercise 5

22. Thurs. Nov. 9

Assignments: Prepare for quiz on Chapter 15

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 15: Additional Qualitative and QuantitativeMethods (focusing especially on ethnography and participatory action research).

Take Home Quiz on Chapter 15 due by Friday at 11:00 pm

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23. Tues. Nov. 14

Assignments: Evaluation of an Evaluation Research-Based Article's ResearchMethodology assignment due along with portfolio including complete set of correctedexercises, corrected abstract and corrected qualitative assignment.

First Half: Discussion of evaluation papers and the lessons of that evaluation for lastminute tuning up of the student’s own research proposals and plans for data analysis.

Second Half: Progress Reports on Group Research Reports; Groups Meetings andindividual consultation with instructor

First Half: Selected Coverage of Chapter 16

Exercise 5 due Tuesday November 14 by 9:00 pm.

Lab: 5:30-9:00 Tuesday Anspach 251 The instructor will be available for evening lab timeand/or extended office hours for help with the Qualitative Data Analysis Exercise and withQuantitative Data Analysis Exercise 5

24. Thurs. Nov. 16

Assignments: Prepare for Quiz on Chapter 16Take Home Quiz on Chapter 16 due Friday 11:00

25. Tues. Nov. 21

Assignments: Prepare for group meetings about the analysis of the data collected bythe group.

First Half: Group meetings and instructor consultationSecond Half: Group meetings and instructor consultation

November 21, Tuesday: Evaluation of an Evaluation Research Article's ResearchMethodology due.

No class Thursday November 23, Thanksgiving

26. Tues. Nov. 28

Assignments: Come prepared to discuss Appendix B: Writing Social Work ResearchReports, and ready to respond to instructor questions about progress towards completing dataanalysis and writing the report.

First Half: Class discussion of Appendix B and plans for individual research reportsSecond Half: Group meetings and instructor consultation

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Lab: 5:30-8:00 Tuesday Anspach 251: The instructor will be available for evening lab timeand/or extended office hours for help with the research report due next Tuesday.

November 21, Tuesday: Evaluation of an Evaluation Research Article's ResearchMethodology revisions due.

27. Thurs. Nov. 30

Assignments: Come prepared as groups to discuss with the class the plan for eachgroup’s presentation of its results beginning on Thursday Dec. 5.

First Half: Class discussion of plans for group presentationsSecond Half: Students work in class on research reports, consult with each other and

with instructor.

November 30, Thursday: Evaluation revisions due

28. Tues. Dec. 5

Assignments: Social Work Research Report due.

All Class: Group discussion of plans for group presentations

29. Thurs. Dec. 7 (Last day of classes)

Assignments: Final Presentations. Research reports returned with grade andrequired revisions, with revisions to be submitted with the portfolio on TuesdayDecember 12.

30. Final Exam Session - Final Presentations Continued and Retest of the BSWExam Material. COURSE PORTFOLIO OF CORRECTED ASSIGNMENTSDUE (WITHOUT IDENTIFYING INFORMATION)

IX. Evaluation:

See summary under Assignments

X. Course Policies:

1. Attendance and participation: Students are expected to attend and actively participate inall classes. The professor requests students notify the instructor in advance if they will bemissing a class, regardless whether the absence is likely to be excused. Only absences formedical reasons or emergencies approved by the instructor are excused absences, but thesealso require advanced notification and documentation under University policy. Unexcusedabsences result in deductions from the maximum for participation points noted below.

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Specifically, of eight possible attendance and participation points, there will be one pointdeducted for the first unexcused absence and two points for each additional unexcusedabsence. The course portfolio is seen as an important element of the collective participationof students in this course. Accordingly, five attendance/participation points will be deductedfor incomplete portfolios.

2. Timeliness: Students are expected to arrive on time and stay until the end of class.Persistent tardiness can result in attendance deductions.

3. Classroom behaviors: Students are expected to demonstrate on-task classroom behaviorsthat: 1) promote the learning of self and others; and 2) model effective professionalrelationship building skills with social work clients, peers, colleagues, speakers, andprofessors. Conduct standards shall align with the NASW Code of Ethics.

4. Preparedness: Students are expected to be prepared for class. Prepared for class includestimely completion of all reading assignments. Each student is expected to come prepared todiscuss reading in class. The instructor reserves the right to call on students to discuss bold-faced key concepts in the text and other important text book material. If it helps withpreparation, please feel free to bring the text to class.

5. Plagiarism/Copying: Students are required to be familiar with and remain in compliancewith CMU’s Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found at:http://academicsenate.cmich.edu/NonCad/ACADEMIC_INTEGRITY_POLICY.pdf

6. Disability accommodations: CMU provides students with disabilities reasonableaccommodation to participate in educational programs, activities, or services. Students withdisabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet courserequirements should first register with the Office of Student Disability Services (120 ParkLibrary; telephone 774-3018; TDD 774-2568), and then contact me as soon as possible.

7. Make-ups: See section on quizzes under Assignments.

8. Late papers/assignments: The instructor reserves the right to refuse to accept lateassignments. Late papers/assignments which are accepted graded normally but the finalpoints assigned by the grading process will be subject to a 10% deduction unless priorarrangement was made with the instructor for late submission. Exceptions to this policymust be approved by the professor in advance of the due date and time. If the student doesnot submit paper/assignment by the agreed upon new deadline, the grade will be zero.

9. Extra credit: See under Evaluation and under Assignments.

10. Grading questions: Discussion of grading issues should be done during the professor’sscheduled office hours or by appointment.

11. Departmental Policy relevant to SOC 300: “The Department of Sociology,

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Anthropology, and Social Work is committed to social justice and diversity and to theapplication of research to solve real world problems. In addition, the department is dedicatedto teaching excellence and the promotion of critical thinking as mechanisms for encouragingsocial justice, diversity, and the solution of social problems.”

12. Other: Other course policies are described in course assignments and may be elaboratedor defined by the professor during class. The professor reserves the right to make policyexceptions.

13. Religious holiday policy: Central Michigan University’s Academic Senate in Spring 2006adopted a new Religious Holiday policy. Following was the final draft of the policy as passedby the Senate: “Central Michigan University, as a public institution, does not observereligious holidays. However, it is University policy to permit students to be absent fromclasses or examinations for reason of observing religious holidays. Students are allowed tomake up course requirements when they are unable to avoid a conflict between their academicand their religious obligations. Absence from classes or examinations caused by observingreligious holidays does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the coursework required during the period of absence. It is the obligation of students to provide facultywith written notice of the religious holiday they will be observing and the date on which theywill be absent at least two weeks prior to the date of the religious holiday. Students who missclasses or are absent on days of examinations or class assignments shall be offered anopportunity to make up the work, without penalty, unless it can be demonstrated that amake-up opportunity would interfere unreasonably with the delivery of the course. Shoulddisagreement arise over any aspect of this policy, the parties involved should contact theDepartment Chair, the Dean of the College, or the Ombudsperson. Final appeals will beresolved by the Provost. Similarly, every reasonable effort should be made to help facultyand staff avoid negative consequences when their religious and work obligations are inconflict. Reasonable common sense, judgment and the pursuit of mutual goodwill shouldresult in the positive resolution of scheduling conflicts. The regular appeals and grievanceprocesses for faculty and staff should be used if a mutually satisfactory arrangement cannotbe reached. Finally, offices scheduling on-campus events should consult university calendarsin an effort to avoid conflict with major religious holidays. A list of major religious holidayswill be made available on the Office for Institutional Diversity’s web page.” Pursuant to thatpolicy, an interfaith religious calendar linked to the CMU website can be found at:http://www.diversity.cmich.edu/Appr_reqd/InterFaithCal06-07.htm

XI: Assignments

Due Dates of Exercises and Assignments:

Social Work Research Proposal: To Be DeterminedQuantitative Data Analysis Exercise 1: Thurs. Sept. 7Quantitative Data Analysis Exercise 2: Thurs. Sept. 14Quantitative Data Analysis Exercise 3: Thurs. Sept. 21Quantitative Data Analysis Exercise 4: Friday Sept. 29

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Informational Abstract and Critical Appreciation Assignment: Tues. Oct. 17October 27, Friday. Take Home Quiz on Chapter 11 quiz due by 11:00 pmNovember 7, Tuesday, Corrected Abstracts Due.November 7, Tuesday, Take Home Quiz on Chapter 12 due by 11:00 pm.November 14, Tuesday, Article Identified for Abstract and Methodological Critique #2November 14, Tuesday, Take Home Quiz on Chapter 13 due by 11:00. November 16, Thursday, Graded Abstracts Returned to class with final corrections noted.Research Proposal is Ungraded Blackboard Assignment and is Due as Soon as Possibleafter Data ReadyNovember 21, Tuesday, Take Home Quiz on Chapter 15/16 due by 3:30 pmNovember 21, Tuesday, Final corrections to abstracts due on blackboard assignmentedand printed by class time.November 22, Wednesday 11:00 pm, Quantitative Data Analysis Chi Square Exercise 5 due November 30, Thursday, Qualitative Data Analysis Assignment due by class.December 5, Tuesday: Individual Research Report DueDecember 5, Tuesday: Group discussion of final presentations.December 7, Thursday: Final presentationsFinal Exam Session: Continued presentations; Retest of BSW exam preparation materials.

(See page 15 on Lateness policy.)

Goals of the assignments: Ultimately, the goals of the assignments in this course must berelated to the achievement of course objectives which are plausibly connected to theachievement of program objectives. However, the goals of the assignment are also related tothe desire to enable students to utilize this course to advance their interests in the evaluationand critical understanding of the research methods used in research findings related togeneralist social work practice, in particular empirical articles related to evidence-basedpractice and to the evaluation of social work practice. This ensures that basic skills in theinitial stages of the research process (problem formulation, literature review, hypothesisgeneration, research design) are learned in a way which is not alienated from the student’ssubstantive interests (albeit with a topic subject to instructor approval). However, absent acourse designed to facilitate individual student research projects (such as the last of the threeresearch courses in the psychology major), it is felt that the small group (5-9 students) is thebest environment to conceptualize, design and carry out a small quantitative and qualitativeresearch project with the guidance of the instructor.

While data from previous research may be used for the completion of the initial quantitative data analysis exercises and the initial qualitative data analysis assignment, the quantitativeand qualitative data collected by the small group research projects will also be used by eachgroup participant to consolidate that understanding by producing an empirical report of oneaspect of the results of that group research project or an overall respondent report of theresults, as well as to give a group report to the class of the results of the research.

This means that the various steps of the research process will not be learned entirely withinthe confines of a particular original individual research project, as that would require as a

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prerequisite the very skills learned by the end of this course. Using another model, namely apre-prepared faculty driven research project to which students contribute additional questions,it is possible to prepare such an individualized project. Depending upon the term, such aproject may be available for students to participate in, in which case their report of researchresults would be based upon that research, and in which case the literature review, hypothesisgeneration, and research design assignment would be carried out with a view to theanticipated variables available from that external project.

In Fall 2006, for instance, political science and sociology faculty members will be carryingout such a study. Students in this section of SOC 300 will have the option of participating inthat study as a group, in lieu of the group research project. All students in this section willreceive training in computer-assisted telephone survey research (performed by ChairpersonMary Senter) and all students who choose the group project associated with the survey willparticipate in three hours of data collection in order to facilitate that external research project. Additional students who wish to participate will receive extra credit for doing so, 3 hoursbeing worth 3 points.

Because this means that there is no final project which in itself can be used as part of programassessment, each student will prepare a portfolio of each of their course assignmentswhich includes corrected versions of the papers and assignments that have been gradedand returned by the instructor. Grades on each assignment are contingent upon thesubsequent return of the assignment with suggested corrections made to the satisfactionof the instructor. This will also serve the purpose of consolidating the learning associatedwith each assignment and is consistent with the peer review process in social research, whichinvolves asking authors to revise and re-submit their work. It also serves to reinforce thestudent’s sense of competence with respect to their abilities to produce a portfolio of work bythe end of the term that is cumulative and valuable.

Following is a summary of the assignments and grading:

32 Quizzes10 Group Research Project (5 Points for Presentation, 5 Points for group’s work10 Research Report10 Abstract assignment10 Evaluation of published research assignment (Cancelled - 9.6 points given)10 Quantitative Data Analysis Exercises (five, 2 points each)10 Qualitative Data Analysis Assignment8 Attendance and participation

100 TotalQuiz extra credit bonus points (up to three)Group project bonus points (up to two)Three bonus points for data collection in PSC/SOC/SWK CARRS survey ifnot in the group doing its group research project on that topic.Note: Total bonus points may not exceed 5 for any one individual.Note: Five attendance/participation points will be deducted for incomplete

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portfolios.

Group and/or Individual Research Project and Poster Presentation

(Note: Grading for the work associated with this research is focused on the individualresearch proposal and the final research report. However, the instructor reserves the right todeduct points for individual students who do not do their full share of the group’s work.)

As part of this course, each student will participate in an actual research project of somekind, either an individual research project approved by the instructor and using techniquescovered in the text, or a group research project. Students who choose an individual researchproject will be paired with another student in order that they can provide feedback to eachother on their respective projects. Under certain circumstances, the instructor will entertainresearch projects carried out by pairs of students.

There are a variety of possibilities for individual and group research projects. The default isparticipate in a survey being carried out by faculty from the Department of Political Scienceand the Department of Sociology in conjunction with CARRS (Center for Applied Researchand Rural Studies, see http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/carrs/.) This is the typical researchassignment for SOC 300, and it is hoped that at the very minimum a small group of SOC 300students from this section will participate in this research. A certain number of questions canbe developed by this group for inclusion in the survey. The schedule for that survey is asfollows:

Friday, October 13 Questions turned into Mary/Monica from all classesth

Week of October 16 Training in SOC 300 and PSC 280 classes by Dr. Senterth

(probably on Thursday, October 18-19)

Meetings of faculty to resolve any differences in questionWording, etc.

Submission of final interview schedule to IRB

CATI system made ready for survey

Sunday, October 22 Pretest 1:00 pm to 4:00 pmnd

October 23 Interviewing for Survey beginsrd

Monday through Friday and Sunday 6:30 pm to 9:30 pmSaturday and Sunday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

October 31 Marginals on 10 variables available for drafting press st

release

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November 3 Press release available rd

Week of November 6 Data available for use in classes

I am open to other proposals for small group projects which involve surveys of SWK 100 andSWK 250 students; a possible alumni survey being discussed by social work faculty; possiblesurveys of social workers in the field; and possible research in the community. However,other groups and other individual research projects not related to this survey need toadhere to a similar schedule, so that results are available for cleaning, coding andanalysis by November 6.

For a group research assignment, you will form a research team with your classmates. As ateam you will design, carry out, and report on your research project, working collaborativelywith each other and in consultation with the instructor. The instructor must approve theresearch topic and the final research instrument. There will be few opportunities for thegroups to meet in class. Additional group meetings before or after class, during scheduled labtimes, and at other times will be necessary. Blackboard discussion groups can be set up aswell, where documents to be shared within the group can be kept.

The learning associated with this experience is associated with the formulation of researchquestions, the development of measurement instruments and the critique of their validity andreliability, the construction of an appropriate sample or identification of an appropriatepopulation, the carrying out of data collection, and the analysis of qualitative and quantitativeresults (but see the individual research report assignment below). Division of labor of taskswithin the group is determined by the group.

One task is to prepare an overall respondent report of the results. The person undertaking thistask should construct their research proposal as an overall proposal for the project, rather thanone which focuses on one aspect of the results, and their final research report will be writtenwith the respondent audience or other larger audience in mind.

The final presentation is based upon the final individual research reports; the respondentreport; and the group’s efforts to provide a coherent explanation to the class of the originalresearch question, research design, data collection measures, results, etc.. The group maywish, for example, to take turns explaining each step of the research process and then taketurns presenting the results of their individual research report. It is typically the case thatwithin group projects one person takes on more than their share of the responsibility andwork.

Each group, by the date of the group presentation, if the group feels that one such person hasstood out in their contribution, will recommend one of their group to receive up to two bonuspoints in addition to whatever score each member of the their group project.

In addition to collecting and analyzing data utilizing the skills learned in this course, thiswork will be related to two primary written assignments, discussed below.

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Research Proposal (10 Points)

The first of these is a written research proposal prepared according to the procedures inAppendix A of the textbook. Often, research proposals evolve over the course of theformulation of the original question, the design of the sample and the data collection strategy,etc.. Accordingly, the due date for this proposal is flexible and will be determined basedupon interaction between the student and the instructor and between the instructor and thegroups which are formed. Where the proposal relates to a group project, it will involveresearch questions and proposed data analysis related to one part of the anticipated results ofthe group project. It is recognized that there will be a good deal of variation between theproposals in terms of the degree to which the proposal can rely upon a literature review ofexisting research findings on the topic or related to the topic.

Research Report (10 Points)

The second is a written social work research report written according to Appendix B of thetext. The due date of the research proposal will be approximately mid-term and the researchreport will be due on Tuesday December 5. This report will be the basis for the individualand group presentations of the results of the research.

Typically, each member of each research group will select a different aspect of the results ofthe project for their attention, in consultation with other members of the group. The reportshould relate to the topic chosen in the research proposal, although it is recognized that insome cases there will be a shift in the topic of the report once the data are available. However, any shift in topic in between the proposal and the preparation of the report requiresinstructor approval.

One approach which can be taken for a report that is part of a group research project is tofocus data analysis in one of the following ways.

A. A qualitative analysis of the results similar to the qualitative data analysis assignment butsubstantively related to a qualitative element of the group research project. Depending uponthe nature of the group research project, there may only be one available individual researchreport which can focus on qualitative data.

B. A variable oriented analysis in which the relationship between two variables is explainedsubstantively and analytically using Chi Square analysis. If there is a need to control for athird variable, the Chi Square should be repeated additional times and the results whenstratifying the results for the categories of the third variable should be discussed. If there isno need to control for a third variable, this should be defended. The results on these variablesshould be discussed in relation to the overall purpose of the research project and the overallresults.

C. A “respondent report” of the results of the research. Typically, a brief summary of theresults of a study is made available to interested respondents. This would require the writer to

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compile tables (not graphs) of the key results and summarize them in a way that is easilyunderstood by the general public. This summary can play a key role in enhancing the finalgroup presentation.

D. A “graphical summary” of the results of the research. Similar to C, the graphical summarywill seek to use the charting capability of SPSS and/or Excel to summarize the key findings ofthe study in a way which can facilitate the development of graphical projections for the finalgroup presentation. This summary can and should include both univariate and bivariatepresentations of the data as well as charts showing numerous variables.

As can be seen, together such a set of research reports on the same group research project willtend to complement each other, help support a more coherent group presentation of theresults, etc.. The possibility of such a set of reports should be kept in mind whilepreparing the research proposal, with students divvying up the proposals along these orsimilar lines. However, within any one research project, there may be a number of differentvariables which would support research proposals and research reports which vary a good bitin their substantive focus. In other words, they may seem in some ways to be different topicentirely, although typically united in some way related to the nature of the sample. Forinstance, the variables proposed by political scientists, sociologists and social workers maydiffer in the Fall 2006 study. However, social work students can use the entire range ofvariables in their proposals and reports.

Remember, “you can’t lose if you have asked a good question.” The fact that your particularset of variables did not produce a “statistically significant” result doesn’t mean it doesn’t haveeducational or even research significance. As was concluded in the recent film, Everything isIlluminated, even though one might not find exactly what one is looking for, one usually doesfind something of value. Also, while there may be variation between individual researchreports in the seeming significance of the results, it is important to understand that thisresearch was conducted as a group project, and every individual effort contributed to thatproject.

Quizzes: 18 possible quizzes, minimum of 16 required, for total possible score of 32 andup to 4 extra credit points

Quizzes are designed to reward class participation and to motivate students to come to classprepared (by having read and studied the assigned chapter and the supporting tutorialquizzes). Accordingly, there are no make-up quizzes, but consistent with the university’smissed classed policy, (https://bulletins.cmich.edu/2006/ug/gen-acad/default.asp#missed%20class%20policy) withadvance notice to instructor, students with a documented medically-excused absence or whomust attend a required university event will be given the opportunity to engage in analternative assessment of the equivalent course content (usually an essay quiz covering thesame material.)

The length of time of the quizzes and the nature of the questions will require that the student

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have a thorough understanding of the sections of the book covered. In advance of the quiz,either on the same day of the quiz or on the class session prior to the quiz, the instructor willengage in “selected coverage” of the chapter being covered on the quiz, in addition topresenting other material of an educational value on that topic which will not be on the quizbut may be helpful with other assignments or in the instructor’s judgement will contribute tothe student’s understanding of social research. However, this means that students must takeresponsibility for learning the chapter, rather than relying upon the “selected coverage.” There will be many questions in quizzes on content not covered in lectures. It is especiallyimportant to learn and understand all bold-faced, italicized and glossary terms for eachchapter.

The quizzes will be closed book, in-class, blackboard exams, which are randomly generatedfor each student. Feedback on correct answers and page references are provided byblackboard. The number of questions for each quiz varies widely depending upon the chaptercontent. Most questions are those designed by the authors of the text, however there areothers which were designed by the instructor, in particular matching questions that matchseveral concepts with the corresponding correct definition.

However, each quiz contains 10 questions from the Tutorial Quizzes available for students tostudy in advance of each quiz. The link is also on the website under Companion Link:http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20bI&product_isbn_issn=0495006580&discipline_number=4

This means that if you read the study and do the tutorial quiz, you should know the answers to10 of the questions already! (You may memorize if you wish but may not bring notes of theanswers to these questions. Keep in mind the numbers will have changed.)

Please keep in mind that the kinds of questions on these quizzes are very much like the kindsof questions you will need to be able to answer to pass the research related questions on theBSW and/or MSW licensure exams. So practice in taking such tests with closed book is animportant learning experience.

There is no dropping of the lowest of the possible 16 required quiz scores, if you take 16 orfewer quizzes out of the 18 possible quizzes. Missed quizzes are scored as zero if less than atotal of 16 quizzes are taken. But if you take 17 or 18 quizzes, the lowest two scores will bedropped, with one being dropped from among the first 9 quizzes and one being droppedfrom among the second nine quizzes. This will be accomplished in my spreadsheet ofdownloaded blackboard scores by assigning place of the lowest score (for those each ofthose two quizzes) the mean of all your quizzes taken in that half, including yourdropped quiz. Otherwise, the procedure is too complicated even for your statsinstructor to figure out! In this way, after 9 quizzes, you will be able to look atblackboard and see how many points you earned for half of the total quiz score (16points possible), and you will know how you need to perform the 2 half on yournd

remaining quizzes. Your original scores won’t be changed in blackboard. But only thetotal scores for the two halves are part of the weighted total for blackboard.

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The number of questions vary between quizzes, but blackboard will post your percentagecorrect. Your final quiz score will be the average of your percentage correct scores, appliedto the total maximum of 32 points. The one given at midterm can be removed if morethan two quizzes are missed in the second half. This means, if you had a perfect quizparticipation record the first half, you have two more points to earn by taking all theremaining quizzes, and one more to earn if you “drop” a quiz.

Blackboard calculates a percentage correct score, which is used in a spreadsheet outsideblackboard by the instructor to periodically (once or twice prior to the end of the course)calculate what your final quiz total would be were you to continue through all the quizzes atthe level at which you have performed until then. That projected final quiz total is thenentered in the quiz total column of blackboard, which is weighted at 32% of the total score.

Also, if by the end of the course a student has taken 16 or more exams, because it was said,“Quizzes are designed to reward class participation and to motivate students to come to classprepared by having read the assigned chapter,” students who take at least 16 of the 18 quizzes(or alternatives in the case of excused absence) will be awarded one bonus point. That bonuspoint will be put in the unweighted bonus point column in blackboard. Students who take 17quizzes will be awarded two bonus points, and those who take all 18 exams will be awardedthree bonus points. These will be added to the quiz bonus point column of blackboard. Onebonus point will be awarded at midterm for those who have completed 9 quizzes, and 0will be put in that column at midterm for anyone with an uncompleted first half quiz, soI will “know” who isn’t eligible for all 3 bonus points. The remaining possible 1 or 2points will be awarded at the end of the class.

Quantitative Data Analysis/Interpretation Exercises (Five for 10 Total Points)

These 5 cumulative assignments are based upon similar assignments originally designed byPatterson and Basham for use in conjunction with their book, Data Analysis withSpreadsheets. However, I have revised and developed these assignments and will beproviding you will detailed instructions and examples of each. We will go over eachassignment in class the session before it is due. The spreadsheet assignments are due in thenext class session after this material is introduced in class. Time permitting, the spreadsheetdata will be imported into SPSS and the same procedure duplicated in SPSS.

Assignment number one requires the creation of a data set within a spreadsheet, using data tobe provided to the class, from which each student will select a number of common variablesand two unique variables.

Assignment number two requires using the spreadsheet to compute descriptive statistics and frequency distributions on variables in the data set created in the first assignment.

Assignment number three involves the computation of standard deviations and the

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interpretation of standard deviations.

Assignment number four requires using of a spreadsheet to conduct an analysis of the relationship between two variables in your data set through use of the Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Assignment number five requires using of a spreadsheet to conduct an analysis of the relationship between two variables in your data set through use of the Chi-square statistic.

Detailed instructions for each assignment will be made available before each assignment andadded to this online syllabus.

Grading: This is by and large a pass/fail type assignment. It is essential to get eachexercise correct in order to be able to move on to the next exercise. It is also essential tomaster these exercises in order to be able to properly prepare your final research report. Fullcredit will be given for each exercise that is handed in on time and returned with allcorrections noted along with the submission of the next assignment, which is the abstractassignment. One point only will be given for assignments which are not on time or which arenot returned corrected with the next assignment. Once all five exercises have beencompleted, and the fifth exercise has been corrected, the completed exercises should be placedin the student’s course portfolio. Getting these exercises perfect is entirely possible andprovides the student with a 100% score on this assignment.

Informational Abstract and Critical Appreciation of an Evidence-Based PracticeResearch Article (10 Points)

The development of knowledge and skills associated with empirically demonstrated socialpolicy and/or social program outcomes or other social work practice outcomes is importantfor effective social work practice. The purpose of this assignment is to increase the students'abilities to access and critically analyze outcome research and evaluation literature relevant tosocial welfare. For each assignment, the informational abstract should focus inparticular on the method, data, hypotheses and other elements. For each assignment,the critical appreciation should focus on aspects of the article’s research methods andthe reader’s confidence in those methods and how they were used to support theconclusions reached.

In instructor has prepared a Refworks database of several hundred articles which can be usedas candidate articles for this assignment. In addition, students are encouraged to use thebrowsing guide on the website and visit the Central Michigan University Park Library to finda recent journal article that reports empirically-based outcomes derived from an evaluation ofa social welfare benefit and/or a social work service. The article should have an already-prepared abstract as published in the journal. The student should email that provided shortabstract of the article to the instructor so that he can approve the article to be used in thisassignment. After approval of the article, the student will prepare an abstract of the article.

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Criteria for grading. Grading is based on the abstract’s thoroughness and accuracy; clarity ofwriting and ability to convey the articles key points and methods. Also, please see thesection, “Qualities of a good abstract,” at the bottom of the Guide to Writing Abstracts.

Note: This assignment will be returned with a grade reflecting the quality of the work assubmitted. However, the grade is contingent upon revising and re-submitting the work assuggested by the instructor and including it in the course portfolio handed in with thesubsequent assignment, which is the evaluation of an evaluation research article.

Qualitative Data Analysis Assignment (10 points):

Although the following assignment appears difficult, it was one which most students had littledifficulty mastering in Fall 2005. In fact, it would appear social work students like doing thiskind of qualitative data analysis more than some of them enjoy the quantitative data analysis! A reading of the assigned chapter from Berg in preparation for the demonstration of thisassignment by the instructor will prepare the student for carrying out this assignment. Students will be given one week to complete the assignment after the in-class explanation. The instructor will schedule additional office hours to facilitate students finishing thisassignment on time. Students are encouraged to seek help from other members of their group,and to raise questions in the class period after the initial explanation. This is a timeconsuming assignment. Last year students reported it took them from 3 to 8 hours tocomplete, depending upon how easy they found the subject to be.

Don’t be intimidated by the unusual concepts found there: they will seem eminently clearafter the reading and lecture. You may be wondering what kind of data will be used in thisassignment. Over the first couple of weeks of the term, once we have decided more clearlywhat the group research projects will consist of, the instructor will determine what qualitativedata might be appropriate for use in this assignment. The fallback will be qualitative dataavailable from last Fall’s surveys. Students are prohibited from discussing those assignmentswith students who took the course last Fall; this would give them an unfair advantage overstudents who don’t have such ties, and would reduce the value of using the data from last Fall,despite the advantage that the instructor already has a good example of the kinds ofassignments were produced based upon that data. In the end, some students may end updoing analyses of qualitative data collected this Fall, and others may used last Fall’s data. Orthe instructor may provide data from an entirely different source. This will depend upon anumber of factors.

1. Criteria of selection (p. 224). Answer the following question and explain your answer: What are the criteria of selection for the question or other measurement instrument utilized toproduce the qualitative data supplied for this assignment?

The purpose of arriving at a criteria of selection in advance of qualitative analysis of contentis to increase the reliability and validity of the analysis, by ensuring that the analysis is notdone in a way which is biased towards confirming the researcher's hypotheses. The criteria ofselection are not "advance codes", in other words they aren't a way in which you "guess" in

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advance what the answers might be, the themes you might see, etc.. They are merely a way inwhich you set rules in advance for what kinds of content you will select out of the total mix ofcontent. When a research question is a very specific one, it is usually the case that the bulk ofthe content is related to the question at hand. Be sure to decide for yourself if you want toaddress only manifest content or whether you also want to address latent content (see p. 225),and explain why. Another way of thinking about manifest and latent content is that manifestcontent is clearly and directly related to the criteria of selection but latent content may be lessclearly and more indirectly related to the content.

Before doing so, see p. 236 about the need to ask, "What study are these data pertinent to? Inother words, what was the original objective of the research study." Furthermore, what wasthe actual question asked? Generally, if this is primary data analysis (original data, first time itwas analyzed), the criteria of selection is that only that content related to the question isanalyzed and other irrelevant material is excluded from analysis.

2. Identify the unit of analysis you plan to use (p. 228). See also p. 231, "What to count."(However, do not consider use of "themes", this concept will be used in a different way and itis confusing to think about themes here.)

In answering this question, discuss why you propose to count at this level. Keep in mind thatthe more specific the question, the less general the unit of analysis. Specific questions tend toproduce specific answers, and the unit of analysis tends to be more discrete (such as the wordor the phrase), while general questions tend to produce themes which emerge or be observableonly at high levels of analysis such as a sentence or paragraph. Keep in mind that you can re-analyze the same data later at a higher level of analysis, such as the concept, once one hasinitially identified in vivo codes at lower levels of analysis.

3. Once this has been done, it is not inappropriate for the researcher to construct a list of invivo codes (p. 227), or the literal terms (words or phrases), which the researcher thinks mightbe used by the respondents. A spreadsheet is often the best way to begin to analyze the datahere and in the following sections. The researcher's hypotheses would tend to suggest themeswould be present that might be represented by specific in vivo codes. Normally, if you weredoing an inductive research design or research using "grounded theory", you wouldn't do this. However, in a deductive research design you would always do this, as your hypotheses wouldlikely be tied to results which would be linked to such codes. In this case, for educationalpurposes, we will all do this. So, for instance, in the one sample from last year’s survey usedas an example, if you hypothesized that respondents would say that CMU is super, you wouldidentify as an in vivo code the theme super. Please predict, before reviewing the data, whatwould you hypothesize some of the in vivo codes (literal words or phrases) found in theanswer might be? In a sense, these in vivo codes are the empirical indicators of the conceptsfor which you have provided a conceptual definition, and which you wish to operationalizewith the data at hand, the "literal words". That is why it is not inappropriate to speculate inadvance about what kinds of words you think you will see, as long as you do so after thecriteria for selection is established. It is true that some qualitative researchers use an

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inductive research strategy, and don’t care to hypothesize in advance, but there is nothinginherent in qualitative methods which prevents advance hypotheses.

4. You are now ready to do your qualitative analysis. Do open coding. One goal of theanalysis is to identify "minutely" (see p. 237) all in vivo codes (all actual content, not just thestuff you predict in see step 2 above) at the unit of analysis selected (see step 3 above) whichis consistent with the criteria of selection (step 1 above). Accordingly, using a highlighterpen, identify all such content. Type up a list of the content with one line per piece of content.

5. Engage in axial coding or coding frames. The purpose of this step is to take the relevantdata (the list of in vivo codes that is consistent with the unit of analysis and criteria ofselection) and code it into frames (often understood as themes, a frequently used word, butwhich is not used in this way by Berg and shouldn’t be used that way in this assignment,where the concept frames should be used). This involves the exercise of reasoned judgmentabout the extent to which in vivo codes can be combined into frames that are considered to bysynonymous. The goal here is to analyze results in a way which can help answer the researchquestion. It is as simple as that. Accordingly, to the extent that data can be coded in a waywhich operationalizes the conceptual definitions, and can be coded in a way which has facevalidity, it is valuable to collapse different in vivo codes into frames. But there must be anclear empirical relationship between the original wording and the themes. When you can'tfind a word which summarizes all of them, it is often best to create a composite frame, inwhich you merely group all the relevant words into a group of similar ones. Even if you canidentify a word which best describes the frame, be sure to list the in vivo codes you have used. You end this step with a smaller list of frames derived from the in vivo codes. List theseframes one line at a time and number them.

6. Analyze the cases based upon the frames. How many cases produces answers consistentwith frame 1? Frame 2? Frame 3? Create columns to the right of the original qualitative datafor each frame, and place a 1 in each cell if that case has that frame. One case may have morethan one frame.

7. Based upon this analysis, how would you interpret the results? In other words, what doesthis qualitative analysis tell you about the answer to the original question? Briefly describethe outcome. Let's compare our in vivo codes, frames, and interpretations in class!

Optional: 8. Can you identify one sociological construct (p. 227), or higher level abstractconcept, which you feel may be represented by these codes?

Note: This assignment will be returned with a grade reflecting the quality of the work assubmitted. However, the grade is contingent upon revising and re-submitting the work assuggested by the instructor and including it in the course portfolio handed in with thesubsequent assignment, which is the evaluation of an evaluation research article.

Evaluation of an Evaluation Research-Based Article’s Research Methodology: 10 points

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Having familiarized yourself with a single empirical research article; having developed skillsin summarizing and communicating the findings of that article; having engaged in a generalcritique of the article; having learned the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative dataanalysis; having completed the bulk of the quizzes covering research methodology, the nextstep involves the carrying out of a more formal evaluation of a peer-reviewed empiricalevaluation research article related to social work practice or program evaluation or ofempirical evidence for use in social work practice.

There is a long history of social work literature designed to facilitate the evaluation ofresearch findings. When the CSWE Program Objective nine refers to “Evaluate researchstudies....”, what is meant is skill in the evaluation of published research. It doesn’t mean thethe production of social research, but rather the critical understanding and evaluation of suchresearch for use in practice. That is why an assignment of this kind is valuable in a socialwork research section of this course.

The first book on the subject of the evaluation of research was written by social workeducators who were also trained in the joint doctoral program in social work and socialscience at Michigan: Tripodi, Tony; Fellin, Phillip, and Meyer, Henry Joseph (1969), Theassessment of social research; guidelines for the use of research in social work and socialscience. Itasca, Ill: F. E. Peacock Publishers. The most recent book on this subject is:Holosko, Michael J. (2006), Primer for critiqueing social research: A student guide. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks Cole.

Based upon these and other such guides as well as upon a similar guide to evaluatingevaluation research developed earlier by the instructor, students will be provided with adetailed guide for how to prepare this assignment, including the use of checklists and othersways of guiding and stimulating the ability of the student to prepare this assignment and to beable to critically utilize research findings. The guide will stop short of enabling the student toutilize the results of the research in practice, as that is beyond the scope of this course. However, it will enable the student to consolidate the other skills and concepts learned in thecourse and apply them to the evaluation of key aspects of empirical evidence for social workpractice.

Since this is the first time this assignment has been done, the instructor will identifyseveral dozen candidate articles for such an evaluation. Students will pair up and dothis assignment as a pair, using one of these articles, handing in a unified assignmentand receiving the same grade. This will build in support and hopefully make theassignment less intimidating. However, ethically speaking, both members of the pairmust be fully involved, recognizing however that it is often that case that one studentmay contribute more fully to the assignment. I say ethically because under the NASWCode of Ethics one has a responsibility not to take credit without acknowledgement forwork done by others. Accordingly, the student who plays the most important roleshould be listed first on the title page, unless the pair contend that both played an equalrole, in which case an asterisk should be used by the names and a note added below to

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this effect. If both members of the pair are still unable to figure out some aspect of theassignment, or if one member of a pair proves unable to make a signficant contributionto the assignment, the instructor should be conducted. Undoubtedly, the assignmentitself will bear improvement, and the instructor appreciates the role of this class ininaugurating the use of this assignment.

X. Master Syllabus Bibliography

(Note: As the course proceeds, there will be an evolving SOC 300 bibliography designed tosupport the social work section. This will be posted in a read-only section of the instructor’sRefworks online bibliography and on Blackboard. To log in, click on the below link, chosethe Individual Log-in tab, and use the user name mdover and the read-only password mdover. Navigate to View, Folders, and see the folders for AAEvidence-Based Practice and thevarious EBP folders. These are the results of a search for material on evidence-based researchstudies for use in this course. Later these will be consolidated in an updated SOC 300bibliography, with a folder of that name. Please note that the other course bibliographiesposted there are not up to date; they were master bibliographies as of an earlier point in thedevelopment of the program.)

Refworks Bibliographical Materials for this Course:https://www.refworks.com/RWSingle/login.asp?WNCLang=false

Master Syllabus Bibliography:

Abbott, A. 1997. “Of Time and Space: The Contemporary Relevance of the ChicagoSchool.” Social Forces, 75(4): 1149-1182.

Adler, Patricia. 1985. Wheeling and Dealing. New York: Columbia University Press.

Adler, P. A., and P. Adler. 1999. “The Ethnographer’s Ball-Revisited.” In Journal ofContemporary Ethnography. Special Issue: Ethnography: Reflections at theMillennium’s Turn. D. R. Loseke and S. E. Cahill (eds.), Part I, 28, 5, pp. 442-450.

____________________. 2003. “The Promise and Pitfalls of Going into the Field.” Contexts: Understanding People in Their Social Worlds 2, 2: 41-47.

Alba, Richard D. et al. 2000. “The Changing Neighborhood Contexts of the ImmigrantMetropolis.” Social Forces 79: 587-621.

Alcoff, L. M. 1995. “The Problem of Speaking for Others.” Pp. 97-119 in Roof andWiegman (eds.), Who Can Speak? Authority and Critical Identity. Urbana andChicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Allport, Gordon W. 1942. The Use of Personal Documents in Psychological Research. NewYork: Social Science Research Council.

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Altheide, David L. 1974. “Leaving the Newsroom.” Pp. 301-310 in William Shaffir, RobertA. Stebbins, and Allan Turowetz, eds., Fieldwork Experience: Qualitative Approachesto Social Research. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Anderson, Marcia D., Elaine M. Hockman and Geoffrey A. D. Smereck. 1996. “Effect of aNursing Outreach Intervention to Drug Users in Detroit, Michigan.” Journal of DrugIssues 26 (Summer): 619-634.

Anderson, Margo and Stephen E. Fienberg. 2001. Who Counts? The Politics of Census-Taking in Contemporary America. Russell Sage.

Anderson, N. 1923. The Hobo. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Anderson, S. G., & Gryzlak, B. M. 2002. Social Work Advocacy in the post-TANFenvironment: Lessons from early TANF research studies. Social Work, 47(2): 301-314.

Annas, George J., and Michael A. Grodon. 1992. The Nazi Doctors and the NurembergCode. New York: Oxford University Press.

Atkinson, A. Correy and S. Delamont. “Ethnography: Post, Past, and Present. In Journal ofContemporary Ethnography. Special Issue: Ethnography: Reflections at theMillennium’s Turn. D. R. Loseke and S. E. Cahill (eds.), Part I, 28, 5, pp. 460-471.

Babbie, Earl R. 1990. Survey research methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

____________. 1983. The Practice of Social Research 10 ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworthth

Publishing.

Baker, Brian. 2000. “Sociology and American Indians: Out of Irrelevance.” Pp. 525-550 inLarrry T. Reynolds and Leonard Lieberman, (ed.), Race and Other Misadventures. Dix Hills, NY: General Hall.

Bartle, E. E., Couchonnal, G., Canda, E. R., & Staker, M. D. 2002. Empowerment as a dynamically developing concept for practice: Lessons learned from organizationalethnography. Social Work, 47(1): 32-44.

Becker, Howard S. 1970. “The Relevance of Life Histories.” In N. K. Denzin, (ed.),Sociological Methods: A Casebook. Chicago: Aldine.

______________. 1986. Doing Things Together: Selected Papers. Evanston, IL:Northwestern University Press.

Becker, H.S. and Geer, B. 1957. “Participant Observation and Interviewing: A Comparison.” Human Organization, 16: 28-32.

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Behar, R. 1995. Introduction: Out of exile. Pp. 1-29 in R. Behar and D. A. Gordon, eds.,Women writing culture. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Berg, Bruce. 1989. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Boston: Allynand Bacon.

Berg, Bruce. 1998. Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Chapter 11: Introduction to Content Analysis. 3 edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.rd

Bertaux, Daniel. 1981b. Biography and Society: The Life History Approach in the SocialSciences. Beverly Hills: Sage.

Bickman, Leonard and Debra J. Rog (eds.). Handbook of applied social research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Bickman, Leonard and Thomas Hency. 1972. Beyond the Laboratory: Field Research inSocial Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Blumer, Herbert. 1969. Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bogdan, Robert and Steven Taylor. 1975. Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods. New York: John Wiley.

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Briggs, C. L. 1986. Learning How to Ask: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Role of theInterview in Social Science Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brown, K. M. 1991. Mama Lola: A Vodou priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press.

Bulmer, Martin and Kevin Bales. 1991. The Social Survey in Historical Perspective, 1880-1940. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Cahill, S. 1987. “Children and Civility: Ceremonial Deviance and the Acquisition of RitualCompetence.” Social Psychology Quarterly 50, 4: 312-321.

Campbell, Donald T. 1971. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally.

Carney, M. M., & Buttell, F. 2003. Reducing juvenile recidivism: Evaluating thewraparound services model. Research on social work practice, 13(5): 551-568.

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Carnevale, Anthony P. and Donnal M. Desrochers. 1999. “Getting Down to Business:Matching Welfare Recipients’ Skills to Jobs that Train.” Policy and Practice ofPublic Human Services 57 (no. 1, March): 18-24.

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Couch, Carl. 1988. Researching Social Processes. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

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Cressey, P. G. 1932. The Taxi-Dance Hall. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Creswell, John W. 1993. Using both research approaches in a single study. Grinnell Jr., Richard M. Social Work Research and Evaluation: Quantitative and Qualitative

Approaches. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.

Cummings, S. M. 2002. Predictors of psychological well-being among assisted-living residents. Health & Social Work, 27(4): 293-302.

Denzin, Norman K. 1999. “Interpretive Ethnography for the Next Century.” In Journal ofContemporary Ethnography. Special Issue: Ethnography: Reflections at theMillennium’s Turn. D. R. Loseke and S. E. Cahill (eds.), Part I, 28, 5, pp. 510-519.

______________. 1986. “Interpretive Interactionism and the Use of Life Stories.” RevistaInternacional de Sociologica, 44: 321-329.

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Denzin, Norman K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds. 2000. Handbook of Qualitative Research,2 ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.nd

De Santis, Grace. 1980. “Interviewing as Social Interaction.” Qualitative Sociology, 8: 72-98.

Diener, Edward and Rick Crandall. 1978. Ethics in Social and Behavioral Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Dillman, Don A. 1999. Mail and internet surveys: the tailored design method. New York: J. Wiley.

___________. 1978. Mail and telephone surveys: the total design method. New York: Wiley.

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___________. 1985. Creative Interviewing. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.

Du Bois, W. E. B. 1899. The Philadelphia Negro. New York: Benjamin Bloom.

Dumaine, M. L. 2003. Meta-analysis of interventions with co-occurring disorders of severemental illness and substance abuse: Implications for social work practice. Researchon Social Work Practice, 13(2): 142-165.

Eder, D. and W. A. Corsaro. 1999. “Ethographic Studies of Children and Youth: Theoreticaland Ethical Issues.” In Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. Special Issue:Ethnography: Reflections at the Millennium’s Turn. D. R. Loseke and S. E. Cahill(eds.), Part I, 28, 5, pp. 520-531.

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Farley, Reynolds, et al. 1994. “Stereotypes and Segregation: Neighborhoods in the Detroit Area.” American Journal of Sociology 100: 750-80.

Faul, A. C., McMurty, S. L., & Hudson, W. W. 2001. Can empirical clinical practicetechniques improve social work outcomes? Research on Social Work Practice, 11(3):277-299.

Feagin, J. R. 1999. “Soul Searching in Sociology: Is the Discipline in Crisis.” The Chronicleof Higher Education, October 15: p.B4.

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Festinger, Leon, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schacter. 1953. “Laboratory Experiments.” In Leon Festinger and Daniel Katz (eds.), Research Methods in the BehavioralSciences. New York: Harper and Row.

_______________________. 1956. When Prophecy Fails. New York: Harper and Row._______________________. 1971. “Laboratory Experiments.” Pp. 41-50 in Billy J. Frankin

and Harold Osborne, eds., Research Methods: Insights and Methods. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth.

Fetterman, David M.; Kaftarian, Shaken J., and Wandersman, Abraham. 1996. Empowerment evaluation: Knowledge and tools for self-assessment & accountability. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Fischer, Robert L. 2000. “Toward Self-Sufficiency: Evaluating a Transitional HousingProgram for Homeless Families.” Policy Studies Journal 28 (no. 2): 402-420.

Gambrill, E. 2001. Social work: An authority-based profession. Research on social workpractice, 11(2): 166-175.

Geer, B. 1969. “First Days in the Field.” Pp. 55-72 in G. McCall and J. L. Simmons, (eds.), Issues in Participant Observation. New York: Random House.

Glendinning, Anthony. 2002. “Self-Esteem and Smoking in Youth—Muddying the Waters?”

Journal of Adolescence 25: 415-425.

Goffman, 1976. “Gender Advertisement.” Studies in Visual Communication 3: 69-154.

Gold, R. L. 1958. “Roles in Sociological Field Observations.” Social Forces 36: 217-223.

Gottschalk, Louis, Clyde Kluckhohn, and Robert Angell. 1945. The Use of PersonalDocuments in History, Anthropology, and Sociology. New York: Social ScienceResearch Council.

Greenbaum, Robert and John Engberg. 2000. “An Evaluation of State Enterprise ZonePolicies. California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.” Policy Studies Review 17 (no. 2/3, Summer/Autumn): 29-46.

Groves, Robert. M. 1988. Telephone survey methodology. New York: Wiley.

Groves, Robert M., and Robert L. Kahn. 1979. Surveys by telephone: a national comparisonwith personal interviews. New York: Academic Press.

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the Millennium’s Turn. D. R. Loseke and S. E. Cahill (eds.), Part I, 28, 5, pp. 561-573.

________________________. 1997. The New Language of Qualitative Method. New York:Oxford University Press.

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Harnish, Patricia and Bob Bechtold. 1979. Handling Stress: An Evaluation Program forTelephone Crisis Workers. Canada (ERIC 186779).

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Jung, John. 1971. The Experimenter’s Dilemma. New York: Harper and Row.

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Appendix A: Relationship of Additional Course Objectives to Program Objectives

The Council on Social Work Education’s Educational Policy and Accreditation Standardsdefine several aspects of what are termed foundation curriculum content. Foundation contentis the content seen as being delivered in BSW programs and in the first year of an MSWprogram. Following is the research-related content:

4.6 ResearchQualitative and quantitative research content provides understanding of ascientific, analytic, and ethical approach to building knowledge for practice. Thecontent prepares students to develop, use, and effectively communicateempirically based knowledge, including evidence-based interventions. Researchknowledge is used by students to provide high-quality services; to initiatechange; to improve practice, policy, and social service delivery; and to evaluatetheir own practice. (Source: www.cswe.org)

This content can be delivered across a number of different courses (for instance, researchcontent can be delivered in practice courses or in field practicum as well as in courses in aresearch sequence of courses, but this content must be related to “Content is relevant to themission, goals, and objectives of the program and to the purposes, values, and ethics of thesocial work profession.”

First, let’s think about the purposes, values and ethics of the social work profession. Thepreamble of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards indicate in the firstparagraph, “Social work education combines scientific inquiry with the teaching ofprofessional skills to provide effective and ethical social work services” (My emphasis.) Inother words, scientific inquiry is seen as paired with the teaching of skills. This is consistentwhich one of the purposes of social work itself (p. 4): “To develop and use research,knowledge, and skills that advance social work practice.” In order to achieve such a purpose,social work education engages in means such as the following (p. 5): “Developingknowledge....Preparing social workers to evaluate the processes and effectiveness ofpractice....”

In order to pursue such purposes, programs adopt goals and objectives. The CMU socialwork program has adopted all twelve of the Foundation Program Objective of CSWE, as wellas adding a couple of our own. Among the twelve, one is the following: “9. Evaluate researchstudies, apply research findings to practice, and evaluate their own practice interventions.”

For each social work course in our social work major, the faculty have identified whichprogram objectives are relevant to each course. This facilitates course planning and programassessment. Specific course objectives are “mapped” to specific program objectives.

Because this is a sociology course in the social work major, not a social work course, andbecause there is a new research course planned for the major (SOC 350), this has not beendone at this time. It may be a subject of this year’s self-study process. However, as

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instructor, it behooves me to conceptualize initially which other program objectives I view asrelevant to this course and to the upcoming SOC 350 course, and which kinds of additionalcourse objectives can be introduced which are related to those objectives. Below I willdiscuss each key program objective that is related to research curriculum content in socialwork education and outline which course objective is related to that program objective. Please note that course objectives may be related to more than one program objective.

First, nearly all of our courses are seen as relevant to the following objective on criticalthinking: “1. Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social workpractice.” One might wonder what research has to do with practice. In fact, social workresearch is one of the methods of social work practice, along with casework, groupwork,community organization, administration, etc.. There is also a research aspect of generalistpractice, which is the form of practice taught at the foundation level in social work education. This program objective is supported by SOC 300 course objective 2, “Students will have thebackground needed to begin to read critically and intelligently research studies in sociology,social work, social psychology, and related field.” and by SOC 350 objective 7, “Demonstratea critical awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of published research in the lay andprofessional press.” In addition, there is additional course objective 4: Based upon a literaturereview-related assignment and upon informational and critical reviews of peer-reviewedresearch in social work and social science, articulate the relationship between theoretically-guided or empirically-suggested hypotheses and the logic and method of empirical researchguiding social work practice and social welfare policy (program objectives 3, 9 and 13). Andthere is additional objective 6: Understand the basic assumptions, concepts, foundations, andlimitations of the traditional scientific approach and challenges to these foundations (programobjectives 1 and 9).

Second, there is objective two: “2. Understand the value base of the profession and its ethicalstandards and principles, and practice accordingly.” There are a number of important valueand ethical standards related to research. These are not supported by a specific SOC 300objective, but are by an upcoming SOC 350 objective (#3): “3.demonstrate knowledge of theethical and political dimensions of social science research.” This course will compare socialwork and sociology ethics and values related to research in relationship to this objective andto one additional objective, #3. Identify guidelines which facilitate conducting researchconsistent with the ethics of the social work profession and the ethics of the discipline ofsociology (program objective 2).

Third, there is objective three: “3. Practice without discrimination and with respect,knowledge, and skills related to clients’ age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, familystructure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.” There is no specific SOC 300 or SOC 350 objective, but a chapter of the text and content inthis course are related to an additional course objective which is relevant to this programobjective. An additional instructor developed objective #1 is related to that objective: Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts related to the ability to plan and carry out culturallycompetent research that avoids bias and minimizes problems of reliability and validity related

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to the diverse ways in which research subjects are situated within social and economicstructures and within the rural, suburban and urban contexts (program objectives 3, 9 and 13.) Objective four states: “ Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression anddiscrimination and apply strategies of advocacy and social change that advance social andeconomic justice.” An important element of advocacy is the use of empirical researchevidence. In fact, along with evidence-based practice, increasingly social workers engage inevidence-based social welfare policy advocacy. A related course objective is additionalobjective #2: Demonstrate knowledge of the history and current status of research related tosocial work theory and practice, with special attention to the recent evolution of evidence-based social work practice and the use of empirical evidence in advocacy for social welfareand social justice (program objectives 4 and 5.) One further additional course objective is #9:Understand concepts and methods of human needs assessment and service needs assessmentresearch, and its relationship to assessing assets and strengths of individuals and communities(program objectives 4, 9, and 14).

The following program objective is also relevant: “5. Understand and interpret the history ofthe social work profession and its contemporary structures and issues.” One important type ofsocial work research is historical in nature. Also, much of the best social work research islongitudinal in nature. In other words, research is done, either retrospectively orprospectively, over a period of time that may range from weeks to decades. Over, in otherwords, historical time. Furthermore, one form of evidence-based practice is policy practice,which is often guided by research on the contemporary structures and issues of social workand social welfare. Finally, one of the most pressing current issues in social work is therelatively recent trend towards stress on evidence based practice. Accordingly, there isadditional course objective 2, which as is shown above is also seen as relevant to programobjective four: Demonstrate knowledge of the history and current status of research related tosocial work theory and practice, with special attention to the recent evolution of evidence-based social work practice and the use of empirical evidence in advocacy for social welfareand social justice (program objectives 4 and 5.)

Program objective 6 is: “Apply the knowledge and skills of generalist social work practicewith systems of all sizes.” Putting aside for the moment the view that research is an elementof generalist practice, something however which is implemented in SWK 470/480 by theevaluation assignment, in order to apply knowledge, it is important to develop skills not onlyin critiquing research which is relied upon in evidence-based practice but also in acquiringsuch research and learning skills in how to organize its findings in a way which can informpractice and policy. In fact, a close look at program objective 9 (“9. Evaluate researchstudies, apply research findings to practice, and evaluate their own practice interventions”)shows that more attention is given to the role of social workers as critical consumers ofresearch than to their role as produces of research. The first two clauses are related toevaluation and use of research, only the third is related to the carrying out research, and theresearch referred to is evaluation research (as consistent with ethical standards concerning theevaluation of practice). The curriculum content statement regarding research also has thistripartite nature: “The content prepares students to develop, use, and effectively communicate

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empirically based knowledge, including evidence-based interventions.” Develop is related todoing research is related to applying research, and it is also stressed that it is important to beable to communicate research result effectively. (That ability to communicate research resultseffectively is supported by the abstract assignment in this course.) Accordingly, in thiscourse, there is additional course objective 7: Know how to gain access to substantive andmethodological research literature related to generalist social work practice and to be able toeffectively communicate the findings of this research (program objectives 6, 9 and 10).

Next, there is objective seven: “Use theoretical frameworks supported by empirical evidenceto understand individual development and behavior across the life span and the interactionsamong individuals and between individuals and families, groups, organizations, andcommunities.” The most important aspect of this objective for this course is the phrase“supported by empirical evidence.” This course, offered in the junior year, will stressenabling students to learn to access and critically utilize relevant empirical evidence as part ofone element of generalist practice: social work research. The additional course objective is#4: Based upon a literature review-related assignment and upon informational and criticalreviews of peer-reviewed research in social work and social science, articulate the relationshipbetween theoretically-guided or empirically-suggested hypotheses and the logic and methodof empirical research guiding social work practice and social welfare policy (programobjectives 7, 8 and 9.)

Program objective 8 reads, “Analyze, formulate, and influence social policies.” Increasingly,evidence based practice, including policy practice, is related to policy-oriented research whichis used in policy analysis and in formulating and influencing social policies. This programobjective is supported in part by three different additional course objectives for this course,#4, #8 and #10: #4. Based upon a literature review-related assignment and upon informationaland critical reviews of peer-reviewed research in social work and social science, articulate therelationship between theoretically-guided or empirically-suggested hypotheses and the logicand method of empirical research guiding social work practice and social welfare policy(program objectives 7, 8 and 9); #8. Understand the principles, logic, limitations, andalternative conceptualizations of qualitative and quantitative research designs used in theevaluation of social work practice, social service organizations and social welfare policy, withspecific attention to forms of empowerment evaluation research and participatory actionresearch (program objectives 8, 9 and 14); #10. Understand the common logic and differentialmethods used in social work generalist practice evaluation designs, social service programevaluation designs, and social welfare policy evaluation designs (program objectives 8 and 9.)

There are three program objectives related to the use of communication skills inorganizations, the use of consultation and supervision, and functioning within organizationalcontexts including seeking organizational change. These are program objectives 10-12. Eachof these three objectives is met by a set of three additional course objectives, #11, #12 and#13:

#11. Be able to work collaboratively in a group in consultation with the instructor in order toapply basic principles and methods of sampling and be able to understand the relationship of

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sampling to the generalizability of the results of social research (program objectives 9, 10, 11and 12). (Quizzes based upon RB; Group research project; research proposal; researchreport)

#12. Be able to work collaboratively in a group in consultation with the instructor in order toapply basic principles of problem formulation and measurement and be able to demonstrateunderstanding of key concepts related to measurement and its relationship to the reliabilityand validity of social research (program objectives 9, 10, 11 and 12). (Quizzes based uponRB; Group research project; research proposal; research report)

#13. Be able to work collaboratively in a group in consultation with the instructor in order tocollect qualitative and quantitative data from individual respondents, and to work supportivelyin a group to enable group members to prepare an individual report of one aspect of the groupresearch project’s results (program objective 9, 10, 11 and 12). (Group research project;research proposal; research report; qualitative data analysis assignment; quantitative dataanalysis exercises)

Program objective 13 is: “13. Identify social work practice considerations for working withpeople living in rural areas.” It is supported to some extent by additional course objective #1:Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts related to the ability to plan and carry out culturallycompetent research that avoids bias and minimizes problems of reliability and validity relatedto the diverse ways in which research subjects are situated within social and economicstructures and within the rural, suburban and urban contexts (program objectives 3, 9 and 13).

Program objective 14 is: “ Identify client system strengths and solution focused interventionswithin generalist social work practice.” This is supported by course objectives #8 and #9:

#8. Understand the principles, logic, limitations, and alternative conceptualizations of qualitative and quantitative research designs used in the evaluation of social work practice,social service organizations and social welfare policy, with specific attention to forms ofempowerment evaluation research and participatory action research. (Program objectives 8, 9and 14.) (Quizzes on RB chapters including Chapter 18 on Qualitative Data Analysis assupplemented by questions based upon reading of Berg’s chapter on qualitative research;lecture materials regarding empowerment evaluation research; qualitative data analysisassignment).

#9. Understand concepts and methods of human needs assessment and service needsassessment research, and its relationship to assessing assets and strengths of individuals andcommunities (Program objectives 4, 9, and 14). (RB Chapters 12-14; Lecture content onneeds assessment research.)