2 Suppose you collect data on the scores for anxiety for your nine clients who are being treated for anxiety with a special intervention. You collect data on their anxiety scores once before the treatment begins and once at the end of the treatment period. You report whether the anxiety scores improved and whether these data are statistically significant. What type of research are your undertaking?Explanatory researchExploratory researchEvaluative researchDescriptive research
3 Suppose you collect data on a group of 24 students in your class with regard to two variables: (a) whether the study subject engages in regular aerobic exercise and (b) whether the study subject has experienced minor illnesses in the past 6 months. You are expecting that those who exercise are less likely to have experienced minor illnesses recently. You test this expectation with your data. What type of research are you undertaking?Explanatory researchExploratory researchEvaluative researchDescriptive research
4 If an improvement in scores on depression for your clients can be explained by chance, which of the following does this mean?You can conclude that your intervention caused the client’s improvementYou can generalize your findings to the study populationBoth of the aboveNone of the above
5 A theory isAn attempt to explainA truthAn expressionA conclusion
6 Which of the following statements is/are true?A program evaluation has a broader scope than an evaluation of an interventionA program evaluation may include evaluations of various interventionsBoth of the aboveNone of the above
7 Qualitative research measures concepts with regard toNumbersCategoriesWordsNone of the above
8 Statistical significance provides information with regard toCausationChanceGeneralizationConsideration
Answers: 1 = d; 2 = c; 3 = a; 4 = d; 5 = a; 6 = c; 7 = c; 8 = b
Chapter Glossary
Chance. A possibility that is not predicted.
Descriptive research. Research that has the purpose of describing people (or things).
Evaluative research. Research that has the purpose of determining the success of an intervention or program.
Explanatory research. Research that has the purpose of explaining things by examining the relationship between two or more variables.
Exploratory research. Research that has the purpose of examining things that are not yet well known.
Intervention evaluation. The assessment of the success of a social work intervention (service) for an individual or a group of clients with a common treatment objective.
Population. The people from whom your study sample was drawn.
Program evaluation. An assessment of the success of a program with regard to various components of the program.
Qualitative measurement. Research that measures concepts with words rather than numbers or predetermined categories.
Quantitative measurement. Research that measures concepts numerically (e.g., age or score on the depression scale) or by predetermined categories (e.g., gender, race, etc.).
Sample. The people from whom you collect your data for your study.
Statistical significance. The likelihood that this set of data would occur by chance, rather than having meaning with regard to causation.
Theory. An attempt to explain, usually by portraying the relationships between concepts.
Descriptions of Images and Figures
Back to Figure
A flow diagram illustrates the research process. The details are as follows:
Research Question: Do tutored students have higher grades than non-tutored students?
Study Methods: Grades of tutored students were compared with grades of non-tutored students.
Data Analysis: Grade-point average of tutored students was 34% higher than grades for non-tutored students, and this difference cannot be easily explained by chance.
Conclusion: Tutoring improves grades.
3 Ethics and Cultural Competence in Social Work Research
Paul is a social work student who is an intern in a community center, where he provides services to persons who have recently been released from prison. He has decided to conduct a study that includes both his current clients and a group of persons who are presently in prison. His supervisor informed him that he would have to have this proposal reviewed by the institutional review board (IRB) of his university. When he consulted this board, he learned that prisoners are viewed as a vulnerable population for research requiring special attention. He would need to be sure to implement certain safeguards, including the necessity that the outcome of this research be beneficial to people who are prisoners. He should not, for example, ask prisoners to be subjects for a research study that is not especially relevant to being a prisoner because this population is not likely to benefit from it. Prisoners are vulnerable to feeling compelled to participate, so the benefit of the study must be to this population.
Voluntary participation, Paul has learned, is just one of many issues in the use of human subjects in research. This issue is especially important when the study subjects are members of vulnerable populations. He recognized that the theme of vulnerable population is one that ties together the subjects of ethics and cultural competence in research. The most important functions of social work, Paul believes, are services and advocacy for vulnerable populations. In this regard, knowledge of culture is essential. It is also essential that the social work researcher appreciates the various ethical considerations in the use of human subjects in research.
Paul also learned that the IRB monitors research projects for the protection of human subjects. In his university, researchers must submit reports to this board when human subjects are being asked to participate in a research project. The IRB must approve the project before it is being implemented.
Introduction
This chapter has two major sections, one focusing on ethics and one on cultural competence. These are two themes that you will consider when you conduct social work research. Ethics provide rules of behavior based on moral values. For example, you should not conduct research that would potentially harm the study participants or invade their privacy. And you should not engage in behaviors designed to coerce people into participating in your study. When you complete this chapter, you should have fundamental competence in the consideration of ethical principles for your research study and be prepared to deal with the organizational body that must review your research protocol for ethical concerns.
Cultural competence refers to competence that recognizes the influence of culture with regard to practice. For social work research, this means including culture in the review of literature about the behaviors being researched, recognizing cultural influences on the target behaviors in selecting a study sample, and analyzing data in a way that includes relevant cultural variables. This type of competence informs the research process in a way that makes it more meaningful for our understanding of the cultural influences on behavior.
This chapter addresses the themes of ethics in the use of human subjects in research and cultural competence in research. On the completion of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
1 Define the concept of ethics in the use of human subjects in research
2 Identify