Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSW 595 – Capstone I

Credits - 3

Description

Capstone I is the second term of the 3-term Capstone project. The purpose of the Capstone project is to give you an opportunity to actively engage in the social world and produce new knowledge on an area of practice that excites you. In Research I, you explored methods of inquiry relevant to your area of practice, created a map of existing knowledge in that area, identified the goals of your project, and investigated the relationship of those goals to your vision of socially-just practice. In Capstone I, you will finalize your project design and carry out your project. You will analyze, write, and present your findings in Capstone II.

Capstone projects can include the design and evaluation of interventions at the client, agency and community level; the discovery of practice-relevant knowledge of the social world; analysis of public discourse on an important social issue; and the analysis of policies past and present. Each project should address social work’s core values of human dignity, social justice, individual and cultural diversity, and self-determination.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

School of Social Work Program Outcomes:

Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:

1. Practice social inclusion to enable people, populations, and communities to fully participate in society, enhance human bonds in the context of cultural diversity and ensure improved quality of life and equitable resource distribution. EPAS Competencies 2 & 3
2. Engage in culturally-informed relationship building, being respectful of the complexity and diversity of contexts and circumstances. EPAS Competencies 3 & 6
3. Utilize theories of human behavior, social systems and social inclusion when offering interventions with people and their environments. EPAS Competency 8
4. Promote ethical reflection, critical consciousness and shared decision-making based in social work values and with consideration of the broader contexts of the world in which we live. EPAS Competency 1
5. Balance the roles of helpers, activists, and advocates through collaboration with communities to build healthy and sustainable resources. EPAS Competencies 2, 5, & 6
6. Engage as critical consumers and producers of research as it relates to assessment, intervention and evaluation of clinical and community practices. EPAS Competencies 4, 7, 8 & 9
7. Practice person-centered and collaborative community partnerships across diverse settings. EPAS Competency 6

Learning Goals

1. Investigate the relationship between empirical inquiry and socially-just practice.
2. Deepen your understanding of your area of interest.
3. Internalize the necessity of, and professional responsibility for, continuous learning, openness to new knowledge, and new ways of knowing.
4. Learn the mechanics for writing a research proposal including question identification, project design, and human subjects protection. 

Educational Outcomes

1. Through class participation and class assignments, you will demonstrate your ability to: 
2. Finalize a project design that fits your research questions/goals.
3. Carry out a sound, justice-oriented project.
4. Describe your conception of socially-just practice and its relationship to empirical inquiry.

Assignments

Assignment #1 – Project Design (22%)

Due:  There are two parts to this assignment while the due dates are specified below, you are encouraged to submit these assignments earlier if you complete them in advance. By doing so you will have additional time for the actual data collection process. Papers that are not submitted by the end of Week 4 will lose 10 points for each day they are late, unless prior approval for an extension was granted by your instructor.

End of Week 4 (Note that students needing IRB review are required to finalize their design AND submit their IRB application by the end of week 1)

1. Finalize the design of your capstone project. See Project Design instructions introduced last term and at the end of this syllabus. Please note the specific instructions required for this paper. Best to use the bolded words on the instruction sheet as headings in your paper. This will help organize the paper. Papers should be 4-5 pages in length, utilizing correct APA formatting. The recruitment script and consent form will also factor into the grade for this assignment. Provided here are three tips for writing this paper:
   1. Avoid using “I” statements. While “I” statements can be used strategically in academic papers, best to avoid them when it is just describing your process. For example avoid a sentence like this: “I then interviewed five people.” Instead write: “Five people were interviewed.” Do keep in mind that this is an academic paper and should be more formal than your journal entries.
   2. Consider writing in the past tense even though you have not recruited participants yet. KEEP IN MIND, YOU NEED TO WAIT UNTIL YOUR INSTRUCTOR APPROVES YOUR STUDY DESIGN BEFORE YOU BEGIN RECRUITING! The rationale behind this recommendation is that you will be submitting a final report at the end of Capstone II. At that point you will have completed your data collection. If you don’t write in the past tense now, you will need to go back and change everything into the past tense before you submit your final work. Take a moment and look at some of the research articles you reviewed last term. Note how the authors all describe their methods in the past tense. This is the correct format.
   3. Write as concisely as possible and consult the Student Academic Success Center if you need assistance with writing and/or APA formatting. Points will be deducted from papers that have spelling, grammar or other writing concerns.

End of Week 5:

• Submit your revised research design, recruitment script and consent form if any changes were required by your instructor.

Assignment #2 – Progress Report (30%)

Due: End of Week 7  

• You will submit a 3-4 page progress report that addresses the points listed below. Each of these points must represent a heading in your paper. Refer back to the tips outlined for your Project Design paper. Papers that are not submitted by the end of Week 7 will lose 10 points for each day they are late, unless prior approval for an extension was granted by your instructor.
  • DATA COLLECTION: Summarize your data collection process. For example, how did you recruit for your interviews or surveys, how did you determine what media to include in your content analysis, how many documents did you identify for your content analysis, or how many people did you interview?
  • CONFIDENTIALITY: Explain how will you protect your data to ensure that confidentiality of participant information, and why this is critical to conducting ethical research. This needs to include how you will store your data and how this meets the requirements specified in your information sheet/consent form, if applicable. As you create your explanation, consider the NASW Code of Ethics that states:
    • Social workers engaged in evaluation or research should ensure the anonymity or confidentiality of participants and of the data obtained from them. Social workers should inform participants of any limits of confidentiality, the measures that will be taken to ensure confidentiality, and when any records containing research data will be destroyed.
    • Social workers who report evaluation and research results should protect participants’ confidentiality by omitting identifying information unless proper consent has been obtained authorizing disclosure.

• KEY LESSONS: Identify and describe key lessons learned in your data collection process. This could include thinking about what really worked well, or what you might do differently in the future. Specify two or three recommendations for future Capstone students to assist them in meeting the Capstone requirements.

SOCIAL JUSTICE: Reflect upon the extent to which you think your project is a sound, justice-oriented project. How might it become more sound and justice-oriented?

Assignment #3 – Reflective Journals (36%)

Due:  Journal entries are due throughout the term. Only your instructor will review your journal entries. Please note that we do not list specific page limits for the journal entries. You instead are encouraged to think about how to comprehensively respond, while writing succinctly and cohesively. Your entries must be organized and specific to the prompt questions. They are due at the end of every week on Tuesday, by midnight ET, until the final week of the course which ends on a Sunday. If you do not submit your entry at the end of the week, you will lose up to five points for each day it is late.

• Week 1: What will your consent process look like? What are some of the core elements you will include in your consent document? How have you minimized risk and maximized benefits?
• Week 2:  There are two parts to this week’s journal entry: 1) If you are recruiting participants, what are the key elements you will include in your recruitment script? 2) What concerns do you have regarding your research design, and what strategies have you considered in addressing these concerns? How might your instructor or classmates be of assistance?
• Week 3: This week you are asked to identify and review 2 journal articles that use a similar approach as your capstone project. For this journal entry, please identify what are the key lessons you learned by reading these 2 journal articles. For example, perhaps you learned about limitations of using a certain sampling approach, or strategies to strengthen the validity of your survey design. List the full APA formatted citations of the 2 journal articles that you selected.
• Week 4:  No journal entry
• Week 5: What successes and/or challenges have you experienced so far in your data collection process? What questions or concerns do you have for your instructor?
• Week 6:  Provide an update as to where you are at with your data collection. What pitfalls have you experienced (i.e., challenges recruiting participants), and how have you addressed them? If you have not encountered pitfalls, reflect upon what potential pitfalls might exist with the kind of research you are conducting, and how would you address these concerns?
• Week 7: How do you know whether your project has enough data? What are your thoughts and/or concerns regarding the amount of data you have collected? In answering these questions, you will need to substantiate your reflections. For example, what does the literature state regarding how to determine sufficient sample size for quantitative projects?
• Week 8: No journal entry

Class Participation (12%)

Most weeks you will be required to post responses to one or two discussion questions. The weeks in which you have a required post, you will earn up to 30 points (see the participation rubric for grading criteria). Your initial post must be completed by the end of the day on Saturday. Responses to peers are critical in facilitating online dialogue. Responses to others must add substantively to the discussion by building upon classmates’ ideas or posing critical questions to further the discussion. For example, a posting of “I agree with what people are saying” is not sufficient. What is considered sufficient is initiating further discussion; promoting further thought; providing critical or integrative dialogue; providing affective support or encouragement; challenging by showing supporting literature or other documentation, and/or self-reflecting regarding the topic. Please review the participation rubric for specific criteria used for grading posts.

Weekly Grading and Feedback: The course facilitator will return assignments and other grading items (discussion boards, participation, etc.) to students within three days of the assignment due date. The course facilitator will provide weekly feedback about participation and performance no later than four days after the learning module closes. Feedback can be via email, within the assignment itself, or using the Feedback column in the grade book. 

Grading Policy

The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Point Value	Percentage of Grade
Discussion Participation	120 points (20 points * 6 discussions)	12%
Project Design	220 points	22%
Reflective Journals	360 points	36%
Progress Report	300 points	30%
Total	1000 points	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00