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Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSW 504 – Research II – Summer 2016

Credits - 3

Description

Students will become critical consumers as well as producers of research in order to inform their practice and contribute to social change. Students are exposed to research as asystematic problem identifying and problem solving process with parallels to other forms of social work practice where naming the issues to be addressed functions as a foundation forongoing action planning. Enhanced critical thinking and conceptual skills are emphasized throughout. The relevance of fundamental social work values to social work and social science research is explored through attention to ethics, value conflicts, institutionalized bias and prejudice, validity and reliability of human observation, and critical comparison of various methods of knowing. The research sequence of the MSW program is composed of two 3-credit courses. Research as a means to promote social change will be emphasized throughout the course sequence. This includes attention to creating empowering research processes and using research outcomes to advocate for social and economic justice.

Research II (SSW 504) will build upon the knowledge, methods, and skills provided in the foundation research course. Students will continue to learn how to critically assess research from ethical, multicultural, and social justice perspectives particularly in the context of agency based research and program evaluation. Students will conduct a research evaluation project. This includes 1) formulating a question, 2) designing and implementing a study, and 3) interpreting and presenting the study findings. The content of this course heavily integrates other elements of the MSW curriculum.

Materials

  • Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2014). Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Research Methods for Social Work (8th ed.). Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. 
  • Abu-Bader, S. (2010). Using statistical methods in social work practice: A complete SPSS guide. 2nd ed. Chicago: Lyceum. 
  • IBM SPSS Statistics GradPack (most current version) (Must purchase and have installed by Week 2 of the course)

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. Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior.
  2. Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
  3. Engage in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice.
  4. Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
  5. Engage in policy practice.
  6. Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  7. Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  8. Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  9. Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have:

  1. Develop a research design appropriate to the student’s research question. PROGRAM OUTCOME 6. As measured by 1) DISCUSSION FORUMS and 2) FINAL COURSE ACTIVITY PAPER.
  2. Ethically and rigorously implement research design. PROGRAM OUTCOMES 4 & 6. As measured by 1) RESULTS CHAPTER and 2) FINAL COURSE ACTIVITY PAPER.
  3. Analyze data using SPSS or other statistical software. PROGRAM OUTCOME 6. As measured by 1) ABU-BADER PRACTICAL EXERCISES and 2) RESULTS CHAPTER.
  4. Explain the importance of disseminating research findings and translating findings into action steps to address individual and community concerns. PROGRAM OUTCOMES 3 & 6. As measured by 1) DISCUSSION FORUMS and 2) WEEKLY REFLECTIVE JOURNALS.
  5. Explain how research and program evaluation informs and transforms social work practice. PROGRAM OUTCOME 6. As measured by DISCUSSION FORUMS, 2) WEEKLY REFLECTIVE JOURNALS, and 3) FINAL COURSE ACTIVITY PAPER.

Assignments

The following assignments will be graded:

  • Discussion questions
  • Results Chapter
  • Abu-Bader Practical Exercises
  • Weekly Reflective Journals
  • Final Course Activity Project

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

AssignmentPoint ValuePercentage Value
Discussion Questions (2 per week; 8 weeks)10 points x 16 = 160 points16%
Participation (1 per week; 8 weeks)12.5 points x 8 = 100 points10%
Journal (1 per week; 8 weeks)15 points x 8 = 120 points12%
Practical Exercises (1 per week; 4 weeks)30 points x 4 = 150 points15%
Results Chapter160 points16%
Final Course Activity Paper310 points31%
Total1,000 points100%

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

Schedule

Module 1: Week 1: Introduction to Data Collection | Dates: 6/29/2016 – 7/05/2016

Readings

  • Chapters 15 and 16 (Rubin and Babbie 8th edition)
  • Chapter 1 (Abu-Bader)
  • Chapter 1 PowerPoint (Abu-Bader)
  • Allen-Meares, P. and Lane, B.A. (1990). Social work practice: Integrating qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. Social Work, 35(5), 452-458. doi: 10.1093/sw/35.5.452

Multimedia

  • (Video) Entering Data into SPSS

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Week 1 Abu-Bader Practical Exercise (Due Tue)
  • Submit your electronic survey link to the central website provided in your course announcements (Due Tue)

Module 2: Week 2: Introduction to Data Analysis | Dates: 7/06/2016 – 7/12/2016

Readings

  • Chapters 20 and 21 (Rubin and Babbie 8th edition)
  • Chapter 2 (Abu-Bader)
  • Chapter 2 PowerPoint (Abu-Bader)
  • Kreuger, L.W., & Ruckdeschel, R. (1985). Microcomputers in social service settings: Research applications. Social Work, 30(3), 219-224.
  • Exploring Data: The Beast of Bias by Andy Field (PDF)

Multimedia

  • (Video) Rapid Learning: Data Analysis and Probability – What is Data Analysis?
  • (Video) The Beast of Bias (by Andy Field, optional viewing). This is an interesting lecture presented by Andy Field discussing assumptions and bias in statistical testing. This lecture is 50:20 min long and a transcript is available at the YouTube link.

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Week 2 Abu-Bader Practical Exercise (Due Tue)

Module 3: Week 3: Descriptive Statistics | Dates: 7/13/2016 – 7/19/2016

Readings

  • Chapter 4 (Abu-Bader)
  • Chapter 4 PowerPoint (Abu-Bader)
  • Chapter 21 (Rubin and Babbie 8th edition, pp. 551-558)
  • Chapter 22 (Rubin and Babbie 8th edition, pp. 562-565)

Multimedia

  • (Video) SPSS for Beginners: Frequency Counts and Descriptive Statistics
  • (Video) SPSS Descriptive Statistics
  • (Video) [SPSS] Descriptive Statistics and Bar Charts
  • (Video) SPSS: how to get mean, median, standard deviation, etc.
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: Job Satisfaction
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: Mental Health
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: Welfare

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Week 3 Abu-Bader Practical Exercise (Due Tue)

Module 4: Week 4: Inferential Data Analysis (Bivariate t-Test) | Dates: 7/20/2016 – 7/26/2016

Readings

  • Chapter 8 (Abu-Bader)
  • Chapter 8 PowerPoint (Abu-Bader)
  • Comparing Two Means by Andy Field (PPT)

Multimedia

  • (Video) t-Test using SPSS
  • (Video) One sample t-Test
  • (Video) Independent Sample t-Test
  • (Video) Independent Sample t-Tests in SPSS
  • (Video) Paired Samples t-Test
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: PTSD

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Week 4 Abu-Bader Practical Exercise (Due Tue)

Module 5: Week 5: Inferential Data Analysis (Bivariate Chi-Square) | Dates: 7/27/2016 – 8/02/2016

Readings

  • Chapter 11 (Abu-Bader)
  • Chapter 11 PowerPoint (Abu-Bader)

Multimedia

  • (Video) Chi-Square Test of Independence Example
  • (Video) Chi-Square analysis on SPSS
  • (Video) Interpreting the SPSS Output for a Chi Square Analysis
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: Elderly
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: Job Satisfaction
  • Abu-Bader SPSS File: Wellbeing

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Week 5 Practical Exercise (Due Tue)

Module 6: Week 6: Challenges and Considerations in Social Work Research | Dates: 8/03/2016 – 8/09/2016

Readings

  • McDowell, T. & Fang, S. (2007). Feminist-informed critical multiculturalism. Journal of Family Issues, 28(4), 549-566.
  • Shaw, I. (2002). Cutting edge issues in social work research. British Journal of Social Work, 33, 107-116.
  • Chapter 6 (Rubin and Babbie, 8th edition)

Multimedia

  • (Video) Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Results Chapter (Due Tue)

Module 7: Week 7: Writing the Discussion Chapter of a Research Project | Dates: 8/10/2016 – 8/16/2016

Readings

  • Chapter 24 (Rubin and Babbie 8th edition) Writing Social Work Research Reports, pp. 632-639
  • Apaitia-Vague, T. (2011). Social work and food: A discussion. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work Review, 23(3), 63-70

Multimedia

  • Tips for Writing the Discussion Chapter Perfectly

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Sun)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Tue)
  • Discussion Chapter (Due Tue)

Module 8: Week 8: Writing Research Proposals and Reports for Funding/Disseminating Research Findings | Dates: 8/17/2016 – 8/21/2016

Readings

  • Chapters 24 (Rubin and Babbie 8th edition; pp. 619-631)
  • Smeeton, N. & Goda, D. (2003). Conducting and presenting social work research: Some basic statistical considerations. British Journal of Social Work, 33(4), 567-573.

Multimedia

  • Disseminating Your Research Tutorial

Discussions

  • #1 (Due Fri)
  • #2 (Due Fri)
  • #3 (Due Fri)

Assignments

  • Reflective Journal (Due Sun)
  • Final Course Activity Paper (Due Fri)

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Social Work page

UNE Libraries:

Information Technology Services (ITS)

ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Policies

Essential Academic and Technical Standards

Please review the essential academic and technical standards of the University of New England School Social Work (SSW): https://online.une.edu/social-work/academic-and-technical-standards-une-online-ssw/

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Confidentiality Statement

Student and faculty participation in this course will be governed by standards in the NASW Code of Ethics relating to confidentiality in sharing information from their placement sites and practice experiences. Students should be aware that personal information they choose to share in class, class assignments or conversations with faculty does not have the status of privileged information.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.