Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 504 – Community Engaged Research

Credits - 3

Description

This course 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 inclusion perspectives with an emphasis on community-engagement and how to translate findings into meaningful action steps. Students will explore the role community-engaged research can play in their future roles as social work practitioners. The content of this course heavily integrates other elements of the MSW curriculum.

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

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Describe the benefits and challenges of community driven Action Research. [EPAS Competency 4: Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice]
2. Describe the ethical and methodological considerations in engaging in partnerships with diverse communities. [EPAS Competency 4: Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice]
3. Identify the importance of both disseminating findings and translating those findings into action steps. [EPAS Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities]
4. Explain how Action Research aligns with social work values and how it can be used in social work practice. [EPAS Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities]

Assignments

Discussions

Discussions are an important part of the learning process in this course. In typical weeks, students are expected to post an initial response to the weekly discussion questions by Saturday, adhering to the requirements outlined in the prompt and Discussion Rubric. Most discussion activities also require you to respond to a minimum of 2 classmates in meaningful and substantive ways.

Critical Self Reflection

In Week 2, you will write a 1–2 page reflection in response to an article titled “Challenging ourselves: Critical self-reflection on power and privilege.”

CITI Training and Reflection

In Week 3, you will complete an online “CITI training for Social & Behavioral Research Investigators.” You will follow up by writing a 1–2 page reflection on how the training covers, or does not cover, ethical issues central to CBPR.

Dedoose Thematic Analysis Assignment

Through Weeks 4 and 5, you and a group of classmates will conduct a thematic analysis on 3 short pieces of literature using Dedoose, an app for analyzing research data. You and your group members will compare coding reports generated by Dedoose. You will share the results of your comparison with the class.

CBPR Presentation and Discussion Facilitation

During Week 6, your group will create a presentation and write a scenario about a topic related to CBPR. You will share your work with the class. During Week 7 you will facilitate the discussion as peers respond to your work. This will help the class analyze differences in CBPR styles and their implications for research.

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 Value
Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement	1 point	1%
Discussion Forums	20 points (10 forums x 2 points each)	20%
Week 2 Critical Self-Reflection	15 points	15%
Week 3: CITI Training and Reflective Paper	15 points	15%
Weeks 4 & 5 Dedoose Thematic Analysis Assignment	24 points	24%
Week 7 CBPR Presentation and Discussion Facilitation	25 points	25%
Total	100 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