Research Methods for Social Work

James (Jim) Dudley earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and an M.S.W. degree from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.  He has also recently earned a M.S. Degree in Spirituality Studies from Loyola University at New Orleans. Jim’s publications are wide-ranging and focus on families, individuals, and organizations in several areas. They include teenage parenting and procreative issues; nonresidential and teenage fathering; stigma, friendships, and social integration of people with developmental disabilities; deinstitutionalization of people with a dual diagnosis; policy analysis of a class action lawsuit of people with a dual diagnosis, spirituality and social work;  spirituality and hospice;  and other areas.  He has authored numerous books including Research Methods for Social Work, Social Work Evaluation, Fathering at Risk, Living with Stigma, and Lessons Learned from a Lawsuit. He has also authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters in many highly regarded journals including Social Work, Journal of Social Work Education, The Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, Mental Retardation, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, Family Relations, Families in Society, Psychiatric Services, and Administration in Social Work. Jim has been a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the Department of Social Work since 1991 and before that was a faculty member at Temple University in the School of Administration for 18 years.  He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and has served as Department Chair for seven years.  Overall, he has been teaching both social work research and social work practice courses for over 25 years.  He has been instrumental in establishing the MSW program and obtaining accreditation for the MSW and BSW programs at UNC Charlotte.  He has also always enjoyed and worked very closely with students, helping them become effective practitioners and researchers, and helping them find and grow their personal and professional selves. Jim was a full-time social work practitioner for seven years, has served on several agency boards, and currently consults with social agencies in the Charlotte area.  Jim’s wife, Joanna, is a medical social worker employed in home health and they spend as much of their time as possible with their children and four grandchildren who also live in Charlotte.

• 1.      Why Social Workers Need Research?                                                             Research as a Source of KnowledgeWhat is Research?The Distinctiveness of Scientific ResearchDevelopment of theoryImportance of diversity in theoriesSystematic and rigorous methodsEmpirical evidenceCommitment to neutralityObligation to an ethical codeConsumer and Producer RolesConsumer RoleProducer Role           Using Critical Thinking Skills as Consumers and ProducersWhy Do Social Work Researchers Conduct Studies? The Research Topics of Interest to Social Workers          The Book’s Perspective about the People Who are StudiedSummaryDiscussion Questions  2.      The Philosophies and Purposes of Research                                       Inductive and Deductive PhilosophiesInductive ResearchDeductive ResearchAssessment of Your Philosophical TendenciesQuantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed MethodologiesQuantitative MethodsQualitative MethodsMixed MethodsSome Specialized Areas in Social Work ResearchParticipatory Action ResearchFeminist ResearchAfrocentric ResearchCritical Thinking and Social Work ResearchSummaryDiscussion Questions  3.      Research Ethics and Social Work's Mandates                                                Ethical Problems in ResearchPhysical harmPsychological harmInvasion of privacyDeception of participantsMisrepresentation of findingsBalancing risks and gains Ethical Safeguards of ResearchConfidentiality                                                                                            Informed ConsentMonitoring the effects of a study and offering any needed assistanceInvolving research participants in decision-makingSelecting researchers without a conflict of interestMandates of Social WorkAdhering to the values and ethics of social workPromoting a Commitment to Diversity Promoting Social and Economic Justice and Special Attention to At-Risk PopulationsAttending to Social Work Mandates throughout the BookSummaryDiscussion Questions  4.      Understanding the Research Topic                                                                              What Issues Affect Problem Selection?Political PerspectiveSocio-Cultural ViewsProfessional DisciplineSpecializations within social workPersonal Life ExperiencesEmployer Expectations, Funding Sources, and Other External InfluencesResearch Topics and Social WorkThe Producer Role and the Research Topic The Consumer Role and the Research Topic The Literature ReviewTips on Completing Literature SearchesPurposes in completing a literature reviewStrategies for Gathering InformationWriting up a Literature ReviewSummaryDiscussion Questions  5.      Defining and Measuring Concepts                                                                   Concepts, Variables, Values, and Constants         Constructing and Measuring VariablesUnderstanding MeasurementHow Knowledge is GeneratedQuantitative and Qualitative MeasurementsNumbersWords from Forced-Response QuestionsWord from Open-Ended Questions    Levels of MeasurementValidity and ReliabilityHow Is Validity Measured?How Is Reliability Measured?Standardized ScalesDiversity IssuesLikert ScalesThurstone and Guttman ScalesGoal Attainment Scales for Evaluating Social Work PracticeSummaryDiscussion Questions  6.      Focusing a Research Study                                                                                           Descriptive StudiesExploratory StudieExplanatory Studies         Descriptive and Exploratory Studies Ask General Research QuestionsExplanatory Studies Test HypothesesConstructing HypothesesTypes of VariablesThree Conditions of Causal RelationshipsPractical Uses of HypothesesHypothesizing to Evaluate Social Work PracticeGenerating HypothesesFocusing a Research Study and the Consumer Role                                                          Summary Discussion Questions  7.      Designing the Study Review of Prior StepsConsidering Secondary Research and Existing Data                      What is the Intention of the Study?Descriptive research DesignsExploratory Research DesignsExplanatory Research DesignsThree Key QuestionsIllustration 1Illustration 2Designing a Study and the Consumer Role                        Summary Discussion Questions  8.      Considering Sampling Techniques                                                                    Important Sampling ConceptsSelecting a SampleProbability and Non-Probability SamplingTypes of Probability Sampling      Types of Non-Probability SamplingDiversity, Social Justice Issues, and Samples                                          Using Combinations of Sampling ApproachesSample SizeSummaryDiscussion Questions  9.      Constructing Surveys                                                                                        Using Interviews in ResearchTypes of InterviewsVarying Ways to Conduct InterviewsUsing Questionnaires in ResearchTypes of QuestionnairesVarying Ways to Administer QuestionnairesSimilarities Between Data Collection in Research and Social WorkImportance of High Response RatesValidity and Reliability IssuesDiversity and Social JusticeComparing Interviews and QuestionnairesInterviewsQuestionnairesHow to Construct a SurveyConstructing Qualitative SurveysSummaryDiscussion Questions  10.    Constructing Observational Studies                                                                 Conducting Structured ObservationsConducting Unstructured ObservationsParticipant ObservationNon-Participatory Unstructured ObservationThe Ethical Problems of Observing CovertlyIncorporating Diversity and Social JusticeAdvantages of Observational ResearchValidity and Reliability IssuesHow to Construct an Observational Data Collection Instrument Observing Social Artifacts and Other Non-Human EntitiesExamples of Observations in Social Work Settings Summary Discussion Questions  11.    Exploring Causal Relationships: Quasi-Experimental, Experimental and Single System Designs                                                        The Relevance of Causal Relationships in Social Work PracticeClaiming that the Intervention Makes a Difference                                                                                                                      Documenting the Impact of Social Work InterventionsGroup Designs for Exploring Causal RelationshipsResearch Designs for Exploring Causal RelationshipsOne-Group Posttest-Only DesignPretest/Posttest DesignPretest/Posttest Design with a Comparison Group Time Series DesignPretest/Posttest Design with a Control GroupValidity and Group Designs                                Using Single System Designs for Practice EvaluationsDifferent Types of Single System Designs       Implementing a Single System DesignOptions for Analyzing Progress for Single System DesignsSummary Discussion Questions  12.    Collecting the Data                                                                                Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Data CollectionTraining for Data CollectionPreparation for Collecting DataPreparation for Quantitative MethodsPreparation for Qualitative MethodsPreparation for Leading Focus GroupsConsidering the Influence of the Personal Characteristics of the ResearcherCollecting the Data and the Consumer RoleSummaryDiscussion Questions                   13.    Quantitative Data Analysis                                                                                Coding the DataCoding Questions that Directly Elicit a Numerical ResponseCoding Forced-response Questions  Coding Forced-response Questions with Multiple OptionsA Code BookEthics and Data AnalysisDescriptive Statistics for Data AnalysisFrequency DistributionsMeasures of Central TendenciesMeasures of Variability or DispersionBi-Variate Statistics for Data AnalysisSignificance, Statistical Significance, and Statistical Tests                                          Measuring the Association Between Two VariablesChi-Square TestCorrelation TestComparing Two or More Groupst-testANOVA TestMultivariate Statistics for Data AnalysisMixed MethodsWorking with a Data Set Analyzing Quantitative Data and the Consumer RoleSummaryDiscussion Questions  14.    Qualitative Data Analysis                                                                                 Qualitative Versus Quantitative Data AnalysisVaried Types of Qualitative DataHow is Qualitative Data Analyzed?Strategy 1: Case Studies Strategy 2:  Summarizing Responses for Open-Ended QuestionsHow to Summarize Responses for Open-Ended Questions Strategy 3:  Theme AnalysisHow to Conduct a Theme AnalysisData Collection Approaches and the Three StrategiesOther Types of Qualitative Data AnalysisContent AnalysisEthnographic AnalysisObservational Analysis of Social SituationsValidating DataMixed MethodsAnalyzing Qualitative Data and the Consumer RoleSummary Discussion Questions  15.    Preparing a Report                                                                                        Task A. Highlighting Background Material on the StudyTask B: Focusing the FindingsOrganization of FindingsAccuracy and ClarityUse of GraphicsTask C. Developing RecommendationsTask D: Writing or Presenting the ReportConsidering Potential Readers of the ReportContents of a Traditional Research ReportReporting on Qualitative StudiesReporting on the Research and the Consumer RoleSummary Discussion Questions  16.      Program and Practice Evaluation  Accountability to StakeholdersA Political ProcessDefining Evaluation Purposes of EvaluationsSteps in Conducting an EvaluationPlanning, Implementation, and Outcome StagesLogic ModelEvaluations during the Planning StageA Needs AssessmentOther Evaluation Strategies When PlanningEvaluations during the Implementation StageIs the Intervention Implemented as Intended?Is the Quality of the Intervention High?How Accessible is the Intervention to All Client Groups?How Satisfied are the Clients with the Intervention?Evaluations during the Outcome StageGroup DesignsCost/Benefit Analysis StudiesOutcomes in Practice EvaluationsSummaryDiscussion Questions