RM 512 Research Process, Distance Learning
Fall 2009
Linda Freedman, LCSW, LMFT, PhD
Office: 773-271-7111
Cell: 773-495-1187
freedman.linda@yahoo.com
Distance Learning students are scheduled for two sessions on-site at ICSW.
Regretfully, I’ll be unable to meet with students first class, Oct 4, 2009 at the Institute but will put up video on our class blog, http://icswrp.blogspot.com. Please read the first three chapters in the Rubin and Babbie book. If you don’t have time, read them after you hear the lectures. But please read them.
Our usual time will be Tuesdays, 7:30-9:30 pm. (I think.)
Attendance
This course is taught virtually in a lecture/discussion format on the web.
Be prepared to participate, please because class participation will make up 20% of your grade.
For students who miss more than one class session, except in a documented personal emergency, the overall course grade will be lowered one level. Students who miss more than two class sessions will automatically fail the course. In cases of personal emergency, the student will be asked to withdraw from the course and retake it the following academic year.
Required Texts & Readings
American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6th Ed.). Washington D.C.: Author.
Rubin, A. & Babbie, E. Research methods for social work (2nd or 6th
Eds.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Levitt, S. D., Dubner, S. J., Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything Rev. ed. paperback.
Recommended:
Fortune, A. E. & Reid, W. J. (1999) Research in social work. New York: Columbia University Press
Gorey, K., Thyer, B. & Pawluck, D. (1998). Differential effectiveness of prevalent social work practice models: A meta-analysis. Social Work, 43(3), 269-278.
Oakes, J. (2002). Risks and wrongs in social science research. An evaluator's guide to the IRB. Evaluation Research, 26(5), 443-479.
Myers, L. & Thyer, B. (1997). Should social work clients have the right to effective treatment? Social Work, 97(42), 288-298.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1990 or later edition). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Locke, L.F., Spirduso, W. W., & Silverman, S. J. (1993). Proposals that work. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Institute for Clinical Social Work web page – http://www.icsw.edu
Additional readings are on reserve at the Laura Kramer Fischer Library. Additional readings are also electronic articles available on the web or through library resources, including inter-library loan.
Please note: Required readings and assignments will be posted on the class blog, along with an updated syllabus. It is your responsibility to check often for revisions. You can always email me if you aren’t sure of a class meeting or time. Here’s the URL to the blog. http://icswrp.blogspot.com
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to continue to provide incoming PhD students the opportunity to familiarize themselves and become comfortable with the research process, particularly the doctoral research process.
The underlying aim is to assist students as they design mock-up research proposals. In class, and on the final, students will:
(1) explore problems important to the field of social work
(2) pose research questions about such problems
(3) suggest hypotheses based upon theory
(4) define and operationalize variables
(5) define measurement strategies
(6) propose data collection methodology
(7) know how to present and disseminate research findings.
This course will not provide students with expertise in any one-research area, but will provide a good foundation for further study and education. The hope is to promote flexibility in future research endeavors.
Learning will be a collaborative effort, drawing upon the experiences and expertise of all class members—. 40% of your class grade is based upon weekly quizzes that you will work on together in class time. If you miss the class, you lose these points. I’m sorry.
Other Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
• Promote critical analytic skills for developing, implementing, and critiquing research
problems and questions appropriate to all levels of practice, including practice at work sites.
• Select appropriate quantitative and qualitative approaches to guide research on a particular topic, including the use of available data, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, surveys, intensive interviewing, and participant observation.
• Implement procedures for assuring the ethical conduct of research, including the necessity of obtaining informed consent; inclusion of safeguards to insure the confidentiality of research data; assurance of voluntary participation in research; and an appreciation for not using vulnerable populations as research subjects just because they may be more available.
• Use current technology, including the Internet and a variety of existing social science and social work databases for understanding specific human conditions and biopsychosocial interventions.
• Design studies that contribute to knowledge about social work clients, practice, and policy.
• Critique existing research in terms of its ability to rule out other possible explanations for findings.
• Critique existing research in terms of its relevance and generalizability, particularly to women, racial, ethnic, other minority groups, and people from different socioeconomic classes.
• Evaluate research according to principles of social justice, cultural competence, and utility.
• Develop procedures for coping with organizational and sociopolitical issues in agency-based research concerning such issues as how research projects get framed to how data access can be affected.
Course Expectations
Students are expected to complete assigned readings in advance of class meetings.
We won’t necessarily discuss the readings in class, but you are expected to know the material. For example, you will read the entire APA style citation manual, and you should be able to use it, but we’re not spending time in class on it because it is self-explanatory. But you may be asked to use it on the final.
All students will be held accountable for adhering to academic and nonacademic standards of conduct as described in the ICSW Student Handbook, available on the ICSW website.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Accommodations will be made for students with disabilities. Students needing accommodations for any type of disability must do the following:
1. Go to the ICSW Office of Disability Services to obtain confidential verification of the disability and a statement of accommodations recommended by that office.
2. Show the ICSW Office of Disability Services accommodation letter to the instructor of the class for which the student requests accommodation.
3. Show the accommodation letter to the instructor at the beginning of the course or before the start of the course.
Questions and Concerns
I am willing to discuss problems about course work during the week. Please do not try to contract me on Friday nights or Saturdays (the Jewish Sabbath) or Jewish holidays, even if you have what you think is an emergency about a grade. I will understand and make exceptions for you about assignments if you email. Do not hesitate to ask for clarification about anything having to do with this class.
Assignments, Tests, & Grading
The only assignments are your readings.
Class participation 20% of the grade
Class quizzes, 40%
Finals at the end of each semester, 40%
CHECK THE BLOG FOR CLASS SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS.