Discussion about four types of social work research
When designing a research project, you should first consider what you hope to accomplish by conducting the research. What do you hope to be able to say about your topic? Do you hope to gain a deep understanding of the phenomenon you’re studying, or would you rather have a broad, but perhaps less deep, understanding? Do you want your research to be used by policymakers or others to shape social life, or is this project more about exploring your curiosities? Your answers to each of these questions will shape your research design.
The four types of social work research you will use are: descriptive data, exploratory studies, explanatory studies, and evaluative studies. Here, we will take the social problem of veterans and PTSD and show how to apply the topic, search, and locate the four types of research sources.
For more in-depth information about these types of studies, and how they apply, please see the following resources.
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The handbook of social work research methods [electronic resource]
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ISBN: 9781412986182Publication Date: 2001This volume details both quantitative and qualitative methods and data collection, as well as suggesting the methods appropriate to particular types of studies. It also covers issues such as ethics, gender and ethnicity, and offers advice on how to write up and present your research -
Social work research methods [electronic resource] : learning by doing
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ISBN: 9781071849088Publication Date: 2020KEY FEATURES: A ‶learn by doing" approach woven throughout the text helps students apply knowledge to practice. A three-part structure introduces the fundamentals of research methods, the different types of social work research, and the use of data analysis for evaluation of social work practice. Chapter-opening vignettes illustrate the value of chapter content to the practicing social worker. Chapter-ending practice exercises provide opportunities to apply chapter knowledge and gain a better understanding of research competencies. Practical guidelines for data analysis show students how to use the Internet to analyze data with simple step-by-step instructions. Discussion questions provide opportunities to spark class discussions and help students reflect on critical concepts. Chapter tests, lists of key learnings, and glossaries at the end of chapters serve as convenient tools for reviewing key concepts and definitions
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Research Methods for Social Workers [electronic resource] : A Practice-Based Approach
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ISBN: 9780190858957Publication Date: 2018This book is designed to help readers understand the basic concepts of research and its various components (i.e. ethical considerations, levels of measurement, sampling techniques, etc.) with the ultimate goal of helping students fully grasp how to effectively apply them in a professional setting. The book provides an introduction to statistical analysis (both descriptive and inferential) and techniques for evaluating practice. Each chapter includes short exercises designed to practice the concepts covered in the chapter
Searching your topic
For this assignment, you are to pick a social problem (e.g. PTSD in veterans). Once you have identified a topic, you will gather literature associated with the topic that meets each of the varying types of research (exploratory, explanatory, descriptive, and evaluative).
To get the descriptive resources, go to congress.gov, search for veterans and ptsd, limit the search to bills, and you get 11 results.You pick 2 or 3 of these.
For exploratory articles, I used Applied Social Science Index & Abstracts database, searched for veterans and ptsd as two separate terms, limited those terms to searching in the abstracts, then added the word exploratory to the search, and I got 54 results. I would pick 2-3 of these. In APA PsychoInfo database, I used this search veterans AND ptsd AND exploratory and got 99 results.
For explanatory articles, I used Applied Social Science Index & Abstracts database, searched for veterans and ptsd as two separate terms, limited those terms to searching in the abstracts, then added the word explanatory o the search, and I got 13 results. I would pick 3-5 of these. In APA PsychoInfo database, I used this search veterans AND ptsd AND explanatory and got 13 results.
For evaluative articles, I used Applied Social Science Index & Abstracts database, searched for veterans and ptsd as two separate terms, limited those terms to searching in the abstracts, then added the word explanatory to the search, and I got 4 results. I would pick 3-5 of these. In APA PsychInfo database, I used this search veterans AND ptsd AND evaluative and got only 3 results.