SWP 538 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Social Work, Contact Lens, Confidentiality
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SWP 538
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
KATIE CHOI
9/5/18
LECTURE 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH
1
What is Research?
• Ways of knowing
o Knowledge comes from many sources:
▪ Personal experience
• Helpful and problematic
▪ Knowledge of others
• Authority; common sense; media
o Only common to certain people
o Helpful and problematic
▪ Traditions
• Flawed
• Only make sense at certain situation
▪ Research
o Each of these sources of knowledge have some flaws as the only source of our
knowledge
• Using knowledge
o How have you made informed decisions in your lives, such as buying a car,
renting an apartment, going to school, choosing an elective?
o Where did you get the information you used to inform your decision?
o How did you evaluate that knowledge (for example, did you weigh some
knowledge as more important than other, and if so, why)?
• Define research
o ‘esearh is a ssteati ad ethodologial approah to reatig koledge
(Faulkner & Faulkner, 2014, p. 1)
o ‘esearh is … the assiilatio of koledge ad the gatherig of data i a
logial aer i order to eoe ifored aout soethig. Faulker &
Faulkner, 2014, p. 3)
• Engaging with research
o ‘esearh is soeties referred to as sietifi ethod
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
KATIE CHOI
9/5/18
LECTURE 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH
2
o Strengths
▪ Understanding social problems
▪ Informing new practices and policies
▪ Credibility of social work
o Limitations
▪ Slow process
▪ One question at a time
▪ Subject to bias
o Flaws in research knowledge:
▪ Improper practices in the use of a traditional research process
▪ Many of the flaws are because of the social positioning of research –
where does it, by whom and about whom, where it is done and why
▪ Some research ignores context/uniqueness of a situation and thus
misrepresents something
▪ Misuse of research to advance privilege and power
• What is quantitative research?
o Presenting numerical representing of data
o Examining relationships between factors
o Aim:
▪ To predict, generalise
o Process:
▪ Often rigid, pre-determined
o Sample:
▪ Large
o Measures:
▪ Standardized
Purpose & Importance of Social Work Research
• Research purposes
o Research purpose & research problem
▪ What is the research problem?
▪ What is the aim of us examining this problem through research?
▪ The purpose of this type of study/research approach study is to explore,
describe, explain, evaluate, construct, and/or predict, understand,
develop, discover the central phenomenon of the study for the
participants at the site. At this stage in the research, the central
phenomenon will be generally defined as a general definition of the
central concept. (Adapted from Creswell, 2013, p. 13)
o Explore
▪ Initial/pilot study, small sample
o Describe
▪ Provide detailed description for understanding
o Explain
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Faulkner, 2014, p. 3: engaging with research, esear(cid:272)h is so(cid:373)eti(cid:373)es referred to as (cid:858)s(cid:272)ie(cid:374)tifi(cid:272) (cid:373)ethod(cid:859) Lecture 1 introduction to social work research: strengths, understanding social problems, credibility of social work. Informing new practices and policies: limitations, slow process, one question at a time, subject to bias, flaws in research knowledge: At this stage in the research, the central phenomenon will be generally defined as a general definition of the central concept. (adapted from creswell, 2013, p. 13: explore. Initial/pilot study, small sample: describe, provide detailed description for understanding, explain. Factors influencing the research process: research purpose, the intended purpose of the research study will influence the research process/design, e. g. consider wanting to stud(cid:455) (cid:862)e(cid:454)a(cid:373) a(cid:374)(cid:454)iet(cid:455)(cid:863). Lecture 1 introduction to social work research: paradigm/theory helps to advance our analysis. 27-29, 30-33: whiteness & white supremacy, colo(cid:374)izatio(cid:374) & (cid:449)hite(cid:374)ess i(cid:374) (cid:862)ca(cid:374)ada(cid:863, universalization, white domination of knowledge-making, white supremacy in research wherein all knowledge is measured in comparison to white knowledge (yee, 2017)
