Research Paper Part I (Problem Statement) (Due. W7)
Purpose: Students will: (1) explore practice interests to inform the development of research questions; and, (2) critically analyze published research as a guide to social work practice. This assignment is intended to help you develop knowledge and build skills in the area of using existing research evidence to inform your social work practice. More specifically, by completing this assignment, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities in these key areas:
- Understanding the scientific process and the use of scientific language in applied social science, as well as a basic understanding of how to use research to inform and guide social work practice.
- Understanding methods used in inquiry related to both the development and testing of theory.
- Ability to formulate research questions addressing social work practice and/or the social and economic wellbeing of clients and communities, and select appropriate methods given those questions.
- Ability to review, analyze, and critique published research, including the ability to identify, compare, and contrast qualitative and quantitative designs and methods.
- Ability to identify gaps in the knowledge base and critically analyze the use of practice wisdom to inform future research questions and studies to help fill those gaps.
Directions:
Select an area of interest in social work practice and/or related to the social and economic well-being of a particular group of people within the larger population. Provide a brief but concise overview of your chosen topic including:
- Statement of area of interest
- Nature and scope of related problems or challenges in your area of interest
- Historical development of problem definition, practice approaches, and related policies
- Contextual and societal factors that influence social work responses in the area of interest
- Summary that includes a clearly written problem statement and at least one operationally defined research question.
- The instructor will provide feedback for students to further improve the paper. Based on feedback, you use Part I as the first 4 pages of the final writing assignment (Part II).
Format and other requirement: Assignment #4a, Part I should be no more than 4 type written pages, 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced. Citing sources of information is required in this assignment. Be sure to provide full APA formatted references.
- Provide citations and abstracts for at least 3 empirical studies.
- Required Textbook(s):
Rubin, A. & Babbie, E. (2016). Essential Research Methods for Social Work (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
