BEST SELLER Test Bank For Research Methods for Social Work: Being Producers and Consumers of Research (Updated Edition) Test Bank For Research Methods For Social Work: Being Producers And Consumers Of

Philosophies and Perspectives about Research
CHAPTER SUMMARY
• Scientific research is not in any way a monolithic enterprise. • Scientific research can be driven by many different philosophies and perspectives. • Two overall philosophies of scientific research are the indictive and deductive approaches. • Variations in scienctific research are also evident in the methods that are used, with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods being options. • Mixed methods of both quantitative and qualitative methods are becoming fairly common in studies. • Specialized perspectives are also likely to be evident in research. • Three specialized perspectives popular in social work research are the feminist, Afrocentric, and Participant Action. • Critical thinking involves using an important set of skills that are relevant to research as well as practice.
CSWE COMPETENCIES FOUND IN THIS CHAPTER Professional Identity Ethical Practice Critical Thinking
Human Rights and Justice

CHAPTER OUTLINE
Inductive and Deductive Philosophies
Inductive Research
Deductive Research
Assessment of Your Philosophical Tendencies
Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methodologies
Quantitative Methods
Qualitative methods
Mixed Methods
Some Specialized Areas in Social Work Research
Participatory Action Research
Feminist Research
Afrocentric Research
Critical Thinking and Social Work Research
Summary
SUGGESTED IN CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Identify a research study that is based on feminist research. How does this study seem to be different from other studies you have read? Are there differences in the research methods used or the emphasis given to findings and recommendations? 2. Identify a research study based on PAR (participatory action research) perspective. How does this study seem to be different from other studies you have read? Are there differences in the research methods used or the emphasis given to findings and recommendations? 3. Identify a research study based on an ethnic perspective such as Afrocentric. How does this study seem to be different from other studies you have read? Are there differences in the research methods used or the emphasis given to findings and recommendations? 4. Based on your responses in filling out the questionnaire, “What are Your Indictive and Deductive Tendencies,” how likely do you think the results are reflective of your actual tendencies to lean toward one philosophy or the other? How could you bring more balance to your tendencies?

5. Review the section on “Critical Thinking and Social Work Research,” and identify one attribute of critical thinking that you could develop further in your practice. How could you improve this attribute when working with clients?
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
1. Review two or three Websites on African Americans to find out more about the needs and problems of African American people. Then identify one research topic that you may be interested in studying. How might an Afrocentric researcher investigate this topic differently than other researchers? 2. Review two or three Websites on feminism to find out more about the needs and problems faced by women. Then identify one research topic that you may be interested in studying. How might a feminist researcher investigate this topic differently than other researchers? 3. Identify a social problem faced by people in the community connected to your field agency or employment agency. Develop a research proposal in which the PAR (participatory action research) is used. How could this proposal, if implemented, empower the people in this community?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Asante, M. K. (1987). The Afrocentric idea. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Deem, R. (2002). Talking to manager-academics: Methodological dilemmas and feminist research strategies. Sociology, 36(4), 835-856. DePoy, E., Hartman, A., & Haslert, D. (1999). Critical action research: A model for social work knowing. Social Work, 44(6), 560-569. Gibbs, L., & Gambrill, E. (1996). Critical thinking for social workers: A workbook. Thousands Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Gibelman, M. (2003). So how far have we come? Pestilent and persistent gender gap in pay. Social Work, 48(1), 22-32. Resnicow, K., & Ross-Gaddy, D. (1997). Development of a racial identity scale for low-income AfricanAmericans. Journal of Black Studies, 28(2), 239-255. Skeggs, B. (2001). Feminist ethnography. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, and S. Delamont (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of ethnography. London: Sage. Rothery, M., Grinnell, R., & Tutty, L. (1996). Qualitative research for social workers. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Get Students Connected with MySocialWorkLab MySocialWorkLab is a dynamic website that provides a wealth of resources geared to help students develop and master the skills articulated in CSWE’s core competencies—and improve their grades in their Social Work courses.

In-Class Activities
1. Go to “Interactive Cases for Practice: Domestic Violence” and watch the videos “Using Skills of Engagement” and “Data Collection and Problem Definition.” Do you think the social worker’s information-gathering strategy is more deductive or more inductive? Give evidence to support your position. 2. Go to “Interactive Cases for Practice: Domestic Violence” and watch the video “Elaboration: Using Active Listening.” How does the social worker use a qualitative approach to learn more about her client’s situation? In small groups, brainstorm additional questions the social worker could ask to learn more about the client’s situation and categorize them as qualitative or quantitative. Homework Activities
1. Go to “Interactive Cases for Practice: Domestic Violence” and watch the videos “Clarification of Roles,” “Identifying the Next Steps,” and “Seeking Client Feedback and Reaching for Feelings.” Write a short paragraph exploring limitations the social worker faces in generalizing about her client on the basis of other domestic violence cases. 2. Gibbs and Gambrill (1996) identify problems that arise when social workers fail to think critically in accordance with the principles of social work research. Go to “Interactive Cases for Practice: Domestic Violence” and identify three things the social worker does that help her avoid the following problems: misclassifying the client, focusing on irrelevant factors, selecting weak or inappropriate interventions, increasing client dependency, or inappropriately continuing/discontinuing an intervention 3. Go to MySearchLab and do a literature search on the following topics: participatory action research and domestic violence. On the basis of your literature search, what suggestions might you give the social worker in “Interactive Cases for Practice: Domestic Violence” to help her involve her client as a participant in the problem-solving process? MySocialWorkLibrary Activities
1. Go to MySocialWork Library and read the article “Domestic Violence: Betty and Charlie Bristol.” How does the social worker, Shelly Schuurman, use critical thinking skills and research knowledge to question the initial CMH worker’s assessment of the case? 2. How does the social worker apply feminist research in her assessment of Betty’s situation? Explain how the use of feminist research helped Shelly Shuurman acknowledge human diversity and increase her cultural competence in the client-therapist relationship.

22
ASSIGNMENTS USING MYSEARCHLAB
By using the MySearchLab component of MySocialWorkLab, students can access a variety of search engines, resources, and articles that can help them develop their understanding as well as their research abilities. Have students research one or more of the following key terms. Some suggested assignments follow.
• Philosophy of research • Perspective of research • Indictive research • Deductive research • Quantitative methods • Qualitative methods • Mixed methods
• Participant Action Research • Feminist research • Afrocentric research • Ethnic-based research • Critical thinking • Reductionism • Generalizing
Suggested Research-Based Assignments
1. Select one of these terms that has peaked your interest or curiousity. Find out more about this term by reviewing research articles or Websites that use this term. Write a short essay on what you have learned abut the term beyond what is described in chapter 2.
ASSESSMENT AVAILABLE IN MySocialWorkLab
Using the MySocialWorkLab is a great way for students to develop their overall understanding of the content of this chapter, as well as understanding the theoretical application in practice settings.
There are two types of multiple-choice (and essay) assessments included for each chapter:
• Practice Test • Chapter Exam
Practice Test
After reading the chapter, students are then recommended to take the Practice Test. The Practice Test measures student comprehension of the material learned in this chapter.
Chapter Exam
After class discussion and/or assignment chosen by the instructor, students should then complete the Chapter Exam on MySocialWorkLab. This Chapter Exam will be graded and will automatically feed into the MySocialWorkLab instructor gradebook upon completion.
To view the Practice and Chapter Exam test questions, visit www. mysocialworklab.com.

23
ASSESSMENT FOR IN-CLASS USE The following test questions were developed for in-class use. These questions are not the same as the test questions found on MySocialWorkLab.
Pick the best possible answer from each of the four options provided with each questions.
Difficulty: 1 = Easy; 2 = Moderate; 3 = Challenging
Multiple Choice Questions
1. During a conference social work practitioners are discussing about the treatment needs of sexually reactive youth (e.g. youth who sexually abuse others). Several of the practitioners mention that cognitive-behavioral (CB) theory holds promise for reducing recidivism. In particular, one of the constructs of CB that seems to be helpful is self-efficacy, whereas CB theory postulates that there is a relationship between self-efficacy and adaptive behaviors. Therefore the practitioners decide to conduct research on this relationship between self-efficacy and recidivism. What type of research philosophy tends to use established theory to create hypotheses? a) Exploratory b) Descriptive c) Inductive d) Deductive
Answer: d Difficulty: 2 Competence: Research Based Practice
2. Physicians observe that Hmong residents in the county seem to have higher rates of diabetes than other populations. The physicians contact the local health department to report the phenomena, and subsequently the health department contacts a college professor who is a known as an expert on Hmong culture. The professor is interested in conducting research on the issue, but she claims it will be inductive in nature because little is known about diabetes among Hmong communities. Inductive research typically starts with: a) Hypothesis b) Data analysis c) Data collection d) Theory
Answer: c Difficulty: 3 Competence: Research Based Practice

24
3. A macro-level practitioner is working with community members on developing a program that prevents delinquency. Some of the community members think the program should be mandatory, while others believe that it should be optional. During the debates the social worker is cognizant to listen to both sides of the argument, allowing herself to be open to multiple points of view. How is this an example of critical thinking? a) Considering alternative points of view b) Understanding the importance of emotional expression c) Understanding the importance of cognitive and emotional expressions d) Empowering the community to prevent delinquency
Answer: a Difficulty: 3 Competence: Critical Thinking
4. An article is written in the newspaper that critiques the counties mental health services. What is portrayed is inadequate space in the emergency room and psychiatric facilities to accommodate the burgeoning mental health needs of the community. Subsequently, staff of the mental health clinic are upset because nothing positive is acknowledged and no “success” stories are portrayed. However mental health administrators review the content of the article and believe that it may help to generate funding. Reviewing the content of a newspaper article is what type of data analysis? a) Quantitative b) Deductive c) Qualitative d) Philosophical
Answer: c Difficulty: 2 Competence: Research Based Practice
5. Alice develops a survey about depression that is designed to measure the symptom intensity. The survey has 10 questions, and each question has a rating scale that ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 = low depression and 5 = high depression. For instance, one of the questions is “have you lost interest in activities that use to be pleasurable.” Possible responses to the question are 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = frequently, and 5 = always. Scores on the survey can range between 10 and 50. Alice finds that the average score on the survey is 22. What type of data analysis is this? a) Quantitative b) Deductive c) Qualitative d) Philosophical
Answer: a Difficulty: 2 Competence: Research Based Practice

25
6. A researcher wants to test a developmental theory that is disparate in comparison to conventional models. He believes that conventional theories are inadequate for explaining the development of females. What is most likely this researcher’s philosophical orientation? a) Afrocentric b) Experiential c) Experimental d) Feminist
Answer: d Difficulty: 1 Competence: Critical Thinking
7. Geriatric consumers from an assisted care facility attend activities in the community. Some consumer’s report these occasions as favorable, while others have concerns such as lack of stimulation and poor transportation. The director of the facility wants to ascertain more about the concerns, and is particularly interested in the opinions of the consumers. What type of research will most likely be implemented? a) Experimental b) Participatory action research c) Deductive d) Quantitative
Answer: b Difficulty: 2 Competence: Research Based Practice
8. Law enforcement professionals communicate to the local media that more juveniles have been petitioned for prostitution over the past year than the past twenty-five years. In response, the public health department is contacted about the social problem, but they have little information on the factors that lead to juvenile prostitution. What research philosophy can the health department use to gather more information on the problem? a) Inductive b) Deductive c) Quantitative d) Feminism
Answer: a Difficulty: 3 Competence: Critical Thinking

26
9. Immigrants who migrate from Somalia to U.S. are having problems with family preservation. What seems to be occurring is a fracture between the parental and sibling subsystems. In particular, caregivers want their children to assimilate to their new culture(s), but also want them to embrace the traditional customs and practices from Somalia. What type of research philosophy may help social workers strengthen these families? a) Feminism b) Deductive c) Quantitative d) Afrocentric
Answer: d Difficulty: 1 Competence: Diversity in Practice
10. Researchers want to quantify the effects of a solution-focused intervention at improving self-esteem. They recruit 50 people for the study and decide that half will receive solution-focused brief therapy, while the other half will receive no therapy. What do the researchers hope to accomplish? a) Discover a new explanation b) Rule-out an explanation c) Support an existing explanation d) Recruit more people
Answer: c Difficulty: 3 Competence: Research Based Practice
11. Federal funds are being offered for research on the impact of welfare reform. One stipulation for receiving the grant is that the results of the research must be generalizable. What does generalizing the results mean? a) Results are abstract b) Results can be generalized from a sample to a larger population c) Results are concrete d) Results thoroughly describe the sample
Answer: b Difficulty: 3 Competence: Research Based Practice