SWP32RES RESEARCH FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE B

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SWP32RES RESEARCH FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE B

• LECTURE THREE - Overview of the Research Process

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The Social Work Research Process

• 1) Identify the Research Problem Area
• 2) Identify Personal Motivation for Interest
  in this Problem Area
• 3) Formulate Focussed Research Question/s or
  Hypotheses

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• 4) Review the Literature
• 5) Reformulate Research Question/s or
  Hypotheses
• 6) Develop a Plan for the Research Study

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1. Operationally define key terms,
concepts and variables.2. Decide on research
approach - quantitative, qualitative or a
combined approach.3. Decide on research
design. 4. Define and decide upon access to
sample and sample size.
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• 5. Decide on data collection method and
  instruments (questionnaires, interviews,
  secondary data analysis or observation)
• 6. How the data is to be analysed.
• 7. Staging and timing of the study.
• 8. Costing of the study.

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• 9. Pretesting and Piloting of the data
  collection instrument/s.
• 10. Write up research proposal.
• 11. Obtain necessary ethics clearance.

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• 7) Collect the Data
• 8) Analyse the Data (includes the data
  reduction (whether quantitative or qualitative)
  and statistical analysis)
• 9) Write up the Research Findings
• 10) Disseminate the Findings
• 11) Implement and Utilise the Findings

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Abuses of Research Ethics

• 1) Experiments on Jewish inmates of Nazi
  concentration camps during World War 11
• 2) The Tuskeegee experiment
• 3) Milgram studies
• 4) The Laud Humphries study

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Responses to ethical abuses

• 1) World Medical Associations Helsinki
  Declaration (1964) 2) This Declaration has
  been directly translated into the Australian
  National Health and Medical Research
  Councils (NHMRC) guidelines on human
  experimentation

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• 3) A.A.S.W. (The Australian Association of
  Social Workers) which has a section on
  research ethics on the latest version of its
  Code of Ethics (1999)

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COMMONLY ACCEPTED PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL RESEARCH

• 1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION INFORMED CONSENT
• 2) PROTECTION FROM HARM
• 3) ANONYMITY CONFIDENTIALITY

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• 4) PREVENTION OF DECEPTION
• 5) PROPER CREDIT FOR RESEARCH ENDEAVOURS