SOCW 6301

 
Required Readings
Yegidis, B. L., Weinbach, R. W., & Myers, L. L. (2018). Research methods for social workers (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Chapter 5, “Quantitative Research” (pp. 100-125)
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Sessions: Case histories. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
The Hernandez Family
Choose One of the Following Articles:
Bauman, S. (2006). Using comparison groups in school counseling research: A primer. Professional School Counseling, 9(5), 357–366.
Kohl, P. L., Kagotho, J., & Dixon, D. (2011). Parenting practices among depressed mothers in the child welfare system. Social Work Research, 35(4), 215–225.
Leung, P., Erich, S., & Kanenberg, H. (2005). A comparison of family functioning in gay/lesbian, heterosexual and special needs adoptions, Children and Youth Services Review, 27(9), 1031–1044
Moran, J., & Bussey, M. (2007). Results of an alcohol prevention program with urban American Indian youth. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(1), 1–21.
Pinderhughes, E. E., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S., & Zelli, A. (2000). Discipline responses: Influences of parents’ socioeconomic status, ethnicity, beliefs about parenting, stress, and cognitive-emotional processes. Journal of Family Psychology, 14(3), 380–400.
Southerland, D., Mustillo, S., Farmer, E., Stambaugh, L., & Murray, M. (2009). What’s the relationship got to do with it? Understanding the therapeutic relationship in therapeutic foster care. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 26(1), 49–63.
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Hernandez family (Episode 5) [Video file]. In Sessions. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 1 minutes.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload TranscriptCredit: Provided courtesy of the Laureate International Network of Universities.
WaldenULibrary. (2019, August 13). Find qualitative articles [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzr7cEusu_Y&feature=youtu.be
WaldenULibrary. (2019, September 23). Find quantitative articles [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/U6OjBBAymdI
WaldenULibrary. (2019, September 23). Find mixed method articles [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tyEjTGqAerQ

 
Assignment: Locating an Empirical Research Article
Empirical research articles document a study that is either quantitative, qualitative or a mixed methods research design. When authors write an empirical research article they typically follow a format that looks like this: Introduction/Background, Literature Review, Methodology, Findings, and Discussion. The authors recount literature on their specific research topic and describe in a systematic manner how the data was collected and then analyzed in order to answer the research question(s). Once the data is analyzed, they present the findings. Finally, they interpret the findings using past literature to help understand the findings.
What we broadly describe as a “quantitative study” includes numerical summaries that involve descriptive statistics (averages, standard deviations), correlations, and inferential statistics (such as T-tests, Chi Squares and other kinds of analyses). These kinds of studies can include certain elements such as per- and post-tests or survey results looking at correlations between variables.
Qualitative articles, on the other hand, use interviews, focus groups, observations, and written answers to questions. Rather than using statistics to summarize the study, these studies look at themes and present the material using words, phrases and often paragraphs to illustrate what they are representing.
To prepare for this assignment, review Week 1’s readings and resources on how to locate an empirical research article using the library’s databases.
For this Assignment,

Locate an empirical research article that is either a quantitative or qualitative study from a peer reviewed social work journal for the final assignment. Download the PDF copy of the article.

Do not select an empirical research article that describes a mixed methods study. The reason is a mixed method study involves both a quantitative and qualitative component. You would have to do two reviews – one for the quantitative component and one for the qualitative component — for the final assignment.

Attach the PDF of the article to the assignment link. Your instructor will review the article to make sure it is an empirical research article and will evaluate it for approval for use in your final assignment due in Week 10.

By Day 7