Research Methods in Social Work Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
This course provides an introduction to the principles and practices of research within the context of social work. Students will learn about the various methodologies used in social work research, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches. Emphasis is placed on understanding the research process from formulating research questions to data collection and analysis, as well as ethical considerations involved in conducting research with diverse and vulnerable populations. The course also explores the critical appraisal of empirical studies and application of research findings to evidence-based practice in social work settings.
Recommended Textbook Research Methods for Social Work 8th Edition by Allen Rubin
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Why Study Research
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Q1) Some research studies get published despite having violated some of key methodological principles..
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following statements is are true regarding entering your first job as a professional social worker?
A) You should disregard agency traditions.
B) You should disregard advice based on authority, even if the authority figure has a high level of training, credentials and experience.
C) You should keep in mind that knowledge based on tradition and authority could be wrong, and seek evidence that might support or challenge that knowledge.
D) All of the above are true.
E) None of the above is true.
Answer: C
Q3) Explain what is meant by the statement,"Tradition and authority are the two-edged swords in the search for knowledge about the world."
Answer: will vary
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Chapter 2: Evidence-Based Practice
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Q1) Which of the following statements is/are true about critically appraising the quality of evidence found in the evidence-based practice search process?
A) All evidence produced by randomized clinical trials should be deemed strong evidence
B) Randomized clinical trials always reside at the top of any research hierarchy.
C) Only evidence produced by randomized clinical trials should be considered as worthy of guiding practice decisions, regardless of the nature of the decision.
D) All of the above are true.
E)None of the above is true.
Answer: E
Q2) Any study that employs a randomized clinical trial is a strong source of evidence,regardless of how it measures outcome.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Philosophy and Theory in Social Work Research
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Q1) In the hypothesis,"Parental praise increases child self-esteem,level of self-esteem is the dependent variable.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following is an attribute? :
A) Religion.
B) Female.
C) Occupation.
D) Socioeconomic status.
Answer: B
Q3) Research studies that do not involve theory:
A) are useless.
B) cannot develop implications for theory advancement.
C) can have value.
D) none of the above.
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Comparing Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed
Methods of Inquiry
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Q1) Problem formulation is the last phase of the research process in mixed-methods studies.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Data analysis tends to be more time-consuming in qualitative studies than in quantitative studies.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is/are true about the research process?
A) There is often movement back and forth across beginning phases.
B) Writing any part of the research report should be delayed until all the data are analyzed and interpreted.
C) It ends with the completion of a study.
D) All of the above.
Q4) Identify and briefly describe seven main phases in the research process.
Q5) Provide an example of how quantitative and qualitative methods can be complimentary in the same study
Q6) Describe the contrasting emphases of quantitative and qualitative studies.
Q7) Identify the reasons for using mixed methods.
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Chapter 5: The Ethics and Politics of Social Work Research
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Q1) Identify five commonly recommended guidelines for attempting to avoid bias and insensitivity regarding gender or culture in a study.
Q2) Which of the following questions should be answered in an informed consenorm?
A) What will you be asked to do if you participate in this research study?
B) What are the possible discomforts and risks involved in the study?
C)What are the possible benefits of the study?
D) All of the above.
Q3) The norm of voluntary participation threatens the social research goal of generalizability.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The quality of an ethically controversial study's research design is never considered relevant to whether that study can be justified.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Illustrate how ethics and politics affect social work research.
Q6) Science is never influenced by political matters.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Culturally Competent Research
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Q1) Describe the steps you would take to maximize the measurement equivalence of a study that compares the degree of caregiver burden among White,African American,Hispanic,and Asian American caregivers for relatives with Alzheimer's disease.
Q2) Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of your own culture.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is true about culturally competent interviewing?
A) All interviewers must be of the same ethnicity as the respondent.
B) Although matching interviewer and interviewee ethnicity is not a foolproof guarantee that an interview will be culturally competent, it is a good rule of thumb to follow whenever possible.
C) Interviewers should NOT be of the same ethnicity as the respondent.
D) Avoiding cultural bias is ensured if interviewer speaks the respondent's language.
Q4) The degree of acculturation might influence which term minority group participants prefer to label their ethnicity.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Problem Formulation
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Q1) Agency member resistances to research often result in the need for much more time than anticipated to complete the research.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A follow-up study of how the same clients discharged from a mental hospital in 1990 were functioning in 1991,1992,1993,and so on through 2000 would be
A) a cohort study
B) a trend study
C) a panel study
D) a cross-sectional study
Q3) Which of the following statements is/are true about social work research and evidence-based practice?
A) They have little in common.
B) They are synonymous.
C) Both follow essentially the same problem-solving process.
D) Neither can return to earlier phases in the process.
Q4) Identify and give an example of each of the four units of analysis.Illustrate the ecological fallacy and reductionism using your examples.
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Chapter 8: Conceptualization in Quantitative and Qualitative Inquiry
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Q1) In social work studies testing hypotheses involving the variable "level of social functioning" that variable is:
A) always the dependent variable.
B) always either the dependent or control variable.
C) always the independent variable.
D) an independent, dependent, or control variable, depending on what is being conceptualized and postulated in any given study.
Q2) Discuss how the quantitative and qualitative perspectives on operational definitions differ.
Q3) The specification of concepts in a scientific inquiry depends on
A) nominal, operational, and real definitions.
B) real definitions.
C) nominal and operational definitions.
D) nominal and real definitions.
E) operational and real definitions.
Q4) Construct two hypotheses of interest to social workers.One should predict a positive relationship,the other a negative relationship: Identify the independent and dependent variables in each hypothesis.Identify a control variable for each hypothesis.Operationally define each variable.
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Chapter 9: Measurement
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Q1) Face validity is a form of empirical validity.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Some child-welfare workers observe children playing with anatomically correct dolls to help them assess whether those children have been sexually abused.If a child simulates sexual acts with the dolls,it is viewed as evidence that the child may be a victim of sexual abuse.What are some sources of systematic and random measurement error in this approach to assessment? How could the reliability and validity of this assessment procedure be gauged?
Q3) Given a scale to measure family risk of child abuse or neglect,contrast a way to measure the criterion-related validity of the scale with a way to measure that scale's construct validity.
Q4) Most social scientists would not accept the conceptualization of IQ as foot size because such a measurement would lack
A) precision.
B) reliability.
C) accuracy.
D) validity.
Q5) Describe how qualitative studies attempt to deal with reliability and validity.
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Chapter 10: Constructing Measurement Instruments
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Q1) Choose a topic not discussed in the book or in class and devise a scale using one of the following methods:a.Likert-type scaleb.Semantic differential scale
Be sure to discuss all the steps you would go through in constructing your scale.
Q2) The questionnaire item "Which is not a serious problem in the U.S.today,anomie or the socialization of the young?" violates which of the following guidelines?
A) Avoid double-barreled questions.
B) Avoid short items.
C) Avoid leading the respondent.
D) Avoid meaningful questions.
E) Avoid negative items.
Q3) Which of the following statements is/are INCORRECT?
A)Closed-ended questions should limit respondents to three or four choices.
B) Closed-ended questions should have response categories that are mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
C) Closed-ended questions should provide uniformity of response.
D) Closed-ended questions should cover the range of likely responses.
Q4) Identify acceptable options for handling missing data in an index or scale.
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Chapter 11: Causal Inference and Experimental Designs
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Q1) A friend of yours,a senior,took the Graduate Record Exam in September and scored in the 99th percentile.In February your friend took the same exam over again.This time your friend scored in the 84th percentile.As a research methodology student,you told your friend that his/her lowered score was probably due to:
A) testing.
B) history.
C) statistical regression.
D) demoralization.
E) compensation rivalry.
Q2) The 55-mph speed limit was introduced in the U.S.in 1973.Shortly thereafter the number of auto accidents declined.We can conclude that:
A) the reduced speed limit caused the decline in auto accidents.
B) the reduced speed limit may have caused the decline in the number of auto accidents.
C) the reduced speed limit and the number of auto accidents are causally related.
D) the reduced speed limit had nothing to do with the decline in auto accidents.
Q3) Discuss how attrition can affect the validity of an experiment and describe steps to minimize attrition.
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Chapter 12: Quasi-Experimental Designs
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Q1) Case-control designs have a high degree of internal validity because they eliminate the problem of recall bias.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss how qualitative methods can be used to try to avoid or alleviate the pitfalls identified above in essay number 2.
Q3) When selecting a comparison group in a quasi-experimental design,one should
A)select a group unlike the experimental group:
B)select a group as similar as possible to the experimental group:
C)use random assignment.
D)avoid the use of switching replications.
Q4) The internal validity of quasi-experiments using nonequivalent comparison groups without random assignment is weakened when switching replications are employed. A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain why the validity of quasi-experimental designs is strengthened by using multiple pretests,switching replications,and selecting a comparison group as similar as possible to the experimental group:
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Chapter 13: Single-Case Evaluation Designs
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Q1) The length of the baseline in single-case designs should be A) as long as is practically and ethically possible.
B) shorter with a low frequency behavior than with a high frequency behavior. C) shortened if an unstable trend appears.
D) as short as possible.
Q2) If the target problem improves at any point during the intervention phase,it is safe to infer that the intervention is effective.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In single-case experiments,direct observation is always better than using self-report scales or available records.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain how B or B+ designs can have value in the evidence-based practice process despite lacking an adequate baseline phase.
Q5) Although AB designs offer the least control for history,they are often worth doing.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Program Evaluation
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Q1) A major disadvantage of the community forum approach to needs assessment is the representativeness of the opinions expressed.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Agency administrators and practitioners are likely to encourage maximum scientific rigor in evaluations of program outcome,irrespective of the funding implications.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is/are true about program evaluation?
A) It can be used only to assess a program's effectiveness.
B) It refers to only one particular research method.
C) It can apply to many diverse research designs and methods.
D) It can be used only to assess a program's implementation.
Q4) External evaluators,as compared to In-house evaluators,are likely to:
A) have less access to program information and personnel.
B) have more knowledge about program processes.
C) have less independence from agency administrators.
D)experience no pressure whatsoever from stakeholders regarding desired results.
Q5) Describe the impact managed care has had on program evaluation.
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Chapter 15: Sampling
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Q1) Multi-stage cluster sampling requires a complete listing of all the elements in a population.
A)True
B)False
Q2) You are doing research on hospital personnel-orderlies,technicians,nurses,and doctors.You want to be sure you draw a sample that has cases in each of the personnel categories.You want to use probability sampling.An appropriate strategy would be
A) simple random sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) cluster sampling.
D) stratified sampling.
E) accidental sampling.
Q3) Compare probability designs with nonprobability designs.Identify the kinds of sampling designs available within each of these major categories.Explain a situation in which it would be more appropriate to use probability sampling and one in which nonprobability sampling would be preferred.
Q4) Sampling error is reduced through an increase in the sample size.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Survey Research
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Q1) One of the most important natural abilities that interviewers must have is the ability to
A) dress in a fashion that is similar to the people being interviewed.
B) determine very quickly the kind of person the respondent will feel most comfortable with.
C) rephrase questions in their own words.
D) probe for responses.
Q2) A response rate of at least 50 percent guarantees the absence of any response bias. A)True
B)False
Q3) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of online surveys.
Q4) The response rates to online surveys need to exceed 60 percent if the findings are to have any value.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Mail surveys are the only method used in studies using self-administered questionnaires.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Analyzing Existing Data: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
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Q1) An advantage of secondary analysis is that even with huge data novice researchers can conduct the data analysis swiftly.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following statements is true about utilizing official records for data?
A) The reliability of the data is guaranteed.
B) The validity of the data is guaranteed.
C) The accuracy of the data is guaranteed.
D) Neither the reliability, validity or accuracy of the data is guaranteed.
Q3) In comparison to coding the manifest content of communication,coding the latent content
A) has a disadvantage in terms of validity.
B) has an advantage in terms of reliability.
C) is better designed for tapping the underlying meaning of communications.
D) has an advantage in terms of specificity.
Q4) Describe a study for which content analysis is the appropriate research method.Discuss how you would use manifest and latent coding.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the two coding schemes.
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Qualitative Research: General Principles
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Q1) The participatory action research paradigm uses empowerment standards for evaluating qualitative studies.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In comparison to quantitative research methods,what are the major strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research methods?
Q3) Sampling in qualitative and quantitative research is similar in that both types of inquiry are most likely to use probability sampling techniques.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In comparison to surveys,qualitative research is
A) more subjective and more generalizable.
B) less subjective and more generalizable.
C) more subjective and less generalizable.
D) less subjective and less generalizable.
Q5) The naturalism paradigm discourages the use of ethnography.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Qualitative Research: Specific Methods
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Q1) It is possible to assume both the emic and etic perspectives in the same research study
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following statements is/are true about the interview guide approach?
A) It uses an outline of interview topics and issues to cover.
B) It is the most highly structured approach to qualitative interviewing.
C) It is the least structured approach to qualitative interviewing.
D) It relieves interviewers of the need to be completely familiar with its contents before beginning any interviews.
Q3) Establishing rapport in qualitative field research involves using active listening skills taught in some basic social work practice classes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Qualitative researchers should NEVER participate as an actor in the events under study.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Qualitative Data Analysis
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Q1) Variable-oriented research is similar to the nomothetic model of explanation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Professor Cay notes that respondent Mary Ginger is a 54 year old grandmother who has two grandchildren living in her household.Neither of the grandchildren's parents lives with them although Mary is the maternal grandmother.Cay also learns that Ginger had to quit her job in order to stay home with the young grandchildren because Ginger feared leaving the two youngsters with a baby-sitter or in child care.Two of Ginger's friends were dealing with similar situations and a third friend was considering whether to obtain custody of her grandchild.Thus,Cay learned that Ginger wasn'eeling "alone" in caring for her grandchildren.Using this information alone,it sounds like Professor Cay is doing
A) a case-oriented nomothetic analysis.
B) a case-oriented idiographic analysis.
C) a variable-oriented nomothetic analysis.
D) a variable-oriented idiographic analysis.
E) a cross-case analysis.
Q3) Concept mapping is appropriate for both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 21: Quantitative Data Analysis
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Q1) Given the following age distribution,the mean is 16,31,5,30,4,3,2
A) 2
B) 5
C) 13
D) 30
Q2) A measure of dispersion describes
A) where the data are clustered.
B) which data are the most important.
C) how spread out the data are.
D) the central tendency.
Q3) Your codebook contains codes 1,2,and 9 for the variable "religion." Your data show a single code of 5 in the distribution on religion.You should
A) assume this is a random error and ignore it.
B) do possible-code cleaning.
C) do contingency cleaning.
D) do some data analysis.
E none of the above.
Q4) What is the purpose of data cleaning? How is it done?
Q5) Why do percentages allow us to compare two or more frequency distributions? Give examples.
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Chapter 22: Inferential Data Analysis
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Q1) The number needed to treat calculation bears upon the practical value of the risk ratio
A)True
B)False
Q2) Two-tailed tests of significance should be used whenever there is a non-directional hypothesis.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Explain Type I and Type 11 errors,when they are risked,and what can be done to reduce their risks.
Q4) When two groups are significantly different on a dependent variable at the .05 level of significance,it means that there is a five-percent difference between them.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Mathematics dictates that all tests of statistical significance should use .05 as the significance level.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 23: Inferential Data Analysis
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Q1) An a priori statistical power analysis can be used to determine how large a sample to select.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following statistics can be used to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between three treatment groups in number of days hospitalized?
A) t-test
B) chi-square
C) analysis of variance
D) Pearson's product-moment r
Q3) Define statistical power and explain its utility in planning research as well as in interpreting the implications of findings that are not statistically significant.
Q4) If two correlated variables each have a bivariate correlation of .25 with a third variable,then the multiple correlation of the three variables combined will be .50.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 24: Writing Research Proposals and Reports
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Q1) The way research reports should be written depends on the type of audience for which they are intended.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Very long titles for research reports are better than short titles, because they convey more information about the methods and findings of the report
A)True
B)False
Q3) When writing the Discussion section of a research report, researchers should feel encouraged to editorialize conclusions that might not be warranted by their data.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Readers of a research report need to be provided with sufficient detail to enable them to know precisely what was done so they can replicate the study.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe how qualitative research reports often differ from quantitative ones.
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