Research Methods in Human Services/ Social Work
Assignment 3: Research Questions & Variables (50 points)
You will identify a research topic, explain your research idea, construct possible research questions (1 or 2 questions), determine which variables you could potentially use for your research paper (you will need to have 1 dependent variable and 3 independent variables), and state your hypotheses. You will have to give your future survey (Assignment 5) to friends or family, so think about what you will be able to ask them and what information they will be able to provide. We will not survey or interview vulnerable populations (anyone under 18, prisoners, etc.). It is okay if your idea is still a work-in-progress!
Assignment 4: Literature Review (50 points)
You will use the school libraries search option to find “peer-reviewed” academic journal articles related to your research interests. You will then review the literature, summarizing the research you found in your own words (using at least 8 peer-reviewed academic journal articles as sources and citing them in the text). After your review of the literature, within the last couple paragraphs of your paper, discuss gaps in the literature that your research question may be able to answer and comment on which theories or ideas in the literature might be useful for your research. Decide if you will keep the same variables you identified in Assignment 3 or make changes as necessary. State all 4 of your variables, your main research question, and hypotheses again at the end of the paper. Your literature review should be 4 pages, double-spaced. You should have an additional reference page citing all 8 articles (making the paper 5 pages total).
Assignment 5: Questionnaire Creation (50 points)
You will create a survey that will allow you to measure the variables of interest to you. You will need to have at least 5 closed-ended questions in your survey (you will ask open-ended questions later in assignment 8). These questions will tap into your variables (1 dependent and 3 independent). Many of you will have 1 key independent variable that you are most interested in examining. The other two independent variables may be secondary. You will have to give your survey to friends, family, or other students, so think about what you will be able to ask them, and what information they will be able to provide! Re-state your main research question and all variables on a separate page at the end of your questionnaire.
Assignment 6: Observations (50 points)
You will conduct ethnographic observations in a public place for at least one hour (it may or may not be relevant to your research interests but will be helpful if it is somewhat related so that you can write about it in your final research paper). Be sure to take notes while you are there. You will then write a 3-page (double-spaced) report describing what you observed (using your notes). This document will be very factual about what you saw and will include no opinions. However, you may briefly reflect on what you are doing, along with how you are feeling and what you are thinking while you are out in the field.
Assignment 7: Survey Results (50 points)
Administer your survey to at least 10 respondents. You may have family or friends take your survey. You will report your results by putting the coded data into an excel spread sheet. Begin examining the data for any patterns or possible associations. For your final research paper, you will be analyzing and interpreting this data so that you can report your results more completely through writing about what you found (including tables, charts, etc.). However, at this point, you are only expected to report the raw data for this assignment by submitting your excel spreadsheet.
Assignment 8: Qualitative Interview Themes (50 points)
You will create an interview schedule, consisting of at least 5 open-ended questions (potentially based on your observations from assignment 5–if related). You will use this interview schedule to conduct face to face (or phone) interviews. These questions will be related to your main research topic and might overlap a bit with your survey questions. However, there should be some differences. These questions will be formatted in an open-ended fashion to more deeply tap into the variables you are measuring. You will interview 5 people (family or friends) using the interview schedule you created. Take notes during your interviews to capture the main ideas coming across from your interviewees. Develop qualitative themes and then report them in a 3-page (double-spaced) paper, using quotes or paraphrasing your interviewees’ comments to support your themes. Include your interview questions in the paper and use first names/pseudonyms for those individuals that you interviewed.
Assignment 9: Final Research Project (250 points)
This assignment is a research project that will report your quantitative and qualitative data. You will use some of the work you have already completed in your other assignments to create a final research paper. In addition, you will add new elements to your paper by revising your literature review and creating a methods and results section to elaborate upon your research and your qualitative and quantitative findings. You will write a final report that follows APA guidelines: (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general _format.html)
It will include all of the following sections: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review (using at least 8 sources), Methods (how you collected your data), Results (Quantitative and Qualitative), Conclusion, Limitations, Future Directions, and References. You do not need to include footnotes/endnotes. I suggest looking at the format of some of the academic journal articles you have read to mirror what they have done. You will use in-text citations to reference the academic literature you have in your review.
You are required to state your research questions, hypotheses, define your variables and how you measured them, analyze and interpret your quantitative and qualitative data appropriate to answering the question, and write your results in a manner that is easy to understand (even for someone who is not a social scientist)! Use chapters 20 and 21 as a reference guide for reporting your quantitative and qualitative results.
