Group Research Designs

Discussion 1: Group Research Designs

 

According to Yegidis (2012, p. 120), a research design is “a plan to attempt to find answers to the researcher’s questions and/or to test any hypotheses that were formulated.” There are several different types of research designs. Each design is intended to respond to a particular type of research question. The type of research design depends on the type of research questions asked. For this Discussion, select one of the articles from the reading list and consider several classifications of group research designs.

 

Post your response to the following: Describe which groups are compared in the research. Then, classify the research design as follows:

1.    By explaining whether the study is pre-experimental (cross-sectional, one-shot case study, and longitudinal), experimental (control group with pretest and posttest, posttest only, or four-group design), or quasi-experimental (comparing one group to itself at different times or comparing two different groups)

 

2.    By indicating what the researchers report about limitations of the study

 

3.    By explaining concerns you have regarding internal validity and the ability of the study to draw conclusions about causality

 

4.    By explaining any concerns you have about the generalizability of the study (external validity) and what aspect of the research design might limit generalizability

 

Please use the resources to support your answer.

 

Yegidis, B. L., Weinbach, R. W., & Myers, L. L. (2012). Research methods for social workers (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon.

 

 

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.

 

 

Discussion 2: Pretests/Posttests and Attrition

 

This week’s video introduces you to the Hernandez family. Juan and Elena Hernandez are mandated to attend parenting classes. As part of the parenting classes, they are required to participate in both a pretest (taken before classes begin) and a posttest (taken after classes end). Pretests and posttests can yield very useful information. They can measure the learning that has or has not taken place as a result of the education being provided. For this Discussion, imagine what kinds of questions would be on a pretest and posttest for this particular study sample (the parents who are taking parenting classes).

 

Post your explanation of what you think the social workers wanted to know when they designed the pre/posttest for evaluating the parenting classes.  Be sure to address the concept of attrition and whether or not you believe they took that into account. Be sure to explain why. Then, analyze potential lessons learned from attrition. Finally, explain how you might design a study to gather data about the effectiveness of these parenting classes. Use the following questions to focus your thinking:

o   Would you recommend a pre-experimental, experimental, or quasi-experimental design?

 

o   Would the study involve measurement over time?

 

o   Would there be a control group?

 

o   In this group research design you imagine, what or who will be compared?

 

o   What limitations in terms of generalizability and internal validity can you anticipate based on the research plan you envision?

 

o   What can you tell the social worker about the issue of client drop out (also called attrition or experimental mortality)?

 

o   If there is no control group, what type of research design could answer the question: Is this parent training class effective in reducing abusive parenting practices?

 

Please use the resources to support your answer.

 

References

 

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). [Video file]. In Sessions. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

 

Yegidis, B. L., Weinbach, R. W., & Myers, L. L. (2012). Research methods for social workers (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon

 

 

 

 

Discussion 3: Blog

 

Refer to the topics covered in this week’s resources and incorporate them into your blog.

 

Post a blog post that includes:

 

·      An explanation of the policy context in your field education experience (internship is at a military mental health clinic)

 

Be sure to support your blog posts with specific references to this week’s resources and provide full APA citations for your references.

 

References

 

Garthwait, C. (2012). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

 

 

Libal, K., Mapp, S. C., Ihrig, E., & Ron, A. (2011). The United Nations convention on the rights of the child: Children can wait no longer for their rights. Social Work, 56(4), 367–370.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

 

Group Research Designs

Group Research Designs