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Chapter 1: Introduction to Research
- How do social workers know what to do?
- Science and social work
- Why should we care?
- Understanding research
Chapter 2: Linking Methods with Theory
- Micro, meso, and macro approaches
- Paradigms, theories, and how they shape a researcher’s approach
- Inductive and deductive reasoning
Chapter 3: Ethics in Social Work Research
- Research on humans
- Specific ethical issues to consider
- Ethics at micro, meso, and macro levels
- The practice of science versus the uses of science
Chapter 4: Design and Causality
- Types of research
- Causality
- Unit of analysis and unit of observation
- Mixed methods
Chapter 5: Defining and Measuring Concepts
- Measurement
- Conceptualization
- Levels of measurement
- Operationalization
- Measurement quality
- Challenges in quantitative measurement
- Basic concepts of sampling
- Nonprobability sampling
- Probability sampling
- Critical thinking about samples
- Survey research: What is it and when should it be used?
- Assessing survey research
- Types of surveys
- Designing effective questions and questionnaires
Chapter 8: Experimental Design
- Experimental design: What is it and when should it be used?
- Quasi-experimental and pre-experimental designs
- The logic of experimental design
Chapter 9: Unique Features of Qualitative Research
- Qualitative research: What is it and when should it be used?
- Qualitative interviews
- Issues to consider for all interview types
- Types of qualitative research designs
- Spotlight on UTA School of Social Work
- Analyzing qualitative data
Chapter 10: Unobtrusive Research
- Unobtrusive research: What is it and when should it be used?
- Strengths and weaknesses of unobtrusive research
- Unobtrusive data collected by the researcher
- Secondary data analysis
Chapter 11: Real-World Research
- Evaluation research
- Single-subjects design
- Action research
Chapter 12: Reporting Research
- What to share and why we share
- Disseminating your findings
- The uniqueness of the social work perspective on science