Research and Statistics for Social Workers

Tom Lawson, Anna Faul, A.N. Verbist

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781138191020
• eBook ISBN: 9781317277170
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Work
• Index: Social Sciences

Using real social work examples written specifically to ally student fears Research and Statistics for Social Workers brings research and statistics together bridging the gap to practice. This book covers - conceptualization, ethics, cultural competence, design, qualitative research, individual and program evaluation as well as nonparametric and parametric statistical tests. The tests are explained narratively, mathematically as well as with a comprehensive step-by-step, fully illustrated SPSS computer analysis of social work data.

Section 1

Foundations of Research

Chapter 1

Introduction—Fear, Rules, Light Bulbs

The main function of this book is to assist students in learning how to get answers to questions that are important to the practice of social work. This may sound simplistic but it is not an easy task to get sound and usable answers to the important questions that social workers pose. It is our hope that this book will provide knowledge, methods and techniques that will assist you in obtaining those sound and usable answers to critical questions facing you as a social worker and those facing our profession.

In developing this book we assumed that (1) you want answers, (2) you might have zero knowledge and/or skills to obtain those answers and (3) (most likely the biggest assumption of all) you may have a mortal fear of research and statistics. We also assume there is one question you always ask when there is something that can improve your social work knowledge and skills—“How do I do it?” Throughout your journey using this book, you will see that it is a step-by-step, logical process of “How can I get answers to important questions for my practice and profession, and how can I get over my fear and become a better-informed social worker?”

Other research textbooks for social work have tried to explain the process of research by categorizing designs utilizing terms like descriptive, exploratory or experimental research, discussing in-depth how to collect data and how to read reports but typically not addressing statistics at all. It is our belief from teaching this material for many years that using a different approach fosters in students a greater interest, even enthusiasm, and more importantly, a much better understanding of the concepts and greater ability to use research and statistics as professional social workers. Furthermore, we also know that understanding how to do it as well as the ability to do it makes better practitioners who, in turn, provide much better services to those in need.

You will see as you continue through the chapters that the question(s) you pose, the amount of knowledge you have about the area, how you measure things to answer the question, and the importance of gathering clean, reliable and valid information become critically important to get the best possible answer to your question. These topics are presented in such a way that you will be able to understand and utilize appropriate methods and skills to obtain the answer. We know that many of you might not conduct a study yourself, but most of you in the future as a practicing social worker will be involved in a study. Even if you are not involved directly in getting the answer to a social work question, it is important for you to be able to accurately access the answer someone else provides.

Rule 1: Don’t Immediately Assume You Can’t Do This

Learning research and statistics is much like learning a language. As social workers you have already learned or started to learn many new languages—the language of social work, the language of mental health, the language of oppression. Now, it is important that you learn the language of research. You will first learn a few words that you are not able to put into a sentence, and, at this point, a paragraph would be out of the question. But slowly words are learned and simple sentences can be constructed; even if the grammar and pronunciation or gender is not absolutely correct, you will be able to converse. Give yourself time. Remember as a social worker you would not expect a client to be able to do something immediately—give yourself the same consideration.

Rule 2: Trust Us—We Know That It Is Not Something You Will Be Able to Do Overnight

Remember the light bulb! The light bulb will go on for you as a flicker and go off for a while. It will continue to go on again and off again. This is normal! It will take a while for the bulb to remain on for longer periods of time and even for those of us who have taught this for years—yes—our light bulbs can also go on and off.

Rule 3: Just Keep Putting Energy Into That Light Bulb

As an overview of how the book is organized we will take just a few pages to orient you to the process of how to obtain answers through the research and statistical process. If you start with a very basic question, have minimal knowledge to answer that question and there is no literature to provide a good answer, the question is likely to be, “Does it exist and if so how much is there?” An example of this type of question might be: “What reasons do clients give for not getting to their appointment in my agency?” If there is no data already collected by your agency (“literature”) that can give you the answer, then this becomes an important unanswered question for you and your agency; important because you need to know what hampers clients from getting to the agency to receive much-needed services. The answer to this question is one that can be obtained by designing a small research study, gathering and then analyzing data. However, if there is data already collected by the agency and the information is available, then you do not need to do research to get the answer; simply refer to the answer already provided. The research process is one that is ever evolving from the basic to the more complex. The same is true of the process of learning research and statistics. The key to research and the key to your understanding of research and statistics is to maintain energy, to press on, and to always keep putting energy into the light bulb.

Rule 4: Do Not Create a Study and Collect Data Before Determining If the Answer Is Available in the Literature

For a social worker, it is important to conduct research on unanswered questions that impact the well-being of individuals, families, groups, communities and the world. Whether the question is a very basic one of trying to determine if something exists or a more complex question of determining the cause of a problem or the effectiveness of an intervention, there is no difference in importance. Value should be placed on the need for an answer that is accurate and not on being a question of causation involving complicated and high-level statistical computations. The assessment of the value of research should be based upon the lack of an answer and the ability to utilize the answer. Answering the question, “Does it exist and, if so, how much?” does not constitute poor or low-level research. Many years ago, documenting the existence and prevalence of domestic violence certainly was highly valued and important research and was influential in shaping our profession’s programs. The initial research on HIV/AIDS focused on documenting the incidence and not on a cure. These two examples demonstrate that the importance and value of research is related to the ability of that research to provide a good answer to an important and unanswered question and not that it is a highly sophisticated causal design. Clearly, if the question of existence and amount has been answered, then it would not be of benefit to do this study again. Rather, research should move on to determining the conditions under which domestic violence or HIV/AIDS occurs as the next question to be answered and would be the appropriate level and sequence of research. Some insist that there is a hierarchy of good and bad, more important or less important research, depending upon the type of question or the level of statistical knowledge required to answer a question. Such thinking is elitist and stifles research into new and uncharted areas that are so critical to social work practice. From finding out the availability of drinkable water in a refugee camp to determining the success of a new and totally different intervention for single mothers in poverty, if that question has not been answered, then it is important and one for social work research to answer.

Rule 5: Use the eResources: They Are Your Learning Friend and Guide

The special Chart of Statistical Tests has been designed to help you to select the appropriate test given in the number of samples and the level of measurement. It is an invaluable and easy-to-use tool. The set of problem exercises gives you the opportunity to practice your abilities. These exercises like those in the book have the answers provided. The eResources has been specifically constructed for social work students like yourself to “ease the pain and improve the gain”. USE IT!

In this book you will also learn about and be able to calculate statistics. You will learn a lot more about it throughout this book and, again, remember Rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. There are many different statistics and different ones are used with different types of research designs; you will learn that both the research design and statistics are combined to provide the answer to the question. Indeed, everything in research is driven by the question, with the research design and statistical analysis being specifically selected to provide the best possible answer.

So, if one looks at the types of research questions, the most basic would be, “Does it exist and, if so, how much exists?” The next level would be the question, “Is there a difference?” For example, “Is there a difference in the number of African Americans and Caucasians living in a particular county since the last census?” You can see this question compares two groups over time to determine the amount of change or difference. After obtaining the answer to that question, you might then move on to a question that would try to find what this difference might be attributed to. Can you find a relationship between something else and the change in the percent of African Americans living in the county? The answer to these questions can be very useful in your practice of social work and would provide direction to the delivery of better services to clients and the community. If a change has occurred—a difference in the percent of Caucasians and African Americans in a given county between the 2000 census and the 2010 census—then we would pose the question, “To what can we attribute this change?” We are now looking at relationships between certain variables (predictor/causal/independent variables) and the change in the number of African Americans in the county (predicted/outcome/de...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Section 1: Foundations of Research
• Section 2: Finding Differences
• Section 3: Finding Relationships and Making Predictions
• Glossary
• References and Additional Reading
• Index