1. SW707 Research for Social Work Practice
Nechama Sammet Moring
Class # 2
Friday June 3, 2016

2. Tonight’s Plan 6-7 Tara Fitzpatrick
7-7:10 Check in re: logistics, policies etc
7:10-7:20 Break
7:20-7:30 How to read a research article (it’s not like reading Harry Potter!)
7:30-7:55 Review of last week: the PROCESS of evidence based practice
7:55-8:10 lecture about problem identification/ generating research questions
8:10-8:25 Group activity about problem generating
8:25-8:35 Assignment 1 review
8:35-9:00 Theory

3. Any questions re: logistics, class policies etc?

4. Assignment sequence:
Agency assessment and identification of research question
Annotated bibliography
Full literature review and evaluation proposal

5. Reading research articles
Slide set blatantly stolen from my friend Candice Belanoff, ScD

6. Anatomy of a research article
Summaries:
Abstract
Keywords
Recipe:
Methods
Ingredients
How we mixed the ingredients
What we already know going in and why we’re doing this:
Introduction/context
Literature review
What existing research and theory says on a topic and how it guided this study
How the wheel was not re-created
What we learned and why we care:
Findings
Discussion
Practice & policy implications
Limitations
Directions for future research

7. What’s in a typical scientific article?
Most peer-reviewed, research articles follow a very predictable orderblueprint
(Abstract)
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
(Conclusion)
aka: “IMRD” (“Imrad”)
If you know what’s in there, you know what to look for and where to find it!

8. “Anatomy” of a typical scientific article? (Hourglass)
Abstract
Introduction
What we know (general to specific)
What we don’t know & why
For this reason, we set out to do X
Methods
Results
Discussion
Recap of key findings
What findings mean
Situating findings into context of other studies
Conclusion/Next steps
“In the Western world, it has become increasingly common to postpone child-bearing.” Haavaldsen, 2010
Big Picture
little
picture
“….we estimated the risk of fetal death according to maternal age at different lengths of gestation….”
little
picture
Big Picture
Source: Visual concept borrowed/adapted from writing coach Donald Halstead, HSPH

9. What’s in a typical scientific article?
Abstract (“nutshell”):
Tells the story in very brief (but you get the gist)
Contains most important (by the author’s account) elements of background, objectives, methods, results, conclusion.

10. What’s in a typical scientific article?
Introduction (aka “background” or sometimes “objectives” or “rationale”):
Gives the reader a sense of the context of the study
why is it so important to answer these questions? In this manner?

11. What’s in a typical research article?
Methods (a.k.a. “materials and methods” or perhaps, “the recipe”):
Reports on
Data used
Study population (who was included in the sample/experiment -- inclusion/exclusion criteria....)
Measures/definitions/treatment of variables
Main outcome variable (dependent);
Main predictor/explanatory variable (independent)
Confounders/Covariates (other factors they adjusted for)
Analyses/analytic software
Sometimes IRB/human subjects approval (research ethics)
Anything else relevant
Theoretically, you should be able to replicate the study….
Ingredients
Instructions

12. What’s in a typical scientific article?
Results (aka “what we found” or “just the facts, ma’am…)
Results should contain “answers” to the study “questions”
“Table 1”: Who was in the study population? What did they look like (demographically, otherwise)
Other tables and figures responding to study questions (What question does each graphic answer?)
In-text description of findings -- highlight most important findings)
Just the facts – no editorializing, ever.

13. What’s in a typical scientific article?
Discussion/Comment
Brief recap of findings
Now they can offer interpretation....
How this study compares to others
Some possible explanations for what they found
Study limitations (reasons these results could be wrong/off)
Study strengths (why robust despite limitations)
Social work/clinical/policy implications (what to do about it)
Future research needed
Conclusion: Final big picture statement
Not always in this exact order, but usually contains most/all
Acknowledging Limitations is a key feature of discussion – if an investigator can’t see the weaknesses in her/his own study, her/his methods may be questionable.

14. What’s in a typical scientific article?
Discussion/Comment
Making sense of a “Jigsaw puzzle”
What the missing piece of the puzzle looks like/means.
What this missing piece tells us about the big picture.
What other missing pieces remain.
The broader area of inquiry is the whole puzzle – this study contributes a piece. The point of science/research is to push the field forward a nudge. Building on what’s been done.

15. Guidance: Questions to ask when reading a study:
What is going on in this study?
What are the built-in assumptions?
Do the conclusions follow from the data?
What are the alternative explanations for the results?
What other information would be helpful in testing all of the explanations?
What would I do differently?

16. Sam break (P is for Pit bulls in Pride Pajamas)

17. Q: Why is reading a journal article NOT like reading Harry Potter?
Answer #1: You should never just start at the beginning and finish at the end.
Answer #2: It’s okay to spoil the ending… in fact, you should! ≠

18. Reading a scientific article
1. Orient yourself
Read the title (what does it tell you?)
Note the authors and affiliations (Big shots? Track record?)
Note the journal
Note the year
Consider what you hope/expect to get from this article (Is the context a “peer review,” “lit review,” answering a very specific question, etc...)

19. Reading a scientific article
2. Get the key points & punchline
Read the abstract first & read it backwards! (conclusion first, then results, then methods and background)
(If this is for a lit review and the article doesn’t fit, move on.)
(Scholarly literature speed dating?)

20. Reading a scientific article
3. Peek at the ending....
Read the first paragraph of the discussion section.
Read the last paragraph of the discussion section (usually the conclusion).
Often, these summarize the findings/conclusions nicely.
These may give you a little more than the abstract did.

21. Reading a research article
4. Go to the pictures
Look at the tables and figures – the answers to the key research question(s) should be in there.
If done well, you should be able to read/interpret a table without reading the text (note to self...)
Good, descriptive title
Well laid out/labeled clearly
Table clearly relates to at least one of the research questions

22. Reading a research article
5. Return to Results (the text)
Read the results in text (this will be easier now)
The authors should highlight key findings
Look for answers to the stated research questions!

23. Reading a scientific article
6. Check the methods and ask yourself….
Did the methods fit the study question?
What was the source of data?
Who was included/excluded from the study?
What were their measures of exposure & outcome? (and were they any good?)
What other variables did they include in analyses/why?
What was the study design?
What analyses did they conduct?

24. Reading a scientific article
7. Go back to the introduction/rationale
What did they set out to do & why?
look for the “so what” factor
What research gaps did they claim to address?
do you agree that these were important?
What were the investigators’ research questions
were they were adequately addressed?

25. Reading a scientific article
8. Now, you’re ready to tackle the discussion
This is where you find out:
What the investigators think these findings really mean (their interpretation – do you agree?)
How these findings have advanced the knowledge in this field (gaps filled).
How these findings might change the way we do policy/clinical practice/programming (implications).
What is left to be done (if you’re looking for ideas...)

26. Thanks, Candice! Thanks, Bea!

27. Review: Three types of “research”
All are types of Research
Looking up references, compiling existing information
Practice evaluation (a.k.a. program evaluation)
Social research that informs social work practice in some way

28. A few thoughts on “EBPs”
Commonly-heard terms:
Evidence-based practices
Best practice/s
Evidence-informed practice
What do these terms really mean?
Know what you are saying!

29. Gambrill “Stuff Pat did” vs. evidence based practice as a process
Owning and admitting uncertainty vs. “authority based” decision making
Evidence/research/science is imperfect and people us it imperfectly
Evidence as a process
Clients must be involved-EBP as a partnership
EBP is not a magic word

30. Review: Evidence-supported practices vs evidence based practice
What Pat did
Evidence supports X individual thing (evidence supported practice)
Evidence based practice as a PROCESS

31. Review: What “EBP” is and is not
Process of evidence-based or informed practice
An evidence-supported intervention for a unique setting/population

32. EBPs in social work

33. Evidence Based Practice as a process
A new way of thinking (or is it?) from medicine
Using best-available evidence (a.k.a. research-based knowledge) about specific practice
with specific problems & populations
SYSTEM for integrating ethics,
evidence and application – and client wishes!
Philosophy and a process!

34. EBPs in social work
**with full disclosure (informed choice), client decision making and respect for client autonomy

35. Witkin & Harrison EBP as a concept taken from medicine
“reconciling” discrete (and often narrow) outcomes studied in EBP with social work’s contextual focus
What is “entered into evidence?”
“But what if practice is viewed as a mutual activity in which what is best (not necessarily effective) is co-generated by clients and practitioners?”

36. Review: qualitative and quantitative
I discover a new form of mold growing under the seats in my car. It’s never been seen before, and we know very little about it and how it affects me and my passengers. Which type of method would be better for studying this development, and why?
Now it’s been a few years and it turns out that a lot of slobs have this mold in their cars. I have a feeling that there is a relationship between trips to the car vacuumy place and mold growth. What type of method would be better for testing this theory, and why?
And what kinds of questions could I answer which each method?

37. Program evaluation: Sam’s intervention to make her people give her more meatballs
Process (formative)
Outcome (summative)
Qualitative:
What does Nechama perceive as cute? Does this vary from what Rosa perceives as cute? (is cute defined consistently?)
Quantitative
How many times per day does Nechama perceive Sam as cute?
Qualitative:
Has the intervention changed Nechama’s feelings about Sam? How has it impacted their relationship?
Quantitative
What is the relationship between number of Sam smiles and number of meatballs received? Has Sam received a higher average number of meatballs per day since the intervention began?
The meatball is the outcome. Perceptions of cuteness is part of the process

38. Both types have similar components
Development of an interest area and research question through conversation, literature review
Identification of a data source
“Operationalization” (defining terms and concepts)
Designing the study and analysis plan
Implementing the data collection process
Data entry and analysis
Synthesis of results
Tonight we are going to talk about developing research questions
Literature review is a conversation with the data

39. Operationalizing “health and well-being”
Have you been to a hospital in the last year? (well no, but does this mean that you didn’t need hospital care, or that your friend did home surgery on you on your kitchen table because you don’t have access to needed health services?)
Do you have a dog? (what’s my bias here? Does everyone share the researcher’s bias that people need dogs to be happy? Is this at all culturally specific?)
How many steps do you take per day? (so wheelchair users are categorically unhealthy?)
Have you ever experienced depression? (what does that mean?)

40. Sam break (with Lou, who loves her wildly)

41. Problem area Research question Existing knowledge or theory
Area of interest
Existing knowledge or theory
Problem area
Research question
Funnel or wine glass? You decide!

42. 2 kinds of research questions
Over-arching research question (umbrella)
Specific research questions (points on the umbrella)

43. Specific aims, hypotheses
Area of interest
Existing knowledge/
theory
Problem area
Research question
Specific aims, hypotheses
Methods

44. Funnel process for research, for process of evidence-based practice
Area of interest
Review existing knowledge/theory
Hone problem area
Develop over-arching research question
Develop specific aims, hypotheses if appropriate
Choose methods to conduct study
Process of evidence-based practice:
Area of interest in social work practice
Review existing knowledge/theory
Consider client, provider, research
Choose intervention approach (may or may not be in literature)
Choose methods to conduct evaluation

45. Overview: Purposes of social work research(not mutually exclusive):
Exploration
Description
Explanation
Evaluation
Constructing measurement instruments

46. Your views on the homework: pair discussion
What is the central research question?
What was the purpose of this research (per textbook classifications)?
Would you have identified the problem differently?
What was the problem? How was it identified?
WHO identified the problem?

47. #Raisedbysocialists In each article, WHO identified the problem?
How does the research question reinforce or challenge existing power relationships?
*keep in mind for next week when we talk about qualitative methods

48. Group Activity: Problem identification

49. Sam break

50. Assignment 1: Purpose
Connect course concepts to your real life experiences
Begin thinking about how evidence is (or isn’t) used in the field/how it is applied to real life
Engage in problem identification and research question development

51. 1. Intro-1/2-1 page
A. Describe your agency-how does it work? Organizational structure (roles, not names) Who funds it? How do clients get referred for services?
B. Populations served (who?)
C. Your role/job (how do you fit into the bigger picture?)

52. 2. Description of services offered(1-3 pages)
A. Units of service delivered (just a list, and don’t bullet point to use up space!)
B. Choose a client or population and unit of service and describe how it is delivered in detail. Do NOT use real names! Note you are not describing how babies are born in general- rather, you are telling me how this particular agency organizes how it “does” births/provides medical monitoring to people giving birth
C. Based on your interview, how did this approach to service delivery develop? Was it based on evidence (in the program’s mind)? If so, what’s the evidence? (Evidence the interviewee gives you, if any, NOT evidence you find later!)
*Maybe we started offering waterbirth at my birth center because we read some studies about how it is safest and cleanest. Maybe we started offering waterbirth because the birth center up the road did and we were losing clients (and $!) to them. Either way is ok-we are interested in how services developed. You should NOT find a bunch of studies about waterbirth

53. Notes on the interview
Interview should be brief and informal, but is mandatory
Make sure interviewee knows this is for your class and will not be shared past me
Do your homework beforehand-do not use their time to ask about information that’s easily accessible on their website
“Tell me about how your approach to X developed?”
“Was X based on any research? If yes, how was this evidence incorporated? And can you please give me the citation?
“Is there anything else I should know about how evidence/research is used in X?”

54. Part 3: Contextual analysis (1/2 page)
What is the social problem/issue being address in the population/client and unit of service delivery? Provide citations.
What is the scope of the problem? Provide citations
i.e. dog adoption services (unit of service) address the problem of not being covered in drool (social issue) among nechamas (population) provide citations showing that drool-lessness is a problem, this problems impacts nechamas etc. Then provide citations showing what percent/how many nechamas are affected

55. Part 4: Your research question for the semester (1 sentence)
What is the best available evidence to support (UNIT OF SERVICE DELIVERY) with (CLIENT/POPULATION)?
Note you are NOT answering this question now, just articulating it

56. Remember: APA Cover page Headers (ie 1A, 1B etc)
Double space everything
Number pages
1” margins
CITE all claims, even if you think they are common knowledge
“personal communication” citations per APA
No direct quotes-not graduate level

57. Theory

58. How was theory used in each of the homework readings?
What theory did each author use?
How did theory impact problem identification?
How did theory inform how the research was done (research design)?

59. Mejia et al Who identified the problem in this study?
How was power shared? (and how does this connect to the guiding theory?)

60. Next week: Overview of qualitative methods Literature reviews Read:
Faulkner & Faulkner chapter 3
Focus on how the literature review is structured, not on understanding everything: Eyrich, K., Pollio, D. and C. North. (2003). An exploration of alienation and replacement theories of social support in homelessness. Social Work Research. Volume 27: Issue 4.
Focus on how the literature review is structured, not on understanding everything: Mejia A.P., Quiroz, O., Morales, Y., Ponce, R., Limon Chavez, G., & Olivera y Torre, E. (2013). From madres to mujeristas: Latinas making change with Photovoice. Action Research, 1-21.