SOCIAL WORK

RESEARCH
Preparatory Session for
Licensure Examinations in
Social Work
 2

SUBJECT TOPICS/ OUTCOMES NO. OF

ITEMS
III. SOCIAL 1.Concepts, Principles, and Ethics of Research
WORK and its importance in Social Work.
RESEARCH I
2. The Research Process 8
3. Common Research designs
(Identify an appropriate research design
for a particular research problem)
SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (SWPPS) 3

SUBJECT TOPICS/ OUTCOMES NO. OF

ITEMS
IV. SOCIAL WORK 1.A.Statistics and Social Work; different importance, uses and
functions
STATISTICS
1.B. Show a good interest, and appreciation of statistical 8
knowledge and understanding through extracting salient data
from tabular and geographical presentations

2. Statistical models, Purpose and Ways; Population, Sampling

Methods, and Sample Distribution in Social Work

3. Hypothesis testing, ANOVA, Chi-Square, and Testing the

Significance in Social Work Researches ( T-test,
Correlation/Pearson r, Regression and etc.)
Presentation title 4

RESEARCH
• A way of thinking: a habit of questioning what you do a
systematic examination to find answeres
• search for knowledge via systematic investigation
• investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery
and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or
laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of
such new or revised theories or laws
 Lundberg(1946)
RESEARCH Scientific method consists of three steps:
(1) Systematic Observation,
IS A (2) Classification
SCIENTIFIC (3) Interpretation of Data.
METHOD Through these steps, scientific method brings
verifiability and validity of conclusions.
Presentation title 6

SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH

SW Research is the application of
research methods to the production
of knowledge that social workers
need to solve problems they confront
in the practice of social work
Presentation title 7

EXAMPLE OF APPLICATION OF RESEARCH IN SW

A social caseworker is interested in assessing the nature and extent of the problem of her

Casework
client who has been facing marital maladjustment. She may be interested in obtaining
information about the actual or potential effectiveness of the client. She may also be
keen to know to what extent the intervention would be effective

A group worker wishes to assess the extent to which the technique of role play is
Groupwork more or less effective than group discussion in increasing knowledge of drug
abuse among school going children

Community Organizing
A community organiser wants to know the views of the community before he
takes a decision to change the programme/objectives.

Administration
A social work administrator is concerned about effectiveness of implementation of
new programme launched
EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE IN SW: THE TREND
FOR RESEARCH ORIENTED PRACTICE
 BASIC ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH
CONCEPT VARIABLES HYPOTHESIS

A concept is an abstraction A variable is an empirical property proposition or tentative solutions

representing an object, a property that takes two or more values or answers of research questions
of an object, or a phenomenon = Independent/dependent variable which are yet to be tested
= Null /alternative hypothesis
Presentation title 10

RESEARCH AS SCIENCE
The aim of scientific research is to establish facts.

The classical model of scientific inquiry that forms of approximate and exact
reasoning in a threefold scheme (Aristotle) :
• Abductive reasoning
• Deductive reasoning
• Induction (inductive reasoning)
 TYPES OF
REASONING
Reasoning is the process
of using existing
knowledge to draw
conclusions, make
predictions, or construct
explanations. Three
methods of reasoning are
the deductive, inductive,
and abductive
approaches

Empirical
•research has been
conducted following
rigorous scientific methods
and procedures. Each step
in the research has been
tested for accuracy and is
based on real life
experiences.
Generalizability
•research has been conducted
following rigorous scientific
methods and procedures. Each
step in the research has been
tested for accuracy and is based
on real life experiences.
Credibility
•comes with the use of the
best source of information
and best procedures in
research
Controlled
•strength with which we
can make research
conclusions, assumptions
or propositions true or
false
Reliability
•measure of repeatability
or replicability
Characteristics
Validity
of Research
•strength with which we
can make research
conclusions, assumptions
or propositions true or
false
Systematic
•strength with which we can
make research conclusions,
assumptions or
propositions true or false
 TYPES OF RESEARCH 13

Application:
• Pure (‘blue sky’) research : academic research
• Applied research
Objectives:
• Descriptive: descibes the research object systematically
• Correlational: discovers
relationship/association/interdependence between research
objects or factors
• Explanatory: explaines the relationship between variables
• Exploratory: explores a research field that is undiscovered. If it
succeeds, other types of research could follow.
Inquiry mode
• Qualitative: unstructured, flexible process, more able to explore
or explain
• Quantitative: structured, strict process, more able to measure,
quantify, compare and describe
THE RESEARCH
PARADIGM
9/3/20XX
Presentation Title 15

REMEMBER:
Ontology: How you, the researcher, view the world and the assumptions that
you make about the nature of the world and of reality
Epistemology: The assumptions that you make about the best way of
investigating the world and about reality
9/3/20XX

FOUR MAIN SCHOOLS OF ONTOLOGY

Presentation Title 16

(HOW WE CONSTRUCT REALITY)

Ontology Realism Internal Realism Relativism Nominalism

Scientific laws are

The world is ‘real’, and science
Summary proceeds by examining and
observing it
The world is real, but it is Reality is entirely created
basically created by
almost impossible to by people, and there is no
people to fit their view of
examine it directly external ‘truth’
reality

Truth There is a single truth Truth exists, but is obscure There are many truths There is no truth

Facts exist, and can be revealed Facts are concrete, but Facts depend on the Facts are all human
Facts
through experiments cannot always be revealed viewpoint of the observer creations
Presentation Title 17

Epistemology
i.e. the way in which you choose to investigate the world

Two main schools are positivism and social constructionism:

Positivists believe that the best way to investigate the world is through objective methods, such as
observations. Positivism fits within a realist ontology.

Social constructionists believe that reality does not exist by itself. Instead, it is constructed and
given meaning by people. Their focus is therefore on feelings, beliefs and thoughts, and how people
communicate these. Social constructionism fits better with a relativist ontology.

9/3/20XX
Presentation Title 18

In summary:
Epistemology and ontology will have implications for your methodology

a. Realists tend to have positivist approach

→ tend to gather quantitative sources of data
b. Relativists tend to have a social constructionist approach
→ tend to gather qualitative sources of data

Remember these are not absolutes! People tend to work on a continuum → role for mixed methods
and approaches. Also consider the role of the researcher*: internal/external; involved or detached?

9/3/20XX
THE RESEARCH
PROCESS
Presentation title 20
Presentation title 21

PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

I. INTRODUCTION
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
III. METHODOLOGY
IV. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Presentation title 22

METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH

DESIGN

• In general, a research design is like a blueprint for the research.

• Research Methodology concerns how the design is implemented, how
the research is carried out.
 23

“ A RESEARCH DESIGN IS A SYSTEMATIC

APPROACH THAT A RESEARCHER USES TO
CONDUCT A SCIENTIFIC STUDY. IT IS THE
OVERALL SYNCHRONIZATION OF IDENTIFIED
COMPONENTS AND DATA RESULTING IN A
PLAUSIBLE OUTCOME.
 24

Reliability
Different types of research are conducted regularly. In such research,
the researcher expects the research design to formulate questions
that evoke similar results every time. And a good research design is
reliable to satiate the researcher’s needs to generate the same results
every time.
• Validity
There are many ways to measure the results of research. However,
with the help of a good research design, a researcher can select the
right measuring tools that help in gauging the research results and
CHARACTERISTICS
align them with the research objectives to measure its success or
failure. Therefore, the research design’s measuring tools must be valid
and reliable enough to generate favourable results.
OF GOOD
• Generalized
A good research design draws an outcome that can be applied to a RESEARCH DESIGN
large set of people and is not limited to sample size or the research
group. The more applicable the research results are, the more the
chances of it being accurate. Therefore, a good research design helps
prove the research’s relevance and accuracy.
• Neutrality
At the start of every research, a researcher needs to make some
assumptions that will be tested throughout the research. A proper
research design ensures that the assumptions are free of bias and
neutral. Furthermore, the data collected throughout the research is
based on the assumptions made at the beginning of the research.
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DESCRIPTIVE

COMMON EXPERIMENTAL
TYPE OF RESEARCH

RESEARCH CORRELATIONAL
DESIGN RESEARCH

EXPLANATORY RESEARCH
 26

DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN
In studies where the researcher is interested in describing a case, situation,
or phenomenon, they are acting under a descriptive research design. As a
theory-based design, it is interested in answering the how, what, when, and
where questions, instead of the why. Descriptive research directs the
researcher to understand the research problem before investigating why it
even happens in the first place.
 27

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Using an experiment, the research attempts to establish a cause-and-effect
relationship in a situation or phenomenon. It is a causal research design
type where the researcher tries to observe the impact of a variable on a
dependent one. In doing so, the researcher attempts to determine or predict
what may occur based on experimental models (Anastas, 1999).
 CORRELATIONAL
28

DESIGN
Like experimental research, correlational research aims to
establish a relationship between two variables. The difference is
that while experimental research tries to monitor changes
between variables (causal), correlational research tries to look for
associations and similarities between them (Sassower, 2017).

As a non-experimental technique, it instead relies on evaluating

the relationship between these variables using statistical analysis.
Ex. Pearson’s correlation coefficient
 29

EXPLANATORY DESIGN
explanatory research aims to explain the researcher’s
findings and ideas to expand the theory. Using this
research design, the researchers explore the limits and
boundaries of a subject in order to present the reader
with the results that answer the what, how, and why of
the research’s central thesis.
 30

“ A RESEARCH METHODS ARE THE STRATEGIES,

PROCESSES OR TECHNIQUES UTILIZED IN THE
COLLECTION OF DATA OR EVIDENCE FOR ANALYSIS
IN ORDER TO UNCOVER NEW INFORMATION OR
CREATE BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF A TOPIC.
Presentation title
RESEARCH METHODS
QUALITATIVE
gathers data about lived experiences,
emotions or behaviours, and the
meanings individuals attach to them. It
assists in enabling researchers to gain
a better understanding of complex
concepts, social interactions or cultural
phenomena. This type of research is
useful in the exploration of how or why
things have occurred, interpreting
events and describing actions.
QUANTITATIVE
gathers numerical data which can be
ranked, measured or categorised
through statistical analysis. It assists
with uncovering patterns or
relationships, and for making
generalisations. This type of research is
useful for finding out how many, how
much, how often, or to what extent.
31
MIXED METHOD
integrates both
Qualitative and Quantitative
Research. It provides a holistic
approach combining and
analysing the statistical data with
deeper contextualised insights.
Using Mixed Methods also
enables Triangulation, or
verification, of the data from two
or more sources.
 32

Types Of Qualitative Studies

Grounded
Phenomenology Ethnography
Theory

Narrative Case Study

 34

DATA
COLLECTION
TOOLS
THE RESEARCH
ETHICS
Presentation title 36
Presentation title 37
Presentation title 38
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AREAS OF
FOCUS IN
RESEARCH
ETHICS
SOCIAL WORK
STATISTICS
STATISTICS
deals with the collection, coding, tabulating, classification, description and
interpretation of data obtained by conducting surveys and experiments. Its
essential purpose is to describe and draw inferences about numerical properties of
populations
STATISTICS
• the method of learning from data, and it aids you in
gathering and displaying your results.
• The acquisition of new information allows you to
observe and apply your findings to an experiment on
which you're working.
• Statistics can help you understand a specific subject,
predict future behavior and make effective decisions.
You can also use statistics to measure the impact of
strategic plans you've implemented.
 DESCRIPTIVE
STATISTICS
• Descriptive statistics is a type of statistics that aims to make
observations about a data set.
• You might use this approach to understand how your data points
relate to each other.
• Descriptive statistics can also be beneficial when you want to
summarize data with others in easily understandable ways.
• Descriptive statistics uses tools like charts and graphs to
communicate observations about data.
Presentation title 44

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

CENTRAL TENDENCY DISPERSION DISTRIBUTION

Figures that indicate the
statistical centers of your data,
such as the mean, median and
mode
Figures that represent the
severance of data points from
the center of your graph, such as
the skewness, standard
deviation and range
.
Figures that define how
often certain values or
data points repeat within a
data set
Presentation title 45

COMMON TYPES OF
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

MEASURES OF FREQUENCY MEASURES OF CENTRAL MEASURES OF DISPERSION

are statistical measurements
that professionals use to
summarize the values in a data
set and make them easier to
understand. You can represent
measures of frequency in a
table, graph or chart.
TENDENCY
statistical measurements that use a
single value to represent the middle
of a set of data. The core concept of
measures of central tendency is that
there is a single value that can best
summarize an entire set of data. This
value is somehow centrally related to
the overall set of data. There are
three measures of central tendency:
mean, median and mode
OR VARIATION
commonly referred to as
measures of spread, are
statistical measurements for
representing variability in a data
set. There are three measures of
dispersion or variation: range,
standard variation, variance
Presentation title
CENTRAL TENDENCY
MEAN
• "the average”
• is a type of measure of central
tendency professionals use most
often.
• They calculate it by finding the
sum of all the numbers in a data
set and dividing the sum by the
total amount of numbers.
MEDIAN
• The median is the value in the
middle of a data set.
• You calculate the median by
organizing all the numbers in a
data set in ascending order, then
finding the number that falls in
the middle.
• For odd data sets, the median is
the single number that falls in
the middle of the data set.
• For an even data set, the median
is the average of the two
numbers that falls in the middle
of the data set.
46
MODE
• The mode of a data set is the
value that has the highest
frequency of occurrence.
• You calculate it by grouping all
matching values together, then
finding the group that has the
most amounts of values in it.
• Note that it is possible for a data
set not to have a mode if no two
values in the data set are the
same.
Presentation title
DISPERSION/VARIATION
RANGE
• Range is a descriptive statistics
measurement that statisticians,
analysts and mathematicians use
to find the difference between
the highest and lowest value in a
data set.
• The range helps you understand
how varied the numbers are
within a given set. To calculate
the range, you simply subtract
the lowest value in a data set
from the highest value in the
same data set.
• Range = highest value - lowest
value
STANDARD DEVIATION
• is a statistical measurement of
the amount of dispersion or
variance between the mean of
a set of data and each
individual value in the set of
data.
• A low standard deviation
indicates that the values in the
data set tend to be close to
the data set's mean, while a
higher standard deviation
indicates that the values in the
data set vary across a wider
range.
47
VARIANCE
• Variance is a statistical
measurement of the average
distance between each value
and the mean.
You calculate variance by
•
finding the square of the
standard deviation. The
formula for variance is:
• Variance = (standard
deviation)₂
 INFERENTIAL
STATISTICS
• type of statistics that takes data from a sample group and uses it to
predict a large population.
• You can use random sampling to evaluate how different variables can
lead to other predictions, which might help you predict future events
or understand a large population.
• To get an accurate analysis, it's crucial to identify the population
you're measuring, develop a representative sample for that population
and incorporate analysis to find a sampling error.
Presentation title
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Hypothesis testing is a process in
which you repeat your research
multiple times to gain a clearer result
with different samples. It can help
you determine the accuracy of a
hypothesis you might make about
the population you're measuring. It
can also conclude if populations vary
or if you gained a result through an
anomaly.
CONFIDENCE INTERVAL
Confidence intervals reveal the
margin of error in your research and
denote if it affects your hypothesis.
This can be beneficial if you're
studying a large population. It may
be more efficient to determine the
confidence interval than to seek
exact measurements for each data
point. Most people communicate the
confidence interval as a percentage.
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REGRESSION ANALYSIS
Regression analysis is a tool you can
use to investigate the association
between an experiment's
independent and dependent
variables. You can perform a
regression analysis after you know
the hypothesis test results to help
you better understand what
circumstances contribute to different
results
Presentation title 50

HYPOTHESIS TESTING

NULL HYPOTHESIS ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL

A null hypothesis attempts to An alternative hypothesis is the is the probability of
show that there isn't any opposite of the null hypothesis;
variation between variables, or
rejecting the null
it states that there is a difference
that a single variable isn't any between the two variables. hypothesis when it is true.
different than its mean. It's a Often, researchers are The significance level is
statement of no effect between interested in proving the commonly set at 0.05.
two or more factors or groups. If alternative hypothesis.
conducting research studies,
researchers are usually
interested in disproving the null
hypothesis.
Presentation title 51

DIFFERENCES
DESCRIPTIVE INFERENTIAL

PURPOSE Describe data Predict from data

,summarizes findings ,expand understanding
of large population
LEVEL OF Measures the group and Accounts for sampling
CERTAINTY ignore variables; errors; provides data
provides definitive backed hypothesis with
calculations some margin of error
RESULTS Numerical figures; uses Results in probabilities,
graphs, tables and uses percentage
charts
SAMPLING
 COMMON TERMS

An element is an object on which a measurement is

taken.

A population is a collection of elements about

which we wish to make an inference.

Sampling units are nonoverlapping collections of

elements from the population that cover the entire
population.
 COMMON TERMS
A sampling frame is a list of sampling units.

A sample is a collection of sampling units

drawn from a sampling frame.

Parameter: numerical characteristic of a

population

Statistic: numerical characteristic of a sample

SAMPLING: PROBABILITY VS
NON-PROBABILITY
Probability Samples: each member of the population
has a known non-zero probability of being selected
• Methods include random sampling, systematic sampling,
and stratified sampling.

Nonprobability Samples: members are selected from

the population in some nonrandom manner
• Methods include convenience sampling, judgment
sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling
 SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING 56

• Simple random sampling gathers a random selection from the entire population,
where each unit has an equal chance of selection

SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
draws a random sample from the target population by selecting units at regular
intervals starting from a random point.To start your systematic sample, you first

PROBABILITY need to divide your sampling frame into a number of segments, called intervals

SAMPLING STRATIFIED SAMPLING

• collects a random selection of a sample from within certain strata, or subgroups
within the population. Each subgroup is separated from the others on the basis of a
common characteristic, such as gender, race, or religion

CLUSTER SAMPLING
• process of dividing the target population into groups, called clusters. A randomly
selected subsection of these groups then forms your sample. Cluster sampling is an
efficient approach when you want to study large, geographically dispersed
populations.
 CONVENIENCE SAMPLING (haphazard, grab, 57

opportunity, or accidental sampling)

• where you choose participants for a sample, based on their convenience and
availability.

QUOTA SAMPLING (dimension)

• similar to stratified sampling. In this method, the population is split into
segments (strata) and you have to fill a quota based on people who match the

NON- characteristics of each stratum.

PROBABILITY SNOWBALL SAMPLING (referral, respondent driven)

SAMPLING • mimics a pyramid system in its selection pattern. You choose early sample participants, who then
go on to recruit further sample participants until the sample size has been reached.
• This ongoing pattern can be perfectly described by a snowball rolling downhill: increasing in size
as it collects more snow (in this case, participants).

PURPOSIVE SAMPLING (judgemental, selective, subjective)

• you make a conscious decision on what the sample needs to include and choose participants
accordingly.
• You must validate whether a prospective sample member fits the criteria you’re after, though if
this is confirmed, the participant can be added to the sample.