Scientific Inquiry in Social Work
Matthew DeCarlo
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Chapter 1: Introduction to research -- Chapter 2: Beginning a research project -- Chapter 3: Reading and evaluating literature -- Chapter 4: Conducting a literature review -- Chapter 5: Ethics in social work research -- Chapter 6: Linking methods with theory -- Chapter 7: Design and causality -- Chapter 8: Creating and refining a research question -- Chapter 9: Defining and measuring concepts -- Chapter 10: Sampling -- Chapter 11: Survey research -- Chapter 12: Experimental design -- Chapter 13: Interviews and focus groups -- Chapter 14: Unobtrusive research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches -- Chapter 15: Real-world research: Evaluation, single-subjects, and action research -- Chapter 16: Reporting and reading research
As an introductory textbook for social work students studying research methods, this book guides students through the process of creating a research project. Students will learn how to discover a researchable topic that is interesting to them, examine scholarly literature, formulate a proper research question, design a quantitative or qualitative study to answer their question, carry out the design, interpret quantitative or qualitative results, and disseminate their findings to a variety of audiences. Examples are drawn from the author's practice and research experience, as well as topical articles from the literature. There are ancillary materials available for this book.