Course Rationale

The aim of this course is to provide the student with a basic competence in the scientific method of investigation. In order to provide efficient and effective services, social workers must be able to make objective and rational assessments of social problems and determine effective interventions. Additionally, social workers must be able to evaluate the impact of the social interventions they employ. Thus, in addition to understanding how to discover knowledge, students will become critical consumers of research, participants in the research process and interpreters of social work knowledge from different areas of the social work curriculum. Course Description This course is concerned with formulating and carrying out plans for answering research questions. In planning research, attention must be focused on specifying the purpose of research, identifying variables, developing or identifying appropriate instruments for collecting information, and administering the instruments to human subjects under conditions that safeguard the self-determination, confidentiality and physical/psychological integrity of subjects. The present course encompasses the entire range of scientific investigations including descriptive, experimental, and relational research studies. The course content will also include qualitative designs that do not require statistical manipulations. Type of Instruction This course will include a mixture of lecture, class discussion, individual study, and group exercises. Course Learning Objective