Elspeth Slayter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor School of Social Work, Salem State University 1

Check-in & administrative matters Review of key concepts from last week Discussion of readings on the process of evidence-based practice Problem formation Group support on Assignment #1 2

…questions about syllabus, assignments, break time, other announcements? 3

Do you want a review of how to search the library databases? Information for Practice NIMH Publications NYAM Grey Literature report Child welfare information gateway Kaiser Family Foundation 4

Readings from textbook Reading on “NUTS” Other readings Finding a topic for your project

What did you take away from class last week? 6

Early studies of social work practice effectiveness had dire results Key flaw: Evaluation of generalities vs. specifics Understanding “scientific inquiry” and research methods become practice knowledge 7

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Semester follows the process of developing a research proposal Why research? What is the process of evidence-based practice? Problem statement Research questions (hypotheses) Annotated bibliography-literature review Research design Thinking about data analysis Ethical challenges/study limitations Potential study implications 11

Two basic approaches to research? Research and evaluation? Process of evidence-based practice? 12

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Did you happen to notice “ebp” talk in your work or field settings last week after class? 16

Discussion of Pignotti & Thyer article: What is this study about? What is the problem area? What is a NUT? 17

What is the central research question? What was the purpose of this research (per textbook classifications)? Does this article address the PROCESS of evidence- based practice that we discussed last week? What else do we need to know about this topic that isn’t answered by this study? 18

We will be coming back to this article! Don’t expect to “get” everything today Trust the process! 19

Problem area Research question Area of interest Existing knowledge or theory 20

Over-arching research question (umbrella) Specific research questions (points on the umbrella) 21

Problem area Specific aims, hypotheses Research question Area of interest Existing knowledge/ theory Methods 22

Research 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 23

Everything is open to question Publication does not guarantee quality Look for optimized objectivity Don’t rely exclusively on tradition, authority, common sense and the popular media Ex-post-facto hypothesizing - it’s not that simple (page 18) Bandwagon appeal – look for pseudoscience (page 22) 24

Purposes of social work research(not mutually exclusive): Exploration Description Explanation Evaluation Constructing measurement instruments 25

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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? 27