+ Culturally grounded evaluation & research

+ Evaluation & research: the same or different? Evaluation and research are related but are not the same. Research is broader than evaluation. Evaluation identifies gaps and through research and innovation those gaps are addressed. Once new interventions are tested and researched through appropriate randomized trials, they are implemented and evaluated in real settings.

+ Outcome assessment and accountability Phrases such as “outcome-based,” “evidence- based” and” best practices” have become part of the social worker lexicon. Accountability movement and cost analysis As professionals we are increasingly called upon by government funding agencies, social service administrators, private foundations, and consumers to demonstrate that our interventions are achieving their desired outcomes in a cost effective manner.

+ Evidence-Based Interventions Our communities deserve the best available science EBP is the “conscientious” and “judicious” application of the best research available in practice EBP requires the integration of evidence and scientific methods with practice wisdom, the worldview of the practitioner, and the client’s perspectives and values However, the inclusion of the clinician’s judgment and the client’s history potentially muddles the scientific merit There is a tension between fidelity and fit

+ Culturally grounded RESEARCH & evaluation Assess the appropriateness of the methods and practices being utilized, not just the outcomes. This is how we can assure that innovation occurs, that interventions are designed utilizing the best existing science, and that services achieve the intended outcomes in a culturally relevant manner. In today’s increasingly multicultural world researchers and evaluators are expected to be culturally competent. The challenge for evaluators is to work effectively in culturally diverse settings in such a way that trust is maintained and partnerships are long lasting.

+ What are we measuring? The results of the intervention or how we have addressed the client’s presenting problem? The outcome of our professional behavior or what we did to change the nature of the problem.?

+ Assessing effectiveness Effectiveness can be an elusive concept because interventions and practices may not be culturally grounded or appropriate. Resources play an important role in developing, researching and implementing culturally relevant services. What does one do when the evaluation concludes that a standard intervention is not effectively reaching cultural minority consumers?

+ characteristics Well designed evaluation is client-centered, confidential, and targets specific issues and questions. Evaluation contributes to decision-making in which continued funding is very important and is based on a careful assessment of past performance within a social and cultural context. When the cultural characteristics are ignored, the wrong assessments can lead to the wrong practice or policy recommendations. Because the findings of evaluations can be manipulated by program’s supporters as well as opponents, self-interest introduces political pressure into the program evaluation process.

+ Culturally biased assessment Single subject designs for evaluation and research in social work often rely on client assessment instruments and methods that have been developed for the cultural majority. Even instruments that reflect the best methods for ensuring their reliability and validity can be seriously flawed when utilized with other populations. (Example: Depression Scale) Biased assessment tools are of special concern when working with cultural minorities, for whom there may be large differences in the way that language is translated and interpreted or differences in the cultural assumptions that are taken for granted in the instrument.

+ scales Scales may use words to describe moods or emotional states that do not translate exactly into other languages or mean the same things in other cultures. The widely used CES-D scale for measuring depression asks respondents if they have felt “down,” “blue,” fidgety,” like they couldn’t “get going” or were a “failure.” Even if these somewhat colloquial ways of describing feelings could be translated adequately into languages other than English, cultural differences in emotional expression have been shown to affect one’s willingness to express these feelings.

+ Back translation Some problems of culturally biased assessment tools can be resolved through a back-translation process where different groups of bilingual experts first translate the instrument from English into another language and then another group translates back to English. The comparison identifies discrepancies in meaning from the original version that can be further rectified (Rogler, Malgady & Rodriguez, 1989).

+ Social work research as cultural praxis Research is a vital and integral part of social work practice. Effective social work requires that social workers be effective consumers and producers of research. Helps us understand the scope and severity of a problem, its trends over time, and its cost to individuals and communities. Concerned with knowledge building about the root causes of social problems and effective ways to address them. Informs many types of experimental research that develop from theory and then either confirms or disconfirms theory, leading to improvements in the concepts we use and how we measure them.

+ Translational research As in other areas of social work research, there is a need for research findings with cultural minorities that can be translated into practice and policy implications, a task that typically requires collaboration between practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. It is a form of technology transfer. In social work there is a key role for practitioners as partners in outcome research and the testing of promising emerging practices.

+ Culturally grounded research: questions and design Culturally grounded research requires not only a serious critique of measurement tools, but fundamental reflection on how we frame our research questions and design the research. Asking the right question in research is very important, perhaps more important than the methods for finding an answer to the question. To generate knowledge that will enhance the relevance, effectiveness, and quality of social work practice with cultural minority groups.

+ Conducting culturally grounded research Social work ethics clearly instruct social workers to provide culturally competent practice and to implement interventions with the best possible evidence of efficacy Systematic cultural adaptation provides strategy for maintaining the integrity of the evidence and improving the fit Extensive assessment of the etiology of social problems, an understanding of the deep theoretical structure of the original intervention, and rigorous evaluation a partnership with researchers build the capacities of social workers and social work agencies

+ Qualitative and mixed methods Qualitative methods encompass a large array of research methodologies-content analysis of documents and scripts, participant observation, open ended and semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and ethnography, to name just the more prominent examples. Like most quantitative survey and experimental methods, each type of qualitative research may be employed effectively in research with cultural minorities.