1. Session Five Jeff Driskell, MSW, PhD
Research In Social Work Practice Salem State University School of Social Work
Session Five
Jeff Driskell, MSW, PhD

2. Today’s class
Check-in/Announcements
Lecture
Literature Reviews

3. How is this theory defined? Concepts?
You are a social worker at a local community agency that provides services to African American families. One of the theories your agency uses to better understand the stress this population experiences is the minority stress theory.
How is this theory defined? Concepts?
What are the tenants of this theory?
Locate a research article that uses this theory.
Research questions answered?
Hypotheses? Positive, negative or no direction at all?

4. Literature Reviews

5. What is a “Literature Review?
“…a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources […] relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description and critical
evaluation of each work.” (
“Coherent argument that leads to the description of your proposed study”. (Rudestam and Newton, 2001)

6. NOT Just a Summary…
A literature review is a conceptually organized synthesis of the literature and a coherent argument that leads to the proposed study.
It must
develop questions for further research
identify controversy when it appears in the literature
synthesize results into a summary of what is and isn't known
organize information and relate it to the thesis or research question you are developing

7. Purpose- Building your Story
1. Helps map and define your research topic
2. Presents a balanced view
3. Justifies your research question-
4. Provides literature for you to compare your
findings with at the end.
(Natilene Bowker, Student Learning Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North © 2006) 1.

8. Sometimes it feels like this…

9. General Literature Review Guidelines
Scan articles for relevance and article overview
Organize your articles
Narrowing down the articles- close ups and long shots.
OR by topic
Use a consistent format for note taking- (cheat sheet)
Look for explicit definitions of key terms
Look for methodological strengths/weaknesses
Identify gaps in the research- rational
Look for key statistics to use in the intro of your literature review- prevalence, incidence rates
Pay attention to review articles- those that consolidate a number of articles on the same topic.

10. Synthesizing the Literature
Consider your purpose
Consider your voice
Create a topic outline
Based on key words OR theory OR variables
Sub-topics
Roadmap for your proposed study
In each topic area look for the gaps
Discuss how each study relates to your interest and/or theory.
Present a conclusion
Suggest specific directions for future research- AKA your proposed plan.

11. Use of Voice Example
Example 1 “In this review, I will show that the literature on treating juvenile murderers is sparse and suffers from the same problem as the general literature on juvenile homicide (Myers, 1992). I have found that most of the treatment results are based on clinical case reports (e.g. see Agee, 1979)”.

12. Use of Voice Example cont…
Example 2 “The literature on treating juvenile murderers is sparse and suffers from the same problems as the general literature on juvenile homicide (Myers, 1992). Most treatment results are based on clinical case reports of only a few cases (e.g. see Agee, 1979)”.

13. Model Literature Review Examples

14. Activity- Breaking Down the Lit Review
Based on your Group articles, answer the following questions:
What problem is being addressed?
What is the scope of the problem?
What theory/theories were identified?
How was the lit review structured?

15. Things to remember Don’t let the literature control you! - Your story
Ensure that the information you provide
backs up your research question(s) (and
approach).

16. Other Helpful Hints… • Draw on others’ critiques of the literature.
DO NOT just provide “quotes” from other research. Quotes should be used at a minimum.
READ- Rudestam & Newton- Chp. 4.
Utilize a summary sheet (cheat sheet) for each article reviewed.

17. Annotated Bibliography Examples
What information is contained in the annotation?
4/03/

18. Annotated Bibliography
Annotation- a summary or evaluation of an article or book. It also informs the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. (Cornel University, 2012)
Strategies-
Summarize
Assess
Reflect

19. Anatomy of a research article
For you to add to your new toolbox

20. Anatomy of a research article
Abstract
Objective
Methods
Results
Conclusion
Keywords
Introduction/context
Purpose, rationale
Literature review
What existing research and theory says on a topic and how it guided this study
Identifies what has not been done or is missing.
Methods
Sample description
Research design
Measurement
Data analysis
Findings/Results (the stuff you skip) 
Discussion
Practice & policy implications
Directions for future research
References

21. Abstract- Study in a Nut Shell
Hint about the type of analysis
The sample

22. Introduction: Think Orientation
Hint about hypotheses/study aim
Hint about purpose

23. Introduction: Think Orientation cont…
Hint- Use of theory and
Theoretical constructs

24. Introduction: Think Orientation cont…
Study Rational/Gap
Hint about the primary research question

25. Methods Study type Sample (Note: “n” vs “N”) Information on procedures
And data gathering

26. Methods
Dependent Variables
Measurement
Tool
Note: Chronbach’s alpha

27. Results Results usually begin By addressing
Demographics; i.e. age range
percentages

28. Results Note: often used to define any abbreviations.
Significance levels and hypothesis

29. A Word about P-values
P-values refer to level of significance (probability theory)
Most are set at (.05 or .01)
These values refer to the likelihood that results are due to chance, 5% that they are due to chance or randomness
I.e. a p-value set at .05 is saying the results are due to chance factors only 5 in 100 times.
Stated differently- There is a 95% chance (confidence) that results are NOT due to other factors, and it reflects the population accurately.
The odds of such results based on chance alone are .05 or 5 percent p

30. Discussion Comparison to Previous research. Tying it all together.
Possible implication for
Practice

31. Discussion Cont……
Implications for
Future Research

32. Activity- Deconstructing your Article
Based on your group reading answer the following questions.
What is the study purpose?
What is the study rationale?
What would you say is the primary research question to be answered?
What theory/theories were identified?
What if any, hypotheses were stated?
What methods were used to collect data?
What are the practice implications?

33. The abstract: Learning the lingo
Determine how you will define race…
What is the “n” anyway? Why do we use a lower-case n and not an N in this case?
Partial Citation (see handout on APA format)

34. Looking at the intro: Think “orientation”
Important definitions that will guide you through the article by giving context:
A theory behind the study – a bit of a literature review too
A hint about the research question that is setting up the methods section
A theory

35. Getting into the scary stuff…

36. Findings: More than something to skim!
For now, think “results”
Findings: More than something to skim!

37. Discussion, context, significance, limitations, practice implications & future research

38. Social work (& related) research journals
Research in Social Work Practice
Social Work Research
Child and Youth Services Review
Child Welfare
Social Work
Health and Social Work
Journal of Qualitative Social Work
American Journal of Public Health
American Journal of Community Psychology
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved
Journal of Behavioral Health Services Research