1. JODI L. CONSTANTINE BROWN & HYUN-SUN PARK CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Longitudinal research competency by learning platform

2. Background Important to know how Social Workers evaluate and retain practice knowledge Baker, Pollio, and Hudson (2011) found evidence that students maintain educational gains over time with a sample of face-to-face BSW students Research self-efficacy (confidence conducting & evaluating research) is key indicator of later research use Different learning platforms (i.e. online vs. face-to-face) may result in variable student outcomes

3. Methodology Sample  Online (n=17) and traditional classroom (n=31) MSW students  First year of a 2-year program; first research class Instruments  Practice Evaluation Knowledge Scale (PEKS)  8-item instrument designed to test practitioner’s knowledge of evaluation competencies; Likert scale, 1-5 where higher = more confidence  Research Self-Efficacy Scale (RSES)  9-item instrument designed to measure social worker’s research self- efficacy; 11-point scale from 0-100 where 0=cannot do at all, 50=moderately certain can do, and 100=certain can do Data Collection and Analysis  Online survey – Pre/Post/Post tests  Paired Samples T-Tests & ANCOVA

4. Traditional Class (n=31) Online Class (n=17)  Age (n=30) ranged from 22- 44 years (M=28.18, SD=6.14)  More women (n=27, 86%) than men (n=3, 14%)  Age (n=16) ranged from 23- 40 years (M=29.22, SD=5.20)  More women (n=14, 84%) than men (n=2, 16%) Sample Self-Reported Ethnicity

5. Previous Research Experience Open-ended question; coded as:  0=no previous research experience  1=1 class…a long time ago  2=one class  3=2-3 classes  4=4+ classes/very comfortable No significant difference in previous research experience between online (M=1.84, SD=1.06) and traditional class (M=2.30, SD=1.33; t (48)=-1.28, p=.20, two-tailed).

6. Comparing Online and Traditional F2F Research Competency One-way between groups analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)  IV = type of learning platform (online vs. traditional face-to-face classroom)  DV = posttest PEKS and RSES scores  Pretest PEKS and RSES scores were used as the covariate in the analysis.

7. Online Student Responses by Item, Pretest (Time 1) and Posttest (Times 2 & 3)

8. Face-to-Face Student Responses by Item, Pretest (Time 1) and Posttest (Times 2 & 3)

9. Time 1 – Time 2 Statistically significant increase in PEKS scores from pretest (M = 18.20, SD = 5.34) to posttest (M = 29.12, SD = 4.53), t (48) = 12.48, p <.001 (two-tailed). Statistically significant increase in RSES scores from pretest (M = 486.95, SD = 165.38) to posttest (M = 698.16, SD = 126.73), t (48) = 8.06, p <.001 (two- tailed). After adjusting for pre-test scores, there was no significant difference between online and traditional face-to-face classroom students on posttest (Time 2) PEKS scores F (1, 46) =.01, p =.91, partial eta squared =.00, and posttest (Time 2) RSES scores, F (1, 46) =.36, p =.55, partial eta squared =.01.

10. Time 1 – Time 3 Statistically significant increase in PEKS scores from pretest (M = 17.96, SD = 5.55) to follow up (Time 3) (M = 29.62, SD = 5.53), t (47) = 12.79, p <.001 (two-tailed). Statistically significant increase in RSES scores from pretest (M = 486.67, SD = 183.04) to follow up (Time 3) (M = 742.08, SD = 128.54), t (47) = 8.90, p <.001 (two- tailed). There was no significant difference between online and traditional classroom students on follow up (Time 3) PEKS scores F (1, 45) = 1.51, p =.22, partial eta squared =.03, and follow up (Time 3) RSES scores, F (1, 45) =.09, p =.76, partial eta squared =.00.

11. Conclusion & Future Research Students learned! Students maintained learning! Learning platform didn’t matter  (see http://nosignificantdifference.org/about.asp)http://nosignificantdifference.org/about.asp Intend to follow up with these MSWs this summer

12. Thank You! Jodi Constantine Brown, MSW, Ph.D. Hyun-Sun Park, MSW, Ph.D. California State University, Northridge Department of Social Work 18111 Nordhoff Avenue Northridge, CA 91330 (818) 677-6010(818) 677-4328 Jodi.Brown@csun.eduHyunsun.Park@csun.edu