Reference no: EM133366607

Questions: This assignment assesses students' ability to apply research knowledge to assess the quality of an empirical quantitative research article.

Directions

Select a quantitative research article related to social work practice and answer the following questions. Please respond "by the numbers".

1. State the key study research question(s) or hypotheses.
2. If a theory(s) is examined or tested, state this theory and its major concepts. If no theory per se is examined, identify the overarching ideas that guide the study.
3. Summarize the reviewed literature. Is the literature grounded in social work (and human services) practice? Note: This does not mean the overall article you are reading, but the literature the authors included in it-think the literature review section.
4. Classify the research design. Major choices among quantitative methodologies include: randomized trial (same as true experiment), quasi-experiment, pre-experiment, single-subject/single-case, and time series. If there is an intervention (aka treatment), briefly describe it.
5. How did the researcher(s) describe the participants in this quantitative study? How were the participants selected for the study (convenience, purposive, snowball, etc.)? Describe some key characteristics of the study sample (age, gender, ethnicity, key identifying features not mentioned in replying to prior question, etc.).
6. Describe the specific criteria and rules used to select the sample. This includes identifying the method of sampling as probability or non-probability. Also, indicate what particular type of probability (simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster, PPS, etc.) or non-probability (convenience/availability, purposive, snowball, etc.) is utilized. (Be sure not to mix up the process of sampling - how persons are chosen to participate in study with that of assignment - how (if at all) participants are assigned to groups/treatment conditions.
7. Identify the study's major variables, classifying these as independent or dependent. If there is an intervention (treatment/stimulus), identify this. You may classify some independent variables as control variables. A control variable is an independent variable that is extraneous to the key research question(s) but which, if not controlled for, could bias study results.
8. State the operational definition of two variables in the study. This definition is one and the same as the specific way in which the variable is measured. Please select a study that includes the measurement of at least one "latent" variable.
9. When a variable is "hard data" (e.g., birth weight, height), it is self-evident that its reliability is extremely high, so such variables are presumed to be measured "without" error. While you may have such variables in your study, please be sure to include at least one latent variable (i.e. where measurement error is important to assess).