Product Description
Research Presentation. Assume you are asked to present a half hour talk about research in human services. Since this could cover a vast number of concepts, you decide to illustrate a basic research process (steps) and provide a real-world example taken from your text. One example is: Research in Practice 10.2 (pp. 273) and the second example is: Research in Practice 9.2 (pp. 246). Explanations as to the rational for using a scientific research method compared to just providing a theoretical explanation would make the presentation more valid. In the discussion address the notion that in so many health and human services programs, finding important information is tied to the need for information to solve problems. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Intake Process. Often when providing services, basic intake information is required. The researcher could, at the end of a given time period, examine these intake papers and, based on some need, compute descriptive statistics using information provided by the clients / participants. Information such as income, family make up, and education levels could be used to compute mean values. However, you may be asked to configure a study that can be called experimental. In this discussion forum you are asked to compare these two formats and identify in what ways they differ. In order to determine definitions of descriptive research, you will need to access the MREL Reference Appendix A. Your post should focus on differentiating these two research types and then discuss their potential contribution to research in health and human services. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Program Evaluation as a Key Tool in Health and Human Services. Evidence-based practice utilizes a variety of research methods to gather evidence as to the efficacy of a program’s effectiveness, or cost effectiveness. According to your text, “Sound research and its applications, although not guarantees of perfect policies and programs, are extremely useful tools in developing sound social policies and programs” (p. 281). Additionally, we read that evaluation research is different from “basic” research in that evaluation research is based on reality factors in the field and can answer the question: Is this program achieving its goals within the cost estimates? In this written assignment you will create an example of a program description, identify the parts, and how one would carry out a program evaluation. Identify the steps and what the program evaluator would want to measure / evaluate. Because you have not carried out an actual program evaluation, you will be doing a hypothetical evaluation. Your “fictional” program evaluation deals with the design, not the actual evaluation, which would include gathering data and so forth. An example of a program evaluation and the research format is given in the Evaluation Strategies for Human Service Programs. Your example can be of any of the typical health and services areas including: hospitals, nursing homes, clinic for substance abuse, counseling clinics, Salvation Army, Red Cross, homes for the homeless, special school programs, crisis centers and social support. Program evaluation can include a variety of different research approaches and could acquire a great deal of data. As you view the PowerPoint presentation keep in mind the information requirements to carry out a program evaluation. Certainly the connections among program outcomes, the activities of the program, and consequential outcomes constitute the key model of any program evaluation. Access the Program Evaluation 101: A Workshop view the detailed PowerPoint. Your paper should be at least two to three pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and include a minimum of 3 APA citations from scholarly sources.
Week 2
Locating Resources. The ability to locate and utilize information relative to Health and Human Services is an important component of many health and human service jobs. Some of the areas included in HHS programs are:
§ Legal/illegal immigration
§ Poverty
§ Violence in the Media
§ Unemployment
§ Alcoholism
§ Gambling
§ Sexual Harassment
§ Criminal Justice
§ Hunger / Homelessness
§ Mental Illness
§ Health
As an example, the area of “poverty” was selected from the above list to locate information and relevant reports. To accomplish this, the following was entered into a search engine (such as Google or MSN): “Health and human services and programs dealing with poverty.” One of the 1, 490,000 “hits” was titled: “Poverty Guidelines, Research and Measurement.” Upon searching this website, an elaborate set of focus subtitles was found. Under the heading “Poverty Research Centers” six more references were discovered. As the interest was focused on discovering what information was available, the search centered on “The National Poverty Center.” An examination on this site under that heading yielded numerous areas regarding new research opportunities, informing the policy community, and training for young researchers. Your specific assignment follows. Start with an exploration of what can be found in several of the areas listed above. Then, identify one area and prepare a descriptive post outlining the information in this site. You may want to experiment with various areas in order to understand the unusually large number of resources / programs, but also the kinds of information. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Research Venues. Research can be divided into three broad areas: descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative. Some researchers subsume descriptive research (archival) as quantitative. However, for this discussion, we are considering it a separate kind, as descriptive research can fall into either area: qualitative or quantitative. Your assignment for this discussion is to prepare a 250-300 word post differentiating qualitative, quantitative, and analysis of availability data. Identify those attributes that form the essence of these three research venues. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Questions that might be considered:
§ What are the differences in types of data / information among the three venues?
§ What are the expected outcomes when using each kind? For example, does using available data enable one to determine cause and effect?
§ Which venue utilizes narrative and observation as a data source?
§ What are some advantages / disadvantages for each research venue?
Research Venues. Research can be divided into three broad areas: descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative. Some researchers subsume descriptive research (archival) as quantitative. However, for this discussion, we are considering it a separate kind, as descriptive research can fall into either area: qualitative or quantitative. Your assignment for this discussion is to prepare a 250-300 word post differentiating qualitative, quantitative, and analysis of availability data. Identify those attributes that form the essence of these three research venues. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Questions that might be considered:
§ What are the differences in types of data / information among the three venues?
§ What are the expected outcomes when using each kind? For example, does using available data enable one to determine cause and effect?
§ Which venue utilizes narrative and observation as a data source?
§ What are some advantages / disadvantages for each research venue?
Week 3
Canadian National Health Plan. Research can vary from highly sophisticated experimental studies to less rigorous short term investigations. Each research approach has advantages and disadvantages. Among the different paradigms you could use, two of the more common are the “positivist approach” and the “interpretive approach” (consult pages 39-40 in the text). If you were interested in determining if the Canadian National Health Plan was “better” (better in terms of care, coverage, and choice of doctors) then the current United States Health Coverage Plan (Obama sponsored), which approach would you choose to make this determination? Provide a justification to your answer. Remember, your decision is about the research paradigm, and the subject focus (health care plans) provides the context. Select the responses of two classmates, comparing the position you take and the justification. If you agree in terms of the position, discuss any differences of opinion in terms of the justification.
Research Formats. The research format found in scholarly journal articles has purpose and direction. Chapters 2 and 4 in the text provide information as to the logic and makeup of a research effort. Parallel to the structure of the research format is the notion of the scientific method as a basic approach to solving problems. Your task is to analyze these two venues, identifying in what ways they complement each other, and how each venue is related to the other. You may want to access outside references regarding the concepts of research format and the scientific method. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Final Paper Outline. The Final Paper will be the final assignment for this research course. This paper will be due on the last day of class in Week 5. Your written assignment for this week is to do the following:
§ Identify the phenomena you wish to concentrate on within the broad realm of health and human services. Your references (should be a minimum of eight), will come from the databases and reference sources you covered earlier throughout course assignments. You will need to create a description of the phenomena – the core issue or objective upon which you will focus.
§ Identify the components, attributes, and different segments you will write about in your discussion.
§ Create a detailed outline of your research report/paper.
This research report outline should be a minimum of 2-3 pages in length.
Week 4
Careers in HHS. The great variety of careers and occupations within the field of HHS is growing every year. A review of some of the data bases in the text will provide opportunities to search and identify many occupational areas within different governmental departments and programs. Searching, for example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website will result in finding many careers such as: social workers, preschool programs, criminal justice, counseling, gerontology, and drug and alcohol treatment. After selecting two different websites related to HHS, identify two career areas in the HHS field and do the following:
§ Record the websites or data bases, listing the careers or occupations given.
§ Prepare a brief description of the career / occupation.
§ Respond thoughtfully to the following two questions:
§ Selecting one of the career occupation areas, complete the following sentence: I believe working in the HHS career area would be right for me because…
§ In this career area the kind of work I would be doing would be… (complete the sentence)
Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Research in Practice. Qualitative research in the past 30 years has increasingly been viewed as making an important contribution to research and evaluation. For this discussion, you are asked to read two Research in Practice articles in the text. Evaluate and synthesize the contribution qualitative researched played with regard to Research in Practice (5.1, pp. 110) and Research in Practice (12.2, p 338). Your work should clearly identify the importance of using qualitative methods and explain in what ways these methods helped the studies. Respond to two of your classmates’ postings.
Week 5
Ethics in Research. Ethics plays an important role in conducting of research. While the individual researcher is responsible for his/her ethical practice, any research sponsored by an organization, university, or government program has a review process guided by a code of ethics. Besides the code of ethics, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) plays an important role in monitoring research. Your task in this discussion is to examine the origins of the IRB and analyze how the Review Board guides or monitors research. In your 250-300 word post answer the following three questions:
§ What does the IRB do to protect a research participant from harm?
§ One of the reasons for the existence of the IRB has to do with screening research applications. What is the basis for such screening?
§ The IRB provides the guidelines for ethical research practice. What would the researcher responsibilities be in terms of these guidelines?
Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Ethical Implications. Assume you were interested in the issues related to violence in elementary level school children. You are aware of the increased incidences of bullying, leading to serious problems. Specifically, you want to video tape children’s behavior out of school on their way home to and from school. You want to capture, on video, the social interactions that take place, trying to record behaviors that are definitely bullying behaviors or “could lead to bullying.” So you are focusing on the perpetration of bullying. For this discussion, you are asked to identify “ethical” factors involved in your proposed research. Your list would include research issues and ethical implications beyond the basic informed consent condition. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
Focus of the Final Paper
The Final Paper will be the final assignment for this course. This paper will be due on the last day of class in Week 5.
1) Identify the phenomena you wish to concentrate on within the broad realm of health and human services. Your references (should be a minimum of eight), will come from the databases and reference sources you covered throughout course assignments. You will need to create a description of the phenomena – the core issue or objective upon which you will focus.
Examples of topics (core issues) would include:
§ Community care of mental patients. Discover different examples of community care and their impact on mental patients.
§ Continual support for returning veterans. Determine program success in helping veterans enter the job market.
§ Human services personnel and their values regarding working with senior citizens. A values clarification assessment.
§ Retardation and success out-of-school. A review of successful programs working with younger retarded clients achieving employment.
§ Increased incidents of homeless individuals at odds with community rejection. More and more communities are passing laws restricting the homeless asking for money. What are the trends and examples of the laws?
2) Identify the components, attributes, or different segments you will write about in your discussion.
The research report can pose problems or hypotheses, but does not actually document what was done to address the problem / hypothesis from a research prospective, but can be answered by examining research “studies” that were done on the concept. In some ways, the research report can be considered a meta-analysis.
The following steps should be followed:
§ Identify the concept or HHS program to be studied. The concept can be in the form of a question(s) or statement.
§ Identify particular segments / dimensions / aspects of the study to be included.
§ Identify research reports and/or theories adding to the exploration of the problem or background information.
§ Prepare a paper of 8 – 10 pages of text. Include a cover page, abstract, and references page.
§ Use a minimum of eight references, including a minimum of 3 from proQuest.
§ Follow APA formatting, proper grammar, and composition.
The research report asks a question or poses a problem, and then incorporates various research studies / reports related to the research question or problem. The objective is to not only select and bring together appropriate information, but to bring together information from research previously accomplished when addressing the research question or problem.
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