Sunday, April 1, 2012

Hi folks - some students are able to upload their assignments on Canvas today and some are not - not sure what the problem is. If it doesn't work, it is fine to send me an email. Sorry for the tech difficulty, am on the phone with SSU about it now.

Take care, and get out and enjoy this sunny day!

Elspeth

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MEMORANDUM

March 27, 2012

To: Ana, Laura, Miriam, Brenda K., Brenda C., Steve, Miyuki and Elizabeth

From: Elspeth

Re: Instructions for class (next in person meeting on 4/3/12) - in lieu of class time this week

An example of a past student's Assignment 2 is posted in the Files section of Canvas, in the folder entitled "Example of Assignment 2." Please note that while instructions have changed slightly, this should give you an idea of what a well-structured annotated bibliography looks like re: sections, blurbs. :)

Next week, we will go over content related to threats to validity/trustworthiness (week 9 on the syllabus) AND content related to the process of qualitative research (week 10 on the syllabus). Please do your readings, and prepare for class as follows:

Step 1: Read the lecture notes for week 9, “threats to validity and trustworthiness” or listen to them (see the narrated version) under the regular version. Focus in on understanding generalizability/external validity. Come to class with notes (to turn in) ready to address the following questions about all of the following studies you have read to date:

a) What is the sample?

b) What population does this study seek to generalize to? (Is this stated or not?)

c) How generalizable are the findings of this study given the sampling strategy used? Another way of asking this is “to whom/what are these findings generalizable?”

d) Answer this only once after going through the articles and answering questions a through c: Is limited generalizability always a bad thing? When is limited generalizability a good thing

Aarons, G.A, Wells, R.S., Zagursky, K., Fettes, D.L., & Palinkas, L.A. (2009). Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Community Mental Health Agencies: A Mulitple Stakeholder Analysis. American Journal of Public Health. 99(11): 2087-2095.

Eyrich, K., Pollio, D. and C. North. (2003). An exploration of alienation and replacement theories of social support in homelessness. Social Work Research. Volume 27: Issue 4.

Meadows, L. A., Kaslow, J. J., Thompson, M. P. & Jurkovic, G.J. (2005). Protective factors against suicide attempt risk among African American women experiencing intimate partner violence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(1/2), 109-121

Pignotti, M., & Thyer, B. (2009, March). Use of Novel Unsupported and Empirically Supported Therapies by Licensed Clinical Social Workers: An Exploratory Study. Social Work Research, 33(1), 5-17.

Slayter, E., Iannicelli, A. and Lourie, J. (2012). Fear Management: How Child protection workers Engage With Non-Citizen Immigrant Families. Children and Youth Services Review. Volume and issue to be announced.

Step 2: Using the interview transcript handout given to you in our last class session, please “code” the transcript according to instructions given in the lecture. You can re-read the lecture notes and/or the text for a refresher on how to do this (Week 8: Measurement and themes, focus on the themes part re: qualitative data analysis). Just do your best at deriving themes from the transcript and be prepared to discuss what you found when we meet.

Note: This is a hands-on exercise designed to familiarize you with what qualitative data analysis truly looks like. Doing this exercise will also help you to understand where qualitative data come from when you are reading a study. Further, this exercise will help you to think about when qualitative research methods are and are not the best choice to answer any given over-arching research question. Finally, this exercise will help you to make an informed decision about your future research project in the MSW program.

See you soon!

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2-24-2012

Hi Everyone,

Per our conversation in class last Tuesday, here are the revised due dates for Assignments 2 and 3:

Assignment 2 is due on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at noon

Assignment 3 is due on Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at noon

Thanks!

Elspeth

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