Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1. Science, Society, and Social Work Research
Reasoning About the Social World
Everyday Errors in Reasoning
The Social Scientific Approach
Social Work and the Social World
Research in the News: Why Did New York City’s Homeless Population Increase?
Social Work Research and Evidence-Based Practice
Social Work Research in Practice
Alternative Research Orientations
Social Work Research in a Diverse Society
CHAPTER 2. The Process of Social Work Research
Social Work Research Questions
Consider Social Diversity when Formulating a Question
Foundations of Social Work Research
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Theory and Social Work Research
Research in the News: Does Money Buy Happiness?
Alternative Research Strategies
Social Research Standards
CHAPTER 3. Ethical and Scientific Guidelines for Social Work Research
Research on People
Historical Background
Research in the News: Is it Ethical Science?
Ethical Principles
Institutional Review Board Reviews
Internet Research
Scientific Guidelines for Social Work Research
CHAPTER 4. Measurement
Concepts
Research in the News: What is your Race?
From Concepts to Observations
Levels of Measurement
Measurement Error
Assessing Measurement Accuracy
Measurement Validity
Ways to Improve Reliability and Validity of Existing Measures
Using Scales to Identify a Clinical Status
Measurement in a Diverse Society
Measurement Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
CHAPTER 5. Sampling
Sample Planning
Research in the News: What are the Best Practices for Sampling Vulnerable Populations?
Sampling Methods
Sampling Distributions
Recruitment Strategies with Diverse Populations
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
CHAPTER 6. Causation and Research Design
Research Design Alternatives
Research in the News: Why is Child Poverty so High?
Criteria for Quantitative (Nomothetic) Causal Explanations
Comparing Research Designs
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
CHAPTER 7. Group Experimental Designs
Threats to the Validity of Group Experimental Designs
Features of True Experiments
Types of True Experimental Designs
Quasi-experimental Designs
Nonexperimental Designs
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Diversity, Group Design, and Evidence-Based Practice
Ethical Issues in Experimental Research
CHAPTER 8. Single-Subject Design
Foundations of Single-Subject Design
Measuring Targets of Intervention
Analyzing Single-Subject Designs
Types of Single-Subject Designs
Research in the News: Exercise Your Brain?
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Single-Subject Design in a Diverse Society
Ethical Issues in Single-Subject Design
CHAPTER 9. Survey Research
Survey Research in Social Work
Designing Questionnaires
Writing Questions
Refine and Test Questions
Survey Design Alternatives
Survey Research Design in a Diverse Society
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
CHAPTER 10. Qualitative Methods
Fundamentals of Qualitative Methods
Participant Observation
Intensive Interviewing
Research in the News: Can Taping Interviews Capture a Trend?
Interviewing Online
Focus Groups
Community-based Participatory Research
Qualitative Research in a Diverse Society
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research
CHAPTER 11. Qualitative Data Analysis
Features of Qualitative Data Analysis
Techniques of Qualitative Data Analysis
Alternatives in Qualitative Data Analysis
Research in the News: What’s in a Message?
Content Analysis
Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis
Implications for Evidence-based Practice
Ethics in Qualitative Data Analysis
CHAPTER 12. Secondary Data Analysis and Mixed Methods
Secondary Data Analysis
Mixed Methods
CHAPTER 13. Evaluation Research
Evaluation Basics
Describing the Program: The Logic Model
Questions for Evaluation Research
Design Decisions
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Evaluation Research in a Diverse Society
Ethics in Evaluation
CHAPTER 14. Quantitative Data Analysis
Introducing Statistics
Preparing Data for Analysis
Displaying Univariate Distributions
Summarizing Univariate Distributions
Describing Relationships Among Variables
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Quantitative Data Analysis in a Diverse Society
Ethical Issues: Avoiding Misleading Findings
CHAPTER 15. Reporting Research
Beginning With a Research Proposal
Writing Can Be Frustrating!
Reporting Results
Research in the News: How Much Should Social Scientists Report?
Poster Presentations
Implications for Evidence-Based Practice
Social Work Research in a Diverse Society
Ethical Considerations
Appendix A. Questions to Ask About a Quantitative Research Article
Appendix B. How to Read a Quantitative Research Article
Appendix C. Questions to Ask About a Qualitative Research Article
Appendix D. How to Read a Qualitative Research Article

About the Author

Rafael J. Engel, PhD, is associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD (1988) from the University of Wisconsin, his MSW (1979) from the University of Michigan, and his BA (1978) from the University of Pennsylvania. He coordinates the graduate certificate program in aging and is the principal investigator for the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education. He has written Fundamentals of Social Work Research (with Russell Schutt) and Measuring Race and Ethnicity (with Larry E. Davis). He is co-editor-in-chief of the journal, Intergenerational Relations and a member of the editorial board of Race and Social Problems. He has authored journal articles on such topics as poverty in later life, welfare benefits, and depressive symptomatology, and he has written a variety of monographs reporting agency-based evaluations. His research experience includes funded research studies on gambling, faith-based organizations, and employment in later life as well as funded evaluation research studies on welfare-to-work programs and drug and alcohol prevention programs. His most recent research involves older adults and gambling prevention. Russell K. Schutt, PhD, is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he received the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Service and taught from 1979 to 2022. He is also a Clinical Research Scientist I at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a Lecturer (part-time) in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. He completed his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Sociology of Social Control Training Program at Yale University (where he met Dan). In addition to ten editions of Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research and one of Understanding the Social World, as well as coauthored versions for the fields of social work, criminal justice, psychology, and education, his other books include Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness (2011), Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (coedited, 2015), and Organization in a Changing Environment (1986). He has authored and coauthored more than 65 peer reviewed journal articles, as well as book chapters and research reports on homelessness, mental health, organizations, law, and teaching research methods. His currently a Dual Principal Investigator (with Matcheri Keshavan, MD) in randomized comparative effectiveness trial of two socially-oriented interventions to improve community functioning among persons diagnosed with serious mental illness, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). His other recently concluded research includes co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded study of the social impact of the pandemic in Boston, and co-investigator on a Veterans Health Administration-funded study of peer support.  His earlier research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Fetzer Institute, and state agencies. Details are available at https://blogs.umb.edu/russellkschutt/.