Deck 1: The Context of Social Work Research

Question 1

Research skills and knowledge can have a positive impact on social work practice and social conditions by answering which of the following questions?

A) Did I help the individual, couple, or family I worked with?
B) What types of interventions are most likely to lead to positive changes?
C) Who is not receiving social work services although he or she is eligible to receive such services?
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following represents a function of social work research?

A) Enhancing communication between social workers, key stakeholders, and the public
B) Limiting access to scare resources to maximize cost savings.
C) Providing a means for social workers to obtain grant funding.
D) Increasing the confidentiality and privacy of social work actions and decision making.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Persons who seek the services of curanderas likely base their knowledge of the healing power of these Mexican folk healers on which of the following types of knowledge?

A) Scientific method
B) Intuition
C) Authority
D) Tradition

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following represents a definition of social work research?

A) Identifying a problem and seeking to resolve it.
B) Gathering data according to prescribed processes.
C) Developing knowledge in a systematic way that relies on the scientific method
D) Developing a plan to answer a practice-related question of interest.

Question 5

Which of the following most accurately describes what is meant by "critically evaluating ways of knowing and making judgments based on the best information available?"

A) Discounting other ways of knowing that are not based on the scientific method.
B) Questioning basic values and claims, even those based on published scientific findings.
C) Relying on isolated observation or anecdotal information.
D) Questioning knowledge claims from known unreliable sources.

Question 6

The scientific method includes which of the following steps?

A) Drawing conclusions from the data.
B) A process of accumulating knowledge.
C) Consulting an individual in authority.
D) Questioning what you know and how you know it.

Question 7

Flexner's criteria for defining professional status include which of the following?

A) The work involves personally responsible intellectual activity.
B) The work is teachable in a curriculum.
C) The content of the discipline is derived from science and learning and does not employ knowledge that is generally accessible to the public.
D) All of the above.

Question 8

It has been argued that social work research is unique not because of the methods used to conduct the research, but because of the aims toward which the research is conducted. Which of the following accurately characterizes social work research?

A) Social workers use research to create knowledge simply for the sake of creating knowledge.
B) Social workers use research to create applied knowledge or knowledge that will inform practice.
C) Social workers use research to study topics of interest to them; enhancing human well-being and meeting human needs are secondary goals of their research endeavors.
D) Social workers use research to maintain competitiveness with other helping professions.

Question 9

Logical positivism is defined by which of the following?

A) An empirical analysis that relies on observation and measurement as ways of knowing
B) Distancing oneself from the subjects of research.
C) Religious, spiritual, or authoritarian explanations of human behavior.
D) Engineering individual and social problems.

Question 10

Rosenblatt (1968) and earlier researchers found that social workers rated research as the least valued activity in making treatment decisions, as evidenced by:

A) Often reading research articles.
B) Frequently using research studies in their professional work.
C) Having difficulty accepting findings that challenged their beliefs
D) Working in agencies that barely tolerated research.

Question 11

Which of the following represents criticism of the logical positivist paradigm?

A) Scientists, like all humans, are socialized to a certain set of values and beliefs that influence their interpretations.
B) Despite claims to objectivity, the paradigm is biased and serves as a source of power rather than a source of truth.
C) Knowledge flows one way, from expert to non-expert, and leads to division and distrust.
D) All of the above.

Question 12

The interpretivist paradigm is concerned with:

A) Understanding social conditions through the meaning individuals ascribe to their personal experiences
B) Understanding the human experiences in the same objective manner as the physical world is understood.
C) Simplifying life's complexities by reducing them to a set of observations.
D) Identifying absolute truths related to phenomenon of interest.

Question 13

In-depth research focusing on extensive examination of a limited number of subjects according to the interpretivist tradition is known as:

A) Quantitative research.
B) Qualitative research.
C) Logical postivism.
D) Reductionism.

Question 14

Which of the following represent a way of learning the "truth" about welfare reform by "counting things"?

A) Exploring how many women receive TANF benefits.
B) Exploring the age, race, education, employment status, and income of women receiving TANF benefits.
C) Exploring relationships among variables in (a) and (b) among women receiving TANF benefits.
D) All of the above.

Question 15

Lessons learned from the controversies in social work research include which of the following?

A) The methods used to conduct research are far more important that the ends of our research
B) Research works best when it flows in one direction, from expert to non-expert.
C) Political and moral passivity are necessary components of quality research.
D) Produce research that is relevant for social work practitioners, in part by collaborating with practitioners and those affected.

Question 16

According the NASW Code of Ethics,

A) Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation of programs, and practice interventions.
B) Social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development of knowledge.
C) Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work and fully use evaluation and research evidence in their professional practice.
D) All of the above.

Question 17

The infrastructure to support social work research discussed in the text includes which of the following?

A) The Office of Homeland Security
B) The National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
C) The Council on Social Work Educations (CSWE)
D) Both (b) and (c)

Question 18

The role of the Government Performance and Results Act in supporting research utilization in social work includes:

A) Forcing agencies and organizations receiving federal funds to become more accountable for their results.
B) Centering agency focus on processes such as what services are provided, in what context, and at what cost.
C) Discouraging agencies from focusing on outcome measures such as use of resources and the effects of treatment on participants.
D) Requiring social workers applying for federal grant funding to hire assistance in collecting and reporting data.

Question 19

Evidence-based practice refers to:

A) Interventions that appear to be related to preferred client outcomes based on scientific evidence.
B) A guiding pedagogical principle used by schools of social work to produce professionals who are lifelong learners.
C) Interventions that appear to be related to preferred client outcomes based on anecdotal evidence.
D) Both (a) and (b)

Question 20

Meta-analysis is viewed as:

A) A tool that makes the evaluation of scientific evidence easer for the student and practitioner
B) A list of evidence based programs.
C) A membership organization.
D) An analysis of research at the macro level.

Question 21

Describe the process Dorothea Dix utilized to conduct research about the conditions of persons with mental illness in prisons.

Question 22

How does social work research differ from research conducted in other related fields such as psychology and sociology?

Question 23

List the five steps of the scientific method.

Question 24

How does logical positivism differ from interpretivism?

Question 25

Compare and contrast the five ways of knowing.

Question 26

Briefly describe the three controversies social work research has experienced and the lessons the profession has learned from these controversies.

Question 27

How has logical positivism evolved into present-day post-positivism? What is the difference between these two related paradigms?

Question 28

Describe five ways that you as a professional social worker can make a commitment to lifelong learning.