Deck 11: Developing Your Knowledge Base and Intervention

Question 1

The knowledge base for a social work research study should ______.

A) reveal the conclusions of the study
B) provide a conceptual framework that portrays the relationships among the variables in the study
C) enumerate the tools for measuring the study variables and the statistical tests used to test the hypothesis
D) identify the characteristics of the study sample

Answer 1

provide a conceptual framework that portrays the relationships among the variables in the study

Question 2

In the knowledge base part of the report, you should find ______.

A) an examination of the statistical tests that will be used to test the study hypotheses
B) information on the study population and a definition of the study sample for the study being undertaken
C) information on the study design employed in the study
D) definitions of study variables and an analysis of the relationships among them

Answer 2

definitions of study variables and an analysis of the relationships among them

Question 3

What is a paradigm?

A) an attempt to explain, such as the cognitive behavioral paradigm
B) a fundamental guide that reveals what we are likely to believe or not believe
C) a guide that suggests where to find theories about a research study theme
D) an assertion about ideology

Answer 3

a guide that suggests where to find theories about a research study theme

Question 4

In social work research, a theory is ______.

A) an attempt to explain, such as the cognitive behavioral paradigm
B) a fundamental guide that reveals what we are likely to believe or not believe
C) a guide that suggests where to find theories about a research study theme
D) an assertion about ideology

Question 5

In social work research, the knowledge base is typically found from ______.

A) a review of agency policy manuals
B) discussions with agency supervisors and colleagues
C) a review of the literature
D) your own observations about the practice that is the theme of your study

Question 6

The ______ is/are the best guard against cherry-picking information, according to the text.

A) meta-analysis and the systematic review
B) traditional literature review and the article that reports a single research study
C) review of opinions of experts in the field
D) the review of the opinions of colleagues in the employing agency

Question 7

It is suggested that a literature review of evidence for an evaluation research study begin with a ______.

A) meta-analysis
B) traditional review of evidence literature
C) article that reports on a single study of evidence
D) systematic review

Question 8

Which of the following would be most useful as a guide for determining statistical significance in a research study?

A) the mean posttest score
B) the value of p in the analysis of the data
C) the value of the standard deviation from pretest scores
D) the value of the effect size from the comparison of pretest and posttest scores

Question 9

Which of the following would be most useful as a guide for determining practical significance in a research study?

A) the mean posttest score
B) the value of p in the analysis of the data
C) the value of the standard deviation from pretest scores
D) the value of the effect size from the comparison of pretest and posttest scores

Question 10

If the objective of your intervention was to improve knowledge, an intervention that provided ______ could be justified on a logical basis.

A) psychotherapy
B) a support group experience
C) training
D) a wilderness camping experience

Question 11

Suppose you need to describe a tutoring intervention for middle school students at risk for dropping out of school before graduation. Tutoring will be provided daily for 1 hr for 6 weeks. The nature of this intervention is solution-focused. It will be provided by teachers certified in tutoring for at-risk youth. Grades for the semester of the tutoring will be compared to the previous semester as an evaluation of success. What is the best way you could describe the goal of this intervention?

A) to increase the likelihood that these at-risk middle school students will graduate from high school
B) to improve the grades of these at-risk middle school students
C) to provide tutoring that is delivered according to the solution-focused perspective
D) to provide tutoring on a daily basis for 1 hr for a 6-week period of time

Question 12

Suppose you need to describe a tutoring intervention for middle school students at risk for dropping out of school before graduation. Tutoring will be provided daily for 1 hr for 6 weeks. The nature of this intervention is solution-focused. It will be provided by teachers certified in tutoring for at-risk youth. Grades for the semester of the tutoring will be compared to the previous semester as an evaluation of success. What is the best way you could describe the structure of this intervention?

A) to increase the likelihood that these at-risk middle school students will graduate from high school
B) to improve the grades of these at-risk middle school students
C) to provide tutoring that is delivered according to the solution-focused perspective
D) to provide tutoring on a daily basis for 1 hr for a 6-week period of time

Question 13

Suppose you need to describe a tutoring intervention for middle school students at risk for dropping out of school before graduation. Tutoring will be provided daily for 1 hr for 6 weeks. The nature of this intervention is solution-focused. It will be provided by teachers certified in tutoring for at-risk youth. Grades for the semester of the tutoring will be compared to the previous semester as an evaluation of success. What is the best way you could describe the model of this intervention?

A) to increase the likelihood that these at-risk middle school students will graduate from high school
B) to improve the grades of these at-risk middle school students
C) to provide tutoring that is delivered according to the solution-focused perspective
D) to provide tutoring on a daily basis for 1 hr for a 6-week period of time

Question 14

Suppose you need to describe a tutoring intervention for middle school students at risk for dropping out of school before graduation. Tutoring will be provided daily for 1 hr for 6 weeks. The nature of this intervention is solution-focused. It will be provided by teachers certified in tutoring for at-risk youth. Grades for the semester of the tutoring will be compared to the previous semester as an evaluation of success. What is the best way you could describe the objective of this intervention?

A) to increase the likelihood that these at-risk middle school students will graduate from high school
B) to improve the grades of these at-risk middle school students
C) to provide tutoring that is delivered according to the solution-focused perspective
D) to provide tutoring on a daily basis for 1 hr for a 6-week period of time

Question 15

The knowledge base can be most useful in answering which of the following questions?

A) What is the problem or issue are we studying? Why are we studying it? How can we fix the problem or better understand it?
B) When will we need to do something about the nature of this theme? Where do we change things in regard to this issue?
C) What is the statistical test we will need to employ in the testing of our study hypothesis? Why do we need to use this particular statistical test?
D) Where is the best venue for conducting a study of this theme? How can we find this venue?

Question 16

One of the main advantages of a comprehensive description of the intervention is ______.

A) assisting the reader in determining the nature of the study sample to be employed
B) facilitating replication of the study by others or to assist them in viewing the relevance of these study results for their own practice
C) determining the study population from which a study sample will be drawn
D) examining the issue of the generalization of study results from the study sample to the study population

Question 17

The personnel of the intervention refers to the ______.

A) characteristics of the clients receiving the intervention
B) credentials of the persons who provide the service being evaluated
C) names of the persons who will provide the service being evaluated
D) standards being employed by the intervention being evaluated

Question 18

The description of the model of the intervention should reveal ______.

A) the intensity of the intervention regarding, such things as the number of hours of service
B) the form of the intervention, such as group meetings and therapy sessions
C) the perspective that provides the logical rationale for using this intervention
D) the description of the clients who will receive the intervention

Question 19

Which of the following is least congruent with critical thinking?

A) theory
B) paradigm
C) ideology
D) strengths-based practice

Question 20

Which of the following would provide the best guidance in the development of the hypothesis for a social work research study?

A) theory
B) paradigm
C) ideology
D) strengths-based practice

Question 21

The knowledge base for an evaluative study should contain the definition of the target behavior being treated and an analysis of that behavior.

Question 22

A good analysis of the target behavior is best for finding a tool for measuring client progress.

Question 23

An ideology is more powerful than a theory in the identification of the boundaries of a person's beliefs.

Question 24

Evidence-based practice is exemplified by the practice of cherry-picking of information.

Question 25

One of the tasks in the use of electronic databases for the literature search is the identification of key words.

Question 26

Evidence refers to the collection of opinions.

Question 27

The highest (best) level of evidence is the systematic review.

Question 28

Study conclusions for the research study should be more congruent with the literature reviewed than the data that were analyzed.

Question 29

The data from a study of client outcome would be of practical significance if the amount of gain of clients is noteworthy.

Question 30

An example of a unit of service could be a day of day care offered to children.

Question 31

Suppose that you had decided to undertake a study of the relationships between stress, stressors, and social support. What are two major consequences of a failure to develop a knowledge base (a literature review) for this study?

Question 32

Think of a research question you would like to pursue in a study. Explain which of the following concepts would be most useful to you as you develop a knowledge base for your study: theory, paradigm, ideology.

Question 33

How do you distinguish between the goal and the objective of a human service intervention? In other words, what should the goal reveal and what should the objective reveal and how are they different? Give an example of a goal and an objective for a familiar human service program or intervention.

Question 34

What information should be provided by the statement of the structure of the intervention or program? Provide a statement of the structure of a familiar human service intervention or program.

Question 35

How is the logical justification of the selection of a program different from the empirical justification of it? Explain how you would justify the selection of a given intervention (or program) on a logical basis rather than an empirical basis?