Advanced Research Methods for Social Work
Practice Questions
Course Introduction
Advanced Research Methods for Social Work is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to conduct rigorous research within diverse social work settings. The course delves into both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, advanced data analysis techniques, and the ethical considerations unique to social work research. Students will learn to critically evaluate existing literature, design independent research projects, and apply evidence-based strategies in practice. Emphasis is placed on fostering analytical thinking, integrating theory with applied research, and addressing issues of cultural competence and social justice throughout the research process.
Recommended Textbook
Empowerment Series Essential Research Methods for Social Work 4th Edition by Allen Rubin
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Why Study Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is true about research findings on the effectiveness of social work services?
A) They have often found the services to be ineffective.
B) No interventions have been identified as effective.
C) We can assume that if social workers are well trained, then they will be effective
D) Social work practice consists primarily of interventions that have been well tested.
Answer: A
Q2) Our attempts to learn about the world we live in come from
A) direct experience.
B) tradition.
C) direct, personal inquiry.
D) authority.
E) All of these.
Answer: E
Q3) Legitimate ex post facto hypothesizing requires additional research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Evidence-Based Practice
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Q1) Evidence-based practitioners will
A) assume that evidence on practice effectiveness will find its way to them.
B) assume that the published studies they find are scientifically valid.
C) use research methods to evaluate whether the evidence-based actions they take are resulting in the outcomes they seek to achieve.
D) All of these.
E) None of these.
Answer: C
Q2) Suppose that Jane Doe,MSW properly engages in all of the steps of the EBP process,and then decides that the best evidence indicates that the quality of the therapeutic alliance explains all the variation in client outcome and that the intervention chosen explains none of the variation.In other words,she accepts the Dodo Bird verdict,based on the studies that supported that verdict.This would mean that Jane is NOT really being evidence-based in her practice.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Quantitative, qualitative, and Mixed Methods of Inquiry
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Q1) Which of the following statements best typifies a mixed methods study?
A) A study that uses more then one type of quantitative method.
B) A study that uses more then one type of qualitative method.
C) A study that combines a qualitative method with a quantitative method.
D) All of these are equally likely to be called a mixed methods study. .
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following statements is true about quantitative and qualitative methods?
A) Qualitative research can sometimes pave the way for quantitative studies on the same subject.
B) Quantitative research generally should come before qualitative studies on the same subject.
C) Qualitative studies need to be followed by quantitative studies before the results can be sufficient.
D) Quantitative studies need to be followed by qualitative studies before the results can be sufficient.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Factors Influencing the Research Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) Contrast the inductive model of theory construction with the deductive model.Give examples of research that use each of these models.
Q2) Explain how a study could be conducted within the critical social science paradigm using research methods associated with the positivist paradigm.
Q3) Evaluation studies:
A) are done for exploration purposes.
B) are done for description purposes.
C) al are done for explanation purposes.
D) can be done for exploration, description or explanatory purposes.
Q4) How are theory and research linked? Give examples.
Q5) A study that attempts to gather data as ammunition for advocating for a particular cause is being guided by what paradigm?
A) positivism.
B) advocacyism.
C) interpretivism.
D) critical social science.
Q6) Describe one way in which organizational or political concerns could influence social work researchers to modify their research plans.
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Chapter 5: Ethical Issues in Social Work Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) The lack of intrusion of the researcher's own political position on research is called A) value-free research.
B) anonymity.
C) confidentiality.
D) the identity of the researcher.
E) deception.
Q2) Briefly summarize both sides of the arguments regarding Epstein's study of a bogus article to test journal bias.
Q3) Which of the following statements is true about the dilemma involving the right to receive services versus the responsibility to evaluate service effectiveness?
A) This is not really a dilemma, since no conflict in values is involved.
B) All professionals agree that services should never be delayed, even if their effects have not yet been verified.
C) No professionals question the ethics of providing untested services, as long as we have good intentions.
D) None of these.
Q4) Illustrate how ethics and politics can affect social work research.
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Chapter 6: Culturally Competent Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) If research participants from two different cultures have the same average score on a scale measuring caregiver burden,that means that the two groups of participants subjectively perceive the same degree of caregiver burden.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Latinos who recently immigrated to the United States are likely to have the same level of acculturation as Latinos whose parents or grandparents have lived in the United States for several decades or longer
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is true about measurement equivalence?
A) Linguistic equivalence ensures conceptual equivalence.
B) Linguistic equivalence is necessary for conceptual equivalence.
C) Conceptual equivalence ensures metric equivalence.
D) Metric equivalence is necessary for conceptual equivalence.
Q4) Linguistic equivalence ensures conceptual equivalence.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the difference between linguistic,conceptual and metric equivalence.
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Chapter 7: Problem Formulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) If a relationship between two variables is spurious:
A) it is curvilinear.
B) it can disappear when a third variable is controlled for.
C) it will remain unchanged when a third variable is controlled for.
D) it involves a mediating variable.
Q2) The following is an example of a good hypothesis: "Social work practitioners who work in mental health agencies do not care adequately for the chronically mentally ill."
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements,as currently stated and without the need for rewording,comes closest to being a useful hypothesis?
A) The provision of case management services reduces the number of days spent in institutions.
B) The provision of case management services should be increased.
C) The number of days spent in institutions can be decreased.
D) The greater the number of days spent in institutions, the fewer the number of days spent outside of institutions.
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Chapter 8: Measurement in Quantitative and Qualitative Inquiry
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Q1) Reliability and validity are handled precisely in the same ways in qualitative inquiry as they are in quantitative inquiry.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following statements is/are true about reliability and validity in qualitative research?
A) Standardized scales whose reliability and validity are known to be high would NOT be relied upon as the prime measures.
B) Akin to inter-observer reliability in quantitative studies, one might assess whether two independent raters arrive at the same interpretation from the same mass of written qualitative field notes.
C) Reliability might be assessed by asking subjects whether the researcher's interpretations ring true and are meaningful to them.
D) All of these are true about reliability and validity in qualitative research.
E) None of these is true about reliability and validity in qualitative research.
Q3) Explain why if a scale is found to be reliable,we CANNOT assume that it is also valid.
Q4) Describe how qualitative studies attempt to deal with reliability and validity.
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Chapter 9: Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement
Instruments
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Sample Questions
Q1) The following exemplifies an improper way to ask a question: "Are you satisfied with this textbook and with your research instructor's teaching style?
A)True
B)False
Q2) The best way to minimize problems resulting from the order in which items appear in a questionnaire is to randomize the order of the items.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is/are true about constructing qualitative measures?
A) You should rely primarily on close-ended questions.
B) Highly structured self-administered questionnaires are more desirable than interview guides.
C) Interviews can range from completely unstructured, informal conversational interviews that use no measurement instruments to highly structured, standardized interviews in which interviewers must ask questions in the exact order and with the exact wording in which they are written out in advance.
D) All of these.
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Chapter 10: Surveys
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Sample Questions
Q1) When conducting an online survey,you should:
A) Avoid using a brief e-mail invitational message.
B) Present the password and link to the survey website early in the e-mail message.
C) Avoid setting a deadline for participation.
D) Use a website that prevents respondents from reentering the survey if they take a break.
Q2) Which of the following is (are)an advantage of the social indicators approach to needs assessment?
A) unobtrusiveness.
B) inexpensiveness.
C) Reliable data am readily available.
D) unobtrusiveness and inexpensiveness
Q3) The primary function of the probe is to
A) loosen up the respondent.
B) get the correct answer from the respondent.
C) get the respondent to answer a question more fully.
D) indicate an understanding and interest in the respondent.
Q4) Discuss the advantages of combining qualitative research methods with survey research methods.
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Chapter 11: Sampling: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
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Q1) What is the basic logic of probability sampling? How do such concepts as homogeneity,heterogeneity,sampling bias,representativeness,and probability of selection fit into this logic?
Q2) Telephone directories can be inadequate sampling frames.Suppose the population were defined as "all telephone subscribers in the directory's service area." What criticisms could you make of the telephone directory as a sampling frame?
Q3) Quantitative studies should never use availability sampling because it is too risky to ever yield useful results.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following statements is/are true about qualitative sampling methods?
A) They are less complicated than quantitative sampling methods.
B) They always rely on available subjects.
C) They might involve purposively selecting deviant cases.
D) All of these.
Q5) Is the use of nonprobability sampling techniques more likely to be acceptable in qualitative studies than in quantitative studies? Explain your answer and give examples.
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Chapter 12: Experiments and Quasi-Experiments
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Sample Questions
Q1) The classic experiment with random assignment of participants controls for:
A) research reactivity
B) measurement bias
C) diffusion or imitation of treatments
D) compensatory equalization and rivalry
E) resentful demoralization
F) all of these
G) none of these
Q2) A friend of yours,a senior,took the Graduate Record Exam in September and scored in the 99th percentile.In February your friend took the same exam over again.This time your friend scored in the 84th percentile.As a research methodology student,you told your friend that his/her lowered score was probably due to
A) testing.
B) history.
C) statistical regression.
D) demoralization.
E) compensation rivalry.
Q3) The one-group pretest-posttest design controls for passage of time.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Single-Case Evaluation Designs
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Sample Questions
Q1) In single-case experiments,maximizing the number of measurement points helps by A) enhancing the identification of precipitating conditions during assessment.
B) enabling us to change the intervention plan at the point at which we see that no progress is occurring.
C) increasing our ability to pinpoint unlikely coincidences and therefore infer what is causing changes in the dependent variable.
D) all of these.
Q2) Explain why it is important to obtain a stable baseline,if possible.Explain your answer in connection to threats to internal validity.
Q3) Suppose our research methods cause the client to improve.This would be termed A) unobtrusive observation.
B) reactivity.
C) social-desirability bias.
D) generalization of effects.
Q4) Discuss why it can be argued that a single-case AB design,if done appropriately,has greater internal validity than a simple pretest/posttest group design (with no control group).
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Chapter 14: Program Evaluation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the components of a logic model that might fit a program with which you are familiar.
Q2) Which of the following can be a purpose of program evaluation?
A) To assess program success.
B) To assess problems in program implementation.
C) To obtain information needed in program planning.
D) All of these.
Q3) Evaluators who report negative findings about a program will usually be respected by stakeholders as competent and honest,provided that their methodology is reasonable.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Videotaping treatment sessions should be used only as a last resort when assessing intervention fidelity.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the special problems that program evaluators encounter that other types of researchers are less likely to encounter?
Q6) Discuss the value of pilot studies in program evaluation.
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Chapter 15: Additional Methods in Qualitative Inquiry
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following contemporary positivist strategies is recommended for enhancing the rigor of qualitative studies?
A) Prolonged engagement
B) Triangulation.
C) Negative case analysis.
D) Leaving a paper trail for auditing.
E) All of these.
Q2) Which of the following is a social constructivist standard for appraising the trustworthiness of qualitative research?
A) Member checking
B) Evoke action for the distribution of power
C) Prolonged engagement
D) Negative case analysis
Q3) Qualitative researchers should NEVER participate as an actor in the events under study.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In comparison to quantitative research methods,what are the major strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research methods?
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Chapter 16: Analyzing Available Records: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the dangers to keep in mind when using primary sources in historical research.Discuss how you would attempt to protect against these dangers.
Q2) Manifest content refers to the meanings contained within communications. A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is/are true about historical/comparative analysis?
A) It is comparative in that it seeks to discover common patterns that recur in different times and places.
B) Primary sources for raw data might include old letters, diaries, or lectures.
C) Flaws might exist in both primary as well as secondary sources.
D) Even official government records might be biased.
E) All of these.
Q4) Historical research can involve quantitative as well as qualitative methods. A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe a study for which content analysis is the appropriate research method.Discuss how you would use manifest and latent coding.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the two coding schemes.
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Chapter 17: Quantitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) The variable number of children is at the nominal level of measurement
A)True
B)False
Q2) Interpret the following frequency distribution portraying client responses to the question,"How satisfied are you with the services you've received from this agency?"
Satisfaction Level f
Very satisfied 60
Moderately satisfied 50
Slightly satisfied 40
Slightly dissatisfied 40
Moderately dissatisfied 50
Very dissatisfied 60
No Answer 20 44
Q3) The results are statistically significant.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A Cohen's d effect size of less than 1.0 is considered to be weak.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 18: Qualitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe how coding is used in qualitative analysis.
Q2) Qualitative analysis is primarily numerical.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In reading Court decisions,Professor Wofford notices that the decisions typically discuss the "rational male." Wofford begins to write notes in which she ruminates about the notion of the rational male as well as why the concept of the rational female is not mentioned.Wofford's memos are
A) Code notes
B) Operational notes
C) Theoretical notes
D) Integrating memos
Q4) Describe the open coding process.
Q5) Memoing is appropriate at several stages of data processing.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Conversation analysts look only at the structure of communication.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Describe how memoing,is used in qualitative analysis
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