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Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered by many researchers and providers to be the gold standard of health and social service effectiveness research. However, there exist scant resources that deal with the complex nature of designing and implementing RCTs in community-based settings. This clearly written pocket guide provides researchers and social service practitioners insight into each step of an RCT. The goal of this text is to enable readers tounderstand, design, and implement a community-based RCT. From the initial stage of planning the RCT and developing its conceptual foundations through implementation, the authors provide a wealth of detail and case studies from social work practice research that assist readers to comprehend the detailed information provided. Accessible, concrete advice is woven throughout the text and tackles the many design and implementation challenges that arise in community practice settings. The importance of utilizing a mix of qualitative and quantitativemethods is encouraged due to the intricate nature of RCT research in community-based environments. Through utilizing practical case examples, this pocket guide reviews the essentials of RCTs in a manner that will appeal to researchers, practitioners and students alike who are seeking the necessary tools to build the empirical knowledge base for community-based psychosocial interventions for social work.

The purpose of this book is to illustrate how to achieve research-design equivalence across the diverse groups in one's study. Research-design equivalence refers to the ability to accurately represent the phenomenon under investigation using the appropriate research methods and statistical procedures to ensure the internal and external validity of one's study.

In this pocket guide, Watkins and Gioia review the fundamentals of mixed methods research designs and the general suppositions of mixed methods procedures; look critically at mixed method studies and models that have already been employed in social work; and reflect on the contributions of and application of this work to the field.

Complexity theory provides a promising framework for conducting social work research and evaluation. Readers will gain an understanding of the background, current applications, and agent-based modeling as a new approach for creating simulations. To advance this line of inquiry a complexity research agenda for social work is developed.

This pocket guide provides a concise, practical, and economical introduction to four procedures for the analysis of multiple dependent variables: multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), multivariate multiple regression (MMR), and structural equation modeling (SEM).

With practice exercises, guidelines for formulating problems and gathering and analyzing data, tips for working with software, consideration of ethical and Institutional Review Board issues, and discussion of new developments such as mixed-method and synthesis, this pocket guide offers social work researchers a strong, practical introduction to Grounded Theory research.

This pocket guide provides an in-depth introduction to 29 of the most widely used data sets in social work and the social sciences. Readers will find in-depth information about each data set, how to locate and use the data, what types of questions the data may answer, and the key variables in the data.

This pocket guide presents a reader-friendly introduction to narrative inquiry. It addresses major aspects of the design and implementation of a narrative research project, emphasizing established and emerging approaches to the analysis of narrative data.

Random sampling and random assignment are considered by many researchers to be the definitive methodological procedures for maximizing external and internal validity. However, there is a daunting list of legal, ethical, and practical barriers to implementing random sampling and random assignment. While there are no easy ways to overcome these barriers, social workers should seek and utilize strategies that minimize sampling and assignment bias. These methodologicaland statistical strategies form the book's core. In step-by-step chapters liberally illustrated with examples using a variety of software packages, Dattalo guides readers in selecting and implementing an appropriate strategy. Readers will gain confidence in using such techniques as exemplar sampling, sequential sampling, randomization tests, multiple imputation, mean-score logistic regression, partial randomization, constructed comparison groups, instrumental variables methods, and propensity scores. Each approach will be cataloged in sucha way as to highlight its underlying assumptions, implementation strategies, and strengths and weaknesses. Screen shots, annotated resources, and a companion website make this a valuable tool for students, teachers, and researchers seeking a single source that provides a diverse set of tools that will maximize a study's validity when random sampling and random assignment are neither possible nor practical.

Richly illustrated with figures, equations, matrices, and tables, this pocket guide empowers social workers with a set of defensible analysis strategies that allows for competent, confident use of SEM.

This pocket guide provides a concise overview of how to complete a systematic review, and criteria that should be used for assessing the quality of existing reviews. It examines evidence-based practice, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis.

Measurement is necessary for building and testing theory, specifying problems, and defining goals. It is arguably one of the most important and diffcult tasks in social work research. This book is to serve as a guide for developing, selecting, and using measures in social work research.

This book is an exceptional guide both for professionals conducting practice-based research as well as for social work faculty seeking an evidence-informed approach to practice-research integration.

Most social work researchers are familiar with linear regression techniques, which are fairly straightforward to conduct, interpret, and present. However, linear regression is not appropriate for discrete dependent variables, and social work research frequently employs these variables, focusing on outcomes such as placement in foster care or not; level of severity of elder abuse or depression symptoms; or number of reoffenses by juvenile delinquents in the year following adjudication.This book presents detailed discussions of regression models that are appropriate for a variety of discrete dependent variables. The major challenges of such analyses lie in the non-linear relationships between independent and dependent variables, and particularly in interpreting and presenting findings. Clear language guides the reader briefly through each step of the analysis, using SPSS and result presentation to enhance understanding of the important link function. The book begins with a brief review of linear regression; next, the authors cover basic binary logistic regression, which provides a foundation for the other techniques. In particular, comprehension of the link function is vital in order to later interpret these methods' results. Though the book assumes a basic understanding of linear regression, reviews and definitions throughout provide useful reminders of important terms and their meaning, and throughout the book the authors provide detailed examples based on their own data, which readers may work through by accessing the data and output on companion website.Social work and other social sciences faculty, students, and researchers who already have a basic understanding of linear regression but are not as familiar with the regression analysis of discrete dependent variables will find this straightforward pocket guide to be a terrific boon to their bookshelves.For additional resources, visit http: //www.oup.com/us/pocketguides.

Intervention research lies at the heart of social work research. It serves as a principal basis for drawing inferences about the effectiveness of practice and is used to assess the design of public policies that fund social and health programs. This book, the latest volume in the Pocket Guides to Social Work Research Methods, clearly describes the process of conducting intervention research.

eveloping Cross-Cultural Measurement in Social Work Research and Evaluation, Second Edition is a practical, hands-on guide for social work researchers to learn how to develop, assess, and validate meaningful measurements across cultures and populations. The book takes the reader from conceptualization to analysis, using specific techniques with SEM and IRT for cross-cultural research.

This volume guides social work researchers in developing and assessing cross-cultural research measurements. Chapters illustrate how to formulate research questions, select observable indicators, understand cross-cultural translation, evaluate measurement equivalence, and discern between best and poor practices in measurement development.

Historiography is the method of doing historical research, a potentially powerful tool in a social work historian or qualitative researcher's arsenal. This addition to the Pocket Guides to Social Work Research Methods guides doctoral students and researchers in the construction of a historical study, from problem formulation to instrument construction to data collection and analysis.

A researcher''s decision about the sample to draw in a study may have an enormous impact on the results, and it rests on numerous statistical and practical considerations that can be difficult to juggle. Computer programs help, but no single software package exists that allows researchers to determine sample size across all statistical procedures. This pocket guide shows social work students, educators, and researchers how to prevent some of the mistakes that wouldresult from a wrong sample size decision by describing and critiquing four main approaches to determining sample size. In concise, example-rich chapters, Dattalo covers sample-size determination using power analysis, confidence intervals, computer-intensive strategies, and ethical or costconsiderations, as well as techniques for advanced and emerging statistical strategies such as structural equation modeling, multilevel analysis, repeated measures MANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA. He also offers strategies for mitigating pressures to increase sample size when doing so may not be feasible. Whether as an introduction to the process for students or as a refresher for experienced researchers, this practical guide is a perfect overview of a crucial but often overlooked step inempirical social work research.

Content Analysis offers a comprehensive overview of the variation within content analysis, along with detailed descriptions of three approaches found in the contemporary literature: basic content analysis, interpretive content analysis and qualitative content analysis. This book provides an inclusive, and carefully differentiated, examination of contemporary content analysis research purposes and methods. Such a book is not currently available. Chapter One examinesthe conceptual base and history of content analysis, then the next three chapters examine each approach to content analysis in depth, using brief illustrative exemplar studies. Each of the methodology chapters employs a consistent outline to help readers compare and contrast the three differentapproaches. Chapter 5 examines rigor in content analysis and highlights steps to ensure the internal coherence of studies. This book concludes with exploration of two full-length studies: Chapter 6 examines the use of content analysis for advocacy and building public awareness to promote human rights and social justice. Chapter 7 reviews a full-length study of older adults in prison to detail how content analysis is completed and how different approaches may be usefully combined.

A Social Justice Approach to Survey Design and Analysis is written for anyone interested in conducting research. It draws on current discussions regarding social justice to provide a framework for researchers to use to engage in social justice research and to evolve as social justice practitioners.

Social work researchers, educators, and doctoral students who are interested in systematic reviews will find the step-by-step format of this book invaluable for conducting their reviews, both in the form of rapid evidence assessments and in high-quality critical reviews.

Conventional textbooks present PAR from a distanced perspective and with assumption that beginners will gain practical PAR knowledge on their own. This book provides real world examples-first-hand accounts by the researchers who designed and implemented these PAR innovations. Shared recommendations and lessons learned provided in the final chapter are a unique contribution to students and early career researchers.

Highlighting the concepts necessary to understand, critique, and conduct research synthesis, this brief and highly readable introduction is a terrific resource for students and researchers alike.

Though a number of guides to conducting needs assessment are on the market, the few that address social workers are very outdated; this guide, by contrast, will be written by top current scholars led by Royse, one of social work's most respected authors, and will include discussions of emerging technologies in the field as well as abundant social work case examples. Social work graduated students enrolled in macro practice, community organization, and researchmethods courses, as well as social workers in the field who need to brush up on their skills, will find this an invaluable aid.

The art of writing up a completed research project in a format suitable for submission to a social work journal is an ability separate from one's skills as a research methodologist. It is also an ability that, despite its importance, is often overlooked by research courses and senior-level mentors. This straightforward pocket guide to Preparing Research Articles steps into the void as an insider's guide to getting published. Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience editing a social work research journal, Bruce A. Thyer has crafted a candid companion to the journal publishing process, unraveling the mysteries that students - as well as many established researchers - might otherwise stumble over, and as a result their prospectus for future success improve. Thyer's frank advice on selecting an appropriate journal, handling rejections and revisions, understanding confusing concepts like impact factors and electronic publishing, and avoiding common methodological and formatting pitfalls, constitute a gold mine for the fledging researcher-writer.

By generating knowledge of practice in open and natural systems, qualitative methods can be used to examine how practice is experienced and how interventions may be understood and transformed. This cutting-edge pocket guide will equip practitioner-scholars with the foundation for conducting research that makes a difference.

This book offers a practical approach to conducting practice research in the field of human services. This evolving form of applied research seeks to understand practice in the context of the relationships between service providers and service users, between service providers and their managers, between agency-based service providers and community advocacy and support groups, and between agency managers and policy makers. Practice research represents a form ofevidence-informed practice that involves a wide array of research designs and methods, in contrast to the narrower emphasis on experimental designs that characterizes evidence-based practice. The emerging principles and practices associated with practice research highlight: 1) including multiple, diversestakeholders, 2) maximizing and negotiating participation, 3) promoting practitioner engagement in all phases of the research process, and 4) developing new identities for participants as research-minded practitioners and practice-minded researchers. The book is designed for researchers, practitioners, service users and students, and focuses on concrete experiences that illustrate the processes and activities involved in a specific, locally negotiated model of practice research. The bookdescribes multiple practice research studies across an array of fields of practice in the human services, focusing on the research questions, designs, roles and relationships that have been developed in the context of a university-agency practice research partnership. These descriptions and stories areused to construct a comprehensive, detailed picture of the research process. Based upon these descriptions, the book synthesizes a set of broader principles and guidelines for practice researchers.