Curriculum Module for Scientific Methods in Social Work (SW510)

Title: Survey Research and Constructing Trauma-informed Surveys Prepared by: Thomas H. Nochajski, Ph.D. Purpose statement: SW 510, is a foundation level course designed to help students understand the importance of research to the field of Social Work. Within that context, this specific module is designed to help students understand the survey method of research. However, the module is much broader, bringing in elements from ethics in research material, measurement material, and sampling. This curriculum module provides content on the underlying elements of survey research, the methods of administering survey research, and the procedures for developing more effective survey instruments. Furthermore, the focus on the latter, developing effective survey questionnaires, will address the elements of trauma-informed approaches and what, as researchers, and clinicians, we should be aware of as we design our surveys. It raises issues of human subject protections and research reliability and validity. The underlying assumption is that the instructor will have experience in performing Human Subject Research and will understand the ethical and design issues that need to be considered with this topic. Learning objectives: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of ethical considerations in Research. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of ethical considerations as they apply to the use and development of measures. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of sampling procedures used in research and evaluation. 4. Demonstrate and understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods of survey research (face-to-face interviews, self-administered questionnaires, telephone interviews, mail surveys, email surveys, use of technology). 5. Demonstrate an understanding of how to use trauma-informed and human rights principles when designing surveys. 6. Demonstrate an understanding of how culture and gender may influence responses and understanding of questions. 7. Demonstrate the ability to design a survey that will provide the information needed to answer the initial question.

Required content: There are three components to this module. Component 1: The first is focused on ethics in research. Students will have completed the educational requirements for performing research and evaluation projects at the University at Buffalo. This involves completion of the Collaborative IRB Training Initiatives (CITI) courses that are available on-line at: https://www.citiprogram.org/default.asp. The social and behavioral part of the course, which is required for social work, takes between 2 and 4 hours to complete. The materials cover everything that a person would need to understand in order to conduct research in an ethical manner. In addition to the CITI course, Students would also read the chapter specifically focused on ethics in research in whatever text is being used in the class. Additionally, they would read the following article: A Guide to Research Ethics by the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics, available at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/26104/Research_Ethics.pdf. Component Outline: Prior to the class that will discuss ethics in research break the class up into 4-6 groups, with between 5 and 7 students per group. Provide each group with a set of scenarios, with each group receiving different examples. Have them discuss with their respective groups the examples and come up with their opinions as to whether the cases being considered violated any ethical standards as put forth in the CITI course and if so, what could have been done to correct the situation and still allowed the research to continue. Similarly, if they felt a case did not violate any ethical standards, then ask the students to explain why they came to that conclusion. Here are some example cases: A. A Social Work professor asks students in a social policy class to complete questionnaires that the instructor will analyze and use in preparing a journal article for publication. After a field study of a demonstration of civil disobedience, law enforcement officials demand that the researcher identify those people who were observed breaking the law. Rather than risk arrest as an accomplice after the fact, the researcher complies. After completing the final draft of a book reporting a research project, the researcher and author discovers that 25 of the 2,000 survey interviews were falsified by

B.

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interviewers, but the author chooses to ignore that fact and publishes the book anyway. D. Researchers obtain a list of abusive parents they wish to study. They contact the parents with the explanation that each has been selected at random from among the general population to take a sampling of public opinion. A social work doctoral student is conducting dissertation research on the disciplinary styles of abusive parents with toddlers. Each parent and his or her child enter a room with toys scattered around it, and the parent is asked to have the child straighten up the toys before playing with them. The parent is told that the researcher will observe the parent-child interactions from behind a one-way mirror. In a study of sexual behavior, the investigator wants to overcome subjects reluctance to report what they might regard as deviant behavior. To get past their reluctance, subjects are asked the following question: Everyone masturbates now and then. About how much do you masturbate? A researcher discovers that 85 percent of the students in a particular university smoke marijuana regularly. Publication of this finding will probably create a furor in the community. Because no extensive analysis of drug use is planned, the researcher decides to ignore the finding and keep it quiet. To test the extent to which social work practitioners may try to save face by expressing clinical views on matters about which they are wholly uninformed, the researcher asks their clinical opinion about a fictitious practice model. A research questionnaire is circulated among clients as part of their agencys intake forms. Although clients are not told they must complete the questionnaire, the hope is that they will believe they must thus ensuring a higher completion rate. A participant-observer pretends to join a group that opposes family planning services so she can study it, and she is successfully accepted as a member of the inner planning circle. What should the researcher do if the group makes plans for: (1) a peaceful, though illegal, demonstration against family planning services? (2) the bombing of an abortion clinic during a time when it is sure to be unoccupied? A senior professor at a university decides to go under cover and take employment at various fast-food restaurants around the country in order to gather information concerning management styles and employee attitudes and behaviors. After gathering this information he writes a book using the gathered information. The other employees at the restaurant were never aware of his true purpose for being at the restaurant and while actual employee names were never used in the book, some of the descriptions could probably result in a person being identified.

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The above examples are only a sample of cases and each group would receive five such cases. Each group would discuss the example cases they were provided. Prior to the groups discussing their cases in class, all students would be given copies of the full number of cases to be discussed. In addition to the case examples for discussion of possible ethical violations, each group would also be asked to look at a specific research topical area and discuss the ethical issues that may be of concern for that area. Each group would then present their topical area, with other groups adding to the discussion. Of specific interest will be how they may bring in trauma-informed approaches to address some of the concerns. In other words, do so in a way that would still provide a method to collect the information that considers how the possibility of re-traumatizing an individual may need to be accounted for in the data collection process. Examples of topics to be discussed include the following: child neglect; childhood sex abuse (CSA); substance use; trauma other than CSA; bullying; and violence in communities. Evaluation of the specific component would be based in three areas. The first would consist of the breadth and depth of the group discussions. If the students identify breaches in ethics and show an understanding of the issues that face researchers in many areas of social work, it would suggest that they have understood the materials. A second assessment would be based on the proposal that is developed in the course. If the materials were clearly understood, then the expectations would be for a proposal that addresses any possible ethical concerns. The third method is an essay question on ethics and research in the mid-term. Component 2: The second component is focused on sampling. For surveys to have value, one needs to understand sampling methods. Who you sample will have a direct effect on the responses you will gather. As such, it is necessary for students to have an understanding of the various sampling methods and how they might use these respective methods. Students will read the chapter on sampling in the text that is being used. In addition, they would read the following: Sampling by Ellen Taylor-Powell from the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension. Adopted from Taylor-Powell, E. (1988). Sampling in Extension. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, College Station, Texas. Component Outline: As with the ethics in research component, break-up the class into between 4-6 groups. The same groups as were used in the ethics in research component would provide an opportunity for students to build collaborative groups and gain a better understanding of their relative strengths and weaknesses so this would work fine. Prior to the class on sampling, send the groups a sampling method (Random/Probability Simple, systematic, stratified [proportionate and disporportionate]; Non-probability purposeful, expert, informant, convenience, quota, snowball) and ask them to discuss how this could be used with the following topical areas: bullying; childhood sexual abuse; other trauma; child neglect. As part of their discussion to the class, have them demonstrate their sampling method using the class as the population.

Additionally, the students would be asked to consider how culture and gender may need to be considered as they develop their sampling frames. This component would be evaluated based on the discussion and materials presented to the class, as well as the research proposal that is part of the class. Additionally, there is a question specific to sampling on the mid-term. Component 3 The third component now focuses on survey research and development of a survey. This incorporates the information gained from the ethics in research and sampling components. Students will come to understand that the first step is to define the problem the survey is attempting to address. That generally gives the information necessary to begin dealing with possible ethical and sampling issues. As with the previous components, students would be asked to read the chapter from the text being used in class that is on the topic of survey research. In addition, they would be asked to go to the following website and read the materials under survey design. They will also view a brief video that shows how surveys can be manipulated to get the same person to express pro and con views of an event or potential policy. http://www.surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm Class outline: Prior to class send the groups a specific research topic (addictions, juvenile delinquency, child neglect and abuse, childhood sexual abuse, other trauma, sex offending, bullying, violence in the community). Then ask them to consider the various sampling methods available (face-to-face interview, self-administered survey, mail survey, telephone, email/web survey, other technology based survey), and make a determination of why they chose the specific method they did, and why the others may not have been appropriate. As part of the discussion, ask the groups to discuss how they would obtain their sample (what sampling method would they use and why). In addition to the above, provide the students with examples of surveys that have been used in their topical area and ask them to critique the questions, considering the methods for good question construction, as well as possible trauma-informed and human rights implications. Evaluation of this component would again be based on the discussion in class, with a focus on how well they understood the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods and how those needed to be weighed with regard to their research topic. A second area of assessment would again be based in the research proposal that is the major class assignment. Finally, there is an essay question on the mid-term.