SOAD9206 Social Work Research in Practice Settings Lecture 2: the research question and questionnaires. With inductive approaches, we are at an advantage in social work because we are immersed in the work. The research question is what exactly? the research question narrows down the field of interest Need to consider - Who - what - Why - when - how and so on.
SOAD9206 Social Work Research in Practice Settings Lecture 2: the research question and questionnaires. With inductive approaches, we are at an advantage in social work because we are immersed in the work. The research question is what exactly? the research question narrows down the field of interest Need to consider - Who - what - Why - when - how and so on.
SOAD9206 Social Work Research in Practice Settings Lecture 2: the research question and questionnaires. With inductive approaches, we are at an advantage in social work because we are immersed in the work. The research question is what exactly? the research question narrows down the field of interest Need to consider - Who - what - Why - when - how and so on.
Lecture 2: The Research Question and questionnaires Terms you will come across in the literature: Qualitative Quantitative Mixed methods
Deductive Inductive Deductive Approach hypothesis Theory testing Theorising comes before research and research then functions to produce empirical evidence to test or refute theories (May 1997:30) Research aims at validating an hypothesis Build up theory Test theory Deductive hypothesis examples Passive smoking has a negative impact on health Obesity puts people at greater risk of diabetes CBT helps people manage mild depression Unemployment has a negative impact on health Inductive Approach Research Question Theory Building one that examines particular aspects of social life and creates theory in relation to previous data Seeks to generate theoretical propositions from the data collected Observation?? research theory Inductive research question examples What are the social issues affecting people with diabetes? What are the needs of residents in the area? How do people experience our social work service in X location? What are the issues associated with fuel poverty?
With inductive approaches, we are at an advantage in social work because we are immersed in the work
It is best to begin, I think, by reminding you, the beginning student, that the most admirable thinkers within the scholarly community you have chosen to join do not split their work from their lives What this means is that you must learn to use your life experience in your intellectual work: continually to examine and interpret it. In this sense craftsmanship is the centre of yourself and you are personally involved in every intellectual product upon which you may work. - C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination The research question is what exactly? The question which will guide all aspects of the research, from its inception to dissemination narrows down the field of interest Is very, very specific
Narrowing down is crucial in creating a research question Need to consider Who What Why When How and so on time Adapted from Dunk-West 2013, p. 132 Things to consider when creating the research question (DCruz & Jones 2006) Why and how the research has come about The you in the asking (DCruz & Jones; Alston & Bowles 1998) Who gets to ask the questions? Constraints such as budget, time, availability of participants (Sarantakos 2005, p. 131)
Research Question
The investigator uses research to answer a specific, or a number of specific questions using a participant sample
What are the current experiences of newly arrived refugee children in South Australia? We will now move on to consider a particular method questionnaires and how to ask questions within them In social work we are used to asking questions, building rapport and so on these skills are transferrable to research questionnaire construction is a very demanding task which requires not only methodological competence but also extensive experience with research in general and questioning techniques in particular (Sarantakos 2013, p. 241). Questionnaires Questionnaires can produce both quantitative and qualitative data
The quantitative derives from asking straightforward questions
The qualitative is more of an exploration of general views Hypothesis: university resources meet student requirements
5- point Likert scale:
I am happy with the library facilities 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly strongly agree agree neutral disagree disagree Research question: how do students experience university resources? Example of qualitative question:
In your own words, please tell us how you have experienced university resources (including the library, student areas and so on): __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________ Questionnaire Methodologies In what social context is the questionnaire utilised?
Face-to-face Telephone Online Emailed to respondent by the researcher Interview (structured)
Questionnaire Methodologies Sampling within the different contexts:
Face-to-face: could be self-selecting, snowball, opportunity Telephone: Will generally be opportunity, random Websites: Self-selecting, often in response to advertisement
Advantages of questionnaires What is good about the questionnaire method?
It is quick It is cheap It tackles what we want to measure fairly well, as long as it is reliable and valid Useful for reaching large numbers of participants Good coverage, particularly online
Problems with questionnaires What is not so good about the questionnaire method? Participants can be put off long questionnaires May not tap into true opinions (biases, validity) May not reflect experience very well at all if there are no qualitative questions (qualitative critique) Balance of power (researcher-participant) Problems with questionnaires Social desirability bias
Showing how much you know
Our empathy, helping behaviour example- we want to show we are nice, empathic, helpful people
Does this truly reflect how we are as people?
Problems with questionnaires Response Acquiescence:
Just saying yes to everything!
General tendency to agree rather than disagree
Can happen when questionnaires are very long Problems with questionnaires The balance of power
Particular issue in face-to-face, interview style questionnaires
The possibility of power imbalance leading to biased responses Resolving power imbalances To help resolve the balance of power the researcher should always:
Spend time building rapport (similar to initial counselling sessions)- tuning in, empathy, use social work skills Resolving power imbalances Resolving the imbalance of power
Treating the participant as a colleague not a subject of experimentation (respect)- what researchers should always remember is that the people they have asked are probably the experts as they have been chosen for a specific reason in the first place
Problems with question types Problems with question types:
Some questions can be poorly worded They can lead or confuse participants This in turn leads participants to leave sections blank and their overall questionnaire is worthless for data analysis
Problems with question types
Double-barrelled- I believe whaling and seal culling should be banned
Which does the researcher want to know about- whaling or seal culling?
Here two questions are effectively being asked in one
There is the possibility the participant has very different views about the two areas of whaling and seal culling Problems with question types Overly complex questions:
Often too long
Rule of thumb: Keep questions below 10-15 words
Problems with question types Jargon:
Using words which the participants may be unsure of, simply because they do not study your subject
E.g. institutionalisation Problems with question types Using negatives, particularly double negatives:
I do not think that Tony Abbott was incorrect in his environmental policies
Problems with question types Highly emotive language:
It is a disgrace that social workers do not receive the money they rightly deserve
Problems with question types Leading questions:
As it sounds, the researcher leads the participants to the answer
Dont you think the needs of people would be better served if social workers had more money? Problems with question types Invasion of privacy
Do you have a criminal record?
Problems with question types Balance of scaled items (Coolican, 2004)
How much have you enjoyed the course?
Very much, quite a lot, a lot, a little, not much, didnt like it at all
Problems with question types Sensitivity of scale items to level of measurement (Coolican, 2004)
Research example: want to know the degree to which participants believe either a female victim is PARTLY responsible for the attack by wearing provocative clothing, whilst alone in a street Problems with question types Researcher asks the question:
Who do you think is more responsible:
The man OR The woman? Problems with question types Better question: On a scale of 1-10 (not responsible at all- entirely responsible), how responsible for the attack do you feel was: The man 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The woman 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Example of methods, including questionnaire http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/ enduringlove/methods