Chapter 1 Research in the Human Services Flashcards
human services
activities with the primary goal of enhancing the relationship between people and societal institutions so that people may maximize their potential and alleviate distress
human services have an emphasis on what two things?
working in teams
collaborative relationships across disciplines
social research
the systematic examination (or reexamination) of empirical data, collected by someone firsthand, concerning the social or psychological forces operating in a situation
three major elements of social research
systematic
empirical data
social and Psychological factors
Goals (types) of research
descriptive research
predictive research
explanatory research
evaluation research
descriptive research
attempt to discover facts or describe reality
predictive research
focuses on prediction or making projections about what may occur in the future or in other settings
Explanatory research
involves explanation or determining why or how something occurred
Evaluation research
focuses on evaluation or the use of scientific research methods to plan intervention programs, to monitor the implementation of new programs and the operation of existing ones, and to determine how effectively programs or clinical practices achieve their goals.
basic research (pure research)
to advance knowledge about human behavior with little concern for any immediate, practical benefits
applied research
research designed with a practical outcome in mind and with the assumption that some group, or society as a whole, will gain specific benefits from it
what are the 5 practice research focal areas?
behavior and social environments
policy planning and development
assessment of client functioning
program evaluation
practice effectiveness evaluation
evidence based practice
the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of the best evidence in making decisions about human services assessment and intervention
it’s inherently critical - always questioning whether practices are effective
what are the 2 reasons for the emergence of the evidence based practice?
developing body of research evidence that can guide practice
research in the past failed to support practice effectiveness
stages of social research - ignore
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stages of human service practice - ignore
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problem formulation (conducting research)
decide on the problem to research
shape a concern into a specific researchable question
research design development (conducting research)
detailed plan outlining how observations will be made
addresses certain issues as who will be studied, how they will be selected, and what info gathered
spells out what will occur during the following stages
Data collection (conducting research)
pretest - preliminary application of the data gathering technique to determine its adequacy
pilot study - a small scale trial run of all the procedures planned for use in the main study
Data analysis (conducting research)
unlocks info hidden in the raw data and transforms it into something meaningful
Drawing conclusions (conducting research)
assess how much support exists for the hypotheses
drawing conclusions by making judgement about effectiveness
conclusions should indicate what has been learned by conducting research and impact of new knowledge
Public dissemination of results (conducting research)
publication in books or journals or presentation to other presentations
problem assessment (practice intervention)
posing answerable questions
intervention strategy (practice intervention)
develop a strategy for intervention that will be effective in alleviating the problem specified during the assessment stage
Implementation (practice intervention)
implement the intervention strategies
evaluation (practice intervention)
evaluate effectiveness of intervention strategy
closure (practice intervention)
make suggestions of future research
suggest other sources of help
documentation and dissemination (practice intervention)
meeting agency requirements for record keeping and case documentation
share practice insights with other professionals
