PROBLEM  FORMULATION

Identification and formulation of social work problems for research; research questions; literature reviews and practice wisdom; electronic literature searches and the Internet; hypotheses; conceptual and operational definitions; exploratory, theoretical, and evaluative research variations; cross-sectional and longitudinal research; feasibility of research
 

  Steps in research process
   problem formulation (question, lit, theory, hypotheses)
   research design (sample, measurement, controls)
          data collection (proccedure)
   analysis
   conclusions

  Research begins with problem formulation
   some "felt difficulty"
  - adolescent suicide rate is increasing
  - child abuse rates are soaring
  - the president's behavior

   research question "I wonder if. . . "
  - what can we do to help teenagers cope with stress?
  - what could we do with parent to reduce child abuse?
  - the presidents moral behavior will change the outcome of the 98 congressional election?

literature review
  - library
  - web
  - other sources
   hypotheses

  How do we decide what to research?
   any problems visible in the field? . . .   FELT DIFFICULTY (Lillian Ripple)

   We can start with theory--is is a good one?
  - eg: is cognitive theory applicable to adolescent depression (S&M, 1987)?
  - eg: is religious-based morality an appropriate theory to conceptualize public indignation?

   We can start with program--does it work?
  - eg: does family presevation program reduce violence against children?
  - eg: does the advanced registration program at UIC recently sacked by Chancellor Broski increase minority registration?

   We can start with policy--does it acheive its goals?
  - eg: do advanced standing students in social work masters program do as well as traditional 2-year masters students?
  - eg: is interdiction the best policy for decreasing drug abuse in the u.s.

   We can start with client--are they improving?
  - eg: is Mary being more assertive with her in-laws?

  All the above are RESEARCH QUESTIONS, where research and evaluation begin

  HOW DO WE ANSWER A RESEARCH QUESTION?

   (1)  "go to the library" if possible (all the above questions except CLIENT are potentially answerable using library research)
  - virtual library of WWW
  - even if we cant answer the question, literature review helps us refine and expand the question
     eg: what do we mean by "do as well as traditional students" in the MSW question?
     eg: what variations on "cognitive therapy" are there in the adolescent depression question?
     eg: what variations on "family preservation"  seem to work better with what populations in the violence against children question?

   (2)  after the literature search come formal hypotheses and assumptions because rarely can library research answer real research questions

  - theory: "a set of interrelated propositions, organized into a deductive system, offering an explanation of some phenomenon"
     e.g. Beck's Cognitive Theory of Depression:  Depression is an affective condition resulting from cognitive constrctions, specifically
    * negative expectation of environment (helplessness)
    * negative view of self (low self esteem)
    * negative expectation of future (hopelessness)

     From Beck's theory, we can deduce that
    * people with a high degree of helplessness should be more depressed
    * people with low self esteem should be more depressed
    * people with a high degree of hopelessness should be more depressed

     the above deductions are in the form of hypotheses: hypotheses can be decuced from theory, but they can also come from other places

  - hypothesis = testable statement which will be tested

     eg: Participants in the ABC family preservation progam will have a lower average number of DCFS hotline calls than families in a comparison program

     eg: There is no statistical difference in the GPAs of traditional and advanced standing MSW students

  - assumption = testable statement which will could be tested but will not

     assume that depression in adolescents is the same phenomenon as depression in adults
     assume that hotline calls to DCFS is a legitimate measure of violence
     assume that GPA is an important performance indicator

   (3)  operational definitions & conceptual/nominal definitions of variables

  - operation is the link between theory and measurement

  - depression, violence, assertiveness

  - conceptual/nominal definitions definition: a definition which defines a term in theoretical terms
     eg: depression is a decrease in the biological, cognitive, and affective functioning of the body
     eg: violence is use of physical or emotional force

  - operational definition gives implicit instructions for measurement
     eg: depression is the score on the Beck Depression Inventory
     eg: violence is the frequency of reports to the DCFS hotline