social work research questions and answers

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Module 2 Chapter 1: The Nature of Social Work Research Questions

The search for empirical evidence typically begins with a question or hypothesis. The nature of the questions asked determine many features of the studies that lead to answers: the study approach, design, measurement, participant selection, data collection, data analysis, and reporting of results. Not just any type of question will do, however:

“When the question is poorly formulated, the design, analysis, sample size calculations, and presentation of results may not be optimal. The gap between research and clinical practice could be bridged by a clear, complete, and informative research question” (Mayo, Asano, & Barbic, 2013, 513).

The topic concerning the nature of social work research questions has two parts: what constitutes a research question, and what makes it a social work question. We begin this chapter by examining a general model for understanding where different types of questions fit into the larger picture of knowledge building explored in Module 1. We then look at research questions and social work questions separately. Finally, we reassemble them to identify strong social work research questions.

In this chapter, you will learn:

4 types of social work research for knowledge building,
characteristics of research questions,
characteristics of social work research questions.

Translational Science

The concept of translational science addresses the application of basic science discoveries and knowledge to routine professional practice. In medicine, the concept is sometimes described as “bench to trench,” meaning that it takes what is learned at the laboratory “bench” to practitioners’ work in the real-world, or “in the trenches.” This way of thinking is about applied science—research aimed at eventual applications to create or support change. Figure 1-1 assembles the various pieces of the translational science knowledge building enterprise:

Figure 1-1. Overview of translational science elements

Basic Research . Federal policy defines basic research as systematic study that is directed toward understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific applications in mind (adapted from 32 CFR 272.3). Basic research efforts are those designed to describe something or answer questions about its nature. Basic research in social and behavioral science addresses questions of at least two major types: epidemiology and etiology questions.

Epidemiology questions. Questions about the nature of a population, problem, or social phenomenon are often answered through epidemiological methods. Epidemiology is the branch of science (common in public health) for understanding how a problem or phenomenon is distributed in a population. Epidemiologists also ask and address questions related to the nature of relationships between problems or phenomena—such as the relationship between opioid misuse and infectious disease epidemics (NAS, 2018). One feature offered by epidemiological research is a picture of trends over time. Consider, for example, epidemiology data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) regarding trends in suicide rates in the state of Ohio over a four-year period (see Figure 1-2, created from data presented by CDC WONDER database).

Figure 1-2. Graph reflecting Ohio trend in suicide rate, 2012-2016

Since the upward trend is of concern, social workers might pursue additional questions to examine possible causes of the observed increases, as well as what the increase might mean to the expanded need for supportive services to families and friends of these individuals. The epidemiological data can help tease out some of these more nuanced answers. For example, epidemiology also tells us that firearms were the recorded cause in 46.9% of known suicide deaths among individuals aged 15-24 years across the nation during 2016 (CDC, WONDER database). Not only do we now know the numbers of suicide deaths in this age group, we know something about a relevant factor that might be addressed through preventive intervention and policy responses.

Epidemiology also addresses questions about the size and characteristics of a population being impacted by a problem or the scope of a problem. For example, a social worker might have a question about the “shape” of a problem defined as sexual violence victimization. Data from the United States’ 2010-2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) indicated that over 36% of woman (1 in 3) and 17% of men (1 in 6) have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact at some point in their lives; the numbers vary by state, from 29.5% to 47.5% for women and 10.4% to 29.3% for men (Smith et al., 2017).

In developing informed responses to a problem, it helps to know for whom it is a problem. Practitioners, program administrators, and policy decision makers may not be aware that the problem of sexual violence is so prevalent, or that men are victimized at worrisome rates, as well as women. It is also helpful to know how the problem of interest might interface with other problems. For example, the interface between perpetrating sexual assault and alcohol use was examined in a study of college men (Testa & Cleveland, 2017). The study investigators determined that frequently attending parties and bars was associated with a greater probability of perpetrating sexual assault. Thus, epidemiological research helps answer questions about the scope and magnitude of a problem, as well as how it relates to other issues or factors, which can then inform next steps in research to address the problem.

Etiology questions. Etiology research tests theories and hypotheses about the origins and natural course of a problem or phenomenon. This includes answering questions about factors that influence the appearance or course of a problem—these may be factors that mediate or moderate the phenomenon’s development or progression (e.g., demographic characteristics, co-occurring problems, or other environmental processes). To continue with our intimate partner violence example, multiple theories are presented in the literature concerning the etiology of intimate partner violence perpetration—theories also exist concerning the etiology of being the target of intimate partner violence (Begun, 2003). Perpetration theories include:

personality/character traits
biological/hereditary/genetic predisposition
social learning/behavior modeling
social skills
self-esteem
cultural norms (Begun, 2003, p. 642).

Evidence supporting each of these theories exists, to some degree; each theory leads to the development of a different type of prevention or intervention response. The “best” interventions will be informed by theories with the strongest evidence or will integrate elements from multiple evidence-supported theories.

Etiology research is often about understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenomena of interest. The questions are “how” questions—how does this happen (or not)? For example, scientists asked the question: how do opioid medications (used to manage pain) act on neurons compared to opioids that naturally occur in the brain (Stoeber et al., 2018)? They discovered that opioid medications used to treat pain bind to receptors inside n erve cells, which is a quite different mechanism than the conventional wisdom that they behave the same way that naturally occurring (endogenous) opioids do—binding only on the surface of nerve cells. Understanding this mechanism opens new options for developing pain relievers that are less- or non-addicting than current opioid medicines like morphine and oxycodone. Once these mechanisms of change are understood, interventions can be developed, then tested through intervention research approaches.

Intervention Research. Interventions are designed around identified needs: epidemiology research helps to support intervention design by identify the needs. Epidemiology research also helps identify theories concerning the causes and factors affecting social work problems. Intervention development is further supported by later theory-testing and etiology research. However, developing an intervention is not sufficient: interventions need to be tested and evaluated to ensure that they are (1) safe, (2) effective, and (3) cost-efficient to deliver. This is where intervention research comes into play. Consider the example of Motivational Interviewing (MI) approaches to addressing client ambivalence about engaging in a behavior change effort. Early research concerning MI addressed questions about its effectiveness. For example, a meta-analytic review reported that “MI should be considered as a treatment for adolescent substance abuse” because the evidence demonstrated small, but significant effect sizes, and that the treatment gains were retained over time (Jensen et al., 2011). Subsequently, when its safety and effectiveness were consistently demonstrated through this kind of evidence, investigators assessed MI as cost-efficient or cost-effective. For example, MI combined with providing feedback was demonstrated to be cost-effective in reducing drinking among college students who engaged in heavy drinking behavior (Cowell et al., 2012).

Intervention research not only is concerned with the outcomes of delivering an intervention, but may also address the mechanisms of change through which an intervention has its effects—not only what changes happen, but how they happen. For example, investigators are exploring how psychotherapy works, moving beyond demonstrating that it works (Ardito & Rabellino, 2011; Kazdin, 2007; Wampold, 2015). One mechanism that has garnered attention is the role of therapeutic alliance—the relationships, bonds, and interactions that occur in the context of treatment—on treatment outcomes.

Therapeutic alliance is one common factor identified across numerous types of effective psychotherapeutic approaches (Wampold, 2015). Authors summarizing a number of studies about therapeutic alliance and its positive relationship to treatment outcomes concluded that the quality of therapeutic alliance may be a more powerful predictor of positive outcome than is the nature or type of intervention delivered (Ardito & Rabellino, 2011). However, it is important to determine the extent to which (a) therapeutic alliance enhances clients’ symptom improvement, (b) gradual improvements in symptoms lead to enhanced therapeutic alliance, or (c) the relationship between therapeutic alliance and symptom improvement are iterative—they go back and forth, influencing each other over time (Kazdin, 2007).

Implementation Science . Social work and other disciplines have produced a great deal of evidence about “what works” for intervening around a great number of social work problems. Unfortunately, many best practices with this kind of evidence support are slow to become common practices. Implementation science is about understanding facilitators and barriers to these evidence-supported interventions becoming adopted into routine practice: characteristics of the interventions themselves, conditions and processes operating in the organizations where interventions are implemented, and factors external to these organizations all influence practitioners’ adoption of evidence supported interventions.

Even under optimal internal organizational conditions, implementation can be undermined by changes in organizations’ external environments, such as fluctuations in funding, adjustments in contracting practices, new technology, new legislation, changes in clinical practice guidelines and recommendations, or other environmental shifts” (Birken, et al, 2017).

Research for/about Research . In addition, social work investigators engage in research that is specifically about scientific methodology. This is where advances in measurement, participant recruitment and retention, and data analysis emerge. The results of these kinds of research studies are used to improve the research in basic, intervention, and implementation research. Later in the course you will see some of these products in action as we learn about best practices in research and evaluation methodology. Here are a few examples related to measurement methods:

Concept mapping to assess community needs of sexual minority youth (Davis, Saltzburg, & Locke, 2010)
Field methodologies for measuring college student drinking in natural environments (Clapp et al., 2007)
Intergenerational contact measurement (Jarrott, Weaver, Bowen, & Wang, 2018)
Perceived Social Competence Scale-II (Anderson-Butcher et al., 2016)
Safe-At-Home Instrument to measure readiness to change intimate partner violence behavior (Begun et al., 2003; 2008; Sielski, Begun, & Hamel, 2015)
Teamwork Scale for Youth (Lower, Newman, & Anderson-Butcher, 2016)

And, here are a few examples related to involving participants in research studies:

Conducting safe research with at risk populations (Kyriakakis, Waller, Kagotho, & Edmond, 2015)
Recruitment strategies for non-treatment samples in addiction studies (Subbaraman et al., 2015)
Variations in recruitment results across Internet platforms (Shao et al., 2015)

Take a moment to complete the following activity.

Research Questions

In this section, we take a closer look at research questions and their relationship to the types of research conducted by investigators. It may be easier to understand research questions by first ruling out what are not research questions. In that spirit, let’s begin with examples of questions where applying research methods will not help to find answers:

Trauma informed education. The first issue with this example is obvious: it is not worded as a question. The second is critically important: this is a general topic, it is not a research question. This topic is too vague and broad making it impossible to determine what answers would look like or how to approach finding answers.
How is my client feeling about what just happened? This type of question about an individual is best answered by asking clinical questions of that individual, within the context of the therapeutic relationship, not by consulting research literature or conducting a systematic research study.
Will my community come together in protest of a police-involved shooting incident? This type of question may best be answered by waiting to see what the future brings. Research might offer a guess based on data from how other communities behaved in the past but cannot predict how groups in individual situations will behave. A better research question might be: What factors predict community protest in response to police-involved shooting incidents?
Should I order salad or soup to go with my sandwich? This type of question is not of general interest, making it a poor choice as a research question. The question might be reframed as a general interest question: Is it healthier to provide salad or soup along with a sandwich? The answer to that researchable question might inform a personal decision.
Why divorce is bad for children. There are two problems with this example. First, it is a statement, not a question, despite starting with the word “why.” Second, this question starts out with a biased assumption—that divorce is bad for children. Research questions should support unbiased investigation, leading to evidence and answers representative of what exists rather than what someone sets out wanting to prove is the case. A better research question might be: How does divorce affect children?

Tuning back to our first example of what is not a research question, consider several possible school social work research questions related to that general topic:

To what extent do elementary school personnel feel prepared to engage in trauma informed education with their students?
What are the barriers and facilitators of integrating trauma informed education in middle school?
Does integrating trauma informed education result in lower rates of suicidal ideation among high school students?

Is there a relationship between parent satisfaction and the implementation of trauma informed education in their children’s schools?

Does implementing trauma informed education in middle schools affect the rate of student discipline referrals?

What is the difference between these research questions and the earlier “not research” questions? First, research questions are specific. This is an important distinction between identifying a topic of interest (e.g., trauma informed education) and asking a researchable question. For example, the question “How does divorce affect children?” is not a good research question because it remains too broad. Instead, investigators might focus their research questions on one or two specific effects of interest, such as emotional or mental health, academic performance, sibling relationships, aggression, gender role, or dating relationship outcomes.

Image of a family with a tear seperating a father from a mother with children

Related to a question being “researchable” is its feasibility for study. Being able to research a question requires that appropriate data can be collected with integrity. For example, it may not be feasible to study what would happen if every child was raised by two parents, because (a) it is impossible to study every child and (2) this reality cannot ethically be manipulated to systematically explore it. No one can ethically conduct a study whereby children are randomly assigned by study investigators to the compared conditions of being raised by two parents versus being raised by one or no parents. Instead, we settle for observing what has occurred naturally in different families.

Second, “good” research questions are relevant to knowledge building. For this reason, the question about what to eat was not a good research question—it is not relevant to others’ knowledge development. Relevance is in the “eye of the beholder,” however. A social work researcher may not see the relevance of using a 4-item stimulus array versus a 6-item stimulus array in testing children’s memory, but this may be an important research question for a cognitive psychology researcher. It may, eventually, have implications for assessment measures used in social work practice.

Third, is the issue of bias built into research questions. Remembering that investigators are a product of their own developmental and social contexts, what they choose to study and how they choose to study it are socially constructed. An important aspect at the heart of social work research relates to a question’s cultural appropriateness and acceptability. To demonstrate this point, consider an era (during the 1950s to early 1970s) when research questions were asked about the negative effects on child development of single-parent, black family households compared to two-parent, white family households in America. This “majority comparison” frame of reference is not culturally appropriate or culturally competent. Today, in social work, we adopt a strengths perspective, and avoid making comparisons of groups against a majority model. For example, we might ask questions like: What are the facilitators and barriers of children’s positive development as identified by single parents of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds? What strengths do African American parents bring to the experience of single-parenting and how does it shape their children’s development? What are the similar and different experiences of single-parenting experienced by families of different racial/ethnic composition?

Research Questions versus Research Hypotheses . You have now seen examples of “good” research questions. Take, for example, the last one we listed about trauma informed education:

Based on a review of literature, practice experience, previous research efforts, and the school’s interests, an investigator may be prepared to be even more specific about the research question (see Figure 1-3). Assume that these sources led the investigator to believe that implementing the trauma informed education approach will have the effect of reducing the rate of disciplinary referrals. The investigator may then propose to test the following hypothesis:

Implementing trauma informed education in middle schools will result in a reduction in the number of student discipline referrals.

The research hypothesis is a clear statement that can be tested with quantitative data and will either be rejected or not, depending on the evidence. Research hypotheses are predictions about study results—what the investigator expects the results will show. The prediction, or hypothesis, is based on theory and/or other evidence. A study hypothesis is, by definition, quantifiable—the answer lies in numerical data, which is why we do not generally see hypotheses in qualitative, descriptive research reports.

Hypotheses are also specific to one question at a time. Thus, an investigator would need to state and test a second hypothesis to answer the question:

The stated hypothesis might be:

Parent satisfaction is higher in middle schools where trauma informed education is implemented.

Figure 1-3. Increasing specificity from research topic to question to hypothesis

Social Work Questions

It is difficult to find a simple way to characterize social work research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) described social work research in the following way:

Historically, social work research has focused on studies of the individual, family, group, community, policy and/or organizational level, focusing across the lifespan on prevention, intervention, treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation of acute and chronic conditions, including the effects of policy on social work practice (OBSSR, 2003, p. 5) .

For all the breadth expressed in this statement, it reflects only how social work research relates to the health arena—it does not indicate many other domains and service delivery systems of social work influence:

physical, mental, and behavioral health
substance misuse/addiction and other addictive behaviors
income/poverty
criminal justice
child and family welfare
housing and food security/insecurity
environmental social work
intimate partner, family, and community violence
and others.

In addition to breadth of topic, social work research is characterized by its biopsychosocial nature. This means that social work researchers not only pursue questions relating to biological, psychological, and social context factors, but also questions relating to their intersections and interactions. Related to this observation is that social work not only addresses questions related to the multiple social system levels, social work also addresses the ways multiple levels intersect and interact (i.e., those levels represented in the NIH statement about individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations, and policy).

It is worth noting that research need not be conducted by social workers to be relevant to social work–many disciplines and professions contribute to the knowledge base which informs social work practice (medicine, nursing, education, occupational therapy, psychology, sociology, criminal justice, political science, economics, and more). Authors of one social work research textbook summarize the relevance issue in the following statement:

“To social workers, a relevant research question is one whose answers will have an impact on policies, theories, or practices related to the social work profession” (Grinnell & Unrau, 2014, p. 46).

Social Work Research Questions and Specific Aims

The kinds of questions that help inform social work practice and policy are relevant to understanding social work problems, diverse populations, social phenomena, or interventions. Most social work research questions can be divided into two general categories: background questions and foreground questions . The major distinction between these two categories relates to the specific aims that emerge in relation to the research questions.

Background Questions. This type of question is answerable with a fact or set of facts. Background questions are generally simple in structure, and they direct a straightforward search for evidence. This type of question can usually be formulated using the classic 5 question words: who, what, when, where, or why. Here are a few examples of social work background questions related to the topic of fetal alcohol exposure:

Who is at greatest risk of fetal alcohol exposure?
What are the developmental consequences of fetal alcohol exposure?
When in gestation is the risk of fetal alcohol exposure greatest?
Where do women get information about the hazards of drinking during pregnancy?
Why is fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) presented as a spectrum disorder, different from fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)?

These kinds of questions direct a social worker to review literature about human development, human behavior, the distribution of the problem across populations, and factors that determine the nature of a specific social work problem like fetal exposure to alcohol. Where the necessary knowledge is lacking, investigators aim to explore or describe the phenomenon of interest. Many background questions can be answered by epidemiology or etiology evidence.

Image of glasses of wine on the left and an outline of a woman with a baby inside of her on the right

Foreground Questions. This type of question is more complex than the typical background question. Foreground questions typically are concerned with making specific choices by comparing or evaluating options. These types of questions required more specialized evidence and may lead to searching different types of resources than would be helpful for answering background questions. Foreground questions are dealt with in greater detail in our second course, SWK 3402 which is about understanding social work interventions. A quick foreground question example related to the fetal exposure to alcohol topic might be:

Which is the best tool for screening pregnant women for alcohol use with the aim of reducing fetal exposure, the T-ACE, TWEAK, or AUDIT?

This type of question leads the social worker to search for evidence that compares different approaches. These kinds of evidence are usually found in comparative reviews, or require the practitioner to conduct a review of literature, locating individual efficacy and effectiveness studies. Where knowledge is found to be lacking, investigators aim to experiment with different approaches or interventions.

Three Question Types and Their Associated Research Aims

Important distinctions exist related to different types of background questions. Consider three general categories of questions that social workers might ask about populations, problems, and social phenomena: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory. The different types of questions matter because the nature of the research questions determines the specific aims and most appropriate research approaches investigators apply in answering them.

Exploratory Research Questions. Social workers may find themselves facing a new, emerging problem where there is little previously developed knowledge available—so little, in fact, that it is premature to begin asking any more complex questions about causes or developing testable theories. Exploratory research questions open the door to beginning understanding and are basic; answers would help build the foundation of knowledge for asking more complex descriptive and explanatory questions. For example, in the early days of recognition that HIV/AIDS was emerging as a significant public health problem, it was premature to jump to questions about how to treat or prevent the problem. Not enough was known about the nature and scope of the problem, for whom it was a problem, how the problem was transmitted, factors associated with risk for exposure, what factors influenced the transition from HIV exposure to AIDS as a disease state, and what issues or problems might co-occur along with either HIV exposure or AIDS. In terms of a knowledge evolution process, a certain degree of exploration had to occur before intervention strategies for prevention and treatment could be developed, tested, and implemented.

In 1981, medical providers, public health officials, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began to circulate and publish observations about a disproportionate, unexpectedly high incidence rate of an unusual pneumonia and Kaposi’s sarcoma appearing in New York City and San Francisco/California among homosexual men (Curran, & Jaffe, 2011). As a result, a task force was formed and charged with conducting an epidemiologic investigation of this outbreak; “Within 6 months, it was clear that a new, highly concentrated epidemic of life threatening illness was occurring in the United States” (Curran & Jaffe, 2011, p. 65). The newly recognized disease was named for its symptoms: acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Exploratory research into the social networks of 90 living patients in 10 different cities indicated that 40 had a sexual contact link with another member of the 90-patient group (Auerbach, Darrow, Jaffe, & Curran, 1984). Additionally, cases were identified among persons who had received blood products related to their having hemophilia, persons engaged in needle sharing during substance use, women who had sexual contact with a patient, and infants born to exposed women. Combined, these pieces of information led to an understanding that the causal infectious factor (eventually named the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV) was transmitted by sexual contact, blood, and placental connection. This, in turn, led to knowledge building activities to develop both preventive and treatment strategies which could be implemented and studied. Social justice concerns relate to the slow rate at which sufficient resources were committed for evolving to the point of effective solutions for saving lives among those at risk or already affected by a heavily stigmatized problem.

The exploratory research approaches utilized in the early HIV/AIDS studies were both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Qualitative studies included in-depth interviews with identified patients—anthropological and public health interviews about many aspects of their living, work, and recreational environments, as well as many types of behavior. Quantitative studies included comparisons between homosexually active men with and without the diseases of concern. In addition, social network study methods combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. These examples of early exploratory research supported next steps in knowledge building to get us to where we are today. “Today, someone diagnosed with HIV and treated before the disease is far advanced can live nearly as long as someone who does not have HIV” (hiv.gov). While HIV infection cannot (yet) be “cured,” it can be controlled and managed as a chronic condition.

Descriptive Research Questions. Social workers often ask for descriptions about specific populations, problems, processes, or phenomena. Descriptive research questions might be expressed in terms of searching to create a profile of a group or population, create categories or types (typology) to describe elements of a population, document facts that confirm or contradict existing beliefs about a topic or issue, describe a process, or identify steps/stages in a sequential process (Grinnell & Unrau, 2014). Investigators may elect to approach the descriptive question using qualitative methods that result in a rich, deep description of certain individuals’ experiences or perceptions (Yegidis, Weinbach, & Meyers, 2018). Or, the descriptive question might lead investigators to apply quantitative methods, assigning numeric values, measuring variables that describe a population, process, or situation of interest. In descriptive research, investigators do not manipulate or experiment with the variables; investigators seek to describe what naturally occurs (Yegidis, Weinbach, & Meyers, 2018). As a result of studies answering descriptive questions, tentative theories and hypotheses may be generated.

Here are several examples of descriptive questions.

How do incarcerated women feel about the option of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders?
What barriers to engaging in substance misuse treatment do previously incarcerated persons experience during community reentry?
How often do emerging adults engage in binge drinking in different drinking contexts (e.g., bars, parties, sporting events, at home)?
What percent of incarcerated adults experience a substance use disorder?
What is the magnitude of racial/ethnic disparities in access to treatment for substance use disorders?
Who provides supervision or coordination of services for aging adults with intellectual or other developmental disabilities?
What is the nature of the debt load among students in doctoral social work programs?

Image of a prison cell from outside of the bars

An example of descriptive research, derived from a descriptive question, is represented in an article where investigators addressed the question: How is the topic of media violence and aggression reported in print media (Martins et al., 2013)? This question led the investigators to conduct a qualitative content analysis, resulting in a description showing a shift in tone where earlier articles (prior to 2000) emphasized the link as a point of concern and later articles (since 2000) assumed a more neutral stance.

Correlational Research Questions. One important type of descriptive question asks about relationships that might exist between variables—looking to see if variable x and variable y are associated or correlated with each other. This is an example of a correlational research question; it does not indicate whether “x” causes “y” or “y” causes “x”, only whether these two are related. Consider again the topic of exposure to violence in the media and its relationship to aggression. A descriptive question asked about the existence of a relationship between exposure to media violence ( variable x ) and children’s expression of aggression ( variable y ). Investigators reported one study of school-aged children, examining the relationship between exposure to three types of media violence (television, video games, and movies/videos) and three types of aggression (verbal, relational, and physical; Gentile, Coyne, & Walsh, 2011). The study investigators reported that media violence exposure was, indeed, correlated with all three types of aggressive behavior (and less prosocial behavior, too).

For a positive correlation (the blue line), as the value of the “x” variable increases, so does the value of the “y” variable (see Figure 1-4 for a general demonstration). An example might be as age or grade in school increases (“x”), so does the number of preadolescent, adolescent, and emerging adults who have used alcohol (“y”). For a negative correlation (the orange line), as the value of the “x” variable increases, the value of the “y” variable decreases. An example might be as the number of weeks individuals are in treatment for depression symptoms (“x”), the reported depression symptoms decreases (“y”). The neutral of non-correlation line (grey) means that the two variables, “x” and “y” do not have an association with each other. For example, number of years of teachers’ education (“x”) might be unrelated to the number of students dropping out of high school (“y”).

Figure 1-4. Depicting positive, negative, and neutral correlation lines

Descriptive correlational studies are sometimes called comparison studies because the descriptive question is answered by comparing groups that differ on one of the variables (low versus high media violence exposure) to see how they might differ on the other variable (aggressive behavior).

Explanatory Research Questions. To inform the design of evidence-informed interventions, social workers need answers to questions about the nature of the relationships between potentially influential factors or variables. An explanatory research question might be mapped as: Does variable x cause, lead to or prevent changes in variable y (Grinnell & Unrau, 2014)? These types of questions often test theory related to etiology.

Comparative research might provide information about a relationship between variables. For example, the difference in outcomes between persons experiencing a substance use disorder and have been incarcerated compared to others with the same problem but have not been incarcerated may be related to their employability and ability to generate a living-wage income for themselves and their families. However, to develop evidence-informed interventions, social workers need to know that variables are not only related, but that one variable actually plays a causal role in relation to the other. Imagine, for example, that evidence demonstrated a significant relationship between adolescent self-esteem and school performance. Social workers might spend a great deal of effort developing interventions to boost self-esteem in hopes of having a positive impact on school performance. However, what if self-esteem comes from strong school performance? The self-esteem intervention efforts will not likely have the desired effect on school performance. Just because research demonstrates a significant relationship between two variables does not mean that the research has demonstrated a causal relationship between those variables. Investigators need to be cautious about the extent to which their study designs can support drawing conclusions about causality; anyone reviewing research reports also needs to be alert to where causal conclusions are properly and improperly drawn.

Person at desk with stack of books and papers

The questions that drive intervention and evaluation research studies are explanatory in nature: does the intervention ( x ) have a significant impact on outcomes of interest ( y )? Another type of explanatory question related to intervention research concerns the mechanisms of change. In other words, not only might social workers be interested to find out what outcomes or changes can be attributed to an intervention, they may also be interested to learn how the intervention causes those changes or outcomes.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter, you learned about different aspects of the knowledge building process and where different types of research questions might fit into the big picture. No single research study covers the entire spectrum; each study contributes a piece of the puzzle as a whole. Research questions come in many different forms and several different types. What is important to recall as we move through the remainder of the course is that the decisions investigators make about research approaches, designs, and procedures all start with the nature of the question being asked. And, the questions being asked are influenced by multiple factors, including what is previously known and remains unknown, the culture and context of the questioners, and what theories they have about what is to be studied. That leads us to the next chapter.

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200 Social Work MCQ with Answer

200 Social Work MCQ with Answer

1. Blocking a wish or desire from expression is termed as

(B) Repression

(D) Regression

Answer: (B)

2. Which among the following is not a component of client case worker relationship?

(A) Autonomy

(B) Confidentiality

(D) Sympathy

Answer: (D)

3. _____ is the first settlement in U.K. which is associated with group work.

(A) Charity organisation society

(B) Neighbourhood guild

(D) Hull house

Answer: (C)

4. Social learning theory is associated with

(A) Albert Bandura

(B) Julian Rotter

(D) All the above

5. Amartya Sen is associated with which of the following concepts?

(A) Freedom

(B) Human Rights

(D) Economic Rights

6. Which among the following is not a symptom of schizophrenia?

(A) Paranoia

(B) Vocational function

(D) Disorganized thinking

7. Mean difference is also called as

(A) Standard error

(B) Variance

(D) Correlation

8. Which of the following is an antisocial element?

9. The review of questionnaire with the object of increasing accuracy is

(B) Editing

(D) Decoding

10. The book entitled “Two Treaties on

Civil Government” is by

(B) John Lock

(D) Bentham

11. The ‘Employees Provident Fund and (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act’ was passed in the year

12. Social group work as a method does not help

(A) individuals to enhance social functioning through purposeful group experience.

(B) community to solve problems of groups in a community.

(D) individuals and groups to influence and change social situations.

Answer: (B) www.netugc.com

13. Who propounded that social action is mass betterment through propaganda and social legislation, a method of bringing about a change in the social environment of the clients?

(A) M.V. Murthy

(B) Peter Lee

(D) Mary Richmond

14. Which Article of Constitution of India suggests for the protection from social injustice and all forms of exploitation and promotion of economic and educational interests of the weaker sections of the people?

(A) Article 44

(B) Article 45

(D) Article 47

15. Example of Personality Test includes

(A) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

(B) Rorschach Inkblot test

16. The largest professional social work association in the United States is:

(A) International Federation of Social Workers

(B) National Association of Social Workers

(D) None of the above

17. The Central Government Scheme to prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation is

(A) Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana

(B) Swadhar Yojana Scheme

(D) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana

18. Conscientization model is associated with

(A) Mary Richmond

(B) Paul Chowdhary

(D) Perlman

19. Which among the following is not an award inst i tuted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment?

(A) Shram Awards

(B) National Safety Awards

(D) Arjuna Awards

20. The flexibility in handling change is termed as

(A) Altruism

(B) Innovation

(D) Aggressiveness

21. The two main forms of social stratification are

(A) Class and Estate

(B) Society and Community

(D) Family and Kinship

22. The book ‘Social Diagnosis’ was written by

(A) H.H. Perlman

(B) Mary Richmond

(D) Herbert Bisno

23. The points of scatter plots will seem randomly distributed among the quadrants when little _____ exists between the variables.

(A) Difference

(B) Correlation

(D) Association

24. The specific characteristic of a subject that assumes one or more different values is called as

(B) Variable

25. International Women’s Year was

26. The chronic condition present from birth with impaired adaptation towards daily demands is

(A) Mental illness

(B) Mental retardation

27. Repression is also known as

(A) Roaming in the past

(B) Isolation

(D) Inhibition of threatening impulse

28. The base of age pyramid in India is broad due to

(A) High death rate

(B) High morbidity

(D) High maternal mortality

29. Difficulty in falling asleep is called

(A) Hyposomnia

(B) Anorexia nervosa

(D) Bulimia nervosa

30. Public Interest Litigation as a concept originated in ________

Answer: (A)

31. The book ‘Social Work Philosophy’ is written by

(A) Herbert Bisno

(B) Lindomen

(D) Trecker

32. Who amongst the following is a leading contributor to our understanding of groups as a system?

(A) Bogardus

33. Which one of the following is not a correctional programme/service?

(A) Anti-beggary programme

(B) Prison welfare services

(D) Special school for juvenile offenders

34. Psycho social theory was propagated by

(A) Sigmund Freud

(B) Skinner

35. _______ helps in reclassification of variables and causal inferences.

(A) Research design

(B) Analysis of data

(D) Sampling frame

36. The influence of one variable on the other can be analysed by using

(A) Correlation

37. Which among the following does not come under probability sampling?

(A) Simple Random Sampling

(B) Stratified Sampling

(D) Cluster Sampling

38. Which one of these are techniques of social case work?

(A) Universalization

(B) Encouraging

(D) None of (A) and (B)

39. Probation means:

(A) Release on licence

(B) Release on bail

(D) Suspension of punishment

40. Which of the following is the most important task of an effective group leader?

(A) Enforce group discipline

(B) Assert group to achieve the desired goal

(D) Punish a social group behaviour

41. Latent learning is an example of

(A) Avoidance learning

(B) Cognitive learning

42. The book entitled ‘The Mentality of Apes’ by Wolfgang Kohler, is about

(A) Latent learning

(B) Insight learning

(D) Avoidance learning

43. Who amongst the following scholars has described tribal population as ‘submerged humanity’?

(A) Dr. Ghurye www.netugc.com

(B) A.V. Thakkar

(D) K.D. Gangrade

44. Correlation is a statistical tool for

(A) Discovering and measuring the relationship and expressing it in a brief formula.

(B) Measuring dispersion.

(D) Locating the point around which variables cluster.

45. Marriage is defined as

(A) An approved social pattern for establishing a family.

(B) A socially sanctioned union of male and female.

46. The part of mind that lies on reality is

47. Which among the following is not the purpose of Human Resource Planning?

(A) Configuring fixed skill setup for the departments in a same manner.

(B) Analyze people market environment.

(D) Optimum use of currently employed human resources.

48. Article 41 of Indian Constitution states

(A) Free compulsory education for all children up to 14 years of age.

(B) Right to Education and work.

(D) Educational grants for the benefit of Anglo-Indian communities.

49. Classical conditioning was propagated by

(A) Ivan Pavlov

(B) Sigmund Freud

(D) Thorndike

50. Golden Triangle is

(A) known as three areas of a continent where drug supply is common.

(B) known as a set of three countries producing heroin.

(D) a combination of three countries with poor economic position.

51. One of the following is not present in single parent families:

(A) Kin relationship

(B) Step relationship

(D) Biological relationship

52. Human l i fe is mostly influenced by

(A) Friends

(D) Colleagues

53. Juvenile crime can be prevented mainly by

(A) Good parenting and family support.

(B) Peer pressures.

(D) Over indulgence by family.

54. One of the following is not the function of a social worker in a juvenile residential institution:

(A) Administration

(B) Maintaining case records

(D) Publishing research papers

55. Which one of the following is not apart of social case work process?

(A) Treatment

(B) Assessment

(D) Content Analysis

56. Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) is the programme of

(A) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

(B) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

(D) Ministry of Agriculture

57. Services provided for weaker sections of the society are called

(A) Community Services

(B) Voluntary Services

(D) Social Welfare Services

58. Louis Braille Day is being observed on

(A) 5th January

(B) 6th January

(D) 8th January

59. Institutional Redistributive Model of Social Policy is associated with

(A) Capitalist State

(B) Communist State

(D) Welfare State

60. The concept of Total Fertility Rate (TFR) means

(A) The average number of children born to an adult women during her life time.

(B) The average number of children born to an adult male during his life time.

(D) The average rate of growth of population.

61. Who among the following is associated with Gestalt therapy?

(A) C.R. Rogers

(D) B.F. Skinner

62. Trickle down theory of development holds that:

(A) Global prosperity spreads to domestic economy.

(B) Development spreads downwards through greater demand for labour.

(D) None of the above.

63. UN principles for older persons come into force in the year

64. Decision making means

(A) Choosing among alterations

(B) Choosing among alternatives

65. Which of the following is not a principle of group work?

(A) Progressive programme experience

(B) Specific objectives

(D) Continuous evaluation

66. Team building involves

(A) Recognizing active members of the team.

(B) Recognizing those members who contribute for the growth of the team.

(D) Recognizing knowledgeable members of the team.

67. The ultimate goal of Women’s Self Help Group is

(A) Saving money

(B) Taking loans

(D) Empowerment

68. The full form of MDP is

(A) Mean Democratic Participation

(B) Major Development Project

(D) Manic Depressive Psychosis

69. Main source of India’s Social Policy is

(A) Social Legislation

(B) Five Year Plans

70. Grape-wine communication relates to

(A) Formal communication

(B) Informal communication

(D) Downward communication

71. Which one of the following is not apart of social case work process?

72. In order to find the degree of relationships, we have to use a statistical test called

(D) Pearson’s correlation

73. “Papers on Social Work – An Indian Perspective” was written by

(A) G.R. Banerjee

(B) G.R. Madan

(D) Marula Siddaiah

74. World Summit on Social Development was held in the year

75. The Theory of Demographic transition includes

(A) High birthrate and high death rate

(B) Rapidly falling death rate and high birthrate

76. Pilot study refers to www.netugc.com

(A) Preliminary testing of the tools used for the research.

(B) Follow up study done w i thin a year after the original study.

(D) Macro level study undertaken to test the hypothesis.

77. What Rights are Human Rights?

(A) Rights which are provided by Constitution of India.

(B) Rights which are Fundamental.

(D) Rights desired by human beings.

78. Diagnostic School of Social Case Work was developed by

79. Public Interest Litigation refers to

(A) Mechanism to provide justice out of the Court.

(B) To provide speedy justice.

80. Paulo Friere’s approach could be briefly stated as

(A) Organization of services for people.

(B) Mobilization of community leaders.

(D) Identification of target systems for work.

81. Which of the following is not a social process?

(A) Accommodation

(B) Acculturation

(D) Assimilation

82. Which of the following is a correct matching?

(A) Juvenile Justice Act – 1985

(B) Untouchability Offences Act – 1954

(D) Factories Act – 1948

83. Panchayati Raj Institutions in India have brought about one of the following:

(A) Eradication of untouchability

(B) Land ownership to depressed classes

(D) Spread of education

84. Who is the author of the book “Social Group Work – A Helping Process”?

(A) Wilson G and Ryland

(B) Trecker H.B.

(D) Konopka G.

85. The objective of Social Legislation is

(A) To solve social problems.

(B) To bridge the gap between current needs and ex i sting laws.

(D) To review the laws and problems.

86. Manifestation of repressed ideas in the form of finer things is

(A) Sublimation

(B) Ambivalence

(D) Fixation

87. Who gave the concept of ‘Looking glass self’?

(A) Karl Marx

(B) G.H. Mead

(D) M.K. Gandhi

88. ‘Operationalization of Variables’ in social work research means

(A) Making the variables simple enough to understand

(B) Making the variables measurable

(D) Making the variables fit for research.

89. Which one of the following is not a correct matching?

(A) Arya Samaj – Swami Dayanand Saraswati

(B) Bhrahma Samaj – Raja Ram Mohan Roy

(D) Satysodhak Samaj – Jyothiba Phule

90. The book ‘Social Diagnosis’ was written by

(B) Joseph Luft

91. ‘Reassurance’ is one of the techniques that come under the broad category of

(A) Directives

(B) Information seeking

(D) Complex responses

Answer: (A) www.netugc.com

91. ‘Normative System’ refers to

(A) system of rules and norms of the society.

(B) culture of the society.

(D) All of the above

93. The presence of which of the following will indicate the diversity of population?

(A) Secondary association

(B) Social tolerance

(D) Social mobility

94. In which among the following States in India, Community Development Programme was first initiated in 1952?

(A) Tamil Nadu

(B) Punjab and Haryana

(D) Rajasthan

95. Which is/are the approaches to community organization?

(A) Community driven development

(B) Social capital formation

96. Which of the following is used to indicate the reliability of an estimate?

(A) Universe

(B) Statistical significance

(D) Confidence interval

97. Which among the following is the department created under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from May 2012?

(A) Department of Higher Education

(B) Department of Disability Affairs

(D) Department of Rural Development

98. What is the correct sequence of sympathetic and parasympathetic division given below?

(A) Thoracic – Sacral – Cranial – Cervical – Lumbar

(B) Cranial – Lumbar – Thoracic – Cervical – Sacral

(D) Sacral – Cranial – Cervical – Thoracic – Lumbar

99. The human ear can generally hear sounds ranging from

(A) 20 – 1000 Hz

(B) 10 – 2000 Hz

(D) 1000 – 5000 Hz

100. The phi-phenomenon, stroboscopic motion, induced motion and autokinetic motion are all

(A) Pictorial cues

(B) Apparent motion

(D) Non-verbal cues

101. Which one of the following is the most important feature of the defence mechanism of Rationalization?

(A) Going back to an earlier stage of development.

(B) Justifying one’s actions.

(D) Attributing one’s emotions to other persons.

102. “People control basic anxiety by moving toward, away from, and against others.”

Which group of personality psychologists theorized this statement?

(A) Psychoanalytic

(B) Neo-Freudian

(D) Cognitive

103. A psychotic person would probably score the highest on which MMPI-2 scale?

(A) Depression

(B) Hysteria

104 . Micro sleep occurs mainly due to one of the following:

(A) Sleep disorder

(B) Drugged state

(D) Dreaming state

105. Self-Efficacy is

(A) A person’s mental model of his or her ability and attitudes.

(B) A generalised evaluative attitude toward the self that influences both moods and behaviour

(D) A set of beliefs that one can perform adequately in a particular situation.

106. Which one of the following is a product in Guilford’s model?

(A) Evaluation

(B) Cognition

(D) Symbols

107 . Abstract, idealized representation that captures an average or typical member of a category of things is referred to as

(A) Exemplar

(B) Prototype

(D) Schemas

108. Working memory involves which of the following?

(A) Storage capacity and Biographical information

(B) Semantic information and Processing capacity

(D) Biographical information and Semantic information

109. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of a primary group?

(A) Personal orientation www.netugc.com

(B) Long term orientation

(D) Relations are means to an end

110. Who, of the following, is the author of the book “Economy and Society”?

(A) Max Weber

(B) Anthony Giddens

(D) A. Comte

111. Which one of the following is not an element of rural community?

(A) We-feeling

(B) Cultural diversity

(D) Self-sufficiency

112. Choose the correct sequence of following in order of increasing complexity:

(A) Hunting, Gathering, Agrarian, Pastoral, Industrial and Post-industrial societies

(B) Gathering, Pastoral, Hunting, Industrial and Post-industrial societies

(D) Agricultural, Gathering, Hunting, Horticultural, Industrial and Post-industrial societies

113 . Sociology is characterised by a perspective that places ________ in the foreground.

(A) Individual

(B) Unique social events

(D) Culture

114 . When two people interact with each other, they form

(A) A society

(B) An institution

(D) A dyadic group

115. Which one of the following Max Muller believed to be the earliest form of religion?

(A) Naturism

(B) Monoism

(D) Fetishism

116. Ridicule is a

(A) Social sanction

(B) Social norm

(D) Folkway

117. The term ‘Reference group’ was first introduced by

118. The pivotal methodology of functionalist is

(A) Conjectural history

(B) Library work

(D) Content analysis

119. To Mead the ‘general i sed others’ and ‘significant others’ are the creators of

(D) Super ego

120. The collection of roles that goes with a given status is termed as

(A) Multiple roles

(B) Conflict of roles

(D) Summation of roles

121 . Who said that the social stratification in India is based on ‘purity and pollution’?

(A) M.N. Srinivas

(B) A.R. Desai

(D) Yogendra Singh

122 . Who has given functional theory of social stratification?

(A) T.B. Bottomore

(B) K. Davis

(D) Karl Marx

123. “Culture is man’s guide, it liberates as well as enslaves him as all guides do.” Which of the following school represents this view?

(A) Evolutionary School

(B) Marxian School

(D) Culture-personality School

124. The term ‘Sociological Imagination’ was coined by whom?

(A) P. Berger

(B) C.W. Mills

(D) J.S. Mill

125. Every man in society occupies a number of statuses. Different statuses associated with a single person are known as

(A) Status inconsistency

(B) Status sequences

(D) Status succession

126 . According to Dahrendorf, Marx’s Theory of Class Conflict is

(A) to be rejected universally

(B) to be accepted universally

(D) to be rejected, accepted and modified contextually

127. The process whereby the helpless human infant gradually becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of the culture into which he or she was born is known as

(A) Re-socialization

(B) Social position

(D) Shared understanding

128. Stages of cognitive-development related socialization was proposed by

(A) H. Mead

(B) S. Freud

(D) J. Piaget

129. Which of the following dimensions is not included in the definition of ‘Health’ of World Health Organization?

(A) Physical

(B) Occupational

130. Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) includes the following:

(A) Infant mortality rate, per capita calorie intake and life expectancy

(B) Infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and life expectancy

(D) Literacy status, life expectancy at 1 year of age, infant mortality

131. Years of life lost due to premature death and years lived with disability adjusted for the severity of the disability is known as

(A) Human Development Index (HDI)

(B) Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

(D) Sullivan’s Index

132. Scales used for assessing socioeconomic status of populations are following except:

(A) Likert Scale

(B) B.G. Prasad Scale

(D) Modified Udai Parede Scale

133. Which level of prevention is applicable for implementation in a population which is not yet exposed to risk factors?

(A) Tertiary Prevention

(B) Secondary Prevention

(D) Primordial Prevention

134. This is not a Primary Prevention

(A) Isoniazid (INH) to a baby who is breast-fed by a sputum positive tubercular mother

(B) Self breast examination

(D) Pulse Polio Immunization

135. The concept of ‘Hospice’ is related to

(A) Special group of people helping the old and terminally ill patients.

(B) An association running orphanages for abandoned children.

(D) Euthanasia for terminally ill patients

136. This is incorrect in relation to International classification of Diseases and Deaths (ICD-10)

(A) The 10th revision consists of 21 major chapters.

(B) The 10th revision of ICD took place in 1995.

(D) It is the standard for international comparison of morbidity and mortality.

137. If a drug prevents mortality but does not effectively cure then which of the following is true:

(A) Incidence will decrease

(B) Incidence will increase

(D) Prevalence will increase

138. Seasonal variation of a disease can be assessed by

(A) Comparing the prevalence of disease

(B) Comparing the incidence of disease

(D) Calculating the mortality rate

139.All of the following diseases require surve i llance according to WHO except:

(A) Chicken-pox

(B) Yellow fever

140. Salk vaccine is a

(A) Live vaccine

(B) Live attenuated vaccine

141. The most widely used strain of rubella virus for vaccine production is

(B) Japanese To 336

(D) Cendehill virus

142. All of the following are reasons for rapid spread of influenza except:

(A) Short incubation period

(B) Large number of subclinical cases

(D) Short duration of immunity

143. Which of the following characteristics are true for a ‘Case Control Study’?

(A) Both exposure and outcome have occurred before start of a study.

(B) It cannot test causal hypothesis.

(D) A long period of follow up is required.

144. The area is aid to be hyper endemic if spleen rate exceeds

145. The book ‘The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration’ deals with

(A) New Public Administration

(B) Ecological Approach

(D) Public Choice Approach

146. Which one of the following is not Taylor’s mechanisms of Management?

(A) Using a routing system

(B) Employing a mnemonic system

(D) Using a gang plank.

147. Which is not true about the Indian Independence Act, 1947?

(A) Two Dominions were constituted – India and Pakistan.

(B) The Suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States would lapse.

(D) The Governor General would have limited power to assent to any Bill in the name of His Majesty.

148. The Royal Commission on Decentralisation was headed by

(A) Lord Dalhousie

(B) Lord HobHouse

(D) Lord Mayo

149. Who of the following has described authority as the supreme co-ordinating power?

(B) F.W. Riggs

(D) Mooney and Reiley

150. Which one of the following is not correct regarding Downs’ categorization of Bureaucrats?

(A) Climbers

(D) Statesmen

151. The phrase ‘developmental bureaucracy’ was coined by

(A) La Palambora

(B) Fred. W. Riggs

(D) Edward Weidner

152. Which one of the following terms does not apply to the Vice-President of India?

(A) He may be removed by Impeachment.

(B) He may resign by writing to the Pres i dent.

(D) He may seek re-election for any number of times.

153. Which one of the following is not a Constitutional Body?

(A) Union Public Service Commission

(B) Finance Commission

(D) Election Commission

154. The Statutory Status was given to the erstwhile Minorities Commission in the year:

155. Which Independent State merged into Indian Union with the consent of the people?

(A) Jammu & Kashmir

(D) Hyderabad

156. Who opposed the entry of Political Parties to the Local Bodies Election?

(A) Jawaharlal Nehru

(B) Jaiprakash Narayan

(D) Abdul Kalam Azad

157. Which one of the following Institutions is responsible for Social Audit?

(A) Gram Sabha

(B) Village Panchayat

(D) District Panchayat (Zila Parishad)

158. A status group, according to Max Weber, is characterised by

(A) Occupation

(B) Educational background

(D) Family background

159. Who among the following is regarded as the technological determinist of social change?

(A) E. Durkheim

(B) G. Simmel

(D) T. Malthus

160. The theoretical perspective that asserts that there are discernible stages which the society goes through more than once or even repeatedly is termed as

(A) Repeated Evolutionary Theory

(B) Unilinear Evolutionary Theory

(D) Reflexive Evolutionary Theory

161. Who among the following describes society as ‘sui-generis’?

(A) Radcliffe Brown

(B) Malinowski

(D) R. Benedict

162. Who among the following does not adopt the functional approach to the understanding of social phenomena?

(A) J. Alexander

(D) J. Habermas

163. The view that authority relations are the main cause of social conflict was held by whom?

(A) M. Weber

(B) K. Marx

(D) R. Dahrendorf

164. Who among the following has classified status in terms of salient status, dominant status and controlling status?

(A) T. Parsons

(B) R.K. Merton

(D) H.M. Johnson

165. What is common to magic, religion and science?

(A) Observation and experimentation

(B) Equal influence on human beings

(D) Orientation towards the supernatural

166. Who among the following is a proponent of dialectical approach to the study of Indian society?

(B) D.P. Mukherjee

(D) Y.B. Damle

167. Which type of research aims to describe a soc i al situation, social event, social system, social structure etc.?

(A) Basic research

(B) Descriptive research

(D) Explanatory research

168. A university has 7530 students and a researcher draws 10 percent sample from it amounting to a total of 753. This is called

(A) Sample size

(B) Sample ratio

(D) Purposive sampling

169. Which technique of qualitative data collection is followed by researcher to understand people and their behaviour through direct, focused and non-verbal interaction in their natural setting?

(A) Interview

(B) Observation

(D) Above all

170. According to Karl Marx, which of the following are elements of the forces of production?

(A) Technology and capital

(B) Capital, labour and technology

(D) Capital, labour, science and technology

171. Who among the following used the concept of ‘interaction ritual’ in his theory?

(A) R. Collins

(B) L. Coser

(D) H. Blumer

172. Who among the following argues that the withdrawal of legitimacy from an existing system of inequality is a critical precondition for conflict?

(A) R. Dahrendorf

173. Thematic and text analyses are used in

(A) Path analysis

(B) Data analysis

174. Which of the following is not a Civil Right?

(A) Right to Life

(B) Right to Marriage

(D) Right to Divorce www.netugc.com

175. Who of the following was the main mover behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

(A) Woodrow Wilson

(B) Franklin D. Roosevelt

(D) Eleanor Roosevelt

176. Third Generation of Human Rights is also known as

(A) Citizen’s Rights

(B) Developmental Rights

(D) Women’s Rights

177. At the time of adoption of the declaration of the right of development by the U.N. General

Assembly in 1986 only State to express its divert was

(A) The United States of America

(B) Peoples Republic of China

178. Which one of the following determines that the Indian constitution is federal?

(A) A written and rigid constitution

(B) An independent judiciary

(D) Distribution of powers between the centre and the states

179. Public Interest Litigat i on (PIL) was initiated in 1983 with the pioneering efforts of

(A) Justice R.N. Mishra

(B) Justice Chandrachud

(D) Justice Venkatswami

180. Which of the following was the first international treaty having significant portents for International Human Rights Law?

(A) Congress of Vienna

(B) Geneva Convention

(D) Treaty of Westphalia

181. Who of the following was the pioneer of United Nations Peace keeping operations?

(A) Trygve Li

(B) Kofi Annan

(D) Dag Hammarjskold

182. Who among the following wrote the book ‘The Theory of Justice’?

(A) Thomas Hegal

(B) John Rawls

(D) Thomas Hobbes

183. Who among the following defined rights as “those conditions of social life without which no man can reacts in general, to be his best”?

(A) Harold J. Laski

(B) Bernard Bosanquet

(D) Hurst Hannum

184. In which case Supreme Court held that Parliament has no power to amend the Fundamental Rights?

(A) Golak Nath Case

(B) Sajjan Singh Case

(D) None of these

185. What is the full form of COFEPOSA?

(A) Conservation of Foreign Exchange & Prevention of Smuggling Act

(B) Conservation of Foreign Economy and Prevention of South Africa.

186. Which one of the following sets of Articles in Part – III of the Constitution emphasis its secular character?

(A) Articles 8 to 11

(B) Articles 25 to 28

(D) Articles 14 to 19

187. ‘No taxation without representation’ was the slogan of which of the following revolutions?

(A) Glorious Revolution of Britain

(B) Bolshevik Revolution

(D) Chinese Revolution

188. Who was the first Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission in India?

(A) Rangnath Misre

(B) A.S. Anand

(D) P.B. Gajendragadkar

189. Who of the following was not a member of the Fundamental Rights sub-committee of the Advisory Committee of Constituent Assembly in India?

(A) K.T. Shah www.netugc.com

(B) B.R. Ambedkar

(D) Jawaharlal Nehru

190. Who of the following developed the notion of Human Development Index?

(A) Mohd. Yunus

(B) J.K. Galbraith

(D) Mahbub-ul-Haq

191. Which of the following is not a new social movement?

(A) Environmental Movements

(B) Feminist Movements

(D) Differently-Abled Rights Movements

192. Who among the following did not have an influence on shaping the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi?

(A) Ruskin Bond

(B) Leo Tolstoy

(D) Ernest Hemingway

193. Husband and wife have a right to each other’s company. This right is called

(A) Legal Right

(B) Matrimonial Right

(D) Conjugal Right

194. The author of the book, ‘Practice of Social Research-Social Work perspectives’ is

(A) D.K. Lal Das

(B) H.B. Trecker

(D) Nan Lin

195. Detachment from work, inability to accomplish goals and emotional discharge is known as

(A) Blockade

(B) Burnout

(D) Lockout

1 96. Which conference has brought in the concept of sustainable development?

(A) The Rio Conference www.netugc.com

(B) The Doha Conference

197. One of the following is not an aim of social policy.

(A) Balancing trade policies

(B) Elimination of poverty

(D) Pursuit of equality

198. Scientific attitude is based on

(A) Wishful thinking

(B) Spiritual thinking

(D) Devotional thinking

199. ‘Concentric circle theory’ is associated with

(A) Peoples’ participation

(B) Economic status of the country

(D) Monitoring system

200. Who defined ‘Statistics as the Science of estimates and probabilities’?

(A) Bodington

(D) Agarwal

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July 24, 2023

social work research questions and answers

If you’re anything like most Social Work students, the mere mention of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) exam likely brings a bead or two of perspiration to your forehead.

Not to mention, the thought of research methods and statistics sections might send a shiver down your spine. And hey, who could blame you? But, hold your horses! What if we told you that understanding how to tackle research methods and statistics questions on the ASWB exam isn’t as grueling as it sounds?

In this comprehensive guide, we’re going to dive deep into the core of the ASWB exam, focusing mainly on the ‘oh-so-dreaded’ research methods and statistics section.

Here’s your opportunity to shed off the heavy coat of anxiety and don the comfortable robe of confidence. Exciting, isn’t it? Let’s jump right in!

1) The ASWB Exam: What’s the Big Deal?

Before we delve into the strategies to conquer the research methods and statistics section, let’s understand why the ASWB exam is so important. Here’s what you need to know:

It’s a Licensing Prerequisite: The ASWB exam is a critical step toward earning your Social Work license. Pass this exam, and you’re one step closer to your dream career!
Standards of Professional Practice: The ASWB exam ensures that you meet the national standards of professional Social Work practice. It’s proof that you’re ready to provide the highest quality service to your clients.
Continuous Learning: The preparation process for the ASWB exam equips you with essential knowledge and skills required in the Social Work profession. It’s like a refresher course that keeps you on top of your game.

Doesn’t seem so intimidating now, does it?

2) Research Methods and Statistics: Why Are They Important?

“Research methods and statistics, seriously? I’m not going to be crunching numbers in the field!” If this sounds like something you’ve said, don’t worry, you’re not alone!

However, here’s why these sections matter:

They Equip You with Critical Skills: Understanding research methods and statistics enables you to analyze, interpret, and apply research findings with fidelity in your practice. It’s not just about numbers—it’s about making informed decisions to improve your clients’ lives.
They’re on the ASWB Exam: Like it or not, research methods and statistics questions will appear on the exam. You can’t afford to ignore them. In fact, conquering these sections could be your ticket to an impressive score!

Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter: how to tackle research methods and statistics questions on the ASWB exam.

Understand the Basic Concepts

Before you plunge headfirst into the deep end of research methods and statistics, take a moment to understand the basic concepts.

Research Methods : Learn about different research designs, the process of data collection, sampling methods, and ethical considerations in research.
Statistics : Grasp the basic concepts like mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and the different types of variables. Understand the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics.

Don’t just memorize—understand. When you grasp these concepts, you’ll find that the seemingly convoluted questions aren’t that tricky after all!

Agents of Change includes videos and practice questions on research methods and statistics.

Apply, Apply, Apply!

After you’ve gotten the hang of the basics, it’s time to apply what you’ve learned.

Practice with Mock Exams: There’s no better way to familiarize yourself with the exam format and question style. Plus, it’s a great way to identify your strengths and areas for improvement. Agents of Change offers 2 full-length practice exams.
Use Everyday Examples: Try to relate the concepts to real-life situations. For instance, imagine you’re conducting a survey on the mental health impacts of the pandemic. How would you design it? What kind of statistical analyses would you perform?

Remember, practice makes perfect. The more you apply these concepts, the better you’ll get at answering the questions!

Don’t Fear the Complex Questions

Sure, some questions might seem like they’ve been designed to trip you up, but remember—you’ve got this! Here’s how:

Break Down the Questions: Don’t let the length or complexity of the question intimidate you. Break it down into smaller parts, understand what’s being asked, and answer accordingly.
Use the Process of Elimination: If you’re stuck, eliminate the obviously incorrect answers first. This will narrow down your options and increase your chances of picking the right answer.

The complex questions aren’t so scary when you approach them strategically, right?

3) FAQs – Research and Statistics

Q: How much weight is given to research methods and statistics on the ASWB exam?

A: While the exact weight may vary, research methods and statistics are integral parts of the exam. It’s crucial to understand these topics to ensure a comprehensive understanding and a passing score on the exam.

Q: Is it necessary to memorize all statistical formulas?

The ASWB exam focuses more on the application of statistical concepts rather than computation. Hence, understanding the concepts is much more important than memorizing all formulas.

Agents of Change offers free and paid materials for all ASWB exams, learn more about what’s included here: Agents of Change Study Packages

Q: I’m struggling with understanding research methods and statistics. What should I do?

A: Don’t worry! Consider getting a study guide or seeking help from a tutor. Also, consistent practice and application can significantly improve your understanding.

Agents of Change offers free and paid materials for all ASWB exams, learn more: Agents of Change Study Packages

4) Conclusion

We’ve navigated the tumultuous seas of the ASWB exam, focusing on how to tackle research methods and statistics questions. And guess what? It isn’t as daunting as it initially seemed, right?

Master the basic concepts, apply them regularly, and don’t be afraid of complex questions. With these strategies in your toolkit, you’re well on your way to acing the research methods and statistics sections of the ASWB exam.

Remember, it’s not just about passing the exam; it’s about equipping yourself with the knowledge and skills to make a real difference in your client’s lives. So go ahead and tackle the ASWB exam with confidence and zest. You’ve got this!

Learn more about research methods and statistics and build your study plan with Agents of Change.

We’ve helped thousands of Social Workers pass their ASWB exams and want to help you be next!

5) Practice Question – Research Methods and Statistics

A Social Worker is evaluating the effectiveness of a new therapeutic intervention for anxiety. They collect data on clients’ anxiety levels before and after the intervention. Which research method is MOST appropriate for this type of evaluation?

A) Cross-sectional study, to compare different individuals’ anxiety levels at one point in time.

B) Longitudinal study, to observe changes in anxiety levels over an extended period.

C) Experimental study, to assess the impact of the intervention on anxiety levels by comparing pre- and post-intervention data.

D) Case study, to explore the intervention’s effect on anxiety in a single individual in-depth.

Correct Answer: C) Experimental study, to assess the impact of the intervention on anxiety levels by comparing pre- and post-intervention data.

Rationale: The correct answer is C. In this scenario, the Social Worker is interested in determining the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention by comparing clients’ anxiety levels before and after the treatment. An experimental study design is most suitable for this purpose, as it allows the researcher to manipulate the independent variable (the therapeutic intervention) and measure its effect on the dependent variable (clients’ anxiety levels). By comparing data collected before and after the intervention, the Social Worker can assess the intervention’s impact on anxiety levels.

A cross-sectional study (Option A) involves observing different individuals at one point in time, which would not be appropriate for assessing changes over time in the same individuals. A longitudinal study (Option B) observes changes over an extended period but typically involves longer durations and multiple observations, not just before-and-after assessments. A case study (Option D) focuses on a single individual or a small group in-depth, which would not provide a broad assessment of the intervention’s effectiveness across a larger group. Therefore, an experimental study (Option C) is the most appropriate for evaluating the impact of the new therapeutic intervention on anxiety levels.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

► Learn more about the Agents of Change course here: https://agentsofchangeprep.com

About the Instructor, Meagan Mitchell: Meagan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been providing individualized and group test prep for the ASWB for over five years. From all of this experience helping others pass their exams, she created the Agents of Change course to help you prepare for and pass the ASWB exam!

Find more from Agents of Change here:

► Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aswbtestprep

► Podcast: https://anchor.fm/agents-of-change-sw

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Disclaimer: This content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or clinical advice, diagnosis, or treatment

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Social Work Research Guide

Getting Started
Finding Articles
Finding Books
Citing Sources - APA
Developing a Research Question
Literature Review Assignment
Annotated Bibliography Assignment

From Topic to Question

What makes a good research question?
QuickSearch
Using Google

In chapter 2 of Research Methods for Social Workers: An Introduction , the authors describe the criteria for determining whether you have a good research question. There are four elements to consider when evaluating your research question:

Researchable

Ethical and culturally sensitive

A relevant research question is one whose answers will have an impact on policies, theories, or practices related to the social work profession. Other factors determining the relevance include the organization who funds the research, the program that houses it, and the research team that undertakes it.

Generally, questions that involve moral or faith-based decisions are outside of the realm of research. A researchable question is appropriate for scientific inquiry, where it is possible to collect viable and reliable data to answer the question.

Feasibility

What are the resources available to you to conduct this research? The scope of the research study might be limited because of your resources, or lack thereof. Could you practically do what you have planned?

Ethical and Cultural Acceptability

The way your research question is phrased as well as the way the study is eventually conducted have the potential to cause harm. As you begin your research for the literature review, you will become more aware of what came before on a similar topic, including anything that study missed.

If you are struggling to develop a good research question talk to your professor or contact me!

QuickSearch is a tool that searches across many of the resources available to you at SHU Library. With one search box, you can search keywords for your topic and the results will include books, eBooks, peer-reviewed articles, as well as newspapers, magazines and other media (like streaming video).

QuickSearch is a good place to start your research for your topic. With the results you get a general idea of what is available about the topic and you have the ability to start reading through the research.

You can use the search box below to test it out.

What am I searching?

For more information about using QuickSearch, watch the video below.

Google is a natural place to start for all of use when looking for information. It's easy to use and generally gives you the answers you want or need.

When it comes to academic research though, it might not be the best option. Typing in "palliative care" gives you more than 26 million results with no easy way to narrow them down or to know what is reputable, scholarly and peer-reviewed. Don't get me wrong, you could probably figure all that out with a Google search, but how much time would you end up spending to do so?

A better option is to do a search in Google Scholar. This will search through scholarly books, research articles, open access and subscription journals. So it narrows down to the resources you need to consult (are required to consult) in research in the Social Work field.

The biggest drawback is that you might not get full-text access to all of the citations, articles and books available in a Google Scholar search. Check out the Research Tools at SHU page in this guide to find out about Citation Linker and Journal Finder, which can help connect you to the resources you find in a Google Scholar search.

The pitfalls of Google

Google dominates our lives in so many ways. They are the most used search engine (about 65% of the market). Doesn't everyone use Chrome and have a Gmail account? Google knows a lot about us, but we don't know everything about them.

How does Google decide on the search results and the order they display?

Many factors influence this:

Your search history
Your location
What other people are searching
Money: ads and sponsored content

It is important to be aware of these issues, not only when searching for an assignment, but even when you need some information for your personal life. These factors can sway your search results.

Sometimes this is okay. If you are looking for information about a place to eat lunch, you want to get results that are closest to you, not in a totally different state.

Here is a very informative and complex infographic about this issue: http://www.seobook.com/learn-seo/infographics/how-search-works.php

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Social Work Research Methods That Drive the Practice

A social worker surveys a community member.

Social workers advocate for the well-being of individuals, families and communities. But how do social workers know what interventions are needed to help an individual? How do they assess whether a treatment plan is working? What do social workers use to write evidence-based policy?

Social work involves research-informed practice and practice-informed research. At every level, social workers need to know objective facts about the populations they serve, the efficacy of their interventions and the likelihood that their policies will improve lives. A variety of social work research methods make that possible.

Data-Driven Work

Data is a collection of facts used for reference and analysis. In a field as broad as social work, data comes in many forms.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

As with any research, social work research involves both quantitative and qualitative studies.

Quantitative Research

Answers to questions like these can help social workers know about the populations they serve — or hope to serve in the future.

How many students currently receive reduced-price school lunches in the local school district?
How many hours per week does a specific individual consume digital media?
How frequently did community members access a specific medical service last year?

Quantitative data — facts that can be measured and expressed numerically — are crucial for social work.

Quantitative research has advantages for social scientists. Such research can be more generalizable to large populations, as it uses specific sampling methods and lends itself to large datasets. It can provide important descriptive statistics about a specific population. Furthermore, by operationalizing variables, it can help social workers easily compare similar datasets with one another.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative data — facts that cannot be measured or expressed in terms of mere numbers or counts — offer rich insights into individuals, groups and societies. It can be collected via interviews and observations.

What attitudes do students have toward the reduced-price school lunch program?
What strategies do individuals use to moderate their weekly digital media consumption?
What factors made community members more or less likely to access a specific medical service last year?

Qualitative research can thereby provide a textured view of social contexts and systems that may not have been possible with quantitative methods. Plus, it may even suggest new lines of inquiry for social work research.

Mixed Methods Research

Combining quantitative and qualitative methods into a single study is known as mixed methods research. This form of research has gained popularity in the study of social sciences, according to a 2019 report in the academic journal Theory and Society. Since quantitative and qualitative methods answer different questions, merging them into a single study can balance the limitations of each and potentially produce more in-depth findings.

However, mixed methods research is not without its drawbacks. Combining research methods increases the complexity of a study and generally requires a higher level of expertise to collect, analyze and interpret the data. It also requires a greater level of effort, time and often money.

The Importance of Research Design

Data-driven practice plays an essential role in social work. Unlike philanthropists and altruistic volunteers, social workers are obligated to operate from a scientific knowledge base.

To know whether their programs are effective, social workers must conduct research to determine results, aggregate those results into comprehensible data, analyze and interpret their findings, and use evidence to justify next steps.

Employing the proper design ensures that any evidence obtained during research enables social workers to reliably answer their research questions.

Research Methods in Social Work

The various social work research methods have specific benefits and limitations determined by context. Common research methods include surveys, program evaluations, needs assessments, randomized controlled trials, descriptive studies and single-system designs.

Surveys involve a hypothesis and a series of questions in order to test that hypothesis. Social work researchers will send out a survey, receive responses, aggregate the results, analyze the data, and form conclusions based on trends.

Surveys are one of the most common research methods social workers use — and for good reason. They tend to be relatively simple and are usually affordable. However, surveys generally require large participant groups, and self-reports from survey respondents are not always reliable.

Program Evaluations

Social workers ally with all sorts of programs: after-school programs, government initiatives, nonprofit projects and private programs, for example.

Crucially, social workers must evaluate a program’s effectiveness in order to determine whether the program is meeting its goals and what improvements can be made to better serve the program’s target population.

Evidence-based programming helps everyone save money and time, and comparing programs with one another can help social workers make decisions about how to structure new initiatives. Evaluating programs becomes complicated, however, when programs have multiple goal metrics, some of which may be vague or difficult to assess (e.g., “we aim to promote the well-being of our community”).

Needs Assessments

Social workers use needs assessments to identify services and necessities that a population lacks access to.

Common social work populations that researchers may perform needs assessments on include:

People in a specific income group
Everyone in a specific geographic region
A specific ethnic group
People in a specific age group

In the field, a social worker may use a combination of methods (e.g., surveys and descriptive studies) to learn more about a specific population or program. Social workers look for gaps between the actual context and a population’s or individual’s “wants” or desires.

For example, a social worker could conduct a needs assessment with an individual with cancer trying to navigate the complex medical-industrial system. The social worker may ask the client questions about the number of hours they spend scheduling doctor’s appointments, commuting and managing their many medications. After learning more about the specific client needs, the social worker can identify opportunities for improvements in an updated care plan.

In policy and program development, social workers conduct needs assessments to determine where and how to effect change on a much larger scale. Integral to social work at all levels, needs assessments reveal crucial information about a population’s needs to researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders. Needs assessments may fall short, however, in revealing the root causes of those needs (e.g., structural racism).

Randomized Controlled Trials

Randomized controlled trials are studies in which a randomly selected group is subjected to a variable (e.g., a specific stimulus or treatment) and a control group is not. Social workers then measure and compare the results of the randomized group with the control group in order to glean insights about the effectiveness of a particular intervention or treatment.

Randomized controlled trials are easily reproducible and highly measurable. They’re useful when results are easily quantifiable. However, this method is less helpful when results are not easily quantifiable (i.e., when rich data such as narratives and on-the-ground observations are needed).

Descriptive Studies

Descriptive studies immerse the researcher in another context or culture to study specific participant practices or ways of living. Descriptive studies, including descriptive ethnographic studies, may overlap with and include other research methods:

Informant interviews
Census data
Observation

By using descriptive studies, researchers may glean a richer, deeper understanding of a nuanced culture or group on-site. The main limitations of this research method are that it tends to be time-consuming and expensive.

Single-System Designs

Unlike most medical studies, which involve testing a drug or treatment on two groups — an experimental group that receives the drug/treatment and a control group that does not — single-system designs allow researchers to study just one group (e.g., an individual or family).

Single-system designs typically entail studying a single group over a long period of time and may involve assessing the group’s response to multiple variables.

For example, consider a study on how media consumption affects a person’s mood. One way to test a hypothesis that consuming media correlates with low mood would be to observe two groups: a control group (no media) and an experimental group (two hours of media per day). When employing a single-system design, however, researchers would observe a single participant as they watch two hours of media per day for one week and then four hours per day of media the next week.

These designs allow researchers to test multiple variables over a longer period of time. However, similar to descriptive studies, single-system designs can be fairly time-consuming and costly.

Learn More About Social Work Research Methods

Social workers have the opportunity to improve the social environment by advocating for the vulnerable — including children, older adults and people with disabilities — and facilitating and developing resources and programs.

Learn more about how you can earn your Master of Social Work online at Virginia Commonwealth University . The highest-ranking school of social work in Virginia, VCU has a wide range of courses online. That means students can earn their degrees with the flexibility of learning at home. Learn more about how you can take your career in social work further with VCU.

From M.S.W. to LCSW: Understanding Your Career Path as a Social Worker

How Palliative Care Social Workers Support Patients With Terminal Illnesses

How to Become a Social Worker in Health Care

Gov.uk, Mixed Methods Study

MVS Open Press, Foundations of Social Work Research

Open Social Work Education, Scientific Inquiry in Social Work

Open Social Work, Graduate Research Methods in Social Work: A Project-Based Approach

Routledge, Research for Social Workers: An Introduction to Methods

SAGE Publications, Research Methods for Social Work: A Problem-Based Approach

Theory and Society, Mixed Methods Research: What It Is and What It Could Be

READY TO GET STARTED WITH OUR ONLINE M.S.W. PROGRAM FORMAT?

Bachelor’s degree is required.

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Social Work Research Topics & Tips on Finding and Distinguishing Good Ones

Updated 01 Jul 2024

Social work research is the systematic investigation of problems pertaining to the social work field. Alternatively, it can be defined as the application of research methods for addressing/solving problems confronted by social workers in their practice.

Major research areas include studying concepts, theories, principles, underlying methods, employees’ skills and their interaction with individuals and groups as well as internal processes, functioning principles within social entities. For a more specific selection of social work research topics, go to the appropriate section within this article.

Social work is ultimately focused on practical application, hence, the ultimate goal of social work research is understanding the efficacy of various intervention methods aimed at alleviating the conditions of people suffering from social deprivation – this highlights the importance presented by both the field and its associated research. For such difficult topics, you may ask yourself "can I pay someone to write my research paper " - and our professional team is here to help you.

Signs of Good Research Topics

Of all social work research questions, how could one distinguish the ones holding the greatest value or potential? Considering these signs could increase the chances of picking higher quality or more productive social work topics:

Chosen topics are backed up by one or more published studies by research teams from the US or from abroad with solid article-related citation metrics, typically published in prestigious peer-reviewed academic journals (journals with high impact factor).
Social work research topics in question are related to practice – theoretical research is very important, but nothing beats practical knowledge and efficient practical intervention methods and strategies. However, this aspect might depend on other circumstances as well (for students, for instance, theoretical topics are fairly acceptable). To ensure a successful research proposal in the field of social work, consider utilizing research proposal writing services .
Social work research topics are breaking certain stereotypes. People are inclined towards topics that break preconceived notions – such topics naturally receive greater attention. If they bring solid evidence and reasonable arguments while providing/promising real benefits, such topics can simply revolutionize the field.
Chosen social work research topics match current trends. Don’t understand us wrong – not everything that is trendy deserves attention (many things are overhyped). However, trends do have a sound reason for emerging (there is normally value behind the forces driving them). Moreover, delving into a field/topic that has only been recently established often gives significant advantages (career-wise). So watch out for trends in your research field closely, but always scrutinize them for what they are worth.

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Where Can You Find Perfect Topics?

When exploring education research topics or searching for social worker research topics, it might prove useful to follow a few proven strategies (which are equally valid for many other occasions):

Skim through your study literature (e.g. handbooks, course notes) – this is material you already studied, but going through it might help you to systematically visualize all studied topics or subtopics (these can suggest new ideas).
Brainstorming. Access your knowledge base – chances are you have a few interesting topics stored in mind that you’d like to explore in greater detail.
Browse through published article titles in social work journals or, even better, study newsletters/highlights on journal websites. Alternatively, one could search on platforms aggregating field-related news from multiple journals.– while some articles/topics might be overly complicated or specific, these still offer an immense choice.
Browse online for ready research topics for a custom research paper from our research paper writing service – skimming through such lists would bombard you with topics of appropriate complexity and scope /broadness or would inspire new related ideas (e.g. by combining elements from different topics).

Yet another way to pick a good topic is to get research paper writing help from our professional writers – they would manage all aspects, including that of choosing an original and solid topic (obviously, you might be willing to confirm it, before proceeding with your writing project).

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100 Social Work Research Topics

Below is a comprehensive social work research topics list to help get you started with your project.

50 Controversial Research Topics

Group therapy vs individual therapy for increasing autistic children adaptability
Impact on parents having children with autism spectrum disorder.
Role play vs group discussion efficiency in increasing knowledge regarding drug abuse among high-school students.
Addressing the stigma associated with depression.
Measures to counteract condemning stereotypes with regard to depression (explaining and highlighting the biological mechanisms underlying it)
Identifying individuals with suicide predisposition serving in military units.
Life events role in PTSD onset in veterans.
Strategies to prevent PTSD onset in US army veterans.
Social inclusion measures for war veterans.
Most efficient strategies for suicide prevention in academic setting.
Categories are most vulnerable to drug abuse.
Most efficient educational measures to prevent future drug abuse in children
Myths about substance abuse among adolescents.
Family support importance for alcohol addicts rehabilitation.
Workaholics – new type of addicts. Impact on personal and family lives.
Mental retardation in Alzheimer’s disease – how to cope with it as a family member?
Promoting integration for children with Down syndrome.
General considerations for working with children with developmental disabilities.
Educating society with regard to dyslexic children (all target groups could be considered: parents, classmates, teachers, etc.)
Dyslexia cases combined with ADHD – how to approach it?
Dismounting common myths about dyslexia.
Counteracting bullying aimed at dyslexic children.
Early intervention benefits to address language difficulties in case of dyslexic children.
What role should educators, parents, schools, mental health centers, private practice have in addressing dyslexia?
Key prerequisites for building resilience to adverse life events in children
Strategies for building resilience in welfare workers.
Who is responsible for developing resilience in social workers?
Self-help guidelines for social workers to become resilient.
Most common problems encountered by LGBT youth in US schools.
Arming LGBT individuals with coping strategies to face discrimination.
The situation with juvenile delinquents across various US states.
Rationale behind separating juvenile delinquents from adult delinquents.
Factors contributing to high youth incarceration rate in certain US states (Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota).
Most efficient reeducation strategies for juvenile delinquents.
Society inclusion measures for people that served in prison.
Coping with the stigma of having served in prison.
Attitudes of welfare workers towards incarcerated individuals.
Attitudes of correctional officers towards mental health of incarcerated individuals.
Gender differences relevance when working with incarcerated people.
Factors increasing the risk of recidivism in released prisoners.
Incarceration impacts on parent-child relationships.
Incarceration effects on mental health.
Social inclusion role and family support in preventing recidivism by former prisoners.
Circumstances associated with the highest risk of becoming a human trafficking victim.
Ethical rules important when working with human trafficking victims.
Trauma characteristic depiction for human trafficking victims.
What is considered neglecting a child in child welfare?
Prerequisites of a safe childhood and a functional family.
Dealing with child abuse in orphanages.
Types of child maltreatment/abuse.

50 Hot Research Topics for Social Work Students

Difference in approaching children vs adolescents suffering from domestic violence.
Success stories in preventing child abuse in certain regions/states.
Strategies to encourage women to report domestic violence cases.
Damage to families with ongoing domestic violence.
Healing steps for victims of domestic violence.
Effects of child neglect on later academic performance and career.
Removing a child from a setting – when is it justified?
Guidelines on providing testimony in court as a social worker
Peculiarities of social work in health care assistance.
Grief counseling for families that lost a loved one.
Understanding the symptoms of grief.
Risk factors for dangerous grief.
Conduct/communication rules with persons in grief.
Types of elder abuse. Which are the most common ones?
Predictors of elder abuse (related to relationships within families, financial, status).
The integrative concept of human services.
The utility of mentoring programs in social care.
Work with elders experiencing cognitive impairment.
Peculiarities of working with immigrants in social care.
Considerations for working with HIV positive people.
Social research topics about homeless people.
Primary factors contributing to homelessness.
Challenges faced by social care assistants in working with sexually exploited clients belonging to the opposite gender.
Meeting unique needs of sexually exploited children.
Compassion fatigue experienced by welfare worker.
Challenges experienced by single parents and support strategies
Problem of getting medical help when belonging to vulnerable categories
Is there place for spirituality in welfare worker?
Religious beliefs obstructing welfare worker.
Support strategies for low-income families having children with impaired development.
Retrospective views and youth opinions on foster care facilities they have gone through.
Key wishes/demands expressed by foster care facility residents
Strategies employed by welfare worker to avoid burnout.
Importance of building emotional intelligence as welfare worker.
Discussing sexual health with mentally ill or retarded clients.
Spirituality and faith as an essential element in many addiction rehabilitation programs.
Attitude towards older people among welfare workers.
Factors responsible for reluctance to benefit from mental health services among certain population groups.
Differences in working with adolescent and adult drug abusers.
Factors affecting foster youth that impact their higher education retention rate.
Language barrier as an obstructing factor for minorities in benefiting from mental health services.
Cultural competence as social work research topic
Pre and post birth assistance to surrogate mothers. Evaluating impact on mental health.
Challenges and issues arising in families with adoptive children.
Play therapy interventions effectiveness in school-based counseling.
Mental health in hemodialysis patients and corresponding support strategies.
Importance presented by recreational activities for patients with Alzheimer’s.
Intimacy impact on the outcome of group therapy practices for alcohol addiction.
Mental health care outcomes in pedophilia victims.
Alternative practices in social work.

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The link between social work research and practice

When thinking about social work, some may consider the field to solely focus on clinical interventions with individuals or groups.

There may be a mistaken impression that research is not a part of the social work profession. This is completely false. Rather, the two have been and will continue to need to be intertwined.

This guide covers why social workers should care about research, how both social work practice and social work research influence and guide each other, how to build research skills both as a student and as a professional working in the field, and the benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills.

A selection of social work research jobs are also discussed.

Social workers and research
Evidence-based practice
Practice and research
Research and practice
Build research skills
Social worker as researcher
Benefits of research skills
Research jobs

Why should social workers care about research?

Sometimes it may seem as though social work practice and social work research are two separate tracks running parallel to each other – they both seek to improve the lives of clients, families and communities, but they don’t interact. This is not the way it is supposed to work.

Research and practice should be intertwined, with each affecting the other and improving processes on both ends, so that it leads to better outcomes for the population we’re serving.

Section 5 of the NASW Social Work Code of Ethics is focused on social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the social work profession. There are two areas in which research is mentioned in upholding our ethical obligations: for the integrity of the profession (section 5.01) and for evaluation and research (section 5.02).

Some of the specific guidance provided around research and social work include:

5.01(b): …Social workers should protect, enhance, and improve the integrity of the profession through appropriate study and research, active discussion, and responsible criticism of the profession.
5.01(d): Social workers should contribute to the knowledge base of social work and share with colleagues their knowledge related to practice, research, and ethics…
5.02(a) Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation of programs, and practice interventions.
5.02(b) Social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development of knowledge.
5.02(c) Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work and fully use evaluation and research evidence in their professional practice.
5.02(q) Social workers should educate themselves, their students, and their colleagues about responsible research practices.

Evidence-based practice and evidence-based treatment

In order to strengthen the profession and determine that the interventions we are providing are, in fact, effective, we must conduct research. When research and practice are intertwined, this leads practitioners to develop evidence-based practice (EBP) and evidence-based treatment (EBT).

Evidence-based practice is, according to The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) , a process involving creating an answerable question based on a client or organizational need, locating the best available evidence to answer the question, evaluating the quality of the evidence as well as its applicability, applying the evidence, and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution.

Evidence-based treatment is any practice that has been established as effective through scientific research according to a set of explicit criteria (Drake et al., 2001). These are interventions that, when applied consistently, routinely produce improved client outcomes.

For example, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was one of a variety of interventions for those with anxiety disorders. Researchers wondered if CBT was better than other intervention options in producing positive, consistent results for clients.

So research was conducted comparing multiple types of interventions, and the evidence (research results) demonstrated that CBT was the best intervention.

The anecdotal evidence from practice combined with research evidence determined that CBT should become the standard treatment for those diagnosed with anxiety. Now more social workers are getting trained in CBT methods in order to offer this as a treatment option to their clients.

How does social work practice affect research?

Social work practice provides the context and content for research. For example, agency staff was concerned about the lack of nutritional food in their service area, and heard from clients that it was too hard to get to a grocery store with a variety of foods, because they didn’t have transportation, or public transit took too long.

So the agency applied for and received a grant to start a farmer’s market in their community, an urban area that was considered a food desert. This program accepted their state’s version of food stamps as a payment option for the items sold at the farmer’s market.

The agency used their passenger van to provide free transportation to and from the farmer’s market for those living more than four blocks from the market location.

The local university also had a booth each week at the market with nursing and medical students checking blood pressure and providing referrals to community agencies that could assist with medical needs. The agency was excited to improve the health of its clients by offering this program.

But how does the granting foundation know if this was a good use of their money? This is where research and evaluation comes in. Research could gather data to answer a number of questions. Here is but a small sample:

How many community members visited each week and purchased fruits and vegetables?
How many took advantage of the transportation provided, and how many walked to the market?
How many took advantage of the blood pressure checks? Were improvements seen in those numbers for those having repeat blood pressure readings throughout the market season?
How much did the self-reported fruit and vegetable intake increase for customers?
What barriers did community members report in visiting and buying food from the market (prices too high? Inconvenient hours?)
Do community members want the program to continue next year?
Was the program cost-effective, or did it waste money by paying for a driver and for gasoline to offer free transportation that wasn’t utilized? What are areas where money could be saved without compromising the quality of the program?
What else needs to be included in this program to help improve the health of community members?

How does research affect social work practice?

Research can guide practice to implement proven strategies. It can also ask the ‘what if’ or ‘how about’ questions that can open doors for new, innovative interventions to be developed (and then research the effectiveness of those interventions).

Engel and Schutt (2017) describe four categories of research used in social work:

Descriptive research is research in which social phenomena are defined and described. A descriptive research question would be ‘How many homeless women with substance use disorder live in the metro area?’
Exploratory research seeks to find out how people get along in the setting under question, what meanings they give to their actions, and what issues concern them. An example research question would be ‘What are the barriers to homeless women with substance use disorder receiving treatment services?’
Explanatory research seeks to identify causes and effects of social phenomena. It can be used to rule out other explanations for findings and show how two events are related to each other. An explanatory research question would be ‘Why do women with substance use disorder become homeless?’
Evaluation research describes or identifies the impact of social programs and policies. This type of research question could be ‘How effective was XYZ treatment-first program that combined housing and required drug/alcohol abstinence in keeping women with substance use disorder in stable housing 2 years after the program ended?’

Each of the above types of research can answer important questions about the population, setting or intervention being provided. This can help practitioners determine which option is most effective or cost-efficient or that clients are most likely to adhere to. In turn, this data allows social workers to make informed choices on what to keep in their practice, and what needs changing.

How to build research skills while in school

There are a number of ways to build research skills while a student. BSW and MSW programs require a research course, but there are other ways to develop these skills beyond a single class:

Volunteer to help a professor working in an area of interest. Professors are often excited to share their knowledge and receive extra assistance from students with similar interests.
Participate in student research projects where you’re the subject. These are most often found in psychology departments. You can learn a lot about the informed consent process and how data is collected by volunteering as a research participant. Many of these studies also pay a small amount, so it’s an easy way to earn a bit of extra money while you’re on campus.
Create an independent study research project as an elective and work with a professor who is an expert in an area you’re interested in. You’d design a research study, collect the data, analyze it, and write a report or possibly even an article you can submit to an academic journal.
Some practicum programs will have you complete a small evaluation project or assist with a larger research project as part of your field education hours.
In MSW programs, some professors hire students to conduct interviews or enter data on their funded research projects. This could be a good part time job while in school.
Research assistant positions are more common in MSW programs, and these pay for some or all your tuition in exchange for working a set number of hours per week on a funded research project.

How to build research skills while working as a social worker

Social service agencies are often understaffed, with more projects to complete than there are people to complete them.

Taking the initiative to volunteer to survey clients about what they want and need, conduct an evaluation on a program, or seeing if there is data that has been previously collected but not analyzed and review that data and write up a report can help you stand out from your peers, be appreciated by management and other staff, and may even lead to a raise, a promotion, or even new job opportunities because of the skills you’ve developed.

Benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills

Social workers with strong research skills can have the opportunity to work on various projects, and at higher levels of responsibility.

Many can be promoted into administration level positions after demonstrating they understand how to conduct, interpret and report research findings and apply those findings to improving the agency and their programs.

There’s also a level of confidence knowing you’re implementing proven strategies with your clients.

Social work research jobs

There are a number of ways in which you can blend interests in social work and research. A quick search on Glassdoor.com and Indeed.com retrieved the following positions related to social work research:

Research Coordinator on a clinical trial offering psychosocial supportive interventions and non-addictive pain treatments to minimize opioid use for pain.
Senior Research Associate leading and overseeing research on a suite of projects offered in housing, mental health and corrections.
Research Fellow in a school of social work
Project Policy Analyst for large health organization
Health Educator/Research Specialist to implement and evaluate cancer prevention and screening programs for a health department
Research Interventionist providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia patients participating in a clinical trial
Research Associate for Child Care and Early Education
Social Services Data Researcher for an organization serving adults with disabilities.
Director of Community Health Equity Research Programs evaluating health disparities.

No matter your population or area of interest, you’d likely be able to find a position that integrated research and social work.

Social work practice and research are and should remain intertwined. This is the only way we can know what questions to ask about the programs and services we are providing, and ensure our interventions are effective.

There are many opportunities to develop research skills while in school and while working in the field, and these skills can lead to some interesting positions that can make a real difference to clients, families and communities.

Drake, R. E., Goldman, H., Leff, H. S., Lehman, A. F., Dixon, L., Mueser, K. T., et al. (2001). Implementing evidence-based practices in routine mental health service settings. Psychiatric Services, 52(2), 179-182.

Engel, R.J., & Schutt, R.K. (2017). The Practice of Research in Social Work. Sage.

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d). Evidence Based Practice. Retrieved from: https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Research-Data/Social-Work-Policy-Research/Evidence-Based-Practice

Social Work Toolbox: 37 Questions, Assessments, & Resources

This may be because of its unlikely position, balanced between “the individual and society, the powerful and the excluded” (Davies, 2013, p. 3).

Social work is a unique profession because of its breadth and depth of engagement and the many governmental and private organizations with which it engages.

Not only does it help individuals and groups solve problems in psychosocial functioning, but it also attempts to support them in their life-enhancing goals and ultimately create a just society (Suppes & Wells, 2017).

This article provides a toolbox for social workers, with a selection of assessments and resources to support them in their role and career.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

6 best resources for social workers, top 17 questions to ask your clients, 2 assessments for your sessions, social work & domestic violence: 5 helpful resources, our 3 favorite podcasts on the topic, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Demanding professions require dedicated and supportive resources that transform social work theory into practice. The following worksheets and tools target some of the most challenging and essential areas of social work (Rogers, Whitaker, Edmondson, & Peach, 2020; Davies, 2013):

Emotional intelligence

“Understanding emotion arises from the combined consciousness of how we perceive emotions and use our intellect to make sense of them” (Rogers et al., 2020, p. 47).

For social workers, emotional intelligence is invaluable. They must develop and maintain awareness of both their own and their client’s feelings and use the insights to select appropriate interventions and communication strategies without becoming overwhelmed.

The Reflecting on Emotions in Social Work worksheet encourages social workers to stop and consider their feelings following an initial client visit.

In the worksheet, the social worker is guided to find some quiet time and space to reflect on:

How do I feel about my initial visit?
What are my thoughts regarding the purpose of the visit?
How do I think I can proceed with developing a relationship with the client?
How do I think the client feels about my visit?

Being self-aware is a crucial aspect of social work and will inform the ongoing relationship with the client.

Fostering empathy

Mirror neurons fire when we watch others performing an action or experiencing an emotion. They play a significant role in learning new skills and developing empathy for others’ experiences (Thomson, 2010).

Social workers must become more aware of service users’ experiences, as they can influence and affect the interaction with them.

Use the Fostering Empathy Reflectively worksheet to improve the understanding of your own and others’ emotions and increase the degree of empathy.

Observing others can make social workers more aware of human behavior and the emotions and thoughts underneath to increase their capacity for empathy.

Reflective cycle

Reflecting on situations encountered on the job can help social workers fully consider their own and their clients’ thoughts and feelings before drawing conclusions. Indeed, “successful reflection emphasizes the centrality of self-awareness and the capacity for analysis” (Rogers et al., 2020, p. 64).

Use the Reflective Cycle for Social Work to reflect on events, incidents, and behaviors in a structured and systematic way (modified from Gibbs, 1988).

Challenging social interactions

Good communication skills and confidence in social interactions are essential for social work. There will be times when you need assertiveness to challenge others to ensure the client’s needs are met (Rogers et al., 2020).

However, like all skills, social skills can be learned and maintained through education and practice.

The Preparing for Difficult Social Interactions worksheet considers how a situation or event may unfold through focusing on the essential issues.

Practice and role-play can help social workers prepare for a more successful social interaction and gain confidence in their coping abilities.

Motivational Interviewing in Social Work

“Change can become difficult for service users when they are ambivalent about the extent to which the change will be beneficial” (Davies, 2013, p. 451).

One method used by social workers to explore their clients’ intrinsic values and ambivalence is through motivational interviewing (MI). MI has four basic principles (modified from Davies, 2013):

Expressing empathy Displaying a clear and genuine interest in the client’s needs, feelings, and perspective.
Developing discrepancy Watching and listening for discrepancies between a client’s present behavior and values and future goals.
Rolling with resistance Avoiding getting into arguments or pushing for change.
Supporting self-efficacy Believing in the client’s capacity to change.

The Motivational Interviewing in Social Work worksheet uses the five stages of change to consider the client’s readiness for change and as input for selecting an appropriate intervention (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1986; Davies, 2013).

The client should be encouraged to create and implement a plan, including goals and details of the specific tasks required.

Respectful practices

Rogers et al. (2020) identified several fundamental values that social workers should be aware of and practice with their service users, families, and other organizations with which they engage. These include:

Individuality
Honesty and integrity

The Respectful Practices in Social Work worksheet encourages reflection on whether a social worker remains in touch with their values and the principles expected in their work.

Social workers should frequently think of recent examples of interactions with clients, families, and other organizations, and ask themselves (modified from Rogers et al., 2020):

Were you polite, courteous, warm, and approachable?
How well did you accept people with different beliefs and values from your own?
Did you attempt to understand the person and their history?
Were you professional, open, honest, and trustworthy?
Did you treat each person equally, providing fair access to your time and resources?

A regular check-in to ensure high standards are being maintained and values remain clear will ensure the continued professionalism expected from a social worker.

The following questions provide practical examples; practitioners should tailor them according to timing and context and remain sensitive to the needs of all involved (Rogers et al., 2020; Suppes & Wells, 2017; Davies, 2013).

Open questions

Open questions encourage the respondent to reflect and respond with their feelings, thoughts, and personal experiences. For example:

What is your view of what happened?
What has it been like living with this issue?
How could we work together to find a good solution?
What are your greatest fears?

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Closed questions

Typically, closed questions are used to find out personal details such as name and address, but they can also provide focus and clarity to confirm information. Closed questions are especially important when dealing with someone with cognitive impairment or who finds it difficult to speak up, and can lead to follow-up, open questions.

For example:

How old are you?
Are you in trouble?
Are you scared?
Do you need help?

Hypothetical questions

Hypothetical questions can be helpful when we need the service user to consider a potentially different future, one in which their problems have been resolved. Such questions can build hope and set goals. For example:

Can you imagine how things would be if you did not live with the fear of violence?
Where would you like to be in a few years after you leave school?
Can you imagine what you would do if a similar situation were to happen again?

Strengths-based questions

“Focusing on strengths helps to move away from a preoccupation with risk and risk management” and builds strengths for a better future (Rogers et al., 2020, p. 243). Strengths-based questions in social work can be powerful tools for identifying the positives and adopting a solution-focused approach.

Examples include:

Survival – How did you cope in the past?
Support – Who helps you and gives you support and guidance?
Esteem – How do you feel when you receive compliments?
Perspective – What are your thoughts about the situation, issue, or problem?
Change – What would you like to change, and how can I help?
Meaning – What gives your life meaning?

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Interventions in social work are often described as having four stages: engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation (Suppes & Wells, 2017).

The assessment stage typically involves:

Collecting, organizing, and interpreting data
Assessing a client’s strengths and limitations
Developing and agreeing on goals and objectives for interventions
Selecting strategies appropriate to the intervention

Assessment is an ongoing process that typically focuses on risk. It begins with the referral and only ends when the intervention is complete or the case closed.

Assessment will need to be specific to the situation and the individuals involved, but it is likely to consider the following kinds of risks (Rogers et al., 2020; Bath and North East Somerset Council, 2017):

General risk assessment

Risk management does not remove risk, but rather reduces the likelihood or impact of problematic behavior. Risk assessments are performed to identify factors that may cause risky behavior or events (Davies, 2013).

Questions include:

What has been happening?
What is happening right now?
What could happen?
How likely is it that it will happen?
How serious could it be?

The wording and detail of each will depend on the situation, client, and environment, guided by the social worker’s training and experience.

Assessment of risk to children

A child’s safety is of the utmost importance. As part of the assessment process, a complete understanding of actual or potential harm is vital, including (modified from Bath and North East Somerset Council, 2017):

Has the child been harmed? Are they likely to be harmed?
Is the child at immediate risk of harm and is their safety threatened?
If harmed previously, to what extent or degree? Is there likely to be harm in the future?
Has there been a detrimental impact on the child’s wellbeing? Is there likely to be in the future?
Is there a parent or guardian able and motivated to protect the child from harm?

Social workers must use professional judgment to assess the level of risk and assure the child’s ongoing safety.

Assessment process – Oregon Department of Human Services

The figures related to domestic violence are shocking. There are 1.3 million women and 835,000 men in the United States alone who are physically assaulted by a close partner each year (NASW, n.d.).

The NASW offers valuable resources to help social workers recognize the signs of existing domestic violence, prevent future violence, and help victims, including:

We can help end domestic violence – information on how the White Ribbon Day Campaign is raising awareness of domestic violence

SocialWorkersToolBox.com is another website with a vast range of free social work tools and resources. This UK-based website has a range of videos and educational toolkits, including:

Exploring Healthy Relationships: Resource Pack for 14–16-Year-Olds
Parents’ Guide: Youth Violence, Knife Crime, and Gangs
Family Meetings: Parents’ Guide and Templates
Preventing Bullying: A Guide for Parents

Many of the worksheets are helpful for sharing with parents, carers, and organizations.

Here are three insightful podcasts that discuss many of the issues facing social workers and social policymakers:

NASW Social Work Talks Podcast The NASW podcast explores topics social workers care about and hosts experts in both theory and practice. The podcast covers broad subjects including racism, child welfare, burnout, and facing grief.
The Social Work Podcast This fascinating podcast is another great place to hear from social workers and other experts in the field. The host and founder is Jonathan Singer, while Allan Barsky – a lecturer and researcher – is a frequent guest. Along with other guests, various issues affecting social workers and policymakers are discussed.
Social Work Stories Podcast hosts and social workers Lis Murphy, Mim Fox, and Justin Stech guide listeners through all aspects of social work and social welfare.

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Social workers should be well versed in a variety of theories, tools, and skills. We have plenty of resources to support experienced social workers and those new to the profession.

One valuable point of focus for social workers involves building strengths and its role in solution-focused therapy . Why not download our free strengths exercise pack and try out the powerful exercises contained within? Here are some examples:

Strength Regulation By learning how to regulate their strengths, clients can be taught to use them more effectively.
You at Your Best Strengths finding is a powerful way for social workers to increase service users’ awareness of their strengths.

Other free helpful resources for social workers include:

Conflict Resolution Checklist Remove issues and factors causing or increasing conflict with this practical checklist .
Assertive Communication Practicing assertive communication can be equally valuable for social workers and service users.

More extensive versions of the following tools are available with a subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit© , but they are described briefly below:

Self-Contract

Commitment and self-belief can increase the likelihood of successful future behavioral change.

The idea is to commit yourself to making a positive and effective change by signing a statement of what you will do and when. For example:

I will do [goal] by [date].

Cognitive Restructuring

While negative thoughts may not accurately reflect reality, they can increase the risk of unwelcome and harmful behavior.

This cognitive psychology tool helps people identify distorted and unhelpful thinking and find other ways of thinking:

Step one – Identify automatic unhelpful thoughts that are causing distress.
Step two – Evaluate the accuracy of these thoughts.
Step three – Substitute them with fair, rational, and balanced thoughts.

Individuals can then reflect on how this more balanced and realistic style of thinking makes them feel.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

Society and policymakers increasingly rely on social workers to help solve individual and group issues involving psychosocial functioning. But beyond helping people survive when society lets them down, social workers support them through positive change toward meaningful goals.

Social workers must be well equipped with social, goal-setting, and communication skills underpinned by positive psychology theory and developed through practice to be successful.

Reflection is crucial. Professionals must analyze their own and others’ emotions, thinking, and behavior while continuously monitoring risk, particularly when vulnerable populations are involved.

The nature of social work is to engage with populations often at the edge of society, where support is either not provided or under-represented.

This article includes tools, worksheets, and other resources that support social workers as they engage with and help their clients. Try them out and tailor them as needed to help deliver positive and lasting change and a more just society.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

Bath and North East Somerset Council. (2017, June). Risk assessment guidance . Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://bathnes.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_risk_assess.html
Davies, M. (2013). The Blackwell companion to social work . Wiley Blackwell.
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods . Oxford Further Education Unit.
National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). Domestic violence media toolkit . Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://www.socialworkers.org/News/1000-Experts/Media-Toolkits/Domestic-Violence
Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1986). Toward a comprehensive model of change. In W. R. Miller & N. Heather (Eds.) Treating addictive behaviors: Processes of chang e. Springer.
Rogers, M., Whitaker, D., Edmondson, D., & Peach, D. (2020). Developing skills & knowledge for social work practice . SAGE.
Suppes, M. A., & Wells, M. A. (2017). The social work experience: An introduction to social work and social welfare . Pearson.
Thomson, H. (2010, April 14). Empathetic mirror neurons found in humans at last . New Scientist. Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627565-600-empathetic-mirror-neurons-found-in-humans-at-last/

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What our readers think.

Thanks so much for including the Social Work Podcast in this article. One correction: Allan Barsky is a frequent guest, but Jonathan Singer is the founder and host.

Hi there Jonathan,

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention! We are delighted that you are reading the blog as we are fans of your podcast as well.

We will adjust this right away so we can give credit where credit is due 🙂

Thanks for all that you do!

Kind regards, -Caroline | Community Manager

Petra, it does not hurt to see this information again. Some social workers are new at their jobs and can always benefit from hearing this info repeated. If you want to hear from social workers only, then encourage your peers and or colleagues to write this stuff from their perspective.

This article is demeaning and patronsing! As social workers – we have done our (at least) 4 years at uni and this stuff is social work 101. As psychologists – I find you often think you know best and can “tell” other professionals how to do their jobs. So – if you want to write something to social workers – get a social worker to write it! Petra van Vliet – proud and loud social worker

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Foundations of Social Work Research

(4 reviews)

Rebecca L. Mauldin

ISBN 13: 9781648169915

Publisher: Mavs Open Press

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by LaToya Smith-Jones, Adjunct Professor, University of Texas at Arlington on 3/26/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers various topics that are familiar to the Social Work profession. There are relatable examples given within the book, which allow Social Work students to understand discussions through the lens of an actual practitioner. Each section provides an area where research vocabulary is listed and reviewed, as well as examples to deepen the understanding of the vocabulary used.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The information presented in the textbook is presented with accuracy. Bias was not noticed within the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The information presented within the textbook was up-to-date. Classical studies were also included in the textbook. The classical studies allow the students to understand the historical influence regarding the research process.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook provides examples and a separate vocabulary section in order to understand the jargon and technical terminology. individuals who do not have a research background will be able to comprehend the information written.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is consistent regarding terminology and framework. Each section builds upon the previous section.

Modularity rating: 5

Each section is broken up according to the topic of the chapter. Each chapter is broken up in sections, which allows for an easier read.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The chapters are presented in a logical and clear fashion. The information presented within the textbook builds upon itself. Students are first introduced to background information regarding the topic and then they are given information regarding the application of the information shared.

Interface rating: 5

There were not any interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were not any grammatical errors noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Information within the text was inclusive and included examples of various ethnicities and backgrounds.

The textbook is excellent to use for students who do not have a research background. The manner in which the information is presented and laid out assists with aiding students' understanding.

Reviewed by Quentin Maynard, Assistant Professor, University of Southern Indiana on 11/30/22

This text covers topics that social work students need to understand to be consumers of research. The author and contributors include current real work examples to help emphasize the different topics. Integrating the chapter on Real World Research throughout the text might help emphasize to students that engaging in research is necessary to our profession, even as practitioners.

The content was accurate and error-free.

The content of the text was up-to-date and included information relevant to social work research. Since the main author solicited contributions from colleagues at their institution, updates and changes would likely be relatively straightforward.

The book seemed accessible for individuals with limited research experience. Key words were defined in the text and included in a glossary at the end of each section and the text.

The text was consistent in style and organization. Chapter subsections have specific learning objectives allowing students to know what will be covered in each chapter. Doing this reduces bloat and increases clarity for readers.

The text did not appear to be structured in a way that was overwhelming or difficult to follow.

The structure of the book was logical.

The digital pdf and the online versions of the text were intuitive and easy to navigate. I did not notice any issues with the interface in either format.

No writing or grammar errors noted.

The text is culturally sensitive. It includes a content advisory at the beginning of each chapter which allows students to be aware of specific topics (e.g., racism, sexism, and poverty) discussed or mentioned in the chapter. While this text was adapted for students at a specific university, the authors include topics that reach much farther than that audience. The examples included cover a diverse set of people and situations.

This is a comprehensive text that allows students the opportunity to learn how to be consumers of social work research. While practice evaluation might not be the scope of this text, other than the chapter on Real World Research, including discussions about how students might apply the concepts of each chapter in social work practice. The structure of the book allows students to see the research that their professors are engaging in and might make research more accessible to social work students and practitioners

Reviewed by Matt Walsh, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Marian University on 12/30/21

This textbook covers all the aspects of research you would expect for an introduction to social work research. It uses classic examples of past research to highlight the importance of ethics in research. It also does a good job of discussing both quantitative and qualitative research as well as single system designs and program evaluation. My one critique as someone who does qualitative research is that it mentions the importance of trustworthiness and rigor in qualitative research but does not mention how a research can achieve this. However, it does go into other elements like coding and it would not be hard to provide student with supplemental materials about memoing or peer debriefing as examples and to be fair, it is hard to put everything in just one chapter.

All components are accurately described and well-written. The glossary at the end of each section is helpful for key words. The text appears to be error-free and unbiased.

There are links to recent examples which highlights the real world aspect of research.

This text is clear in its description of research and its major components. Certain aspects like causality get a little advanced for a introduction to research book but there are good visual to aid in students' understanding of some of the more complicated concepts. (Please note that I am reviewing this with BSW students in mind, MSW students may not find some of these sections as overwhelming as I suspect my students might).

The book is very well structured and consistent throughout.

The text is well structured and organized as a whole and in terms of each chapter and each section with the chapters.

The topics follow the order of most other foundational research books I have seen and have a logical flow to them.

I did not find any interface issues.

I could not see any grammatical errors.

There are good examples throughout that display an effort to have inclusivity, diversity, and equity in this text.

I feel like this book would provide students with a good understanding about research and could be used interchangeably with other foundational/introduction books on the market, especially if the professor is familiar with teaching research and has already established a good foundation (quizzes, lecture slides, assignments, activities, etc.).

Reviewed by Vivian Miller, Assistant Professor in Social Work, Bowling Green State University on 1/5/21

The text Foundations of Social Work Research covers social work research comprehensively and appropriately. Across twelve chapters, the author begins by introducing research, the science behind research and how this translates to the profession of social work, and the importance of understanding research as it applies to social work practice across all system levels. In addition to comprehensive chapters, the text contains a glossary, practice behavior indices, bibliography, derivative notes, and links by each chapter.

This text is an accurate text that is error free. This text is extremely well-written and includes real-life examples, drawing on written contributions from social work faculty across practice settings and populations, as well as students at the masters and doctoral levels.

Much of research methods and the process is overall static, however the author does an incredible job to provide timely, relevant, and applicable examples throughout the text to ensure that this version will not be obsolete within a short period of time.

This text is clearly written and is easy to move through. This text contains chapters and sub-chapters. I’d recommend this book for a higher-level undergraduate program or graduate program (e.g., MSW), as there is technical terminology used. Additionally, the author provides a glossary at the back of the text, hyperlinked to each chapter on the web-version. Moreover, there are definitions highlighted at center page throughout the text.

This text is very consistent. Chapters build on one another and are written in clear order.

The use of subheadings throughout allows this text to be separated into smaller reading sections. For instance, if an instructor wanted to assign reading for “Probability sampling,” this topic can be readily extracted from the full text. A student can understand this topic area despite being separated from the text as context is provided to the reader in each sub-chapter. The use of bolded words, images, examples, and hyperlinks throughout make the text easy to separate and digest.

This text is very well-organized and moves through each section in a step-wise process building on each previous content area.

There are no interface issues in the text. Images display well, as well as key takeaway and glossary charts throughout each chapter.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

This text is culturally sensitive. Examples across all system levels (e.g., micro, messo, and macro) are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Highly recommend this text for a Social Work research course.

Chapter One: Introduction to research
Chapter Two: Linking methods with theory
Chapter Three: Ethics in social work research
Chapter Four: Design and causality
Chapter Five: Defining and measuring concepts
Chapter Six: Sampling
Chapter Seven: Survey research
Chapter Eight: Experimental design
Chapter Nine: Unique features of qualitative research
Chapter Ten: Unobtrusive research
Chapter Eleven: Real-world research
Chapter Twelve: Reporting research

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This textbook was created to provide an introduction to research methods for BSW and MSW students, with particular emphasis on research and practice relevant to students at the University of Texas at Arlington. It provides an introduction to social work students to help evaluate research for evidence-based practice and design social work research projects. It can be used with its companion, A Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions by Rebecca L. Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo, or as a stand-alone textbook.

About the Contributors

Rebecca L. Mauldin , Ph.D

Contribute to this Page

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

7.4 Designing effective questions and questionnaires

Learning objectives.

Identify the steps one should take to write effective survey questions
Describe some of the ways that survey questions might confuse respondents and how to overcome that possibility
Apply mutual exclusivity and exhaustiveness to writing closed-ended questions
Define fence-sitting and floating
Describe the steps involved in constructing a well-designed questionnaire
Discuss why piloting a questionnaire is important

Up to this point, we’ve considered several general points about surveys, including when to use them, some of their strengths and weaknesses, and how often and in what ways to administer surveys. In this section, we’ll get more specific and take a look at how to pose understandable questions that will yield useable data and how to present those questions on a questionnaire.

Asking effective questions

The first thing you need to do to write effective survey questions is identify what exactly you wish to know. Perhaps surprisingly, it is easy to forget to include important questions when designing a survey. Begin by looking at your research question. Perhaps you wish to identify the factors that contribute to students’ ability to transition from high school to college. To understand which factors shaped successful students’ transitions to college, you’ll need to include questions in your survey about all the possible factors that could contribute. How do you know what to ask? Consulting the literature on the topic will certainly help, but you should also take the time to do some brainstorming on your own and to talk with others about what they think may be important in the transition to college. Time and space limitations won’t allow you to include every single item you’ve come up with, so you’ll also need to think about ranking your questions so that you can be sure to include those that you view as most important. In your study, think back to your work on operationalization. How did you plan to measure your variables? If you planned to ask specific questions or use a scale, those should be in your survey.

We’ve discussed including questions on all topics you view as important to your overall research question, but you don’t want to take an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach by uncritically including every possible question that occurs to you. Doing so puts an unnecessary burden on your survey respondents. Remember that you have asked your respondents to give you their time and attention and to take care in responding to your questions; show them your respect by only asking questions that you view as important.

Once you’ve identified all the topics about which you’d like to ask questions, you’ll need to actually write those questions. Questions should be as clear and to the point as possible. This is not the time to show off your creative writing skills; a survey is a technical instrument and should be written in a way that is as direct and concise as possible. To reiterate, survey respondents have agreed to give their time and attention to your survey. The best way to show your appreciation for their time is to not waste it. Ensuring that your questions are clear and concise will go a long way toward showing your respondents the gratitude they deserve.

Related to the point about not wasting respondents’ time, make sure that every question you pose will be relevant to every person you ask to complete it. This means two things: first, that respondents have knowledge about whatever topic you are asking them about, and second, that respondents have experience with whatever events, behaviors, or feelings you are asking them to report. You probably wouldn’t want to ask a sample of 18-year-old respondents, for example, how they would have advised President Reagan to proceed when news of the United States’ sale of weapons to Iran broke in the mid-1980s. For one thing, few 18-year-olds are likely to have any clue about how to advise a president. Furthermore, the 18-year-olds of today were not even alive during Reagan’s presidency, so they have had no experience with Iran-Contra affair about which they are being questioned. In our example of the transition to college, heeding the criterion of relevance would mean that respondents must understand what exactly you mean by “transition to college” if you are going to use that phrase in your survey and that respondents must have actually experienced the transition to college themselves.

If you decide that you do wish to pose some questions about matters with which only a portion of respondents will have had experience, it may be appropriate to introduce a filter question into your survey. A filter question is designed to identify some subset of survey respondents who are asked additional questions that are not relevant to the entire sample. Perhaps in your survey on the transition to college you want to know whether substance use plays any role in students’ transitions. You may ask students how often they drank during their first semester of college. But this assumes that all students drank. Certainly, some may have abstained from using alcohol, and it wouldn’t make any sense to ask the nondrinkers how often they drank. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable that drinking frequency may have an impact on someone’s transition to college, so it is probably worth asking this question even if doing means the question will not be relevant for some respondents. This is just the sort of instance when a filter question would be appropriate. With a filter question such as question # 10 in Figure 7.1, you can filter out respondents who have not had alcohol from answering questions about their alcohol use.

example of filter question, with a yes answer meaning you had to answer more questions

There are some ways of asking questions that are bound to confuse many survey respondents. Survey researchers should take great care to avoid these kinds of questions. These include questions that pose double negatives , those that use confusing or culturally specific terms , and those that ask more than one question within a single question . Any time respondents are forced to decipher questions that use double negatives , confusion is bound to ensue. Taking the previous question about drinking as our example, what if we had instead asked, “Did you not abstain from drinking during your first semester of college?” This example is obvious, but hopefully it drives home the point to be careful about question wording so that respondents are not asked to decipher double negatives. In general, avoiding negative terms in your question wording will help to increase respondent understanding.

You should also avoid using terms or phrases that may be regionally or culturally specific (unless you are absolutely certain all your respondents come from the region or culture whose terms you are using). A similar issue arises when you use jargon , or technical language, that people do not commonly know. For example, if you asked adolescents how they experience imaginary audience, they likely would not be able to link that term to the concepts from David Elkind’s theory . Instead, you would need to break down that term into language that is easier to understand and common to adolescents.

Asking multiple questions as though they are a single question can also confuse survey respondents. There’s a specific term for this sort of question; it is called a double-barreled question . Using our example of the transition to college, Figure 7.2 shows a double-barreled question.

Double-barreled question asking more than one thing at a time.

Do you see what makes the question double-barreled? How would someone respond if they felt their college classes were more demanding but also less interesting than their high school classes? Or less demanding but more interesting? Because the question combines “demanding” and “interesting,” there is no way to respond yes to one criterion but no to the other.

Another thing to avoid when constructing survey questions is the problem of social desirability. We all want to look good, right? And we all probably know the politically correct response to a variety of questions whether we agree with the politically correct response or not. In survey research, social desirability refers to the idea that respondents will try to answer questions in a way that will present them in a favorable light. (You may recall we covered social desirability bias in Chapter 5.) Let’s go back to our example about transitioning to college to explore this concept further.

Perhaps we decide that to understand the transition to college, we need to know whether respondents ever cheated on an exam in high school or college. Cheating on exams is generally frowned upon. So it may be difficult to get people taking a survey to admit to cheating on an exam. But if you could guarantee respondents’ confidentiality, or even better, their anonymity, chances are much better that they will be honest about having engaged in this socially undesirable behavior. Another way to avoid problems of social desirability is to try to phrase difficult questions in the most benign way possible. Earl Babbie (2010) offers a useful suggestion for helping you do this—simply imagine how you would feel responding to your survey questions. If you would be uncomfortable, chances are others would as well.

Finally, it is important to get feedback on your survey questions from as many people as possible, especially people who are like those in your sample. Now is not the time to be shy. Ask your friends for help, ask your mentors for feedback, ask your family to take a look at your survey as well. The more feedback you can get on your survey questions, the better the chances that you will come up with a set of questions that are understandable to a wide variety of people and, most importantly, to those in your sample.

In sum, in order to pose effective survey questions, researchers should do the following:

Identify what it is they wish to know.
Keep questions clear and succinct.
Make questions relevant to respondents.
Use filter questions when necessary.
Avoid questions that are likely to confuse respondents—including those that use double negatives, use culturally specific terms or jargon, or pose more than one question at a time.
Imagine how respondents would feel responding to questions.
Get feedback, especially from people who resemble those in the researcher’s sample.

Response options

While posing clear and understandable questions in your survey is certainly important, so too is providing respondents with unambiguous response options. Response options are the answers that you provide to the people taking your survey. Generally, respondents will be asked to choose a single (or best) response to each question you pose, though certainly it makes sense in some cases to instruct respondents to choose multiple response options. One caution to keep in mind when accepting multiple responses to a single question, however, is that doing so may add complexity when it comes to tallying and analyzing your survey results.

Offering response options assumes that your questions will be closed-ended questions . In a quantitative written survey, which is the type of survey we’ve been discussing here, chances are good that most, if not all, your questions will be closed-ended. This means that you, the researcher, will provide respondents with a limited set of options for their responses. To write an effective closed-ended question, there are a couple of guidelines worth following. First, be sure that your response options are mutually exclusive . Look back at Figure 7.1, which contains questions about how often and how many drinks respondents consumed. Do you notice that there are no overlapping categories in the response options for these questions? This is another one of those points about question construction that seems fairly obvious but that can be easily overlooked. Response options should also be exhaustive . In other words, every possible response should be covered in the set of response options that you provide. For example, note that in question 10a in Figure 7.1, we have covered all possibilities—those who drank, say, an average of once per month can choose the first response option (“less than one time per week”) while those who drank multiple times a day each day of the week can choose the last response option (“7+”). All the possibilities in between these two extremes are covered by the middle three response options.

Surveys need not be limited to closed-ended questions. Sometimes survey researchers include open-ended questions in their survey instruments as a way to gather additional details from respondents. An open-ended question does not include response options; instead, respondents are asked to reply to the question in their own way, using their own words. These questions are generally used to find out more about a survey participant’s experiences or feelings about whatever they are being asked to report in the survey. If, for example, a survey includes closed-ended questions asking respondents to report on their involvement in extracurricular activities during college, an open-ended question could ask respondents why they participated in those activities or what they gained from their participation. While responses to such questions may also be captured using a closed-ended format, allowing participants to share some of their responses in their own words can make the experience of completing the survey more satisfying to respondents and can also reveal new motivations or explanations that had not occurred to the researcher.

Earlier in this section, we discussed double-barreled questions, but response options can also be double barreled, and this should be avoided. Figure 7.3 provides an example of a question that uses double-barreled response options .

Double-barreled response options providing more than one answer for each option

Other things to avoid when it comes to response options include fence-sitting and floating. Fence-sitters are respondents who choose neutral response options, even if they have an opinion. This can occur if respondents are given, say, five rank-ordered response options, such as strongly agree, agree, no opinion, disagree, and strongly disagree. You’ll remember this is called a Likert scale. Some people will be drawn to respond, “no opinion” even if they have an opinion, particularly if their true opinion is the not a socially desirable opinion. Floaters , on the other hand, are those that choose a substantive answer to a question when really, they don’t understand the question or don’t have an opinion. If a respondent is only given four rank-ordered response options, such as strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree, those who have no opinion have no choice but to select a response that suggests they have an opinion.

As you can see, floating is the flip side of fence-sitting. Thus, the solution to one problem is often the cause of the other. How you decide which approach to take depends on the goals of your research. Sometimes researchers specifically want to learn something about people who claim to have no opinion. In this case, allowing for fence-sitting would be necessary. Other times researchers feel confident their respondents will all be familiar with every topic in their survey. In this case, perhaps it is okay to force respondents to choose an opinion. Other times, researchers can provide a scale with anchors at either end and ask the respondent to indicate where there answer fits between the two anchors. An example would be a question that says, “On a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is completely disagree and 10 is completely agree, what number would indicate your level of agreement?” There is no always-correct solution to either problem.

Finally, using a matrix is a nice way of streamlining response options. A matrix is a question type that that lists a set of questions for which the answer categories are all the same. If you have a set of questions for which the response options are the same, it may make sense to create a matrix rather than posing each question and its response options individually. Not only will this save you some space in your survey but it will also help respondents progress through your survey more easily. A sample matrix can be seen in Figure 7.4.

Survey using matrix options--between agree and disagree--and opinions about class

Using Standardized instruments

You may be thinking writing good survey questions and clear responses is a complicated task with a lot of pitfalls. In many ways it is! The good news is that for many of the constructs you would like to measure, other researchers have already designed and tested survey questions. You may remember from from Chapter 5 that there are scales, indices, and typologies to measure variables. Many of these instruments have already demonstrated reliability and validity. If there are validated instruments available, it is always advisable to use them rather than to write your own survey questions. Not only do you save time and effort, but you can have a fair amount of confidence that the validated instruments will avoid many of the question-writing pitfalls discussed above.

Designing questionnaires

In addition to constructing quality questions and posing clear response options, you’ll also need to think about how to present your written questions and response options to survey respondents. Questions are presented on a questionnaire, which is the document (either hard copy or online) that contains all your survey questions for respondents to read and answer. Designing questionnaires takes some thought.

One of the first things to do once you’ve come up with a set of survey questions you feel confident about is to group those questions thematically. In our example of the transition to college, perhaps we’d have a few questions asking about study habits, others focused on friendships, and still others on exercise and eating habits. Those may be the themes around which we organize our questions. Or perhaps it would make more sense to present any questions we had about pre-college life and then present a series of questions about life after beginning college. The point here is to be deliberate about how you present your questions to respondents.

Once you have grouped similar questions together, you’ll need to think about the order in which to present those question groups. Most survey researchers agree that it is best to begin a survey with questions that will make respondents want to continue (Babbie, 2010; Dillman, 2000; Neuman, 2003). In other words, don’t bore respondents, but don’t scare them away either. There’s some disagreement over where on a survey to place demographic questions, such as those about a person’s age, gender, and race. On the one hand, placing them at the beginning of the questionnaire may lead respondents to think the survey is boring, unimportant, and not something they want to bother completing. But these are important pieces of data and you don’t want your participant to quit the survey without providing their demographic information. Another thing to consider if the placement of sensitive or difficult topics, such as child sexual abuse or other criminal activity. You don’t want to scare respondents away or shock them by beginning with your most intrusive questions.

In truth, the order in which you present questions on a survey is best determined by the unique characteristics of your research—only you, the researcher, hopefully in consultation with people who are willing to provide you with feedback, can determine how best to order your questions. To do so, think about the unique characteristics of your topic, your questions, and most importantly, your sample. Keeping in mind the characteristics and needs of the people you will ask to complete your survey should help guide you as you determine the most appropriate order in which to present your questions.

You’ll also need to consider the time it will take respondents to complete your questionnaire. Surveys vary in length, from just a page or two to a dozen or more pages, which means they also vary in the time it takes to complete them. How long to make your survey depends on several factors. First, what is it that you wish to know? Wanting to understand how grades vary by gender and year in school certainly requires fewer questions than wanting to know how people’s experiences in college are shaped by demographic characteristics, college attended, housing situation, family background, college major, friendship networks, and extracurricular activities. Keep in mind that even if your research question requires a sizable number of questions be included in your questionnaire, do your best to keep the questionnaire as brief as possible. Any hint that you’ve thrown in a bunch of useless questions just for the sake of it will turn off respondents and may make them not want to complete your survey.

Second, and perhaps more important, is the length of time respondents are likely to be willing to spend completing the questionnaire. If you are studying college students, asking them to use their precious fun time away from studying to complete your survey may mean they won’t want to spend more than a few minutes on it. But if you have the endorsement of a professor who is willing to allow you to administer your survey in class, students may be willing to give you a little more time (though perhaps the professor will not). The time that survey researchers ask respondents to spend on questionnaires varies greatly. Some researchers advise that surveys should not take longer than about 15 minutes to complete (as cited in Babbie 2010), whereas others suggest that up to 20 minutes is acceptable (Hopper, 2012). As with question order, there is no clear-cut, always-correct answer about questionnaire length. The unique characteristics of your study and your sample should be considered to determine how long to make your questionnaire.

A good way to estimate the time it will take respondents to complete your questionnaire is through piloting the questionnaire. Piloting allows you to get feedback on your questionnaire so you can improve it before you actually administer it. Piloting can be quite expensive and time consuming if you wish to test your questionnaire on a large sample of people who very much resemble the sample to whom you will eventually administer the finalized version of your questionnaire. But you can learn a lot and make great improvements to your questionnaire simply by pretesting with a small number of people to whom you have easy access (perhaps you have a few friends who owe you a favor). By piloting your questionnaire, you can find out how understandable your questions are, get feedback on question wording and order, find out whether any of your questions are boring or offensive, and learn whether there are places where you should have included filter questions. You can also time respondents as they take your survey. This will give you a good idea about the estimate to provide when you administer your survey for your study and whether you have some wiggle room to add additional items or need to cut a few items.

Perhaps this goes without saying, but your questionnaire should also have an attractive design. A messy presentation style can confuse respondents or, at the very least, annoy them. Be brief, to the point, and as clear as possible. Avoid cramming too much into a single page. Make your font size readable (at least 12 point or larger, depending on the characteristics of your sample), leave a reasonable amount of space between items, and make sure all instructions are exceptionally clear. Think about books, documents, articles, or web pages that you have read yourself—which were relatively easy to read and easy on the eyes and why? Try to mimic those features in the presentation of your survey questions.

Key Takeaways

Brainstorming and consulting the literature are two important early steps to take when preparing to write effective survey questions.
Make sure your survey questions will be relevant to all respondents and that you use filter questions when necessary.
Getting feedback on your survey questions is a crucial step in the process of designing a survey.
When it comes to creating response options, the solution to the problem of fence-sitting might cause floating, whereas the solution to the problem of floating might cause fence sitting.
Piloting is an important step for improving a survey before actually administering it.
Closed-ended questions- questions for which the researcher offers response options
Double-barreled question- a question that asks two different questions at the same time, making it difficult to respond accurately
Fence-sitters- respondents who choose neutral response options, even if they have an opinion
Filter question- question that identifies some subset of survey respondents who are asked additional questions that are not relevant to the entire sample
Floaters- respondents that choose a substantive answer to a question when really, they don’t understand the question or don’t have an opinion
Matrix question- lists a set of questions for which the answer categories are all the same
Open-ended questions- questions for which the researcher does not include response options

Foundations of Social Work Research Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca L. Mauldin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10 Research Question Examples to Guide Your Research Project

10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project

Published on October 30, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on October 19, 2023.

The research question is one of the most important parts of your research paper , thesis or dissertation . It’s important to spend some time assessing and refining your question before you get started.

The exact form of your question will depend on a few things, such as the length of your project, the type of research you’re conducting, the topic , and the research problem . However, all research questions should be focused, specific, and relevant to a timely social or scholarly issue.

Once you’ve read our guide on how to write a research question , you can use these examples to craft your own.

Research question	Explanation
	The first question is not enough. The second question is more , using .
	Starting with “why” often means that your question is not enough: there are too many possible answers. By targeting just one aspect of the problem, the second question offers a clear path for research.
	The first question is too broad and subjective: there’s no clear criteria for what counts as “better.” The second question is much more . It uses clearly defined terms and narrows its focus to a specific population.
	It is generally not for academic research to answer broad normative questions. The second question is more specific, aiming to gain an understanding of possible solutions in order to make informed recommendations.
	The first question is too simple: it can be answered with a simple yes or no. The second question is , requiring in-depth investigation and the development of an original argument.
	The first question is too broad and not very . The second question identifies an underexplored aspect of the topic that requires investigation of various to answer.
	The first question is not enough: it tries to address two different (the quality of sexual health services and LGBT support services). Even though the two issues are related, it’s not clear how the research will bring them together. The second integrates the two problems into one focused, specific question.
	The first question is too simple, asking for a straightforward fact that can be easily found online. The second is a more question that requires and detailed discussion to answer.
? dealt with the theme of racism through casting, staging, and allusion to contemporary events?	The first question is not — it would be very difficult to contribute anything new. The second question takes a specific angle to make an original argument, and has more relevance to current social concerns and debates.
	The first question asks for a ready-made solution, and is not . The second question is a clearer comparative question, but note that it may not be practically . For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down further to focus on the effectiveness of drunk driving laws in just one or two countries.

Note that the design of your research question can depend on what method you are pursuing. Here are a few options for qualitative, quantitative, and statistical research questions.

Type of research	Example question
Qualitative research question
Quantitative research question
Statistical research question

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Social Worker Interview Questions

The most important interview questions for Social Workers, and how to answer them

Getting Started as a Social Worker

What is a Social Worker
How to Become
Certifications
Tools & Software
LinkedIn Guide
Interview Questions
Work-Life Balance
Professional Goals
Resume Examples
Cover Letter Examples

Interviewing as a Social Worker

Types of questions to expect in a social worker interview, behavioral questions, scenario-based questions, knowledge-based questions, values and ethics questions, communication and interpersonal skills questions, self-care and professional development questions, stay organized with interview tracking.

Preparing for a Social Worker Interview

How to prepare for a social worker interview.

Research the Agency and Its Clientele: Understand the agency's mission, the population it serves, and the services it provides. This knowledge will help you tailor your responses to show that you are a good fit for their specific environment and client needs.
Review Social Work Theories and Practices: Refresh your knowledge of key social work theories, interventions, and evidence-based practices. Being able to discuss these confidently will demonstrate your professional competence and dedication to the field.
Reflect on Your Field Experiences: Think about your past experiences in social work settings, including internships and volunteer work. Be prepared to discuss how these experiences have shaped your approach to social work and how they relate to the position you're applying for.
Prepare for Ethical Dilemmas: Social work often involves complex ethical decisions. Be ready to discuss how you would handle hypothetical ethical dilemmas, showing your ability to navigate these challenges thoughtfully and professionally.
Develop a List of Questions: Prepare thoughtful questions about the agency's culture, the challenges they face, and expectations for the role. This shows your genuine interest in the position and your proactive approach to understanding the job.
Practice Self-Care: Social work can be emotionally taxing, so it's important to demonstrate your self-care strategies. Be prepared to discuss how you maintain your own well-being while managing the demands of the profession.
Engage in Mock Interviews: Practice with peers, mentors, or through mock interview services to gain confidence and receive feedback on your interview technique. This will help you refine your answers and improve your communication skills.

Social Worker Interview Questions and Answers

"can you discuss a time when you had to handle a high-stress situation involving a client", how to answer it, example answer, "how do you approach working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds", "what methods do you use to evaluate a client's needs and progress", "how do you handle confidentiality in your practice", "can you provide an example of a successful intervention you implemented with a client", "how do you prioritize your caseload when dealing with multiple clients with varying needs", "describe a time when you had to advocate for a client's rights or services.", "how do you handle burnout and maintain self-care in this challenging field", which questions should you ask in a social worker interview, good questions to ask the interviewer, "can you describe the primary populations served by this organization and the main challenges they face", "how does the organization support its social workers in managing high caseloads and preventing burnout", "what opportunities for professional development and advancement does the organization offer to its social workers", "can you share an example of a recent case or project that was particularly impactful for the organization", what does a good social worker candidate look like, empathetic understanding, cultural competence, advocacy and leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving, resilience and self-care, effective communication, professional ethics and boundaries, interview faqs for social workers, what is the most common interview question for social workers, what's the best way to discuss past failures or challenges in a social worker interview, how can i effectively showcase problem-solving skills in a social worker interview.

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Navigating the journey to mental wellness, providing empathetic, expert guidance

Guiding individuals towards mental wellness, fostering resilience and self-understanding

Leading healthcare operations, ensuring patient satisfaction and regulatory compliance

Providing compassionate care, bridging health professionals and patients' needs

Providing compassionate care, assisting in patient recovery and maintaining health records

Providing critical care across borders, adapting to diverse healthcare environments

Start Your Social Worker Career with Teal

By Mike Simpson

Social workers are unsung heroes. When people are struggling, social workers spring into action. They deftly cut through red tape using the power of their knowledge, and they forge connections between people in need and supportive services that can help them thrive. It’s all about making a difference, the kind of difference that lets people live better lives.

For many, that alone makes pursuing social work as a career appealing. Plus, there are plenty of opportunities. Demand for social workers is rising, with the anticipated growth rate between 2018 and 2028 coming in at an astounding 11 percent . That’s about 81,000 more openings, each one looking for a superhero in a cardigan sweater.

But, even with skyrocketing demand and the right mindset, you still have to show the hiring manager that you’re the ideal person for the job. How do you pull that off? By nailing your social work interview questions, of course. Simple, right? Well, yes and no.

Navigating an interview can be tricky. Luckily, we have your back. Let’s take a look at what you need to do to tackle social work interview questions.

How to Answer Social Work Interview Questions

Okay, we know that social work interview questions (and the answers!) is what you came for, and we promise those are coming. The trick is, you can’t make the most of those examples if you don’t get a grip on your technique first. That way, you can take those samples and see why they work; you won’t just have to take our word for it.

Alright, now that you’re on board, let’s talk interview strategy. With just a couple of tried-and-true approaches, you can be ready for almost anything, so let’s start there.

First, the name of the game is research. By digging deep into your social worker job description , you learn important tidbits about what an ideal candidate looks like, at least as far as the hiring manager is concerned.

You’ll find a clear outline of critical skills and traits that the hiring manager considers priorities. By speaking to those, you are focusing on what’s relevant to the interviewer.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. You also want to take a trip to the organization’s website. Once there, read the mission and values statements.

Because they let you learn more about the organization’s goals and priorities. Not only are these clues about its culture, but it also gives you some additional details to weave into your interview.

Once your research is done, it’s time to look at how you can build meaningful interview answers. If a question is straightforward, that’s typically a breeze. For example, if they ask if you have a specific skill, you’ll say “yes” or “no.” Then, back up a “yes” with an example and pivot a “no” by discussing your willingness to learn and efforts you’re taking to improve in that area. Done!

The tricky social work interview questions are the behavioral ones. These don’t technically have right or wrong answers; at least, not in the traditional sense. Instead, you have to navigate a scenario or discuss examples from your past. That isn’t always easy.

Luckily, you can simplify the process. Combine the STAR Method and the Tailoring Method , two approaches we’ve discussed in-depth before. If you do, you can a highly targeted and compelling response, making it easier to stand out from other candidates and really catch the hiring manager’s eye.

We also wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free cheat sheet that will give you word-for-word answers for some of the toughest interview questions you are going to face in your upcoming interview. After all, hiring managers will often ask you more generalized interview questions along with their social worker specific questions!

Click below to get your free PDF now:

Get Our Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet!

FREE BONUS PDF CHEAT SHEET: Get our " Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet " that gives you " word-word sample answers to the most common job interview questions you'll face at your next interview .

CLICK HERE TO GET THE JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS CHEAT SHEET

1. As a social worker, what do you hope to achieve?

In many ways, social workers are inherently optimists. It’s normal to hope that your efforts will create a brighter tomorrow for your clients. After all, if you didn’t think you could make a difference, you probably wouldn’t have chosen the profession.

Hiring managers ask questions like this one for several reasons. First, it’s a way to gauge your mentality. Second, it gives them insights into your motivations. Tidbits like that are vital when interviewers need to make sound hiring decisions. By having a strong answer, you could stand out from the back.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

“While many people hope to change the world personally, my goal is a little different. Instead of focusing on widescale change, I aim to significantly improve the lives of the individuals and families I serve. Helping people find support and a direction allows me to be a powerful force for good on a small scale. But, when I achieve my goal, that effort continues forward. Those people may positively impact the lives of others as they move through the world, allowing even small gestures to ripple out. Ultimately, I want to enhance the lives of individuals and families, though I am optimistic that those efforts yield benefits far beyond what I could ever anticipate.”

2. If a client has an outburst in response to your recommendation, how do you handle it?

As a social worker, you’re going to have to say things that – to put it mildly – upsets a client. When a client’s emotions spike, they can lash out, at times in unpredictable, aggressive, or even violent ways.

Social workers have to be prepared for this inevitability. It’s not a matter of if; it is genuinely a matter of when. Hiring managers want to know that you have a plan for this kind of situation. If you do, they know you are more likely to act appropriately, even under stress.

“If a client has an outburst, my first step is to remain calm. If I get emotionally riled up, it could make a difficult situation worse, so I focus on staying metered and professional. Next, I use active listening techniques, allowing them to vent their frustrations while I gain clarity about their perspective. I’ll summarize what they are telling me and, if needed, ask probing questions to ensure I fully understand their view. Then, I’ll reiterate that my goal is help and that I am committed to working through this together, as a team. Additionally, I will strive to come from a place of empathy and compassion. If a client becomes aggressive, hostile, or violent, I’ll reiterate any rules the organization has in place, reminding the client of the need for respectful communication. If the situation continues to escalate regardless of my best efforts, then I will follow organizational safety procedures to ensure the security of everyone, including myself, the client, and those around us, such as by informing security personnel or law enforcement in accordance with policy.”

3. If a client could benefit from community resources, but you aren’t overly familiar with their neighborhood, how would you go about locating the right options and paving the way for access?

Part of a social worker’s job is to connect clients to resources that can help them thrive. But, if you aren’t familiar with a person’s neighborhood, this can be a little tricky. Many organizations serve specific areas only. If your client isn’t in their zone, they can’t offer their support.

Hiring managers want to know that you can track down resources when the need arises. Plus, they are trying to determine if you can function as an advocate, making connections that ensure the client gains access.

“If I needed to find community resources in a region that I don’t know well, my first step would involve research. Along with conducting searches on my own, I would connect with my network, tapping into their cumulative knowledge to identify organizations that could potentially benefit the individual or family I’m assisting. Once I’ve located an organization, I would reach out directly. This gives me an opportunity to learn more about their offerings and the communities they serve. I could ensure that my client would be eligible in advance and, if possible, initiate any processes to get the ball rolling. With this approach, I can expedite their access to critical assistance, allowing us to move forward with greater efficiency.”

27 More Social Work Interview Questions

Here are 27 more social work interview questions candidates may face when trying to land a position:

Why did you choose social work as a career?
Do you have any experience with special needs children?
Tell me about your most difficult case. What about it was so challenging?
Describe a time when you and your supervisor didn’t agree about a treatment plan. What did you do?
How do you feel about interacting with people with substance abuse issues?
What motivated you to pursue a career focused on our target population?
Do you prefer to work as part of a team or independently?
Why do you want to work here?
Tell me about your most humbling experience on the job.
Can you tell me about a time when one of your initial impressions about a case was incorrect?
What kind of supervision do you prefer and why?
Which type of client do you find most challenging to work with, and why?
Have you ever experienced an ethical conflict while on the job? If so, how did you handle it?
Which past accomplishment are you proudest of, and why?
If a client arrived for a session obviously under the influence of alcohol or drugs, how would you handle the situation?
Which crisis intervention techniques do you think are most effective? Why?
How do you feel about the welfare system as it is today?
What social work trend has you most intrigued, and why?
Explain the value of self-care and describe the steps you take to ensure your mental well-being.
After leaving school, what about the social work field startled you the most?
If a client presented with suicide ideations, what actions would you take, and why?
Which of your traits do you feel helps you the most as a social worker?
Where do you think you need to improve the most to become a better social worker?
Describe your process for creating a case plan.
Are you able to be on-call/work nights and weekends as needed?
Would you describe yourself as a leader or a follower? Why?
Tell me about a time when you had to shift priorities quickly.

5 Good Questions to Ask at the End of a Social Work Interview

As your interview draws to a close, you’ll usually have a chance to ask a few questions. If you don’t have any at the ready, here are a few you can keep in your back pocket:

What is the biggest challenge the organization faces?
Can you describe a typical day for a social worker here?
What sets your top social workers apart from the rest?
If you could give a new social worker a tip that could help them succeed here, what would it be and why?
How would you describe the organization’s culture?

Putting It All Together

Ultimately, all of the tips above can help you nail your social work interview questions. Review the examples and prepare your own responses in advance. That way, you can proceed with confidence, ensuring you showcase yourself as the superhero you really are.

As always, good luck!

FREE : Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet!

Download our " Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet " that gives you word-for-word sample answers to some of the most common interview questions including:

What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
What Is Your Greatest Strength?
Tell Me About Yourself
Why Should We Hire You?

Click Here To Get The Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.

His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others.

Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

About The Author

Mike simpson.

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com. His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

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The best questions to ask chatgpt when building your personal brand.

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Building your personal brand requires moving through a sequential, three-step process . The first step, Know, focuses on brand discovery, uncovering your unique promise of value. Once you’ve defined your brand, you can articulate your story in the Show phase. Then, you can expand your brand's visibility and connections in the third step, called Grow. Leveraging the power of AI in all three steps can transform your personal branding efforts. The key lies in knowing which AI prompts to use so you can glean the most meaningful and actionable insights.

Using AI ensures that every step of your personal branding journey is informed by data-driven decisions, maximizing your potential for success. Before beginning, gather the content about yourself that you can share with ChatGPT. Then, use these prompts:

Know: Personal Brand Discovery

What are my unique strengths and how can they benefit others?

Starting with this prompt allows AI to help you identify and articulate your core strengths. AI tools can analyze your professional experiences, skills, and feedback from colleagues to provide a clear picture of your unique capabilities. By understanding how these strengths benefit others, you can craft a narrative that positions you as an invaluable asset in your field.

What do others think are my greatest strengths and differentiation using this feedback (paste in content from your LinkedIn recommendations, performance reviews, testimonials, 360 assessments, etc.)?

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Your brand is held in the hearts and minds of those who know you. To validate your self-perceptions, make sense of the feedback you have received over time. There is likely too much data for you to synthesize yourself. That’s where the power of AI can help.

Show: Telling Your Brand Story

How can I effectively communicate my personal brand story?

Your personal brand story is the backbone of your brand identity. This prompt helps AI generate a cohesive and compelling narrative by pulling together key elements of your career journey, personal values, and professional milestones. A well-crafted brand story not only humanizes your brand but also resonates deeply with your audience, making your message more memorable and impactful.

What personal anecdotes and experiences should I highlight to build trust and authenticity?

Authenticity is the cornerstone of a strong personal brand. This prompt helps AI sift through your professional journey to find personal anecdotes and experiences that highlight your authenticity. Sharing these stories can build trust with your audience, making your brand relatable and trustworthy. AI can help identify the most impactful stories and suggest ways to present them compellingly.

Grow: Expanding Your Brand

What are the best practices for networking and relationship-building in my industry?

Networking is essential to career success and a critical component of personal branding. Use this prompt to get AI-driven advice on best practices for networking and relationship-building specific to your industry. ChatGPT can offer tips on where to connect with industry leaders, how to approach networking events, and ways to maintain meaningful professional relationships.

What are the most relevant keywords and phrases to include in my professional profiles?

SEO isn’t just for websites. It’s crucial for personal branding as well. By asking ChatGPT to identify the most relevant keywords and phrases, you can optimize your LinkedIn profile, resume, and personal website to ensure you appear in search results for your desired roles and industries. This prompt helps you stay current with industry trends and ensures your profiles are aligned with what your stakeholders are looking for.

How can I enhance my online presence and engagement?

In today’s digital-first environment, your online presence is often the first impression you make. Use this prompt to get AI-generated strategies for enhancing your visibility and engagement on social media platforms. GhatGPT can provide tailored recommendations on content types, posting frequencies, and engagement techniques that will help you build a rich and interactive online presence.

What are the potential gaps in my current personal branding strategy?

Use this prompt to have AI analyze your existing branding efforts and identify any gaps or areas for improvement. Whether it’s inconsistencies in your messaging, a lack of engagement, or missing elements in your brand story, AI can provide actionable insights to help you refine and enhance your strategy.

How can I leverage multimedia to strengthen my personal brand?

Incorporating multimedia elements like videos, podcasts, and infographics can significantly enhance your brand’s appeal. This prompt guides AI to suggest the best multimedia formats for your brand and how to effectively use them. By diversifying your content, you can reach a broader audience and keep your brand fresh and engaging.

Leveraging AI in personal branding isn’t about replacing your unique human touch, it’s about enhancing it. These AI prompts can help you uncover insights, optimize your strategies, and ensure your personal brand stands out in a crowded marketplace. The essence of personal branding lies in authenticity, relevance, consistency, and continuous improvement. By embracing these AI tools, you can elevate your personal branding efforts and achieve greater professional success.

A pioneer in personal branding and virtual presentation skills, William Arruda helps professionals stand out in the digital world. Join the course and transform your online meetings and presentations into powerful, engaging, branded experiences.

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IMAGES

12. Survey design
Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions
Module 2 Chapter 1: The Nature of Social Work Research Questions
Popular Social Work Questions & Answers
SOLUTION: Social work review quiz community organization
9.2 Qualitative interviews

COMMENTS

Module 2 Chapter 1: The Nature of Social Work Research Questions
Authors of one social work research textbook summarize the relevance issue in the following statement: "To social workers, a relevant research question is one whose answers will have an impact on policies, theories, or practices related to the social work profession" (Grinnell & Unrau, 2014, p. 46).
MCQ on Social Work Research with answers
Answer: c) Professional social workers, social work agencies, and communities. 2-In social work research, the inferences are drawn through: a) Deductive reasoning. b) Observations only. c) Inductive reasoning. d) None of the above. Answer: c) Inductive reasoning. 3-Social work research lays special emphasis on: a) Data collection.
200 Social Work MCQ with Answer
Answer: (B) 12. Social group work as a method does not help. (A) individuals to enhance social functioning through purposeful group experience. (B) community to solve problems of groups in a community. (C) provide a context in which individuals help each other. (D) individuals and groups to influence and change social situations.
193 questions with answers in SOCIAL WORK
Social Work - Science topic. Social Work is the use of community resources, individual case work, or group work to promote the adaptive capacities of individuals in relation to their social and ...
Social work research question Flashcards
A social work research question is a question that you seek to answer through the collection and analysis of firsthand, verifiable, empirical data. Question that examine the interaction between individuals, groups, or organizations. Question that examine tendencies in community change; or the impact of intervention.
9. Writing your research question
Writing a good research question is an art and a science. It is a science because you have to make sure it is clear, concise, and well-developed. It is an art because often your language needs "wordsmithing" to perfect and clarify the meaning. This is an exciting part of the research process; however, it can also be one of the most stressful.
Decoding the ASWB: Your Ultimate Guide to Conquer Research Methods and
They're on the ASWB Exam: Like it or not, research methods and statistics questions will appear on the exam. You can't afford to ignore them. In fact, conquering these sections could be your ticket to an impressive score! Now, let's get to the heart of the matter: how to tackle research methods and statistics questions on the ASWB exam.
4.4 Qualitative research questions
Table 4.3 below takes the final research questions from Table 4.1 and adapts them for qualitative research. The guidelines for research questions previously described in this chapter still apply, but there are some new elements to qualitative research questions that are not present in quantitative questions.
Developing a Research Question
A relevant research question is one whose answers will have an impact on policies, theories, or practices related to the social work profession. Other factors determining the relevance include the organization who funds the research, the program that houses it, and the research team that undertakes it. Researchable
4.2 Writing a good research question
Social work research questions must contain a target population. Her study would be very different if she were to conduct it on older Americans or younger newly arrived immigrants. The target population is the group of people whose needs your study addresses.
Social Work Research Methods
As with any research, social work research involves both quantitative and qualitative studies. Quantitative Research. Answers to questions like these can help social workers know about the populations they serve — or hope to serve in the future. How many students currently receive reduced-price school lunches in the local school district?
9.2 Qualitative interviews
Figure 9.2 provides an example of an interview guide that uses questions rather than topics. Figure 9.2 Interview guide displaying questions rather than topics. As you might have guessed, interview guides do not appear out of thin air. They are the result of thoughtful and careful work on the part of a researcher.
Social Research Questions and Answers
Get help with your Social research homework. Access the answers to hundreds of Social research questions that are explained in a way that's easy for you to understand. Can't find the question you're looking for? Go ahead and submit it to our experts to be answered.
100 Social Work Research Topics and Tips on Choosing One
50 Hot Research Topics for Social Work Students. Difference in approaching children vs adolescents suffering from domestic violence. Success stories in preventing child abuse in certain regions/states. Strategies to encourage women to report domestic violence cases. Damage to families with ongoing domestic violence.
100 Questions (and Answers) About Qualitative Research
Exploring 100 key questions (and answers) on the nature and practice of qualitative inquiry, this unique book addresses the practical decisions that researchers must make in their work, from the design of the study, through ethics approval, implementation, and writing.
How to Bring Research Into Social Work Practice
5.01 (d): Social workers should contribute to the knowledge base of social work and share with colleagues their knowledge related to practice, research, and ethics…. 5.02 (a) Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation of programs, and practice interventions. 5.02 (b) Social workers should promote and facilitate ...
Social Work Toolbox: 37 Questions, Assessments, & Resources
Social Work Toolbox: 37 Questions, Assessments, & Resources. 1 Mar 2022 by Jeremy Sutton, Ph.D. Scientifically reviewed by Jo Nash, Ph.D. Undoubtedly, the role of the social worker is a challenging one. This may be because of its unlikely position, balanced between "the individual and society, the powerful and the excluded" (Davies, 2013, p ...
Social Work Practice Quiz: Test Your Knowledge & Skills
Title: Comprehensive Practice Quiz for Social Work Students Introduction: This practice quiz is designed to assist social work students in testing their knowledge and understanding of key concepts in the field of social work. These practice questions cover a range of topics including social work theories, ethical considerations, intervention techniques, and research methods.
Foundations of Social Work Research
This textbook was created to provide an introduction to research methods for BSW and MSW students, with particular emphasis on research and practice relevant to students at the University of Texas at Arlington. It provides an introduction to social work students to help evaluate research for evidence-based practice and design social work research projects. It can be used with its companion, A ...
7.4 Designing effective questions and questionnaires
Identify the steps one should take to write effective survey questions. Describe some of the ways that survey questions might confuse respondents and how to overcome that possibility. Apply mutual exclusivity and exhaustiveness to writing closed-ended questions. Define fence-sitting and floating. Describe the steps involved in constructing a ...
10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project
The first question asks for a ready-made solution, and is not focused or researchable. The second question is a clearer comparative question, but note that it may not be practically feasible. For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down further to focus on the effectiveness of drunk driving laws in just one or two countries.
2024 Social Worker Interview Questions & Answers
Social Worker interviews are designed to probe not only your technical knowledge and experience but also your emotional intelligence, ethical standards, and interpersonal skills. These interviews typically feature a mix of question types, each serving a distinct purpose in evaluating your suitability for the role.
Top 30 Social Work Interview Questions (Example Answers Included)
For many, that alone makes pursuing social work as a career appealing. Plus, there are plenty of opportunities. Demand for social workers is rising, with the anticipated growth rate between 2018 and 2028 coming in at an astounding 11 percent. That's about 81,000 more openings, each one looking for a superhero in a cardigan sweater.
Popular Social Work Questions & Answers
Engaging clients in social work involves actively listening to their stories and validating their experiences. Showing empathy, respect, and non-judgmental support is key in creating a safe space for clients to discuss their issues. It also involves building trust by being honest and consistent in interactions.
The Best Questions To Ask ChatGPT When Building Your Personal ...
Photo credit . getty. Building your personal brand requires moving through a sequential, three-step process.The first step, Know, focuses on brand discovery, uncovering your unique promise of value.
Style and Grammar Guidelines
People are described using language that affirms their worth and dignity. Authors plan for ethical compliance and report critical details of their research protocol to allow readers to evaluate findings and other researchers to potentially replicate the studies. Tables and figures present information in an engaging, readable manner.
Adobe Workfront
Workfront is your single collaborative system that lets you break down silos and manage all work across the organization. Consolidate work requests, streamline project intake, capture data with custom forms, and manage project reviews. Understand the work happening across your teams with dashboards and tracking tools.

Module 2 Chapter 1: The Nature of Social Work Research Questions

Translational Science

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Decoding the ASWB: Your Ultimate Guide to Conquer Research Methods and Statistics Questions

1) The ASWB Exam: What’s the Big Deal?

2) Research Methods and Statistics: Why Are They Important?

Understand the Basic Concepts

Apply, Apply, Apply!

Don’t Fear the Complex Questions

3) FAQs – Research and Statistics

4) Conclusion

5) Practice Question – Research Methods and Statistics

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The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Client Assessments and the ASWB Exam

Understanding Community Intervention for the ASWB Exam

Mastering Group Therapy Questions on the ASWB Exam

Social Work Practices in Rural vs. Urban Settings and the ASWB Exam

Lifelong Learning in Social Work: Continuing Education Beyond the ASWB Exam

The Evolution of Social Work: A Historical Perspective

Psychotherapy Records vs. Psychotherapy Notes

The Impact of Technology and AI on Social Work Practices

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50 Hot Research Topics for Social Work Students

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Delimitations in research: meaning, types, and examples

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The link between social work research and practice

Why should social workers care about research?

Some of the specific guidance provided around research and social work include:

Evidence-based practice and evidence-based treatment

How does social work practice affect research?

How does research affect social work practice?

How to build research skills while in school

How to build research skills while working as a social worker

Benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills

Social work research jobs

Social Work Toolbox: 37 Questions, Assessments, & Resources

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Emotional intelligence

Fostering empathy

Reflective cycle

Challenging social interactions

Motivational Interviewing in Social Work