Module 2: Literature Search and Refining the Research Question

Why is a research study conducted?

To add to our knowledge about a social problem.

What is the purpose of learning about a social problem?

To be able to eliminate or minimize the problem.

What is the difference between a topic and a research question?

A topic is a general area of interest, such as child welfare or eating disorders. A research question must be about a very specific issue that is directly related to the study aims.

Before conducting a research study, these steps must be taken to ensure research procedures are ethical:

-Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent -No Harm to Participants -Anonymity and Confidentiality -Deceiving Participants >>Will the participants be deceived and if they are will the deception be relatively harmless and justifiable?

There are three main types of articles:

1-Articles reporting on original research include a literature review specific to the study question, study methods, study results, and a discussion of the results. 2-There may be a recent review article that was written on your research question (can save you a lot of time if it is well written). Review articles include a review of research on the topic of the paper. And the references listed are an excellent source for identifying additional articles to include in your literature review. 3-Conceptual articles are focused on the concepts related to the phenomenon of interest. Such articles do not report on original research. They usually include a literature review, but the focus is on explaining the theoretical model.

You should understand the following while reading articles about empirical research:

1-What was the aim of the study? 2-What was the study design? 3-How was the study sample obtained? 4-Which measures were used? 5-How were data collected? 6-What were the major findings? 7-What were the strengths and limitations? 8-What are the implications for practice? 9-What suggestions are made for future research?

What does a literature search do?

A literature search identifies the sources that the researcher should review before embarking on the study. The sources should include important studies that have been conducted in the recent past, and also the most current research that describes emerging issues in the field.

How is a literature search different from a literature review?

A literature search is the process of locating sources that have information about the topic your studying. The result of a literature search is a list of sources that you will screen in order to choose the sources that are directly relevant to your research question. A literature review is a synthesis of the literature in your own words. After reading the articles, chapters, books, and other sources, the researcher decides what is relevant and valid for her research question. This information is included in the literature review that the researcher writes.

Critical Social Science

A research paradigm distinguished by its focus on oppression and its commitment to using research procedures to empower oppressed groups. Also known as feminist paradigm, an empowerment or advocacy paradigm.

Deductive method

A research process based on deductive logic, in which the researcher begins with a theory, then derives hypotheses, and ultimately collects observations to test the hypotheses.

A literature review is NOT the same as an annotated bibliography because:

An annotated bibliography lists each source and a summary of the information each individual source, but it does not synthesize the information for all of the sources.

Searching collaboration is considered a: A-bottom up approach or B-top down approach

B. It may also be useful to conduct a review using the top down approach and search one or more of the international collaborations that compile evidence on a specific topic. Two of the largest collaborations are Cochrane Collaboration and the Campbell Collaboration. These websites are open to the public and provide systematic reviews of study at the explanatory stage of research that test intervention. Each review summarizes the research on a particular intervention.

Searching bibliographic database is considered a: A-top down approach or B-bottom up approach

B. Searching bibliographic databases is considered to be a bottom up approach because the process involves identifying individual articles or other individual sources.

What must be considered throughout the research process?

Feasibility. This is the state or degree of being easily or conveniently done. Feasibility should be considered when you refine the research question and start planning the research study.

What is a mistake that is often made by a beginner researcher?

Formulating a research question that is too broad. A research question is not the same as a topic. The research question should also not be too narrow. Very narrow research questions do not provide meaningful or adequate information. A good research question is specific, but not too broad or too narrow.

From Problem to Hypothesis

Identify social work problem Formulate research questions Conduct a literature search Refine research questions (through search^) State study aims Postulate a hypothesis

Conducting a research study requires resources like:

It requires the researchers time as well as other time constraints that must be considered. Funding to pay for staff, payments to study participants, equipment, postage, travel, and other expenses are often necessary. Access to study sites, such as an agency or medical center or organization where there are potential research study participants is often necessary.

How can one apply a real life example of binge drinking to this method? What would the problem, the research questions, study aims and hypothesis be?

Problem: binge drinking among college students Preliminary research questions: 1-What is the prevalence of binge drinking among college students in the U.S.? 2-Does binge drinking among college students differ by gender? Preliminary Study Aims: 1-Determine the prevalence of binge drinking among college students in the U.S. 2-Determine whether this varies by gender. Preliminary Hypothesis: Gender is associated with binge drinking among college students. -A preliminary hypothesis is postulated based on the second study aim. The first study aim does not require a hypothesis because it is descriptive and does not involve examining the relationship between variables. It only requires determining how much binge drinking occurs in this population.

Exploratory Research

Research conducted to gather more information about a problem or to make a tentative hypothesis more specific

Why is a literature search conducted early in the research process?

The researcher must be familiar with what is already known in this area so he can add to the knowledge base. It may also help to sharpen the focus of the problem being studied and refine the research question.

What are useful Databases for Social Work topics?

Social Work Abstracts, SocINDEX, Medline, and PsychINFO

What are some attributes of a good research question?

The research question should be very specific and possible to be answered with empirical evidence from a research study.

The research question you pose should have the following:

Utility Social work value Relevant to the field

Social Constructivism

a paradigm that emphasizes multiple subjective realities and the difficulty of being objective Typically uses qualitative measures, more flexible, and values subjective processes. Values the evolution of these processes while observing rather than being determined completely in advance. EX: religion

Contemporary Positivism

a paradigm that emphasizes the pursuit of objectivity in our quest to observe and understand reality Typically uses quantitative measures to maximize objectivity.

Designing and conducting a research study starts with:

a problem of concern to social workers.

Inductive method

a process of making numerous observations until one feels confident in drawing generalizations and predictions from them a research process based on inductive logic, in which the researcher begins with observations, seeks patterns in those observations, and generates tentative conclusions from those patterns.

Interpretivism

a research perspective in which understanding and interpretation of the social world is derived from one's personal intuition and perspective They are likely to hang out with people and observe them in their natural settings. Attempt to gain an empathic understanding of how people feel inside, seeking to interpret individuals' everyday experiences, deeper meanings and feelings, and idiosyncratic reasons for their behaviors.

paradigm

a set of philosophical assumptions about the nature of reality-a fundamental model or scheme that organizes our view of some things EX: evolution EX: the world is round

Theory

a systematic set of interrelated statements intended to explain some aspect of social life or enrich our sense or how people conduct and find meaning in their daily lives.

A literature search begins with:

developing a keyword list. -These words will be used to identify resources in the literature on these topics. EX: Keywords that might be used for a literature search are binge drinking. EX2: To narrow the search, combine binge drinking + college students.

cross-sectional study

examines a phenomena by taking a cross section of it at one time and analyzing that cross section carefully

top-down approach

relies on a synthesis of evidence from many studies that large group of researchers called collaborators have compiled.

Descriptive Research

research conducted to clarify the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Explanatory Research

research that attempts to explain why things do or do not happen by examining the relationship between social variables

bottom-up approach

used to look at databases and indexes and identify individual studies to examine.