Social Work Research and Evaluation Foundations of Evidence-Based Practice, Eighth Edition

by Grinnell, Richard; Unrau, Yvonne

• ISBN13: 9780195301526
• ISBN10: 0195301528
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book is the longest standing and most widely adopted text in the field of social work research and evaluation. As stated in the book's preface, it is intended for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate social work students in a one-semester research methods course. Since the first edition in 1981, this edition is designed to provide social work students with the basic methodological foundation they need in order to successfully complete more advanced research courses that focus on single-system designs or program evaluations. With its customarily straightforward user-friendly writing style by renowned educators, this edition will continue to maintain its notoriety as the premier social work research methods text. Thoroughly revised and updated, the chapters offer a wealth of new research examples and references, accessible diagrams of essential concepts and processes, and extended coverage of core social work research methods and recent developments. For example, with the inclusion of four new chapters on the evidence-based approach to social work practice, the book emphasizes how important this approach has become, and provides a rock-solid foundation for understanding how to evaluate and interpret research findings that have been derived from research studies-the minimal skills needed for evidence-based social work practitioners.

Author Biography

Richard M. Grinnell, Jr. is a professor and holds the Clair and Clarice Platt Jones/Helen Frays Endowed Chair of Social Work Research within the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University, and Yvonne A. Unrau is an associate professor within the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University.

Table of Contents

The Contexts of Research

Introduction

The Ethical Conduct of Research

The Quantitative Research Approach

The Qualitative Research Approach

Designing Research Studies

Conceptualization and Measurement

Sampling

Case-Level Designs

Group-Level Designs

Collecting Data

Structured Observation

Participant Observation

Qualitative Interviewing

Survey Research

Secondary Analysis

Content Analysis

Selecting a Data Collection Method and Data Source

Becoming a Culturally-Sensitive Researcher

Research with Minority and Disadvantaged Groups

Data Analysis

Quantitative Data Analysis

Qualitative Data Analysis

Writing and Evaluating Research Reports

Writing Reports from Research Studies

Evaluating Quantitative Research Studies

Evaluating Qualitative Research Studies

Becoming an Evidence-Based Practitioner

Finding Existing Knowledge

Evaluating Evidence

Meta-Analysis

Evidence-Based Practice

From Research to Evaluation

Program Evaluation

Glossary

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.