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| Why Social Workers Need Research? | |
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| Research as a Source of Knowledge | |
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| What is Research? | |
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| The Distinctiveness of Scientific Research | |
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| Development of theory | |
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| Importance of diversity in theories | |
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| Systematic and rigorous methods | |
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| Empirical evidence | |
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| Commitment to neutrality | |
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| Obligation to an ethical code | |
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| Consumer and Producer Roles | |
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| Consumer Role | |
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| Producer Role | |
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| Using Critical Thinking Skills as Consumers and Producers | |
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| Why Do Social Work Researchers Conduct Studies? | |
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| The Research Topics of Interest to Social Workers | |
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| The Book's Perspective about the People Who are Studied | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| The Philosophies and Purposes of Research | |
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| Inductive and Deductive Philosophies | |
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| Inductive Research | |
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| Deductive Research | |
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| Assessment of Your Philosophical Tendencies | |
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| Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methodologies | |
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| Quantitative Methods | |
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| Qualitative Methods | |
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| Mixed Methods | |
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| Some Specialized Areas in Social Work Research | |
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| Participatory Action Research | |
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| Feminist Research | |
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| Afrocentric Research | |
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| Critical Thinking and Social Work Research | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Research Ethics and Social Work's Mandates | |
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| Ethical Problems in Research | |
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| Physical harm | |
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| Psychological harm | |
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| Invasion of privacy | |
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| Deception of Participants | |
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| Misrepresentation of findings | |
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| Balancing risks and gains | |
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| Ethical Safeguards of Research | |
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| Confidentiality | |
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| Informed Consent | |
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| Monitoring the effects of a study and offering any needed assistance | |
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| Involving research Participants in decision-making | |
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| Selecting researchers without a conflict of interest | |
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| Mandates of Social Work | |
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| Adhering to the values and ethics of social work | |
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| Promoting a Commitment to Diversity | |
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| Promoting Social and Economic Justice and Special Attention to At-Risk Populations | |
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| Attending to Social Work Mandates throughout the Book | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Understanding the Research Topic | |
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| What Issues Affect Problem Selection? | |
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| Political Perspective | |
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| Socio-Cultural Views | |
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| Professional Discipline | |
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| Specializations within social work | |
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| Personal Life Experiences | |
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| Employer Expectations, Funding Sources, and Other External Influences | |
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| Research Topics and Social Work | |
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| The Producer Role and the Research Topic | |
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| The Consumer Role and the Research Topic | |
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| The Literature Review | |
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| Tips on Completing Literature Searches | |
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| Purposes in completing a literature review | |
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| Strategies for Gathering Information | |
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| Writing up a Literature Review | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Defining and Measuring Concepts | |
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| Concepts, Variables, Values, and Constants | |
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| Constructing and Measuring Variables | |
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| Understanding Measurement | |
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| How Knowledge is Generated | |
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| Quantitative and Qualitative Measurements | |
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| Numbers | |
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| Words from Forced-Response Questions | |
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| Word from Open-Ended Questions | |
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| Levels of Measurement | |
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| Validity and Reliability | |
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| How Is Validity Measured? | |
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| How Is Reliability Measured? | |
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| Standardized Scales | |
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| Diversity Issues | |
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| Likert Scales | |
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| Thurstone and Guttman Scales | |
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| Goal Attainment Scales for Evaluating Social Work Practice | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Focusing a Research Study | |
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| Descriptive Studies | |
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| Exploratory Studie | |
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| Explanatory Studies | |
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| Descriptive and Exploratory Studies Ask General Research Questions | |
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| Explanatory Studies Test Hypotheses | |
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| Constructing Hypotheses | |
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| Types of Variables | |
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| Three Conditions of Causal Relationships | |
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| Practical Uses of Hypotheses | |
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| Hypothesizing to Evaluate Social Work Practice | |
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| Generating Hypotheses | |
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| Focusing a Research Study and the Consumer Role | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Designing the Study | |
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| Review of Prior Steps | |
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| Considering Secondary Research and Existing Data | |
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| What is the Intention of the Study? | |
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| Descriptive research Designs | |
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| Exploratory Research Designs | |
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| Explanatory Research Designs | |
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| Three Key Questions | |
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| Illustration 1 | |
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| Illustration 2 | |
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| Designing a Study and the Consumer Role | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Considering Sampling Techniques | |
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| Important Sampling Concepts | |
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| Selecting a Sample | |
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| Probability and Non-Probability Sampling | |
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| Types of Probability Sampling | |
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| Types of Non-Probability Sampling | |
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| Diversity, Social Justice Issues, and Samples | |
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| Using Combinations of Sampling Approaches | |
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| Sample Size | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Constructing Surveys | |
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| Using Interviews in Research | |
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| Types of Interviews | |
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| Varying Ways to Conduct Interviews | |
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| Using Questionnaires in Research | |
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| Types of Questionnaires | |
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| Varying Ways to Administer Questionnaires | |
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| Similarities Between Data Collection in Research and Social Work | |
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| Importance of High Response Rates | |
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| Validity and Reliability Issues | |
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| Diversity and Social Justice | |
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| Comparing Interviews and Questionnaires | |
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| Interviews | |
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| Questionnaires | |
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| How to Construct a Survey | |
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| Constructing Qualitative Surveys | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Constructing Observational Studies | |
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| Conducting Structured Observations | |
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| Conducting Unstructured Observations | |
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| Participant Observation | |
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| Non-Participatory Unstructured Observation | |
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| The Ethical Problems of Observing Covertly | |
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| Incorporating Diversity and Social Justice | |
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| Advantages of Observational Research | |
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| Validity and Reliability Issues | |
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| How to Construct an Observational Data Collection Instrument | |
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| Observing Social Artifacts and Other Non-Human Entities | |
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| Examples of Observations in Social Work Settings | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Exploring Causal Relationships: Quasi-Experimental | |
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| Experimental and Single System Designs | |
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| The Relevance of Causal Relationships in Social Work Practice | |
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| Claiming that the Intervention Makes a Difference | |
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| Documenting the Impact of Social Work Interventions | |
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| Group Designs for Exploring Causal Relationships | |
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| Research Designs for Exploring Causal Relationships | |
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| One-Group Posttest-Only Design | |
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| Pretest/Posttest Design | |
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| Pretest/Posttest Design with a Comparison Group | |
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| Time Series Design | |
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| Pretest/Posttest Design with a Control Group | |
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| Validity and Group Designs | |
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| Using Single System Designs for Practice Evaluations | |
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| Different Types of Single System Designs | |
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| Implementing a Single System Design | |
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| Options for Analyzing Progress for Single System Designs | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Collecting the Data | |
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| Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection | |
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| Training for Data Collection | |
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| Preparation for Collecting Data | |
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| Preparation for Quantitative Methods | |
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| Preparation for Qualitative Methods | |
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| Preparation for Leading Focus Groups | |
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| Considering the Influence of the Personal Characteristics of the Researcher | |
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| Collecting the Data and the Consumer Role | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Quantitative Data Analysis | |
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| Coding the Data | |
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| Coding Questions that Directly Elicit a Numerical Response | |
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| Coding Forced-response Questions | |
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| Coding Forced-response Questions with Multiple Options | |
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| A Code Book | |
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| Ethics and Data Analysis | |
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| Descriptive Statistics for Data Analysis | |
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| Frequency Distributions | |
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| Measures of Central Tendencies | |
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| Measures of Variability or Dispersion | |
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| Bi-Variate Statistics for Data Analysis | |
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| Significance, Statistical Significance, and Statistical Tests | |
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| Measuring the Association Between Two Variables | |
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| Chi-Square Test | |
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| Correlation Test | |
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| Comparing Two or More Groups | |
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| T-test | |
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| ANOVA Test | |
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| Multivariate Statistics for Data Analysis | |
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| Mixed Methods | |
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| Working with a Data Set | |
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| Analyzing Quantitative Data and the Consumer Role | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Qualitative Data Analysis | |
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| Qualitative Versus Quantitative Data Analysis | |
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| Varied Types of Qualitative Data | |
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| How is Qualitative Data Analyzed? | |
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| Strategy 1: Case Studies | |
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| Strategy 2: Summarizing Responses for Open-Ended Questions | |
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| How to Summarize Responses for Open-Ended Questions | |
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| Strategy 3: Theme Analysis | |
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| How to Conduct a Theme Analysis | |
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| Data Collection Approaches and the Three Strategies | |
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| Other Types of Qualitative Data Analysis | |
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| Content Analysis | |
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| Ethnographic Analysis | |
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| Observational Analysis of Social Situations | |
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| Validating Data | |
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| Mixed Methods | |
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| Analyzing Qualitative Data and the Consumer Role | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Preparing a Report | |
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| Task A. Highlighting Background Material on the Study | |
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| Task B: Focusing the Findings | |
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| Organization of Findings | |
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| Accuracy and Clarity | |
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| Use of Graphics | |
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| Task C. Developing Recommendations | |
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| Task D: Writing or Presenting the Report | |
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| Considering Potential Readers of the Report | |
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| Contents of a Traditional Research Report | |
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| Reporting on Qualitative Studies | |
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| Reporting on the Research and the Consumer Role | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |
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| Program and Practice Evaluation | |
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| Accountability to Stakeholders | |
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| A Political Process | |
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| Defining Evaluation | |
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| Purposes of Evaluations | |
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| Steps in Conducting an Evaluation | |
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| Planning, Implementation, and Outcome Stages | |
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| Logic Model | |
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| Evaluations during the Planning Stage | |
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| A Needs Assessment | |
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| Other Evaluation Strategies When Planning | |
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| Evaluations during the Implementation Stage | |
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| Is the Intervention Implemented as Intended? | |
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| Is the Quality of the Intervention High? | |
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| How Accessible is the Intervention to All Client Groups? | |
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| How Satisfied are the Clients with the Intervention? | |
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| Evaluations during the Outcome Stage | |
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| Group Designs | |
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| Cost/Benefit Analysis Studies | |
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| Outcomes in Practice Evaluations | |
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| Summary | |
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| Discussion Questions | |