Describe an evaluation of practice you might undertake in a given agency. What research design might you employ in this study? Does this design address maturation as a threat to internal validity? Explain why you believe that maturation should or should not be of special concern in this situation.
What will be an ideal response?
Ans: The most popular research design for social work students seems to be the one-group pretest–posttest design. This design does not address maturation because there is no information that would represent the progress of clients based on growth over time. The comparison group design, however, does address this threat because there are data from a group of people who did not receive the service. If they achieved a 10% gain, you would assume that the treatment group would have received this level of gain without treatment; therefore, the treatment group must receive a level of gain that is significantly higher than 10% in order to make the assertion that the treatment made a difference. The issue of threats to internal validity that should be of special concern is a matter of informed opinion based on the situation and logic. If clients have been experiencing the target behavior for more than a year without improvement and the treatment lasts 6 weeks, it would not seem logical to think that these clients would improve during this period of time without the treatment.
Learning Objective: 8-6: Select a research design that adequately addresses the critical threats to internal validity that should be of concern in a given situation.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Research Designs and Causation
Difficulty Level: Hard
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Upon on completion of specified coursework, educational bodies confer ____________________.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Mrs. K., age 35, has been in treatment for the past three months. She says she feels inferior and worthless when with family and friends. She avoids close personal relationships and fears dependence on others. She feels that most people are more in control and are "happy about their lives." Preoccupied and anxious about her failures and worries about the future, she constantly complains about chest and back pains that keep her awake at night. Medical evaluations are negative. She also experiences sudden mood shifts in which she appreciates her achievements, feels good and sees others as the problem. Mrs. K's condition could be diagnosed as
A. overanxious reaction to adulthood. B. borderline personality disorder. C. narcissistic personality disorder. D. reactive depression.
Beneficence means:
A) Altruism that is inherent in the professional role. B) The moral imperative to enhance clients' well-being. C) The receiving of benefits from social programs. D) Going beyond the typical policy advocate role.
The opportunity for members to share common concerns and issues with one another and realize that they are not alone with their problems is a phenomenon called ________
a) Commonality b) Universality c) Problem swapping d) Socialization