Research and Statistics for Social Workers

Thomas Lawson, PhD, is Professor and Director of the International Studies Program at the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. He consults globally with scientific academies, universities, governmental agencies and international organizations with regard to social work education, and issues concerning social and health policy. He serves as a scientific reviewer for publications of the Institute for Political Science of the Hungarian Academy of Science. He holds honorary doctorates and professorships from universities in China, Russia and Hungary, is a Fellow of the University of Applied Sciences, Munich, Germany and awarded the Order of Merit Knight’s Cross by the President of Hungary. Dr. Lawson teaches Comparative International Social Policy at the MSSW and BSW level, and doctoral classes in research, statistics and theory. Dr. Lawson is a retired Army Social Work Officer who developed and is the coordinator of the Military Social Work Specialization.Anna Faul, PhD, is Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Kent School of Social Work at the Univesity of Louisville. Dr. Faul is a Hartford Faculty Scholar, and she has published numerous articles and book chapters on various research topics over the years, ranging from child welfare, measurement issues in social work, women and diversity issues, gerontology and health disparities. During Dr. Faul's time at the University of Louisville she has received various awards, namely Outstanding Faculty Award, Provost Award for Faculty Advising and the Distinguished Educator Achievement Award from the Kentucky Association for Gerontology.A.N. Verbist MSSW, completed his doctoral studies at the University of Louisville in the fall of 2018. His practice background is in foster care and residential treatment. His research interests are centered on child welfare; he is currently investigating the role of standardized assessments in evidence-based treatment decision-making.

• SECTION 1 FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCHCHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH THINKING, QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE – HOW TO USE EXISTING KNOWLEDGE TO HELP FORMULATE YOUR QUESTION CHAPTER 4 ETHICS – MAKING SURE THAT IN SEARCHING FOR THE ANSWER YOU DO NO HARM CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH IN A CULTURAL CONTEXT – MAKING SURE YOU’RE YOUR QUESTION AND METHODS OF OBTAINING AN ANSWER IS ATTENTIVE TO CULTURE CHAPTER 6 FOCUSING THE RESEARCH – CREATING THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE IMPORTANT IN GETTING A "CORRECT AND USABLE ANSWER" CHAPTER 7 DATA GATHERING – HOW TO GET THE INFORMATION THAT WILL ANSWER THE QUESTION CHAPTER 8 SAMPLING – HOW MUCH INFORMATION DO I NEED AND HOW CAN I SEE THAT THE ANSWER IS A CORRECT REPRESENTATION CHAPTER 9 DATA ENTRY AND CLEANING – MAKING SURE THAT THE ANSWERS I OBTAIN ARE COMPLETE AND WITHOUR ERROR CHAPTER 10 INTRODUCTION TO MEASUREMENT – DIFFERENT WAYS TO MEASURE ANSWERS AND HOW TO DETERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR ANSWERSECTION 2 FINDING DIFFERENCESCHAPTER 11 ONE SAMPLE TESTS CHAPTER 12 TWO INDEPENDENT SAMPLE TESTS CHAPTER 13 TWO RELATED OR MATCHED SAMPLES CHAPTER 14 MULTIPLE (k) INDEPENDENT SAMPLES CHAPTER 15 MULTIPLE RELATED SAMPLESSECTION III FINDING RELATIONSHIPSCHAPTER 16 MEASURES OF ASSOCIATION AND CORRELATION CHAPTER 17 PREDICTION CHAPTER 18 INTERDEPENDENT ANALYSIS GLOSSARYINDEXREFERENCES