Social Work Research Methods and Ethics Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, research methodologies, ethical studies, source evaluations, and research article components from the social work research lectures.

Quantitative Methods

Research methods that focus on numbers and measurable information, using statistics, surveys, questionnaires, or structured data collection to analyze patterns and compare groups.

Qualitative Methods

Research methods focused on collecting information about people's experiences, thoughts, and feelings, often through interviews.

Scientific Method

A systematic and organized way to answer questions and test ideas that helps researchers collect evidence, reduce bias, and determine whether conclusions are supported by gathered information.

Evidence-Based Practice

The practice of using the best available research evidence, along with a social worker's professional knowledge and the client's needs, values, and preferences, to make decisions about how to help a client.

Evidence-Based Research

Research that uses scientific evidence and reliable research methods to determine what practices or interventions are effective.

Prescriptive Knowledge

Knowledge that seeks to suggest interventions to address existing problems or prevent future problems, telling us what actions are likely to produce a desired outcome.

Descriptive Knowledge

Knowledge that describes what is happening or what exists, explaining how things were at a point in time or describing change over time.

Predictive Knowledge

Knowledge that helps anticipate what is likely to happen in the future based on certain conditions or factors.

Empirical Knowledge

Knowledge based on observations, experiences, or evidence collected through research, rather than opinions or assumptions.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A group that reviews research involving human participants to protect them from unnecessary harm and ensure research follows ethical guidelines.

Stanford Prison Experiment

A study that placed participants in roles as prisoners and guards to study behavior, which caused psychological distress and raised serious ethical concerns regarding participant protection.

Milgram's Obedience Study

A study where participants were instructed to give electric shocks to another person to test obedience, raising ethical issues regarding deception, psychological distress, and informed consent.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

A study where Black men with syphilis were deceived and denied appropriate treatment even after it became available, violating principles of informed consent, protection from harm, and justice.

Laud Humphrey's Study of Homosexual Behavior

A study observing men in public restrooms without informed consent and collecting identifying information, raising ethical concerns regarding privacy, confidentiality, and lack of consent.

Literature Review

A process conducted to learn what is already known about a topic, identify existing research, find gaps, avoid repeating previous research, and help develop a research question or hypothesis.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Information sources that usually provide detailed research, evidence, methods, and expert review, though they can be difficult to understand and time-consuming to read.

Introduction (Research Article)

The section of a research article that explains the topic and purpose, provides background information on the problem, explains its importance, and may include the research question or hypothesis.

Methods (Research Article)

The section of a research article that explains how the study was conducted, including participant selection, research design, procedures, and data collection and analysis.

Results (Research Article)

The section of a research article that presents the findings discovered from data using numbers, statistics, tables, or graphs without explaining their meaning.

Discussion (Research Article)

The section of a research article that explains what results mean, connects findings to the hypothesis, compares them with previous research, and notes study limitations and future research areas.