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Research For Effective Social Work Practice
Judy L. Krysik & Jerry Finn
Chapter 3
The Research Process
Objective Test Questions
1. Which of the following represents the first step of the research process?
a. Select a research design.
b. Identify the problem area.
c. Analyze the data.
d. Select the measures.
2. Social workers not planning to be researchers or evaluators still need to
understand the research process for which of the following reasons?
a. It provides a framework for critically evaluating existing information.
b. NASW membership requires social workers to be knowledgeable about
research methods.
c. Knowledge of the research process is essential for evaluating the
effectiveness of one’s social work practice.
d. Both a and c.
3. Problems are socially constructed. This means:
a. Problems become recognized in the social domain not because they exist,
but because they are identified and defined as problems.
b. Problems exist within a social context.
c. Problems are defined by the values and preferences of those in power.
d. Legislators and other government officials determine what issues are
considered to be social problems.
4. Social workers typically identify research problems through which of the
following means?
a. Consistently encountering problematic situations on the job that require
additional information.
b. Personal interest and experience related to a given problem or issue.
c. Sources of research funding dictate the research problems social workers
must explore.
d. Both a and b.
5. In a resource-scare environment, which of the following factors determine what
problem areas warrant research attention over other problem areas?
a. The frequency with which the problem occurs.
b. The extent of human suffering the problem produces.
c. The cost of the problem to society.
d. All of the above.
6. Based on the framework for evaluating the credibility of information on the
Internet, which of the following sources of information is likely the most
credible?
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a. A source whose purpose is to promote or sell something, and positive
aspects are exclusively highlighted.
b. Information is not attached to any source, and there is no indication that
information has been subjected to a process of review.
c. A source that is properly cited and whose information is presented in a
balanced manner with attention to both positive and negative aspects.
d. A source whose information is 20 years old and contains spelling,
grammatical, and typographical errors.
7. Cultural competence is:
a. Being intimately familiar with a wide variety of different cultures that are
likely to benefit from social work interventions.
b. The ability to perform effectively in multicultural settings based on the
understanding of one’s own and others’ language, customs, values, and
beliefs.
c. Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that hold culture in high esteem.
d. Social work services consistenly provided in an unbiased manner.
8. Striving to achieve culturally proficient research requires doing which of the
following?
a. Assessing bias in the literature.
b. Involving members of the cultural group in the research.
c. Differentiating “researching for” from “researching on.”
d. All of the above.
9. Which of the following does NOT represents a value-laden research question?
a. Should same-sex couples be allowed to legally marry?
b. Is euthanasia a morally acceptable alternative for persons who are
terminally ill?
c. How do women who have experienced abortion view the procedure 1 year
later?
d. Is capital punishment a morally acceptable means for deterring crime?
10. The purpose of exploratory research is:
a. To describe characteristics of those affected by the problem.
b. To gain an initial understanding of a problem area when we know very
little about the problem.
c. To describe the characteristics of the problem itself.
d. To explain why and how things happen.
11. The purpose of descriptive research is:
a. To describe characteristics of the problem and those affected by the
problem.
b. To gain an initial understanding of problem area when we know very little
about the problem.
c. To explain why and how things happen.
d. To study politically oppressed individuals.
12. The purpose of explanatory research is:
a. To describe characteristics of those affected by the problem.
b. To gain an initial understanding of problem area when we know very little
about the problem.
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c. To describe the characteristics of the problem itself.
d. To explain why and how things happen.
13. Which of the following represent explanatory research questions?
a. How will legal marriage impact the quality of same-sex relationships?
b. What employee-related benefits are currently available to the spouses of
same-sex unions?
c. How has marriage affected same-sex couples?
d. How many same-sex unions are there in the United States, and what forms
do they take?
14. Which of the following represent the purpose of a literature review in social work
research?
a. To identify questions that require further research.
b. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of our existing knowledge.
c. To identify controversies that exist in the literature.
d. All of the above.
15. Theory can guide the development of research questions in which of the following
ways?
a. It can help us make clear the rationale for asking specific research
questions
b. It can help us identify the scope, severity, and relevance of our research
questions.
c. It can lead us to word our research questions in a specific way.
d. Both a and c.
16. Operationalizing a concept accomplishes which of the following?
a. Describes a concept in ways similar to a dictionary definition.
b. Provides conceptual clarity and removes all ambiguity about the meaning
of the concept .
c. Provides one official definition of the concept that all researchers studying
that concept must utilize.
d. Provides a symbol for some observable attribute or phenomenon.
17. The ecological fallacy is defined as:
a. Failing to recognize the implications of global warming.
b. The system level that will be studied in social work research.
c. Social artifacts such as stories and poems, drawings, and newspapers.
d. A statement related to one unit of analysis based on data collected by a
different unit of analysis.
18. Which of the following represents a longitudinal research study?
a. A study looking at recidivism rates among juveniles 12 months after their
first offense.
b. A study looking at graduation rates for one cohort of social work students.
c. A study of the economic well-being of one group of older women as they
age.
d. A study of clients receiving services from a community mental health
center regarding their level of satisfaction 6 months after receiving
services.
19. Which of the following represents a research hypothesis:
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a. What types of interventions support parental adjustment to a child’s
disclosure of homosexuality?
b. The higher a juvenile’s self esteem, the less likely he or she will become
an offender.
c. What services do homeless individuals receive and what is their level of
satisfaction with those services?
d. What factors influence whether a juvenile becomes an offender?
20. In striving to achieve cultural proficiency in formulating research questions and
hypotheses, which of the following is true?
a. Concepts do not necessarily have equivalent meanings across cultures.
b. Measures of success are consistently similar across diverse cultures.
c. It is necessary to focus exclusively on the positive consequences of
research involving culturally diverse populations.
d. It is useful to employ generic variable labels to indicate specific subgroups
within a culture.
Open-Ended Short Answer Questions
Midterm exam questions
1. List the eight steps of the research process.
2. Briefly describe the five criteria for evaluating the credibility of sources of
information available on the Internet.
3. What is the difference between cultural competence and cultural proficiency?
4. Describe three methods a social worker can take to begin achieving culturally
proficient research.
5. There are eight activities necessary for conducting a quality literature review.
Name five of them.
Final exam questions
1. Describe one of the methods doctoral student Hawlin Tina Lui utilized to
incorporate theory into her study of older adults who had recently immigrated
from Taiwan.
2. Describe the two different ways of operationalizing poverty presented in the
chapter. What are the ramifications of each of these definitions in terms of
program eligibility for people who are poor?
3. What are the five criteria for evaluating the quality of null and research
hypotheses?
4. Describe three ways social workers can be sensitive to culture in developing
research questions.
5. What might a research study employing meta-analysis look like?