Draft An Essay Highlighting" Developing Research Skills"

Assignment guidance:

A 2500 word written essay.

This assignment is based on the two journal articles indicated above. The papers will use different methodologies (one qualitative and one quantitative) but will be about similar or linked topics.

Using research skills, you have learnt in this module, you must provide an integrated discussion of the two articles, rather than two separate accounts. This will require some careful thought as to how best to write the sections of the report. Two articles are different in terms of methodologies but complementary. You may take a view that both are useful, neither are useful, or one is more useful than the other. Whichever view you adopt the important point is that you can argue the case for your position. This is the shift in thinking and writing which we expect at level 5.

Developing an academic argument through a considered analysis is what we mean by ‘critique’ and you need to draw upon a range of material to do this successfully. You also need to evidence your argument by using appropriate literature.

In this assessment, you are also required to say how and why the research that has been conducted is/is not useful for social work practice.

You will be expected to appraise the two journal articles. It is important to include all the sections of the assignment because each of these carries a percentage of the marks. The word lengths for each section are for guidance only and are approximate. 5% of the marks will be for academic skills (referencing and your reference list, breadth of reading, spelling, grammar and structure).

Presentation of Work

Assignment should be written in MS word or similar word processing software, font size 12, font type Arial and paragraphs must be 1.5 spaced. Avoid short paragraphs of 2 to 3 lines, and try to make the paragraph size even throughout the assignment.

On the report do not include your name. Only student number is allowed. Please include the total word counts.

The written work should be submitted electronically via the assignment handler tool in Canvas.

Please use the headings of the given structure

• Add a title page
• Content page
• Introduction
• Research context
• Methodology
• Methods
• Findings
• Application to practice
• Conclusion
• References

Introduction

All academic piece of writing starts with an introduction. In this section, you will write a very brief description of the research topic and the importance of the topic for Social Work.

Introduce both articles – authors, titles, journals, and topics.
[10% - Approximately 300]

Research context

What context is this research set within? You should refer to other literature on this and use material you are aware of from other modules studied on the award.

• What do they describe as the purpose of the research?
• Who is the research primarily intended for?
• Who conducted the research, who are they, their background/profession?
• How do researchers’ background influence their research?

[10% - 300 words approximately]

Methodology:

Then identify the overall methodological approach, sampling, and the methods/research instruments used.

• Theoretical approach authors have taken in both articles, how do they differ?
• What is the research strategy (Quantitative or Qualitative /Mixed Methods)?
• What is the research design?
• What is your assessment of the research in terms of reliability and validity
• Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of this type of research.
• What are the ethical considerations relating to the research? Have the researchers followed good practice guidelines for undertaking the research?

Note You will gain additional marks if you show an understanding of the research paradigms that have informed the methodologies. If you include a discussion of the researchers’ theoretical approach to their topic you will gain additional marks.
[20% - 500 words approximately]

Methods:

Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of each paper using criteria drawn from the methodology literature.

What has been the impact of the methodology and methods of each paper on the nature of the evidence produced and the accuracy of the findings? For each paper, discuss the strengths and limitations of the theoretical/methodological approach, sampling, data collection method, analysis, interpretation, and any other relevant aspects of the research process. You should apply the criteria used to appraise research when evaluating the quality of the evidence produced. Identify any ethical problems in either of the research studies and how / whether these were resolved.

• What research methods/tools were used?
• What type(s) of data are referred to (Primary or Secondary data)?
• What type of data analysis has been undertaken (statistical/thematic)?
• What type of selection criteria and sampling strategy has been used to recruit participants?
• Discuss the representativeness of the research sample and consider population and sample sizes, as well as response rates (if applicable).
• Is the research data presented in a clear way, is it understandable, accurate, accessible, and transparent?
• Assess the quality of research, including strengths and limitations of these methods of data collection and analysis.

[20% - 500 words approximately]

Findings

Identify the main research findings of each paper. The contribution the two papers, taken together, make to understanding the issue, taking into account findings, strengths and limitations. This section should be a synthesis of the findings and the strengths and limitations of the research, as described in sections 2 and 3 above.

• Synthesis of the findings – contribution of two articles
• What are the overall recommendations of the article?
• Are these justified by the research findings or to what extent are their recommendations based on assumptions?

[20% - 500 words approximately]

Application to practice

Explain the issues involved in applying the research findings to practice, including any complications or difficulties.

• What are the implications of these findings for social work practice generally and/or in relation to your own social work practice?
• To what extent are the findings and recommendations useful for social work practice? You may take a view that both research articles are useful, neither are useful, or one is more useful than the other. Justify your opinion.

[20% - 300 words approximately]

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