Research and Evaluation in Social Work (P00654)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : SPS-P-SW5C

The course is designed for social work students in the first year of their postgraduate programme. It reflects the expectation that being able to understand, evaluate critically and apply to practice and service provision the concepts and techniques of research, social enquiry and evaluation are essential for competent social work and relevant to the preparation of MSW Dissertations.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Postgraduate (School of Social and Political Studies), (School of Social and Political Studies, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 20 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course, students should be able to:
Describe and evaluate relevant social science and evaluation methodologies;
Interpret data and comment on conclusions reached;
Demonstrate familiarity with ideas and concepts from research literature;
Evaluate different research strategies and data collection methods with reference to issues such as reliability, validity, feasibility and ethics;
Demonstrate understanding of the place theoretical perspectives and evidence from international research has in assessment and decision-making processes in social work practice and;
Demonstrate familiarity with the range and significance of approaches for evaluating welfare outcomes.

Assessment Information

Assessment will be through peer-assessed class-based exercises. The aim is to reinforce the students' understanding of research practice by requiring them to evaluate critically their own and their peers' application of research techniques. Students working in small groups of about 6 members each will undertake class-based exercises and peer assessment. Peer-assessment of learning objectives will be against specified performance criteria and will be formative. Peer-assessment will be moderated across groups by the course organiser, but will not take account of differences between individual contributions within groups. Participation in peer-assessment is a requirement of the course. Students who fail to do so will be required to submit other set work.