There are 8 discussions needed in 3 days (72 hours). I added the list of all resources used in this class at the end of the discussions. If anything is needed let me know. 

(1)Research Steps and   Application 

Imagine you are asked to give a half-hour presentation about research in human services.  Since this could cover a vast number of concepts, you decide to illustrate the steps of a basic research process using a real-world example from your text.  You may select from any of the “Research in Practice” sections of your textbook for a real-world example.  In your discussion, state the steps of the research process and propose a fictitious, yet practical, conclusion.  If you cannot come up with a conclusion from your real-world example, you may locate and cite a research conclusion from a published article.  Explain how this research conclusion could be used to inform human service practice with regards to the problem formulation you selected.

(2)Intake Process 

Often when providing services, basic intake information is required.  The researcher could, at the end of a given time period, examine these intake papers and, based on some need, compute descriptive statistics using information provided by the clients / participants.  Information such as income, family make up, and education levels could be used to compute mean values.  However, you may be asked to configure a study that can be called experimental.  In this discussion forum you are asked to compare these two formats and identify in what ways they differ.  In order to determine definitions of descriptive research, you will need to access  

Introduction to statistics, variables, scares of measurement (Links to an external site.)

,

Excel 2010 statistics 14: Descriptive & inferential statistics (Links to an external site.)

,  

Basic research concepts (Links to an external site.)

, and  

The Office of Research Integrity (Links to an external site.)

.  Your post should focus on differentiating these two research types and then discuss their potential contribution to research in health and human services. 

(3)Locating   Resources 

The ability to locate and utilize information relative to Health and Human Services is an important component of many health and human service jobs. Some of the areas included in HHS programs are:

· Legal/illegal immigration

· Poverty

· Violence in the Media

· Unemployment

· Alcoholism

· Gambling

· Sexual Harassment

· Criminal Justice

· Hunger / Homelessness

· Mental Illness

· Health

As an example, the area of “poverty” was selected from the above list to locate information and relevant reports.  To accomplish this, the following was entered into a search engine (such as Google or MSN): “Health and human services and programs dealing with poverty.”  One of the 1, 490,000 “hits” was titled: “Poverty Guidelines, Research and Measurement.”  Upon searching this website, an elaborate set of focus subtitles was found.  Under the heading “Poverty Research Centers” six more references were discovered.  As the interest was focused on discovering what information was available, the search centered on “The National Poverty Center.”  An examination on this site under that heading yielded numerous areas regarding new research opportunities, informing the policy community, and training for young researchers.  Your specific assignment follows.  Start with an exploration of what can be found in several of the areas listed above.  Then, identify one area and prepare a descriptive post outlining the information in this site.  You may want to experiment with various areas in order to understand the unusually large number of resources / programs, but also the kinds of information.

(4)Research Venues 

Research can be divided into three broad areas: descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative.  Some researchers subsume descriptive research (archival) as quantitative.  However, for this discussion, we are considering it a separate kind, as descriptive research can fall into either area: qualitative or quantitative.  Your assignment for this discussion is to prepare a 250-300 word post differentiating qualitative, quantitative, and analysis of availability data.  Identify those attributes that form the essence of these three research venues.  Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings. 

Questions that might be considered:

· What are the differences in types of data / information among the three venues?

· What are the expected outcomes when using each kind? For example, does using available data enable one to determine cause and effect?

· Which venue utilizes narrative and observation as a data source?

· What are some advantages / disadvantages for each research venue?

· (5)Canadian   National Health Plan 

Research can vary from highly sophisticated experimental studies to less rigorous short term investigations. Each research approach has advantages and disadvantages.  Among the different paradigms you could use, two of the more common are the “positivist approach” and the “interpretive approach” (consult pages 39-40 in the text). If you were interested in determining if the Canadian National Health Plan was “better” (better in terms of care, coverage, and choice of doctors) then the current United States Health Coverage Plan (Obama sponsored), which approach would you choose to make this determination?  Provide a justification to your answer. Remember, your decision is about the research paradigm, and the subject focus (health care plans) provides the context.  Select the responses of two classmates, comparing the position you take and the justification. If you agree in terms of the position, discuss any differences of opinion in terms of the justification.

(6)Research Formats 

The research format found in scholarly journal articles has purpose and direction.  Chapters 2 and 4 in the text provide information as to the logic and makeup of a research effort.  Parallel to the structure of the research format is the notion of the scientific method as a basic approach to solving problems.  Your task is to analyze these two venues, identifying in what ways they complement each other, and how each venue is related to the other.  You may want to access outside references regarding the concepts of research format and the scientific method. 

(7)Careers in HHS 

The great variety of careers and occupations within the field of HHS is growing every year.  A review of some of the data bases in the text will provide opportunities to search and identify many occupational areas within different governmental departments and programs.  Searching, for example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website will result in finding many careers such as: social workers, preschool programs, criminal justice, counseling, gerontology, and drug and alcohol treatment.  After selecting two different websites related to HHS, identify two career areas in the HHS field and do the following:

· Record the websites or data bases, listing the careers or occupations given.

· Prepare a brief description of the career / occupation.

· Respond thoughtfully to the following two questions:

o Selecting one of the career occupation areas, complete the following sentence: I believe working in the HHS career area would be right for me because…

o In this career area the kind of work I would be doing would be… (complete the sentence)

·(8) Research   in Practice 

Qualitative research in the past 30 years has increasingly been viewed as making an important contribution to research and evaluation.  For this discussion, you are asked to read two Research in Practice articles in the text.  Evaluate and synthesize the contribution qualitative researched played with regard to Research in Practice (5.1, pp. 110) and Research in Practice (12.2, p 338).  Your work should clearly identify the importance of using qualitative methods and explain in what ways these methods helped the studies. 

Required Text

Monette, D., Sullivan, T. & DeJong, C. (2017).

Applied social research

(9th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu

· This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

Required Resources

Introduction to Program Evaluation for Public Health Programs: A Self-Study Guide (Links to an external site.)

. (2011, May 11). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/eval/guide/introduction/

Harrell, A., Burt, M., Hatry, H., Rossman, S., Roth, J., & Sabol, W. (n.d.).

Evaluation Strategies for Human Services Programs (Links to an external site.)

. Retrieved from https://www.bja.gov/evaluation/guide/documents/evaluation_strategies.html

Johnson, T. (2013, June 29). Introduction to statistics, variables, scares of measurement (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWGMaUlzWFg

ExcellsFun. (2011, June 22). Excel 2010 statistics 14: Descriptive & inferential statistics (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkijOAAGYto

The Office of Research Integrity (n.d.). Basic research concepts (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/sdsu/index.html

The Office of Research Integrity (Links to an external site.). (http://ori.hhs.gov/)

Partners Human Research Committee (Links to an external site.)

. Retrieved from http://healthcare.partners.org/phsirb/infcons.htm

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Institutional Review FAQ (Links to an external site.)

. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm126420.htm