Master of Social Work Program
Capstone Course
SW
5991
Units: 2 (taken for two consecutive semesters)
Instructor:
John A. García, Ph.D.
Office:
Telephone:
667-3769
e-mail:
jgarcia@toto.csustan.edu
This “two-semester” course is designed as
a continuation of the research sequence and is intended to contribute to the
successful completion of the Master’s Thesis or Graduate Project. In this advanced level course, students draw
on the foundational knowledge that was established in the Social Work Research
Methods and Data Analysis courses to conceptualize, fully implement, and
disseminate a research study or project that contributes to the social work
knowledge base.
This course is designed with the
intention to add both depth and structure to students’ capstone work, while
expanding their research knowledge and skills.
Specifically, this course serves as a mechanism for providing more
attention to research issues that were introduced in the foundation research
sequence but require greater discussion, examination, and synthesis, such as
issues pertaining to problem formulation, human subjects, research design,
measurement, analysis, and dissemination.
In
the first semester of this class, attention is devoted to the conceptualization
of research and methodological issues, and students are challenged to grapple
with decisions related to methodological rigor and feasibility issues. In the second semester, the focus of the
class is on analysis and dissemination issues, and students are challenged to
explore and develop strategies for drawing conclusions and presenting findings. While the course is designed to add to
students’ depth of understanding and research skills, the course also serves as
a vehicle for keeping students on track to complete their theses/projects in a
timely fashion. Additionally, this
course is designed to offer both support and insight to help develop students’
writing skills related to research manuscripts.
As knowledge building is a responsibility
of social work practitioners, this course will help solidify students’
understanding and participation in research and will further prepare them to
assume leadership roles in developing and expanding knowledge. Furthermore, this course will ensure that the
capstone products that are completed are consistent with standards of
excellence expected at the graduate level and within the social work
profession.
Social
Work 5020 (Social Work Research Methods) and Social Work 5050 (Data Analysis)
are prerequisites to enrollment in this capstone course; they provide students
with the foundational knowledge for the successful completion of this advanced
course. Students must enroll
concurrently in Social Work 5990 (Thesis Advising) and 5991 (Capstone Course).
A student who successfully completes this
course will:
1. Possess the skills to contribute to the
knowledge base of the social work profession by completing an independent and
substantive capstone endeavor.
2. Expand her/his research skills that
will continue to enhance social work practice.
3. Be knowledgeable of and sensitive to
cultural and ethical implications of social work research.
4. Apply knowledge from course work and
practicum to a research study.
5. Demonstrate the ability to
conceptualize practice as evolving and needing continual development.
Course Requirements
Satisfactory
completion of SW 5020 (Research Methods) and SW 5050 (Data Analysis) is
required prior to enrollment in SW 5991.
Thesis
Chair (Independent Study Work)
This class does not reduce the need for or the importance
of the Thesis/Project Chair. Each
student is required to enroll in SW 5990 and meet with his/her assigned thesis
Chair outside of this class. Meeting
times should be scheduled between the student and the Chair. In
order to promote collaboration, clarity and understanding, each student is
strongly encouraged to share both written and verbal feedback that is provided
in the capstone course with her/his Thesis Chair.
Textbooks
Rubin,
A., & Babbie, E. (2001). Research Methods for Social Work (4th ed.),
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Weinbach, R. W., & Grinnell, R. M. (2001). Statistics for Social Workers (5th
ed.). Allyn and Bacon:
See
Attached Bibliography.
Grading
Course grades
will be calculated using a +/- grading system.
The following grading scale will be utilized: A (93% and above), A- (90%
to 92%), B+ (87% to 89%), B (83% to 86%), B- (80% to 82%), C+ (77% to 79%), C
(73% to 76%), C- (70% to 72%), D+ (67% to 69%), D (63% to 66%), D- (60% to
62%), F (Below 60%).
The course grade will be based on two components: 1) the quality of the written product(s) and 2) the adherence to timelines.
Assignments
In
order to keep students on the target timelines and allow the instructor (and Chair)
to provide feedback, students will submit drafts of their work at strategically
designated times throughout the semester.
(Students are strongly encouraged to submit work prior to the assigned
“deadline.”) The following weight will
be given to written material:
Draft
of Introduction (chapter 1): 5%
of semester grade
Draft
of Methodology (chapter 3): 5% of
semester grade
Thesis/Project
Proposal: 60% of
semester grade
Reading
List: 30%
of semester grade
1)
Thesis/Project Proposal:
This assignment requires students to complete Chapters 1 and 3 of their
thesis/project. The elements of these
chapters are outlined below:
Chapter
I, Introduction to the Study/Project, including:
1)
A Statement of the Problem or Issue underpinning the work.
2)
The Statement of Purpose (including the research questions) and the
Significance of the Study/Project, including the potential use of the results
in terms of benefits to individual participants, to the population from which
subjects are drawn, to the profession, or to society in general.
3)
A description of how the study will address cross-cultural issues, ethnic
minority populations, oppressed groups, or populations at risk.
4)
If applicable, the theoretical basis of the study; a description of the underlying
theory upon which the study is constructed.
5)
Definition of terms.
Chapter
III, Methodology
1)
The identification and description of the research design.
2)
The Sampling Plan: a description of who is to be included in the study, the
sampling frame/strategy, and the targeted number of participants.
3)
Instruments: a description of the
instruments that will be used, how the tool was developed, and how it was
tested for reliability and validity.
4)
Data collection: a description of the location of study, how data will
be obtained, how the research will be carried out, a list of the research steps
with a timetable.
5)
Data Analysis: a description regarding how the data will be
analyzed--the statistical tests/procedures or the qualitative analysis
procedures that will be used to draw findings.
6)
Protection of human subjects: a detailed discussion of potential issues
involving the subject population-- procedures for protecting participants’
identities and avoiding any harm to subjects.
2)
A Reading List
Each student is required to compile
a list of sources that have been used to shape the research proposal and that
will potentially be included in the literature review. Students are required to submit this reading
list in accordance with A.P.A. citation format.
Draft
of Literature Review: 5% of
semester grade
Draft
of Results: 5% of semester grade
Draft
of Discussion: 5% of
semester grade
Draft
of Chapter IV: 35% of semester grade
Draft of Chapter
V: 35% of semester grade
Presentation of
Findings: 15% of semester grade
1) Chapter II, Literature
review
The
literature review provides the background for the study. The review should help set a context for the
study by: 1) describing what is known about the problem underpinning the study;
2) identifying the theories that have been used to address/ explain the
phenomenon; 3) demonstrating the research strategies that have been used to
study the issues; 4) highlighting the major research studies (and authors)
that/who have shaped the knowledge base; 5) documenting the strengths and
weaknesses of the existing knowledge base.
2) Chapter IV, The Results
This
chapter will present the findings/results and the analytic approach that was
used to produce the findings.
3)
Chapter V, Discussion
This
concluding chapter will summarize the capstone effort and should include a
discussion of:
a) The major
findings: what was learned from the study/project.
b) How the
major findings relate to the existing knowledge base.
c) The
implications of the major findings for Social Work Practice and Policy.
d) The
implications of the major finding for future research (including the
limitations of the study and how future research might address these
limitations).
4) Thesis Defense/Presentation
of Findings
Upon
completion of the capstone project, students will be required to present their
findings to the University and to the professional community. This will include a formal presentation of
the work and an opportunity to answer questions. Additionally, each student will be required
to create a poster that highlights the major findings. Students’ posters will
be on display during the thesis defense event.
Course Schedule
The course
schedule is designed to work in concert with the timelines established by the
University IRB and Graduate Studies. The
first semester timelines are designed to ensure students have sufficient time
to submit their work to the University IRB and to receive IRB approval. The second semester timeline is designed to:
a) provide students with a structure to meet the
Fall Semester
Unit 1: PROBLEM
FORMULATION
Session 1:
Overview of course and timelines for assignments.
Session 2: Creating and critiquing research questions. The role of the literature review in
shaping research questions and describing the problem underpinning the study.
Session 3: Strategies for conducting a literature review—process and outcome.
Session 4: In-class critiques of Chapter I. (Draft
of Chapter I due.)
Session 5:
Protection of Human Subjects—creating informed consent statements/ethical
considerations.
Unit II: RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
Session 6: Construction
of research methodology: Matching design and sampling plan to
research question(s). Unit of Analysis.
Session 7: In-class critiques of Chapter III. (Drafts
of Chapter III due.)
Session 8: Data
collection strategies—addressing issues of reliability and validity.
Session 9:
Establishing realistic timelines for carrying out the study/project. Issues of
implementation.
Unit III: Presenting
the Thesis/Project Proposal
Session 10:
Preparation of IRB packets.
Session 11: In-class critiques of Chapters I and III.
Session 12:
Formatting issues related to Graduate Projects/Theses—Guest speaker.
Session 13:
Wrap-up. Timelines for Spring
Semester. (Chapters I and III and
Spring
Semester
Unit 1: The
Literature Review
Session 1: In-class critiques of the Literature Review.
Unit 2: Data
Analysis
Session 2: Review of Decision Tree for Quantitative Analysis.
Applying statistical tests to address research questions/test hypotheses.
Session 3: Qualitative Data Analysis Methods—theory behind qualitative analysis.
Session 4: Qualitative Data Analysis Continues—strategies for conducting qualitative analysis.
(Final Literature Review Due)
Session 5: Strategies for presenting quantitative or qualitative data.
Session 6: In-class critiques of Chapter IV. (Drafts of Chapter IV due.)
Unit 3: Dissemination of Findings
Session 7: Strategies for preparing conclusions (Chapter V).
Session 8: In-class critiques of Chapter V. (Drafts of Chapter V due.)
Session 9: Preparing for public presentation of findings. Strategies for public presentations.
Session 10:
Preparation for public presentations continued….
Session 11-13:
Thesis/Project Presentations
(Chapters IV and
V are due no later than the last day of class. This requirement is for
the completion of this course. If the
student plans on graduating during the Spring semester, these chapters will
need to be completed in accordance with the timeline established by Graduate
Studies.)
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