Unit rationale, description and aim
Social workers are often required to critique and apply empirical evidence and use research and evaluation skills within their practice. Research is considered essential in building capacity to critically analyse theory and interrogate evidence in social work. In this unit, students will be provided with a theoretical and practical knowledge of the research process and an understanding of research as central to building evidence based knowledge for social work practice. The unit will address the purpose and value of research in social work and the development of ethical research practices through an examination of various perspectives including evidence-based knowledge, and Indigenous knowledges and research frameworks. This unit aims to develop skills in planning, designing, and evaluating research in social work practice.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Articulate the role of research as a core componen...
Learning Outcome 01
Identify and differentiate a range of research met...
Learning Outcome 02
Critically explore ethical considerations in the r...
Learning Outcome 03
Critically evaluate research literature and eviden...
Learning Outcome 04
Design a research or evaluation proposal
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
Role of research in social work
- evidence based practice
Research approaches
- Research paradigms
- Theoretical approaches
- Evaluation research
The research process
- Identifying research problems
- Conducting literature reviews
- Systematic reviews
- Principles of research design
- Quantitative and Qualitative research methods (data collection, analysis and interpretation)
- Dissemination of research findings
- Writing a research proposal
Ethical considerations in the research process
- Research codes of ethics and ethical guidelines in research
- Research with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to pass this unit, students must:
- demonstrate the achievement of all learning outcomes
- complete and submit all of the assessment tasks
- obtain an aggregate mark of at least 50%
ON CAMPUS MODE
This unit takes an authentic assessment approach that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of the research process and ethical research practices.
Assessment 1 will be a short paper that is designed for students to demonstrate their capacity to identify a research topic that is significant and relevant to social work policy and practice with a clear aim for the proposed research. This assessment will assist students in developing a focus for their second assessment on literature review.
Assessment 2 (Literature review) will assess students’ competency in identifying an area of research enquiry and conduct a systematic review of the literature in the identified area of research enquiry using a variety of electronic and other data bases.
Assessment 3 (Research proposal) is a summative assessment that will assess students’ knowledge and understanding of the research process and the importance of research in professional social work practice.
ACU ONLINE
This unit takes an authentic assessment approach that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of the research process and ethical research practices.
The first assessment is designed for students to demonstrate their capacity to identify a research topic that is significant and relevant to social work policy and practice with a clear aim for the proposed research. This assessment is structured as a formative oral presentation.
Assessment 2 (Literature Review) assesses students’ competency in identifying an area of research enquiry and conduct a systematic review of the literature in the identified area of research enquiry using a variety of electronic and other data bases.
Assessment 3 (Research Proposal) is a summative assessment that will assess students’ knowledge and understanding of the research process and the importance of research in professional social work practice.
Overview of assessments
ON CAMPUS MODE
Short Paper: enables students to demonstrate...
Short Paper: enables students to demonstrate capacity to identify a social work research topic that is significant and relevant to social work policy and practice with a clear aim for the proposed research. 600 words
20%
Literature Review: enables students to identify a...
Literature Review: enables students to identify and critique current literature on their chosen topic, and develop arguments to justify their research as a valid and a significant response to address some of the controversies. 1200 words
40%
Research Proposal: this summative assessment is i...
Research Proposal: this summative assessment is intended to assess students’ knowledge and ability to identify a research problem they wish to explore/investigate that will contribute to a significant gap in the current literature, the methodology and the methods they plan to use that are suitable and feasible, ethical considerations, results that are likely to make an original contribution to the gap in the literature, and limitations of the proposed study. 3000 words
40%
ACU ONLINE
Short Paper: Enables students to demonstrate...
Short Paper: Enables students to demonstrate capacity to identify a social work research topic that is significant and relevant to social work policy and practice with a clear aim for the proposed research. 600 words
20%
Literature Review: Enables students to iden...
Literature Review:
Enables students to identify and critique current literature on their chosen topic and develop arguments to justify their research as a valid and a significant response to address some of the controversies. 1200 words
40%
Research Proposal: This summative assessment is i...
Research Proposal:
This summative assessment is intended to assess students’ knowledge and ability to identify a research problem they wish to explore/investigate that will contribute to a significant gap in the current literature, the methodology and the methods they plan to use that are suitable and feasible, ethical considerations, results that are likely to make an original contribution to the gap in the literature, and limitations of the proposed study. 3000 words
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
ON CAMPUS MODE
This unit involves 150 hours of learning with a combination of face-to-face and online lectures/activities and interactive tutorials. Face-to-face lectures and tutorials may be time-tabled separately or together as a 3 hour block depending on student numbers. Experiential teaching and learning techniques which may include student participation in a small research project, will be used in the unit. The experiential learning experience will form the basis for a deeper learning experience in enhancing understanding of the research process. In order to achieve the learning outcomes, students are expected to take responsibility for their learning through class attendance, doing their readings and participating actively in class discussions to enhance their learning experience.
ACU ONLINE
This unit involves 150 hours of study and will be delivered in online mode using an active learning approach. Students are expected to complete readings, reflect and engage with peers and teaching staff over the study period. Students will have access to self-paced learning modules, readings, webinars, discussion forums and assessment tasks. Online forums and chat rooms will facilitate learning by sharing with peers approaches in conduct literature searches, literature review and different approaches in research design. A one on one coaching session will be offered for the development of the research proposal.
AASW Practice Standards 2020
This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565