Criteria

Met Conditions

Conditions

Not Met

1.

Problem statement provides information about the scope and origin of     the problem (Minimum of 5-10 reference sources).

2.

Problem statement links the problem to social work practice and describes the purpose of the study.

3.

Problem statement clearly identifies the approach to research or the research paradigm used to conduct the study; the unit of analysis is identified.

4.

Theoretical Framework identifies recent literature (less than 10 years old) that contains information about cause & effect relationships that pertain to the problem (quantitative approach), the strengths and weakness of this literature or offer information about factors expected to be associated with the problem (descriptive study). ^a For qualitative research or needs assessment studies, information on research gaps may be substituted using literature that describes appropriate approaches for conducting research among underserved populations (for example, women or ethnic communities).

5.

Theoretical literature review contains a minimum of 10-20 reference sources.

6.

Empirical literature review contains a critical review of research published during the last 10 years using a minimum of 20 empirical articles from professional journals or research reports published by government and private organizations.

7.

Methodology section provides a realistic and concrete framework for research design, sampling, data collection, and analysis; choice of methods is logically derived from the student’s review of the literature

8.

Research questions/hypotheses are clearly identified and are derived from the theoretical and empirical literature.

9.

Primary research concepts are clearly defined.

Human subjects protections are described that are realistic and will protect at-risk populations and provide confidentiality to respondents. Appropriate steps have been taken to ensure informed consent.

10.

Data collection employs one of the following methods: content analysis, observation, surveys, interviews, or statistical analysis of existing data sets.

11.

Student has taken appropriate steps to ensure that research instruments, human subjects material, and data collection instruments are appropriate in terms of language, cultural sensitivity, and social class.

12

An appropriate research instrument has been chosen or constructed.