Chapter 15 Social Research

Applied Social ResearchChapter 14

Introduction

All social research is designed to increase our understanding of human behavior and can be useful to individuals, groups, or the whole society, but some work is more immediately useful than other research.

Introduction

Applied research Research intended to be useful in the

immediate future and to suggest action or increase effectiveness in some area.

Basic and Applied Research

Basic research Research designed to add to our fundamental

understanding and knowledge of the social world regardless of practical or immediate implications.

Practical application can usually be derived from basic research, although these projects are designed to provide greater understanding of our social world and to develop or test theories

Basic and Applied Research

In applied research, theory is used instrumentally to identify concepts and variables that will produce practical results

Applied research is designed to provide organizations such as schools, legislatures, communities, social service agencies, health care institutions, etc. with practical information

Social Problems and Social Solutions Awareness of social problems and solutions

directed toward them have become increasingly common

Problems which have received widespread attention include housing, education, poverty, income disparities, crime, and drug use

Social Problems and Social Solutions Applied research attempts to answer these

questions Are the programs effective? Should they be continued? Modified or eliminated entirely?

Evaluation Research

Evaluation research Research specifically designed to assess the

impact of a specific program, policy, or legal change

Often the focus of an evaluation is whether the program, policy, or law has succeeded in effecting intentional or planned change.

Evaluation research is research with a specific purpose

Outcome Evaluation

Outcome evaluation Research that is designed to “sum up” the effects of a

program, policy, or law in accomplishing the goal or intent of the program, policy, or law.

Most common type of evaluation research Outcome evaluations typically begin with a question or a

hypothesis Example

Does the program accomplish its goals?

Cost-Benefit Analysis

A cost-benefit analysis Research that compares a program’s costs to

its benefits A cost-benefit analysis is designed to weigh

all the expenses of a program against the monetary estimates of the program’s benefits

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Cost effectiveness analysis Compares the program costs in delivering

desired benefits based on the assumption that the outcome is desirable

It estimates the approach that will deliver a desired benefit most effectively (at the lowest cost) without considering the outcome in economic terms

Cost Benefit Analysis

Typical questions asked How effective is the program? How expensive is it? Is it worth doing? How does this program compare with

alternative programs?

Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations The tasks an evaluation sets out to

accomplish are determined by the stage of the program and the needs and interests of the stakeholders

Stakeholders People or groups that participate in or are

affected by a program or its evaluation, such as funding agencies, policy makers, sponsors, program staff, and program participants

Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations In some instances, before a program or

project is designed, a needs assessment is conducted to determine the needs for various forms of service.

Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations Needs assessment

An analysis of whether a problem exists, its severity, and an estimate of essential services.

Focal Research

A Needs Assessment of Incarcerated Women in Ecuador by Jill Harrison and Maureen Norton-Hawk Conducted a needs assessment on the

conditions in women’s prison

Focal Research

Ethics While prisons in the United States have their own

internal review boards to protect inmates against ethical violations, no such review boards exist in Ecuador. For this reason, the researchers sought and received IRB approval from Suffolk University, Norton-Hawk’s home institution. Of special concern to the IRB was that the gift the researchers intended to give each inmate could be construed as coercive in nature if the gift was too large to refuse and would make the inmate feel obligated to participate. The researchers satisfied the IRB concern by giving a small bag of necessities valued at under $3.00 as a token of appreciation for participation.

Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations If a new program is funded and there is time

in the early stages of design or implementation to make improvements, program staff and developers can benefit from a formative analysis

Formative analysis Evaluation research focused on the design or

early implementation stages of a program or policy

Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations

Formative analysis Example

A high school principal seeks assistance with a new anti-bullying program. A formative analysis would carefully review the program’s goals and its current instructional materials and collect date on the ongoing program. After analysis of the data the evaluator should be able to offer suggestions such as staff development and modifying the materials.

Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations Process evaluation

Research that monitors a program or policy to determine if it is implemented as designed.

Also called an implementation study The goal is to try to pinpoint how something works

and what aspects of the program contribute to the effect.

Evaluation Research

Designing Evaluation Research The evaluation researcher needs to select a

research strategy A researcher will make specific choices for

study design, measurement, data analysis, and the like depending on the specific evaluation, including intended audiences, resources available, ethical concerns, and the project’s time frame.

Evaluation Research

Designing Evaluation Research When evaluating a program, policy, or law, the

following must be decided What is the desired outcome? Is the outcome to be short-or long-term? Are attitudinal changes sufficient, or is it also

essential to study behavioral changes? How should change be determined? Should all aspects of the program be studied or

only certain parts? Should all the targets of an intervention be studied

or only some of them?

Evaluation Research

Designing Evaluation Research Evaluation researchers almost always have an explanatory

purpose and typically test a causal hypothesis about the effect of an independent variable such as a program law, or policy on a desired outcome.

Causal hypothesis A testable expectation about an independent variable’s effect on a

dependent variable

Evaluation Research

Designing Evaluation Research Experimental designs with control and

experimental groups lend themselves help address the issues of internal validity

Internal validity is the agreement between a study’s conclusions about causal connections and what is actually true

Evaluation Research

Designing Evaluation Research Not all experiments lend themselves to the

true experimental model Outside a laboratory the evaluator might not

be able to control all aspects of design Practical concerns of time or money can limit

design choices Evaluation research can take five or more

years from design to the final report

Participatory Action Research

Explicit goals Participatory action research (PAR)

Research done by community members and researchers working as co-participants, most typically within a social justice framework to empower people and improve their lives.


Explicit goals The social purpose driving PAR is to empower

low status people in the organization or community to make decisions and take actions that were previously foreclosed to them.


Participation and the researcher’s role Doing participatory research means working in

partnership with those in the community being studied to obtain and use the knowledge that is generated to empower the community

In PAR, the researcher must be involved intimately in the life of a community and its problems and be in dialogue with other researcher collaborators

Final Considerations

A middle ground Groups might be willing to work in

collaboration with researchers to obtain information about effectiveness of programs for their own internal use or to use in seeking recognition or funding for future projects

Stop and Think

Applied research is usually field research. What do you think are some of the

consequence of the real world setting for the research and its outcome?


Politics and applied research In evaluation research, the specific choice of

research project is affected not only by societal values and the priorities of funding agencies, but also the perspectives of various constituencies and program stakeholders


Beyond our control Organizations are not “neutral territory” and in

most cases, the researcher is an outsider, working in someone else’s sphere

The results of any assessment will have the potential to affect the organization and the individuals under study

A special challenge in evaluation research can be obtaining the cooperation of program staff or access to data.


Having an Impact Conventional evaluation faces the challenge of

implementing change after the research is completed. Ideological and political interests can sometimes have

more influence on decisions about the future of social interventions than evaluative feedback.

Even is a program is shown to be ineffective it might be kept if it fits with prevailing values, satisfies votes, or pays off political debts

Quiz – Question 1

Doing participatory research meansa. getting permission from authorities first.

b. projects that are done with the community not to the community.

c. projects that are heavy top-down from academia and less community based.

d. A and b

e. None of the above

Quiz – Question 2

Formative analysis usually occursa. when the program is completed.

b. whenever the evaluation team is called in to perform an evaluation.

c. in the early stages of program development and design.

d. after the program has been denied funding.

e. None of the above

Quiz – Question 3

Typically, evaluation research is intended toa. provide information about the history of a program or

policy.

b. inform program participants about the goals of a program or policy.

c. create knowledge that is of general interest to scientists studying social policy.

d. assess the impact of a specific program or policy.

e. evaluate the expenses the program incurred.

Chapter 15 Social Research

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