Group programs are common in social work. Just as with other types of programs, social workers must understand the options available to them and know how to select the appropriate research design.
For this Discussion, you evaluate group research design methods that can be used for an outcome evaluation of a foster parent training program. You also generate criteria to be measured in the program.
To prepare for this Discussion, review the “Social Work Research: Planning a Program Evaluation” case study in this week’s resources, Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Retrieved from http://www.vitalsource.com , and the section of “Basic Guide to Outcomes-Based Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations with Very Limited Resources”, titled “Overview of Methods to Collect Information."
Post your explanation of which group research design and data collection method from those outlined in the Resources you selected as appropriate for the “Social Work Research: "Planning a Program Evaluation" case study and why.
Then, generate criteria to be measured using the research design by identifying a specific outcome and a method for measuring that outcome. Specify who will collect the data and how the data will be collected.
Sample Solution
Group designs are commonly used in program evaluation when researchers need to compare the effects of an intervention on different groups. For instance, a research team may use a pretest-posttest design to assess the impact of a new teaching method on student performance. This would involve assigning two groups of students – one group receiving the intervention and one group not receiving it – and then comparing their performance before and after the experiment. Group designs can also be used to compare different interventions or treatments, such as those designed for individuals with different characteristics or backgrounds. By using this type of design, researchers can get more accurate results than if they simply relied on individual data points. Moreover, because these types of studies involve larger sample sizes, they are often more reliable than other methods for program evaluation.