Select a social work topic of interest to you (e.g., the relationship between alcohol use and suicide). Based on your topic, create a research question (e.g., what is the relationship between alcohol use and suicide in adult males?). See list of sample research questions below. Identify the independent (e.g., alcohol use) and dependent variables (e.g., suicide completion). Locate three (3) quantitative research studies (articles) from scholarly journals relevant to your research question using any of the databases stated above. These studies cannot be literature reviews or meta-analyses. Describe your topic and the database(s) you used to locate the study (article). Write a short paragraph (a couple of sentences) about each article describing the findings (relevant to your research question), the independent and dependent variables in each study, and the sample size.
My topic: how common is substance abuse among teens
This assignment requires you to search electronic databases that specialize in scholarly journals. Some of these include Academic Search Complete, Psych INFO, Social Work Abstracts and MEDLINE (you are not limited to these databases, but they are a good starting point).
Select a social work topic of interest to you (e.g., the relationship between alcohol use and suicide). Based on your topic, create a research question (e.g., what is the relationship between alcohol use and suicide in adult males?). See list of sample research questions below.
Identify the independent (e.g., alcohol use) and dependent variables (e.g., suicide completion).
Locate three (3) quantitative research studies (articles) from scholarly journals relevant to your research question using any of the databases stated above. These studies cannot be literature reviews or meta-analyses.
Describe your topic and the database(s) you used to locate the study (article). Write a short paragraph (a couple of sentences) about each article describing the findings (relevant to your research question), the independent and dependent variables in each study, and the sample size.
Reporting findings:
Report findings in two ways:
1) Provide a direct quotation of results reported in the study.
2) Paraphrase the results.
Please use the following format:
Study 1:
Direct quotation of findings
Paraphrase findings
Study 2:
Direct quotation of findings
Paraphrase findings
Study 3:
Direct quotation of findings
Paraphrase findings
Provide the full citation of the article using APA formatting style.
Searching Using Electronic Databases
Library Website
–Electronic Information
–Library Databases
–Choose a database (e.g., Psych Info, Academic Search Complete).
Example of APA Citations of Articles:
Leventhal, T. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 309-337.
Example of using authors name in text:
Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn (2000) found
Example of Citing a Direct Quote:
Theres no place like home (Dorothy & Toto, 2009, p. 365)
Example of Paraphrasing Anothers Work
My house is a truly unique location (Dorothy & Toto, 2009).
