Class Descriptions

SW802

Research Internship

Credits:
1 - 8 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral Standing or Permission of Instructor
Description:
Students enroll in this course, under their advisor’s section number, when working on their research internship in the School of Social Work.
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SW803

Research Internship

Credits:
1 - 8 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral Standing or Permission of Instructor
Description:
Students enroll in this course, under their advisor’s section number, when working on their research internship in the School of Social Work.
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SW804

Independent Studies: SW Doctoral

Credits:
Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
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SW805

Research Methods in Social Work and Social Science

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This doctoral-level course offers a comprehensive introduction to the essential elements of social work and social science research. It serves as an “introduction” by delving into core aspects of the research process, including research paradigms, ethics, problem and hypothesis formulation, literature review, research designs, data collection, data analysis, and proposal development. Various research designs associated with both qualitative and quantitative methods are introduced to spark student interest for further exploration in intermediate or advanced courses offered at the doctoral level. Additionally, the course contains “intermediate” to “advanced” content by stimulating in-depth discussions of the counterfactual model and introducing advanced quasi-experimental methods such as difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, instrumental variables, and propensity score matching. By the end of this course, students will possess a robust foundation in social science research principles. They will be equipped with critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for evaluating research rigor (be an “informed consumer”) and conceptualizing, planning, and executing a rigorous research project (be a more “careful researchers”), culminating in the development of a comprehensive research proposal. Special note from the instructor: While this course introduces advanced techniques, it primarily aims to foster a deeper understanding of the counterfactual model and to provide a fundamental knowledge of these methods. Students are not expected to conduct any actual analyses in this course or to possess advanced statistical training prior to enrollment. The primary focus of this course is research design, rather than statistical analysis. However, knowledge of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is strongly preferred to fully understand course materials.
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SW807

Foundational Social Work Theory

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral Social Work Student or Permission of Instructor
Description:
Foundational Social Work Theory --- This course focuses on social work theory at the micro (e.g., behavioral theory, social learning theory), mezzo (e.g., organizational theory), and macro (e.g., critical race theory, economic theories) levels and how these theories have been used to inform social work research, practice, and policy. The role of theory in social work's professional ethics and from a social justice perspective will be emphasized throughout the class.
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SW813

Intervention in Human Service Organizations and Social Service Networks

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral standing or permission of instructor.
Description:
This course provides a critical examination of strategies of change within human service organizations and in networks of organizations in terms of their effects on effectiveness, efficiency, and responsiveness to the needs of vulnerable populations. Theories and research on organizations—specifically organization‐environment relations, organization‐client relations, structure, organizational change and innovation, and inter‐organizational analysis and change—will be applied to the formulation of intervention and change strategies. The effects of current structuring of service delivery systems on accessibility, comprehensiveness, continuity, fairness, quality, and effectiveness of care, with special emphasis on populations vulnerable through their gender or ethnicity, will be detailed. Models and empirical studies of change within organizations and in networks of organizations aimed at improving the delivery of services will be analyzed and research issues and knowledge gaps will be identified. Relevant ethical and value issues will be examined.
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SW814

Community Intervention

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral Standing or permission of instructor
Description:
Community interventions are examined as methodologies of planned social change and community practice. The changing context of practice, major models, methods, and the uses of empirically based research to formulate and critically evaluate general practice propositions and action guidelines will be analyzed. Models of planned change to be discussed may include mass mobilization, social action, citizen participation, political advocacy, community education, and neighborhood development. Analysis will include methods of assessing community conditions, formulating strategies, building organizations, activating people, implementing plans, and monitoring and evaluating results. Research and case studies in public and private settings, in health, housing, and other human services, and in a variety of territories from neighborhood to nation will be included. Problems and issues of the economically disadvantaged, minorities, and women, and relevant ethical issues and values will be addressed.
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SW815

Policy Development and Implementation

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral standing and permission of the instructor. PIP area
Description:
Policy as an intervention process is critically examined by analyzing the phases of this process, various perspectives on policy analysis, the uses of empirical social science knowledge, the context of policy, policy’s latent functions, and social, organizational, and cultural factors that impact at each phase. Three types of substantive structures will be included: remediation, enhancement, and prevention. General and specific approaches to these goals will be compared in different content areas and auspices (public and private). Key research questions and gaps in knowledge will be identified as will roles, tasks, and tools of the researcher and policy developer. Ethical and value questions will be explored, with special attention to the effects of race, class, ethnicity, gender, and various types of social discrimination.
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SW816

Racial, Ethnic and Gender Issues in Intervention

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Doctoral Standing or permission of instructor
Description:
Intervention methods are critically examined as they relate to racial, gender, and ethnic statuses of clients. Social science theory and research relevant to the identification of problems experienced by target groups and to status, effects on psychosocial interventions will be reviewed. Attention will be on the effects of status and power differentials linked to racial, ethnic and gender status's of clients on the development and implementation of interventions at various levels in the social system. Cultural assumptions and discrimination that influence the definition and nature of problems, health, and competence, and the nature of interventions will be analyzed. Although attention will be given primarily to ethnicity and gender, these issues will be explored in a way that extends their applicability to other status differences and to sexual orientation. Key literature from social work, epidemiology and the social sciences will be covered to prepare students to design, implement, and evaluate interventions which address the problems of high risk or under-served groups. Throughout, ethical and value issues will be integrated into course content.
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SW818

Special Seminars in Practice, Intervention, and Policy

Credits:
Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
Doctoral Standing or permission of instructor
Description:
Content varies, in keeping with faculty and student interests in emerging issues relating to practice, intervention or policy, and covers theoretical and empirical underpinnings, key research questions and gaps in knowledge, ethical and value issues, and ethnic, gender, minority, and social‐class factors. For example, the seminar may focus on a critical analysis of a developing intervention or of a new social welfare policy initiative.
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