SSW Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ethical principle requires that school social work researchers obtain voluntary, informed agreement from participants before data collection?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Informed consent (Correct answer)
- Fidelity
Correct answer: Informed consent
Informed consent ensures participants voluntarily agree to participate with full understanding of the study's purpose, risks, and their right to withdraw.
Question 2: A school social worker is implementing Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS). To ensure fidelity, the worker should FIRST:
- Modify the curriculum to suit local cultural needs
- Follow the manualized protocol as designed (Correct answer)
- Survey students about their preferences
- Seek administrator approval for each session
Correct answer: Follow the manualized protocol as designed
Treatment fidelity requires implementing the intervention as designed per its manual before any adaptations, preserving the evidence base that supports its effectiveness.
Question 3: When evaluating a research article, internal validity refers to:
- Whether findings can be generalized to other populations
- Whether the study measures what it claims to measure
- The degree to which the study design supports causal conclusions (Correct answer)
- Whether the study was peer-reviewed
Correct answer: The degree to which the study design supports causal conclusions
Internal validity concerns whether the study design adequately controls for confounds, supporting the conclusion that the independent variable caused observed changes.
Question 4: A school social worker collects pre- and post-test data on student depression using a standardized scale after implementing a new intervention. This is an example of a:
- True experimental design
- Single-subject design
- One-group pretest-posttest design (Correct answer)
- Solomon four-group design
Correct answer: One-group pretest-posttest design
A one-group pretest-posttest design measures one group before and after an intervention but lacks a control group, limiting causal conclusions.
Question 5: Which database is MOST appropriate for finding peer-reviewed research on school-based mental health interventions?
- Google Scholar only
- PsycINFO or ERIC (Correct answer)
- Wikipedia and news sources
- School district annual reports
Correct answer: PsycINFO or ERIC
PsycINFO and ERIC are peer-reviewed academic databases specifically covering psychology, education, and social work research.
Question 6: In single-subject research design, an 'ABAB' pattern refers to:
- Two baselines followed by two interventions
- Alternating baseline and intervention phases to demonstrate experimental control (Correct answer)
- A comparison between two different participants
- Pre-test, intervention, post-test, and follow-up phases
Correct answer: Alternating baseline and intervention phases to demonstrate experimental control
An ABAB design alternates between baseline (A) and intervention (B) phases, and replication of change across phases demonstrates experimental control.
Question 7: Cultural competence in research requires that a school social worker:
- Use only validated instruments developed in the US
- Translate instruments without back-translation for efficiency
- Adapt measures and procedures to be culturally appropriate for the population studied (Correct answer)
- Exclude students with limited English proficiency to reduce measurement error
Correct answer: Adapt measures and procedures to be culturally appropriate for the population studied
Culturally competent research adapts methods and instruments to match the cultural context of participants, ensuring valid and ethical data collection.
SSW Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3
Which ethical principle requires that school social work researchers obtain voluntary, informed agreement from participants before data collection?