F. ASSIGNMENT #6: Intervention Article Analysis (20 pts)
Select a quantitative research article (intervention
evaluation) related to social work
practice and answer the following questions. Please respond
“by the numbers”.
1. Include the title of the article using correct APA
format.
2. What is the purpose of the study? In other words, what is
the key research question(s)?
3. Summarize the reviewed literature.
4. How did the researcher(s) describe the participants? How
were the participants
selected for the study? This includes identifying the method
of sampling as probability
or non-probability. Describe the key characteristics of the
study sample (age, gender,
ethnicity, etc.) What is the “parent” population this sample
is supposed to represent?
6. Describe in detail the treatment/intervention and how it
was delivered.
7. In testing the efficacy of the intervention, is this an
experimental design or a quasi
experimental design? If not, what was it? How do you
know?
8. What are the key study results? Based on the statistical
analysis presented in the paper,
did the intervention “work?” How do you know? You will need
to describe the
numbers and what they mean.
9. Assess the limitations of and/or strengths of the study
design with a specific focus on
the drawing of conclusions about whether the intervention
“works.” Discuss the
potential weaknesses of the evaluation. For instance, did
the people “self-select” to be
in the groups? Did the authors address that in the
limitations section?
10. Identify the population to which statistical inferences
can be drawn. Hint: statistical
inferences can only be made to the population, if any, from
which the study sample
was selected.
11. Identify key populations, groups, and/or settings to
which you think the results would
generalize. Why is that important?
12. Identify recommendations made by the author for future
research, practice, and/or
policy initiatives.
Criteria for Assignment:
1. 4-6 double-spaced pages, 12-point font.
2. You may use direct quotes 1 or 2 times in the paper, but
beyond that, responses
should be in your own words. When you put in your own words
(paraphrase), state
ideas in a genuinely different way that indicates your
common sense understanding
rather than only changing one or several words.
3. Except for direct quotes (in which case, please reference
page number and put in
quotes) you need not cite any material that is cited from
the article that you review.
