SWK 655: Program Evaluation (revised 8-01-2023)
Competencies covered in this assignment: A1.3, A1.4, A2.1, A4.3, A4.4, A9.2, A9.4
This assignment is worth 40 points.
Assignment Description:
The purpose of this assignment is to provide an opportunity for you to recognize and articulate ethical
issues in a given scenario, apply specific NASW Code of Ethics as rationale to explain the dilemma, and
think critically using evidence-based practice interventions to eliminate or reduce ethical issues. The
scenario offers you opportunity to critically analyze cultural and trauma-informed considerations and their
effect in program evaluation design.
Scenario: You are lead researcher of a team planning to conduct a community needs assessment for
adolescent drug and alcohol treatment. The evaluation team will collect data from interviews with
individuals including children, families, groups, organizations, and the community at large.
Data will be
collected through interviews, records review, public forums, organizational meetings, websites, court
records, and media. Assume the children have experienced trauma and include trauma focus as part of
your evaluation.
Assignment Instructions:
Your submission includes three distinct parts: (1) the ethics review, (2) trauma focused review, and (3)
cultural competence review. Use the scenario above to complete the review. You are to think like a
researcher, the person in charge of designing a program evaluation, not a therapist or social work
practitioner. Read the scenario, begin to outline the work of the group (even take notes for yourself), and
then create your paper using the following framework.
Part 1: Ethics Review
Using the scenario provided above, identify three ethical issues that might affect your study. Think like a
research designer; about the design of the study, and specifically this program evaluation design. Do not
venture down the path of thinking about what results might be found in the evaluation, or what is
happening as services are provided in the agency. Once you have identified the ethical issues, then use
the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW, 2021) to identify the code, and subsection of the code, that explains
the violation.
Next, use a provision to minimize or eliminate the effect of each issue in the study.
Researcher bias (A4.3)
Researcher values and bias affect program evaluation design, data collection, interpretation of results, and
even how results are shared. As the lead researcher in this project, identify your own researcher values or
biases that may affected this study. Also discuss provisions you should use to minimize or eliminate the
effect of each identified value or bias in the study. You must identify at least one issue as a minimum
requirement for the assignment, but you are expected to identify values and biases that could have a
notable effect on the study. Your discussion should clearly relate to the scenario and should NOT be a
generic discussion of values and bias.
Page 2 of 3
Use this structure, with headings, as you complete the ethics review.
Issue # 1
Describe the ethical issue. Be specific and assure that the issue is related to program
evaluation design. Your chosen issue must be realistic to the scenario and your role as
program evaluation designer. This is not hypothetical or a general discussion of ethical
issues. (A1.3)
Identify the code (and subsection if applicable) from the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW,
2021) that justifies the issue as an ethical problem.
Do not copy and paste the whole code
description, but identify the specific code. Example: 1.07q – Privacy and confidentiality –
avoid gathering client information electronically (NASW, 2021). (A1.4)
Discuss an evidence-based provision to minimize or eliminate the effect of the issue in the
study.
Use peer reviewed articles to find a reasonable provision that was used in the study,
and demonstrate it as an appropriate intervention for this study. Again, be specific with how
to use your suggested provision in the study. (A1.3)
Issue # 2
Use the same format as #1
Issue 3
Use the same format as #1
Researcher Bias
As
the lead researcher of this study, identify your own researcher values and biases that
might affect the design and implementation of this study. Also discuss provisions you should
use to minimize or eliminate the effect of each identified value or bias in this study. (A4.3)
Part 2:
Trauma Review
The scenario selected for this assignment is likely to include participants
who have experienced trauma,
thus, you need to use some aspect of trauma focus in designing the study. Identify the trauma focused
aspects. These may include competency or expertise of the research team, inclusion of trauma focus in
how the study was implemented, or collecting data that produced trauma focused factors in the final
report. Explain how the study design could be trauma focused. You must identify at least one aspect of
trauma as a minimum requirement for the assignment, but you are expected to identify all that are relevant
to the study in the scenario.
To enhance your own trauma focus, you must research one aspect of trauma
for this study and discuss its history, trauma response, and risk and resilience factors. Use at least one
peer reviewed article to support your learning. The learning from this section should inform your ideas
for designing a trauma focused study.
Use this structure, with headings, as you complete the trauma focused review.
Trauma Review
Identify the area of trauma from the scenario which you are researching. Discuss how this is
related to the given scenario and program evaluation you are designing. Use at least one
peer reviewed article to show you are learning current evidence- based information about
trauma. (A9.4)
Discuss what you learned about the trauma history, trauma response, and risk and resilience
factors related to the trauma. Use at least one peer reviewed article to show you are learning
current evidence- based information about trauma.
Identify how you as the lead researcher will create a trauma focused program evaluation.
Explain exactly what you will do to create trauma focus for your program design for the
scenario. Support your idea with a peer reviewed article as an indication of evidence-based
use of trauma focus in research. (A4.4, A9.2)
Page 3 of 3
Part 3: Cultural Review
Researchers have an obligation to assure cultural competence in their study. Think like a research
program evaluation designer as you consider how to create a culturally informed study based on the
provided scenario. Identify cultural aspects that need to be built into your evaluation. Cultural
competency of the evaluation may involve the competency of the research team to conduct the study,
inclusion of culture in how the study is implemented, or collecting data that produces cultural factors in
the final report. Identify these cultural aspects in your program evaluation and identify the level of the
involvement (micro, mezzo, or macro). You must identify at least one aspect of culture as a minimum
requirement for the assignment, but you are expected to identify all that are relevant to the study in the
scenario. Discuss the interaction between culture and trauma in this study.
Use this structure, with headings, as you complete the cultural review.
Cultural Competency
Identify areas in the study where cultural competence should be used. Explain exactly what
you propose and discuss the level of the competency (micro, mezzo, or macro). Support your
ideas with a peer reviewed article as an indication of evidence-based use of culture in
research. (A2.1)
Discuss how you will use an anti-racist and anti-oppressive strategy. Support your ideas with
a peer reviewed article as an indication of evidence-based use of culture in research.
Discuss the interaction between culture and trauma in this study. Demonstrate synthesis of
information by using the text, your chosen cultural article, and your chosen trauma focused
article. (A2.1, A9.2)
Writing requirements:
Write your paper using APA formatting as explained in the APA exemplar. Use headings in your paper
that are provided in the sections of the assignment instructions. Write in essay format, not numbered
question/answer format. You are expected to use a title page, introductory paragraph, body of the paper
that uses the headings outlined for you, conclusion, and a reference page. There is not a specific page
count requirement. This is an upper-level graduate course, so simplistic discussion of one topic will not
score well. Write concisely, and demonstrate your skills. Do not use fluff or long, unnecessary
explanations. Do NOT use any direct quotes in this assignment. (APA, Grammar)
You must use the scenario, at least two peer reviewed articles to support your work (one in the culture
section and one in the trauma section), the GGU text, and the NASW Code of Ethics. However, use APA
citation rules correctly and credit any source of information used in your work with citation and reference
listing. (A9.2
