E + < 55.

Classroom participation:

In addition to the required assignments, a number of in class exercises and small group activities will be offered through the term. Although most of these exercises will not be graded in the same sense that the required assignments will be, they will be collected. Completion of these exercises will be considered as part of the classroom participation and attendance requirements for the course.

It is assumed that your classroom behavior is a reflection of your personal and profession conduct and your interpersonal skills. As such, your classroom behavior is an important indicator of your suitability to the social work profession. Behaviors such as inappropriate nonverbal behavior, disruptive comments, taking while others are talking, and reading other materials during class time are examples of inappropriate behavior that I consider unacceptable and unprofessional and which will affect your grade. Should repeated instance of these behaviors occur, you will be asked to leave the class and expected to make an appointment with me to discuss the conditions of your returning to class.

Attendance:

Students are required to attend all class sessions. The final grade for the course will be affect by either absence or tardiness as a great deal of material is covered and because time will be given for your research project and for working on the computers. Two absences, tardies or early departures will result in your grade being lowered by one half a grade. Usually, there is no distinction made for an "excused" or an "unexcused" absences or tardiness. In either case you expected to contact me to explain the situation and to make up what was missed.

Class Outline

Final Projects

This assignments is to be type written, double spaced in a 10 or 12 point font, in APA format. For every three grammatical errors, typos and misspellings, etc. a point will be deducted. Please make sure each page is numbered and that your name and course appears on the title page.

You must turn in a copy of your paper on disc as well as a SPSS data file that includes your data and all analysis. You must include your computer print out that summarizes your analysis in the hard copy of your paper. You will be working in groups that I will arrange. You are identify each portion of the paper that each individual group member is responsible for. This is a major paper. Papers of 30 pages are not unusual. Your paper must be organized in the following APA format:

1. Title page - with each author's names and academic affiliation

2. Table of contents

3. Abstract

4. Introduction

Introduce the problem, question or focus of the study

Introduce the background or context of the study

State the purpose and rational for the project

Briefly explain how the study was done

Introduce and operationalize key terms

State hypothesis (null) or research questions

5. Literature review

Each member of the group is expected to read and review three articles. However, this section must fit together as a whole, not as separate article reviews. Therefore each member of the group should read all the literature cited, and one person assume responsibility for editing this section.

Group related articles together and organize under a heading. Example: Studies showing a positive effect on student satisfaction with field practicum.

If articles are closely related or have similar findings review them together or at least connect them together by identifying how they support each other. You can also identify contradictions.

Limit the review of each article to no more than a page.

Summarize the methodology and emphasize the findings.

Clearly identify the relationship of the study to your project, even if it is a stretch.

Critique the article, if strengths or problems are readily apparent.

DO NOT PRESENT THE WHOLE REFERENCE IN THE TEXT OF THE PAPER. USE ONLY THE AUTHORS' NAME(S) AND (YEAR). Example: Friedman and Neuman (1999) also found the use of learning contracts in field placement was positively associated with student satisfaction. Once you've used the authors names' and year, you can vary your writing by saying "The authors also noted that..." Or "They concluded", etc. However, go back to using the authors names and year when you introduce or refer to a different author.

6. Methodology

Identify the type of study or design (experimental, descriptive/survey, quasi-experimental)

Describe the sample, their characteristics, how obtained, when and where surveyed

Describe the "apparatus" or instrument used for the project. Relate items on the instrument to the variables under study and include some sample questions in your paper. For example, "student satisfaction was measured by questions 1, 2, 3. As an example, question 3 asks the students "Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction with your field placement?"

Present and explain the rating scale used. "Students scored their responses using a five point Likert like scale. The scores were as follows: 1 - very dissatisfied; 2 - somewhat dissatisfied; 3- neither satisfied or dissatisfied; 4 - somewhat satisfied; and 5 - very satisfied.

7. Results

Begin with an introductory paragraph to remind the reader the purpose of the study, the key variables under study and the analysis performed. Some readers will only read your results section.

Make sure each research question is addressed.

Report the results of your research. See Cronk for specific suggestions for reporting results.

Do not discuss the results, just stick to the facts.

Plan how you will organize this section. You can present the results for each question on the survey, but this gets tedious. You can group related survey questions together and relate them to a common variable. If you have written research questions, use them to organize this section of the paper.

Don't over use tables, graphs and chart. I have a preference for tables, rather than graphs or pie charts. This is because you can group related items together on a single table and present more than one item on a table. Pie charts and the like limit you to one graphic display per question or result. Do not use an isolated graphic to present the results of a single, statistically significant finding - you do report these on an inclusive table, however.

8. Discussion, conclusion and recommendations

Discuss your results, using the format you've established in the previous section.

Summarize key findings.

State the implications of the findings.

State the strengths and weakness of the study.

State the final conclusions of the study.

Identify recommendations that should be implemented in response to the study's findings and state implications/recommendations for further study.