Student Projects

Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

1.Instruct small groups of students to conceptualize and define a complex but popular term, such as alienation, depression, welfare, without referring to or citing any other resources. Have them decide on the most logical way to measure this construct. Then compare the diverse ways in which one can describe and quantify these popular social work concepts. Demonstrate how there can be strong justifications for multiple choices in terms of metrics and yet how incompatible these metrics are.

2.This in class exercise requires pretty good rapport with students, but can also be an effective way to get students to loosen up.  Ask the class to observe you and based on this observation, to write down every social group you probably belong to given your appearance.  Advise them that the goal is be able to suggest as many as possible with a time limit (five minutes should be more than enough), but that they must be able to explain why they put you in that social group based on your appearance.  At first, the students will be a little confused, so you might suggest looking at ascribed characteristics first (e.g., gender, age, race), but clever students will come up with others (e.g., profession, civil status, ethnicity, religion).  (It also helps if you think about this exercise when you dress in the morning!)  Tally up all of the social groups to which the students think you might belong.  Ask how many students got each social group and to defend how they draw that conclusion that you are a member of that social group.  You can test the validity of their observations by telling them if they are correct or not!  If your class responds to this exercise, you can repeat it with student volunteers.                

3.Split students into groups, assigning each a type of criterion or construct validity. Distribute a slew of articles that use different forms of validity but have the name of the type of validity blacked out; have them skim each article to identify if the researchers used ‘their’ type of validity. After ample time, review their choices as a group, using the conversation to discuss popular confusion between certain types of construct and criterion validity.

4.How reliable is a reliable measure?  Send student groups off on a library search for empirical research articles using a concept you specify, such as poverty, depression, or social support.  Their goal is to find the “most reliable” measure of this concept.  Each group should report their choice to the class and explain the basis for their rating.  The class can then discuss the different reliability strategies used and their relative merits.

 

Mini Projects

1.  Mixed Methods and Validity
This project allows students to compare the validity of self-reports and actual behavior. 

  1. Bring a copy of the state driving regulations that define a complete stop and read it to the class so that all students understand the same definition.
  2. Students should ask ten people (not in the class) who know how to drive the following question: 

How often do you come to a complete stop when you reach a stop sign?           [  ] always        [  ] sometimes             [  ] never

  1. After completing the survey, the student should locate an intersection controlled by a stop sign which they can observe safely and inconspicuously (from a porch, a café table, or a front yard).  For the first ten cars that pass by, the student should record whether or not the car came to a complete stop.
  2. Students should prepare a brief report in which they present their self-reported data and the data they collected through direct observation.  This report should consider the validity of each procedure and answer the question:  Are self-reports a good indicator of this driving behavior?
     
  3. Skepticism About Current Research 
    The results of any particular investigation must be examined critically. A general skepticism about current knowledge stimulates researchers to improve the validity of current research results and expand the frontier of knowledge.

1. Each student should select an empirical research study to critique.
2. Ask students to review the article carefully and note any issues they find.
3. Have student particularly focus on validity and how the above issues they noted may impact the soundness of the study.
4. This critique could then stimulate additional research designed to address the problematic aspects of the research.
5. Have students bring their critiques to class to discuss.

3.  Designing an Attitudinal Measure
You are to design two measures of an attitude and collect some pilot data.  Work with a small group of classmates for this project.

  1. Identify an attitudinal concept that is of interest to you and could be operationalized with measures in a student survey.
  2. Identify a variable related to this concept and write three questions with which to measure it.  Also compose a set of mutually exclusive and exhaustive response choices- four response choices for each question.
  3. Exchange these questions and response choices within your group.  Review and compare each question and its response choices.  Eliminate questions that are too similar or that do not appear to measure the concept.  If the concept seems to have multiple dimensions, consider whether to try to measure each dimension or whether to focus instead on just one dimension.
  4. Select about ten questions to include in an index to measure the concept.  Also identify one single question that provides a general measure of the concept.
  5. Type the questions and response choices on one page.  Duplicate for administration to another class (or to other students in your class) and make arrangements to administer it.
  6. Distribute the set of questions to students and collect them.  Tally up the responses to each question.
  7. Calculate an index score for each student by adding up the scores on responses to the index questions.  Tally up scores on this index and on the single question measure. 
  8. Compare the distribution of index scores and of responses to the singe-question measure.  How similar are these distributions?  How consistent were responses to the questions included in the index?  Which measurement approach do you have more confidence in at this point, the single question or the index?  Explain your answer

4.  Media Content 
In this project, you will develop measures of the content of television programs.  You could team up with two or three other classmates for this project.  In most instances it will help to focus your attention on one type of programming (news, soap operas, children’s programs, sports, etc.)   

  1. Identify a concept or concepts of interest that could be operationalized with the content of TV program.  Some possibilities include interpersonal violence, gender bias, police roles, stereotypes, or family interaction.
  2. Specify specific variables that reflect these concepts in the context of TV programs—for example, “frequency of arguments” to measure family conflict or “number of intentionally inflicted deaths or injuries by others” to measure interpersonal violence. 
  3. Develop a specific measurement procedure that operationalizes each concept.  By this point, you should be thinking in terms of specific TV programs.  An example for “frequency of arguments” would be “count the number of arguments between family members in each program or episode, with one argument represented by the period between the start of angry vocalizations or abusive treatment and ending when these behaviors subside.”  Prepare a grid for recording scores for each measure and each program.
  4. Try out the measure(s) with one or two TV programs, note any problems, and revise the measurement procedure(s) if necessary.
  5. Now code four hours of TV programs, noting any additional problems with the measurement procedures.
  6. Report on the distribution of scores on your measure(s).  Review any measurement problems you have identified and suggest improvements in the measurement instrument.

5. Concepts in the GSS   

  1. Identify three concepts of interest to you.
  2. Conceptualize each.
  3. Locate the homepage for the General Social Survey at:  http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/Publications/GSS+Questionnaires/
  4. Select a version of the questionnaire and write down which version you select!
  5. Read through the questionnaire and identify all questions and indexes that would be reasonable measures of your concepts, whether they fit your conceptualization or not.
  6. Go through the questions selected in Step 5 and specifically justify why the questions are or are not appropriate given your conceptualization.