Clinical Social Work Research

Hi All
Well, here it is, the last blog entry after a year of being together. I suffer with a certain sense of sadness at all of you leaving and yet, I am so proud of all of you for hanging in there through this course. I know that many of you have had a hard time facing all of the demons that live in this class. And I am really pleased to see you all emerge the stronger for it. No longer are you my students - though you taught me so much this year - ou are now all colleagues.

Remember when you first received the syllabus and you wondered, what have I gotten myself into? Am I really going to complete all of this work on time? And you did. You faced your math demons and succeeded. You are now certified by the CITI examination as human subject research qualified. You are IRB examined and approved. You have formulated a research topic. Turned it into a question. Developed hypotheses. Carried out a literature research project on that question. Wrote a literature review. Developed research tools to study your hypotheses. Carried out the study project. Wrote it up as a final paper. And now you will present your work. All in all, that is something that each of you should be very proud of. And, along the way, you managed to make it through a whole truckload of statistical theory and practice. I would say that that is quite a bit for which you should be patting yourself on the back.

Welcome to the world. May you all go forth in it and do great things. I believe that you will. And, when things get tough for you in the future. Remember me and remember this class. If you could get through Tarynn, you can get through anything.

Please remember the following for the last day of class:
(1) Bring a CD with your talk, paper, and SPSS dataset on it. Make sure it has your name on it.
(2) Bring a handout copy of your presentation for everyone in class (18 copies)
(3) Bring a #2 pencil to class <--- yes, you will need it
(4) Those of you with fake datasets may just throw them out
(5) Those of you with real datasets must shred them or bring them to class for me to shred
(6) All datasets must be removed from any computer on which they reside
(7) All scraps related to the project must be destroyed
(8) Class will be in the teaching lab unless I can get the conference room
(9) Class starts at 3pm this week ---- Don't be late

For those of you having a hard time figuring out how to structure your powerpoint presentation, here is a sample of a powerpoint presented at a national meeting. Sample Powerpoint Presentation

See you all then
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi All
Here is the download for the pdf file containing all of the final paper details. Please download. Read carefully. Ask questions in class. Download of Final Paper Outline Details

Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi All-

As promised, here is the first examination. There are 4 questions. Here are the rules:

(1) All of your work must be shown on the exam.
(2) Supplemental work for each question must appear behind the question.
(3) You may use your textbook, notes, or other materials related to the class.
(4) You may not use other humans or living organisms.
(5) Follow the directions on the first page carefully.
(6) If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or call me at home over the weekend.

Examination 1-Semester 2 Download

Good luck
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi Everyone
I apologize for having to cancel class this past Monday. I was scheduled to arrive back in town way in advance of class. But wouldn't you know it, winds and equipment failure of the plane kept me from arriving in a timely fashion. For those of you who came, I apologize.

Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi Everyone
Well, after reading the Lecture 3 takehome message, I would be freakin out. We sure did do a great deal. But not to worry. We will be doing it all again in class. So re-read the chapter and make sure that you have it all in your head for the big demo problems. Then we move on to distributions and the normal distribution.

See you all next week.
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi All

I know that we had quite a tough class there this past week. But don't worry, we will review the material again and then have a practice homework problem. So let's review what we covered:

(1) We reviewed the PRE measures and how to obtain them. You should now know how to calculate lambda and gamma both by hand and by using SPSS. You should be able to interpret the results of these calculations. This means that you should also be able to understand cross-tabs.

(2) We reviewed all of the major modes for generating graphs. At this point, you should be able to do all of the major 2D graphs (scatter, histogram, line, dot, pie, error bar, etc) and you should know be able to do the interactive 3D graphs. Further, you should be able to use the interactive mode to assist you in interpreting the 3D plot with respect to linear vs. nonlinear behavior.

(3) We discussed the concepts of sum squared error/deviation and how to calculate it using mathematical formulae. We then covered the Transform -> Compute mode of SPSS and used it to compute the complex formulae in a more rapid fashion. We also used this mode to show how to transform data in different ways, such as log transform.

(4) We discussed the concepts behind linear regression. We talked about data pairs, regression lines, estimates of slope and intercept of the line, and predictions based upon the estimates. From this we discussed the idea of error of the prediction and the concept of sum squared error. We introduced the concept of r-squared as a PRE measure and briefly discussed how to interpret it. We closed our discussion with how to use SPSS to compute the regression line and we looked at how to find the coefficients.

Continue reading "Lecture 3 - Semester 2 - Take Home Message" »

Posted by tmwitten at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi All -

For Lecture 3, please re-read the material on linear regression, covariance and correlation in the text book. In addition, if you purchased the Simple Guide to SPSS for Windows text, read chapters 14 and 15 on correlation and simple linear regression. We will begin with this material in the class. See you all next week.

Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi All

Well the big take home message is congratulations on finishing your IRB proposals! You have all really done a great job at getting through the first part of the material. You have now all officially earned your 1st semester grades.

Today we covered the following topics:

(1) Review of PRE measures . We discussed some examples of the PRE measures and how to interpret what they were saying. We reviewed how to use SPSS Cross-tabs to obtain the PRE measures.

(2) Graphical Data Visualization . We covered some of the more advanced graphical interfaces including 3D interactive graphing. We demonstrated how and why it was important to look at the data before we begin to statistically analyze it.

(3) Transformation of Data . We covered the use of the Transform menu and demonstrated how we could transform data into linear forms using the ln-ln transformation.

(4) Linear Regression We briefly looked at the Regression - Linear module of SPSS and examined a bit of the output.

I handed out some handouts for you all to examine and begin to familiarize yourself with different terms such as the r-squared variable, correlation/covariance, and basic formulae for linear regression. We will go over those in the upcoming lecture.

In addition, we talked about what you could be doing to prepare for the rest of the semester with respect to your final powerpoint presentation, your final paper and building your SPSS database for the class. We discussed the basic structure of the final paper and the final presentation and we talked about how to go about thinking about your SPSS database. We will address these issues further as we continue through the course.

Have a great week
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi Everyone-

Welcome back to class. We have a very busy semester and first lecture so please try to arrive on time to class. We will be meeting in the same computer class room as we have before (Trani Life Sciences Bldg, Room 104). We have a number of chores to complete on the first day. Please make sure to review the chapters on the cross-tabs and measures of association for nominal and ordinal variables. We will be reviewing that before we move forward to the chapter on bivariate regression and correlation. I am looking forward to working with all of you and to seeing you all graduate this semester.

Again, welcome back!
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi All
Well, sorry a number of you will not be able to make it to class for the HOMEMADE cookies. Bummer. For those of you who are not going to be here, we need to address the following things

(1) How to get your Step 2 comments from me
(2) How to get your Step 3 packet to me
(3) How to handle your final examination

It would be easiest if you made an appointment this week to see me.
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi All-

LAST CALL - All web links due today (Friday).

(1) Continue to work on your CITI examination. When you receive your certificate, copy it and bring a copy to me.

(2) Narrow down your two research questions even more. Pick one of them and write a hypothesis statement for your question. Make sure that you have a theory that you have elaborated. See the blog page Lecture 3 - Take Home Message for a very simple example. Bring this question, theory, and hypothesis to class for further discussion.

(3) For those of you wanting to do a qualitative study, make sure that you see me before the next class.

(4) Continue to develop your literature research. In particular, begin to collate your references together in a bibliography that is in APA format. If you do not have the APA style guide, you will need to purchase it at the bookstore or find a copy of it.

(5) Review the requirements for completing your Step 1 Preparing the IRB Proposal Packet. This is found on pages 29-30 of the syllabus. Remember, your Step 1 paper is due on 3 October.

(6) Make sure you submit your Week 3 Lecture Evaluation.

(7) Make sure you submit your response to the Week 4 Research Dilemma.

(8) Bring your Article Review Guidelines (which are in your syllabus) to class.

(9) Continue to look over last week's notes so that we can continue our discussion.

Posted by tmwitten at 01:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings All-
I hope that you have all finished and submitted your first 3 research dilemmas.
(1) All dilemmas must be submitted by the beginning of class 3. After that, none of the first 3 dilemmas will be accepted.
(2) Also due by email are your 5 websites related to your area(s) of research interest.
(3) Remember to bring your research questions with you. You will be needing these for class.
(4) Lastly, please remember to bring your syllabus or the "How to Read A Scientific Article" part of the syllabus with you for class today.

I will be at least 15 minutes late for class. Please wait for me. I am coming from the medical campus and will not be able to predict the bus schedules. I will hold class as soon as I get there. So please all wait.

Thanks
Tarynn

Posted by tmwitten at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)