Blog #1 2.2.20 Jeff’s First Blog

I am feeling happy today. It is important.

I know the importance of research. Writing can be a powerful tool if it is based on research. A literature review can be a very informative paper. It can also inspire other people and give them a platform for action. Doing research makes me think about myself and my own ideas. Learning from others can assist in my journey to the center of myself. There is an important relationship between one’s self and the world.

Using research is beneficial to the writer and the world. Research is effective when it proposes a solution.

I want to make sure I do enough research. It is important for me to focus on the research. I will be open minded to different types of research.

Blog #2

My strengths and writing a literature review:

I believe I have what it takes to write an effective literature review. I have knowledge that has come from personal experience. I’ve worked for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for four years. I’ve worked in the mental health field for ten years. I believe that writing a literature review takes patience. You have to read about other people’s viewpoints in an unbiased manner. During the research process, you need to be objective about your findings. I believe I have a very creative mind. I need to balance that with logic and structure. I’ve had good experiences with google scholar. This makes me confident that I can find the research I need in an objective way. I would like to explore an important issue in our times. It is an issue that can be looked at from macro, mezzo and micro perspectives. I believe the key to me writing a good review will be taking things one step at a time. Organization and using an outline will be important.

Blog #3

I’ve realized that research can be integral part of social work. Research can be used find new coping strategies and treatments for mental health conditions. Research also can be used to advance technology for new solutions. Research is relevant to social work because it is an unbiased way of looking at information. Research helps us to understand different perspectives. Social workers should use the research that is available. This gets them away from their own opinions. This is helpful during a session with a client. Social workers can do research which benefits their clients. The most powerful thing about research is that it can change the world!

Blog #4

I think understanding my own biases is very important to my research. Self-reflection and using my wisdom will be important in the process of writing my literature review. One of the biases I have in my research topic is my belief that Universal Basic Income has value and could work in the U.S. However, it cannot work in isolation or by itself. There are other approaches and it cannot be denied that the welfare system is broken.As I move forward in my research I will try to be as unbiased as possible. It is important to do inductive research and find articles from sources that are objective. It is important I listen to what the research is saying. I will make sure to do a good job of understanding my biases on the topic of Universal Basic Income. There may other ways or strategies for helping people in poverty. I will continue to do inductive research and go with what my sources are saying. That way I won’t let my biases get in the way of my literature review. Thank you.

Blog 5

At first, statistics can seem intimidating. It’s not because they involve math. Usually statistics you on T.V. deal with large populations. That can be a little intimidating. However, statistics are definitely useful. They saw a lot about the way people think and the different perspectives people come from. Statistics can prove that certain ideas in society are important. They can show where people place their priorities. I feel the way I do about statistics because I’ve always been good at math. However, some statistics in large numbers can be a little complex. I hope to be able to use statistics and learn more about them. I hope that statistics I find will contribute to my research. Statistics aren’t everything. But they do play an important role in finding out where different people stand. As a class maybe we can break down different social issues and the statistics that go with them. That will make complex statistics into simple statistics. There is a better understanding of statistics when they are used to solve problems. When they seem more practical to use, they are easier to understand. The purpose of statistics is to provide education and mathematical proof in certain circumstances. They are very important when used in association with social issues. I feel confident that I can understand statistics and why they are used.

Blog #6

I gravitate towards qualitative research methods. This is because I don’t have as good of an understanding of quantitative methods. It’s also because I like to look deeper into the problem. I like interview studies where the person being interviewed has the opportunity to go deeper into the problem. I also like the looseness of qualitative research. I like quantitative research and it is necessary. Statistics and numbers can tell us a lot. Both types of research are necessary in many cases. It is important to recognize biases in which method one gravitates towards. I would like to learn more about quantitative research in order to get a better understanding of how it works. It’s always important to self-reflect and know one’s biases. This is because we need to separate out research from our own ideas. That is an essential part of inductive research. Quantitative research is good when you are working with numbers and populations. Statistical research can give society good information. It also informs us of what different people think. Qualitative research is good for going deeper into the problem. It considers factors and environment as part of the research. Qualitative is good for studies in social work that focus on the effectiveness of therapeutic techniques. They are both important types of research and should always be under consideration. I want to learn more about both types.

Blog#7

I think a single case design would work for my research. I will be focusing in on Stockton, California. I will be focusing on the 150 people who received Universal Basic Income from the government. It should to do some interesting research. I like the idea of having my baseline research be the 150 people from Stockton. To test the effectiveness of UBI after legislation is passed I would use an intervention phase. This would show that over time UBI could still help people’s lives. The single case design works best for my project, because it is focused on one element. That element is the 150 people who received UBI from Stockton’s government. The 150 people are a commmunity of people with receiving UBI in common. There are still other factors and different people might respond differently in the surveys and interviews. This is good to test because people can draw from real life examples in their lives. This information could help us to determine if UBI would decrease poverty in the U.S.

Blog #8

This is a big assignment coming up. I will be splitting the paper into different sections. I will work on different sections at different times. I will try to get one page a day from now on. When I do inductive research I will find more of my sources. These sources will be used to find empirical studies of the situation with UBI. I will not work with bias. I will work with work ethic. I will try to make the bulk of the paper content and not just my opinion. That way the paper and the study will be valuable use. I will use my time wisely. I will not wait to do the research necessary.

Blog #9

I’ve always found ethics interesting. That is the case particularly when it applies to social work. Research seems to have it’s own ethical issues. Ethical research includes being non-biased about what you find. It also means researching without judging the data. You can evaluate the data, but it seems to unethical to judge the data. I found many of the ethics scenarios to be interesting. Many research studies end with desirable results. That means the results would match the hypothesis, closely. However many research studies have results that do not match the hypothesis. It is important these are taken into account in order to eliminate bias. It is our job as researchers to find what is available and not to select certain types of research. That is also the great thing about science. Science is based on observation and the scientific method. It studies facts and not opinions. Another thing I learned from the last class is that it is important to obtain informed consent of the participants of a study. It is unethical to force or promote things in a certain way in order to get the participants to say certain things. Open ended questions in qualitative research are very important. They can get to the core of the issue and reveal the deeper meaning. Participants should be able to feel like they have a voice. That will be a vital part of my research study on Universal Basic Income. When I implement my research proposal, I will make sure the study is fair. I will examine the questions in the survey and the interviews. I will look for ways to allow the participants to have their voices heard. This is more important than anything. Problem solving means putting our biases aside and learning to understand others. Research becomes unethical when it is based on one person’s opinion. It is ethical if participants felt that the study was fair and gave them an opportunity to be heard.

Blog #10

I believe that some of the takeaways from this class include being less biased about research. I’ve learned more about ethics and writing in a clear manner. I’ve learned about many new things including concepts. Research is a very interesting topic. I will be a better researcher now. I hoped to become a better researcher and a better writer. I hoped to gain more knowledge about social work. I’ve realized many things throughout this class. It’s being fulfilling to become a better researcher. The insight I’ve gained is to always do inductive research. Social work research will assist me in my social work journey.

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