Reseach Reply

Respond to two colleagues by describing ways in which their research could influence social change.

1 sed-

During the process of obtaining information, my research proposal on homelessness, “Are veterans or non-veterans more likely to become homeless?”  At times, it seemed difficult trying to find materials that support the research but most of all trying to determine what methods to use to obtain the information needed for the research. I have gained a lot of knowledge on the different approaches that researchers can take in their methods when obtaining important information, but it also helped tremendously learning the difference in quantitative and qualitative research from other.

My proposed research will help inform social work practice because it gives them an area to work towards with informed research and data. Research can guide practice to implement proven strategies. It can also ask the ‘what if’ or ‘how about’ questions that can open doors for new, innovative interventions to be developed (and then research the effectiveness of those interventions). Social work practice and research are and should remain intertwined. This is the only way we can know what questions to ask about the programs and services we are providing, and ensure our interventions are effective.

A potential limitation on my proposed study on homelessness is actually getting people to agree to the interview or answer questions. There are several homeless individuals in the area that I live, but most aren’t interested in talking about their situations. They just ask for money or other items.  I would work hard to get them in contact with programs that would help locate housing for them, treatment if needed, and any type of education and assistance needed and available.

According to research by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 22 percent are chronically homeless individuals (or people with disabilities who have experienced long-term or repeated incidents of homelessness), 6 percent are veterans (distinguished due to their service to the country), and 5 percent are unaccompanied youth under 25 (considered vulnerable due to their age)

2 TER-

For those who work in the field of mental health, we all know that residential treatment is very much so needed for youth who are not able to fully regulate themselves in a “normal” at home setting. I want to know what the thought process is of these youth and how us as social workers can be there to prove the support needed. Referring to the NASW Code of ethics, one of our main goals as social workers is to ensure whatever we do is in the best interest of the client and what better way to do this other than understanding their mindset. Specially in my situation, I want to also dive into how having a mental health condition and being in residential can eventually affect your thought process. So many times, I have seen youth come into residential and not display any physical aggressive behavior nor have it in their history and randomly it appears. One takeaway from my research proposal would be that residential facilities tend to intensify the behaviors in youth who have severe mental disabilities and prolong stays.

I feel my research topic will help the social work practice in a great way. It would give more insight of the though process from the youth and how they feel while being in residential. It also helps us understand why we tend to see behaviors that weren’t present prior to their placement in a facility. I feel that one limitation could be the fact that the study was only limited to specific youth. When conducting an experiment like this, yea its very hard to get feedback from multiple youth, so sometimes you may get the same report from all those you have surveyed due to them being in the same facility.