SWK509: Singapore Social Work Practice with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients: Social Research and Programme Evaluation Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Instructions

1. This is an individual assignment and students are required to write a 2,500-word critique of the research article: “Singapore social work practice with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients”.

2. Read the article once by skimming through it to get an overview. Then scrutinize the sections on Literature Review, Methods, and Discussion sections.

3. Students may critique the research article by addressing the following:

(a) Research Problem and Design

• Briefly describe the research problem and design adopted in the exploratory study.
• Examine any possible research bias in the problem formulated and/or in the research design.
• Propose ways to strengthen the study and justify your recommendations by explaining how they overcome the bias discussed in part ii.
• As researchers often face constraints in reality, briefly describe your assumptions in order to implement the research design proposed in part iii.

(b) Research Procedures (and Everything Else)

In approximately 1,500 ± 200 words, consider the issues of methodological rigor, cultural competence, and ethics in your critique of the study.

• Critically appraise the strengths and weaknesses of the research procedures in the study (other than the research design, which was discussed in Section i). (Hint: An in-depth discussion not only identifies what are the strengths and weaknesses but also explain why something is a strength or weakness.)
• Propose what can be done to strengthen the study and overcome the weaknesses identified in part (a).

4. The critique will be marked for the depth of analysis, the ability to apply research concepts and principles, and recommendations/suggestions for improvement that are based on sound research methodology. The breakdown of marks is as follows:

• Depth of analysis of the research article
• Ability to apply research concepts and principles
• Recommendations/suggestions for improvement
• Grammar/Language/APA Referencing