Mindeo MP725 - Development and Implementation of the Field Research Project

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The field research project grows out of and is tied to the individual student’s particular interests
as an advanced level social work practitioner or administrator. The project can be completed in
three ways:
1. Preferably, the project is based in the student’s field agency experience; however,
this is not required;
2. Some students will be working on projects developed by faculty that reflect their
professional interests but are not necessarily tied to their individual field
placements;
3. Others will want to implement projects that are affiliated with but outside their
particular field placement setting.
The subject of the student research project must be relevant to social work practice and/or
strengthening of the social work profession. The subject must also be congruent with advance
program competencies of the Collaborative MSW Program.
The field research project must involve: pertinent literature review, research questions, clear
methodology, data analysis, and report of findings. The project must also be limited in scope so
that it is possible to develop and implement it within the confines of the advanced year
curriculum. Students may do individual projects; joint projects may also be developed by a
small number of students that are individually implemented by each student in the group. Any
additional costs of the project are borne by the student and/or agency involved in the project.
However, the Universities do provide access to data analysis tools to all students.
Development and Implementation of the Field Research Project
Students plan for and implement the field research project during all three semesters of their
advanced year in the full time program or the 2
nd
year of the Advanced part-time program. Field
research project work goes through three phases:
Phase 1-Fall: students enroll in SW 731 Advanced Research. In this class they:
Review knowledge of basic research methodology;
Examine additional methodologies of particular importance to field research in
social work (small sample, qualitative, etc.);
Learn to process data and interpret descriptive statistics and tables (using Excel)
Find out about ongoing research interests of faculty who are willing to serve as
research mentors;
Explore research possibilities in their planned Field placements;
Develop an initial draft of the research proposal and have it approved;
If possible, have the proposal approved by the human subjects committee of their
respective universities and participating agencies. However, this usually occurs in