Conducting a survey in social work

"Conducting a survey in social work.
" Completed by: St. gr. 769 I.E.F Merkelova I. V. Checked by: Associate Professor of the Department of SUPP Serebryakova N. N. Ryazan 2010 CONTENTS Introduction……… ………2 Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations of conducting a survey in social work……… ………. 4 1.1

The role of conducting a survey in social work………..4

1.2 The specifics of conducting a survey in social work …….……… 6
Chapter 2. Organization of a survey in social work………...8
2.1 Questioning, types and functions of a questionnaire survey… …….…...8
2.2 Methodology and interview technology………...15
Chapter 3. An example of conducting a survey in social work………20
3.1. Conducting a survey in the center of social services in Kazan……20

Conclusion……… ………..23

REFERENCES………...25
APPENDICES

Introduction.

In the field of social work, various types of surveys are acceptable. However, their use should not adversely affect the condition of customers.
A survey is a method of collecting social information about the object under study in the course of indirect questioning or direct interviews, socio-psychological communication between the researcher and the respondent by registering answers to questions that correspond to the goals and objectives of the study.
The main purpose of the survey is to obtain social information about the state of public, group, collective, individual opinion, as well as information reflected in the minds of the respondents about facts, events, and an assessment of their life.
The survey is especially important in the study of social phenomena and processes that are inaccessible to direct observation, as well as in cases where the social sphere, including the problems of social work, is poorly provided with documentary information. Obtaining high-quality data during the survey depends on the availability of reliable tools, predicting the behavior of respondents when answering questions, the training of interviewers, the place and environment for conducting the survey at home, on the street, in the workplace, etc.
Relevance of the topic - the processes taking place in the modern world, deep and radical changes in the social sphere of public life require more adequate scientific support. In this regard, the current use of one of the main methods of sociology - a survey, is of particular relevance. In a society where reforms have been carried out for the second decade, only in recent years has the situation that determined the success of virtually all reformers, contained in the formula: "If you want to lead people, follow them," become clearly realized. The public opinion of the population, the vector of its direction, many other aspects of the life of society are mainly studied precisely through the use of various types of surveys.
The object of the course work - poll as a tool for studying the public opinion of the population in social work.
The subject is the specificity of the use of the survey in the study of public opinion of the population in social work.
The purpose of the course work is to give an idea of ​​the survey and explore the cognitive possibilities of the survey method in social work.
Realization of this goal involves the solution of the following tasks:
Identify the specifics of conducting a survey in social work.
Show the role of interviewing in social work
Describe the types of interviews used in social work.
Determine the main cognitive capabilities of the survey method in social work.
Give an example of conducting a survey in social work.

Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations of conducting a survey in social work.

The role of conducting a survey in social work.
Social work is a professional activity for organizing assistance and mutual assistance to people and groups in difficult life situations, their psychosocial rehabilitation and integration. In its most general form, social work is a complex social phenomenon, an independent field of scientific and practical knowledge, a profession and an academic discipline. 1
Social work is associated with a wide range of knowledge about both the individual and the whole society and the functioning of its social institutions. Social work can be viewed as a personal service to help people, which is aimed at timely identification and effective solution of social problems that arise in a particular client, family, in society as a whole.
The main goal of the professional activity of a social work specialist is considered to be concern for the quality of life and the disclosure of the possibilities of a person’s personality, family, and society.
The objects of professional activity are individuals, families, population groups and communities that require social support.
The functions of a specialist include: social planning and social forecasting of labor collectives, various social phenomena; system-ecological, proactive and global modeling; conducting sociological research.
Research can, relate to various aspects of the social sphere that haveimpact on human life. These problems include: problems of family preservation and development, demographic problems, youth problems, problems of health protection, education, ecology, housing, etc. An example of this versatility of social research can be the field of medical care. Here you can explore and predict such aspects as: the effectiveness of the health care system, the quality of medical services, the development of the system of material incentives for health workers, the rationality of the structure and placement of medical personnel, the organization of the treatment process, etc.
A similar diversity can beconsidered in the study of all other spheres of human activity. The role of research in the field of housing involves the study of such aspects as the level of provision of the population with housing at various stages of the development of the state, analysis of the potential opportunities and conditions for obtaining new housing, improving the existing housing conditions, the use of housing by various social groups, the level of compliance with the demographic structure of the region of the current and introduced housing, etc. In the field of education and enlightenment, research can turn to the consideration of trends in their development, to the problem of staffing, to identify the degree of need for them, to analyze the dynamics of education spending; the influx of young people into institutions, the characteristic tendencies of these processes, etc.
The main role in social research is played by the dependence of this process on the goals and objectives that researchers set for themselves when they try to determine research methods, giving preference to certain types of survey.

The specifics of conducting a survey in social work.

The method of solving a research problem in science is usually called a method. The choice of research method in social work is determined by the task. Each task requires specific methods. The reliability of the facts and conclusions obtained during the study depends on the choice of the method of cognitive activity.
Question about the specifics of methodsstudies used by social workers, as well as whether social work theory has its own research methods, is still a matter of debate. At present, almost all methods of the social sciences are interdisciplinary. Naturally, the specifics of the theory of social work, its tasks and place in the system of social sciences affect the features of the use of existing methods. The main specific feature of research methods used in social work is their integrative nature.
The theory and practice of social work for the knowledge of their problems use the methodological and methodological research potential of sociology. This is largely due to the proximity of the object and subject of sociology and social work, as well as the fact that the theoretical foundation of social work has genetically grown and grows out of sociology, psychology and psychotherapy. Both the theory of social work and sociology mainly use historical, economic, sociological, philosophical, statistical, demographic works and monographs, scientific and scientific-methodical works, as well as methods of collecting and processing information.
Social work as a new scientific discipline, relying on interdisciplinary research methods, the research potential of related sciences, forms its own methodological and methodological tools. Quite often, research in the field of social work is based on sociological methods of analyzing social reality. In studies on social work, when writing social biographies of clients from among representatives of risk groups, data from standardized interviews, content analysis of various kinds of documents (autobiographies), observations are used, i.e. such methods of collecting information that traditionally take place in sociology .

Chapter 2. Organization of a survey in social work.

2.1 Questioning, types and functions of the questionnaire.
Empirical research in social work should begin with a well-formulated program (research) question. In other words, this is a question that will determine what the survey is for. For example, the question "How do refugees find jobs in a new place?" can become programmatic and serve as a starting point for social research. Unlike program questions, questionnaire questions are more specific. The totality of answers to specific questions of the questionnaire will give an exhaustive answer to the program question. 2
Before proceeding to the formulation of the questionnaire question, you need to find out for yourself: are all aspects of the problem taken into account, are there any unnecessary questions, to whom the questionnaire is addressed. The next stage is the formulation of questions, the establishment of the sequence of questions in the questionnaire.
The questionnaire question has three functions - indicator, communicative and instrumental. These are the "duties" of the questionnaire.
The indicator function of a questionnaire question is that the question provides the required information, and not any other.
Communicative functionthe issue is due to the socio-psychological nature of communication. Any question appears only when there is an addressee from whom information is received. In the survey, the communicative function provides a link between the consciousness of the researcher and the ordinary consciousness of the respondents. This is achieved by transferring the cognitive task of the question to the level of the respondent's everyday vocabulary. The criterion for assessing the communicative possibilities of a question is the unambiguous understanding of its meaning by the respondents, the sincerity and reliability of the answers.
The instrumental function of a question is associated with the observance of special requirements for its measurement capabilities, the construction of scales and indices formulated on the basis of a block of questions.
The logical structure of the question is determined by the presence of two mandatory elements in it:
basic information about what is known;
indicating the insufficiency of known information and the need to supplement or clarify it.
Requirements for the basic part of the question:
its information should be equally known to both the respondent and the researcher;
it must be unambiguously understood by both the respondent and the researcher;
it must be free from the influence of the researcher's explicit and implicit expectations about socially approved and disapproved responses.
The second group of logical errors is caused by a violation of the connection between the basic part of the question and its second part (with an indication of unknown information and the area of ​​search for answers).
The third group of logical errors is related to the addressee, that is, the question can be asked to someone who does not have information. To avoid such errors, the following requirements must be met:
provide the possibility of evading the answer (options: “I don’t know”, “I find it difficult to answer”, etc.);
include filter questions;
directly indicate the addressee of the question.
The ability to evade an answer is a fundamental requirement: it allows one to single out in the totality of respondents those who consider themselves incompetent in this matter.
All questionnaire questions are usually divided into:
by content (questions about the facts of consciousness, behavior and personality);
form (open and closed, direct and indirect);
methodological function (basic and non-basic, contact and control, filter questions, trap questions, etc.);
attitude towards the personality of the respondent (suggestive, provocative, delicate);
filling technique (difficult, complex).
According to their form and technique of filling, all questions of the questionnaire are divided into two types - open and closed.
Closed questions are those that list all possible answers (alternatives) and in which, therefore, the freedom of expression of the respondent's opinion is reduced, if not to a minimum, then to very strict limits. After reading the items in the list of answers (they are called clues, alternatives, options), the respondent notes only the code (usually a letter or number) that he chose. Closed questions are divided into dichotomous, alternative, non-alternative, menu questions.
Dichotomous questions suggest answers: yes, no, don't know.
Alternative questions require the respondent to choose only one answer from a set of options.
Non-alternative questions (sometimes called "questions-menu&q ot;) provide for the possibility of choosing several answers.
Menu questions are the most common among closed-type questions.
Open-ended questions do not contain any prompts and allow the respondent to express his opinion in the verbal form which he is accustomed to express himself in. One and the same question can be made open and closed.
A closed alternative question can be built not only in a dichotomous form (yes, no, I don’t know), but also in scale and tabular forms. In this case, it reflects not the presence of a particular feature in the respondent, but the intensity of the manifestation of a particular quality.
Questions-filters. The function of filter questions is to cut off those who cannot answer, i.e., those who are not related to this question ("alien"). Such questions are non-basic, since their task is not to clarify the content of the studied social problem (phenomenon, fact, etc.), but to establish the addressee of the question. The absence of filter questions in the questionnaire can lead to distortion of information. A similar function is performed by control questions, which can be both direct and indirect.
Try to adhere to the following rules:
the main and control questions in the questionnaire should be interspersed with other questions so that the respondent does not catch a direct connection between them;
indirect questions control answers to a direct question, open to closed, impersonal to personal;
answers to questions related to the main objectives of the study are subject to control.
There is a relationship between the number of questions in the questionnaire and the number of respondents. In practice, three options are used:
The more respondents, the fewer questions.
The fewer respondents, the more questions.
Optimal number of respondents and questions (sample study).
The composition of the questionnaire
In the strict sense of the word, the questionnaire is a one-time use tool that has the property of uniqueness:
created for a specific study and reinvented for the next case;
reflects the worldview, the level of competence of its author (for the same goals and objectives of the study, the surveyed population, different authors would create completely different tools - questionnaires);
is specifically adapted to this object of study and does not allow transfer to another object.
The general composition of the questionnaire:
Introduction, requisite part, informative part, classification part, conclusion.
The introduction serves as the beginning of a questionnaire conversation, it sets out the topic, goals, objectives of the survey and the name of the organization conducting it. The main task of the introduction is to convince the respondent to take part in the survey. It is intended to show how the interviewee will benefit by taking part in it. In the introduction of the questionnaire, it is necessary to indicate confidentiality and anonymity, as well as place the rules for filling out the questionnaire. In case of anonymity, the respondent must be sure that his name and other details will not be known to the researcher. In the case of confidentiality, it is assumed that the name is known only to the researcher, and not to the commissioner of this survey. In the telephone survey and the interview survey, the survey is only confidential.
In the requisite part of the questionnaire, the name of the questionnaire is given, the date, time and place of the survey, and the name of the interviewer are indicated.
The informative part consists of substantive questions that give the researcher all the necessary information about the object of study. Questions follow with increasing degree of difficulty.
The classification part ("passport" contains socio-demographic and professional information about the respondents.
The final part of the questionnaire contains gratitude to the person in charge for participating in the study.
Parts 1, 2 and 5 are the service, auxiliary apparatus of the questionnaire, and parts 3 and 4 are the main, basic part.
Key Principles of Questionnaire Design
Preliminary note: Do not confuse the logic of a question with the logic of constructing a questionnaire.
The first principle is that the questionnaire should be built taking into account the psychology of the respondents.
Example: when studying the attitude of clients to a certain service, one must first formulate questions intended for everyone, then only for those who use this service, then for those who refuse this service, and in conclusion - again for all respondents. The distribution by the named groups of questions is carried out with the help of filter questions. For example: "Questions 5 to 9 are only for those who use this service"; "For questions 10-14, we ask those who do not use such a service to answer"; "The last six questions apply to all respondents."
Second principle- from the general to the specific. However, this principle is not appropriate in all situations. For example, if you first ask a general question about the degree of customer satisfaction with the work of the CSO department, and then questions about the assessment of certain aspects of its work, then general assessments will affect private ones. In this case, private questions are placed first, a generalizing question should be put at the end of a block of private questions relating to a specific problem. Example: "And now we would ask you to rate, in general, to what extent you are satisfied with the work of this department of the CSO."
The third principle is that questions should be arranged according to their degree of difficulty: from simple to complex.
Fourth principle- questions that determine the level of competence of the respondent in the field of the study should be asked first, then - "warm-up" questions, the most difficult questions are recommended to be put in the middle or towards the end of the questionnaire. When developing a questionnaire, the source for compiling it is usually: other people's
questionnaires
;
Literature
Intuition and experience
Borrow the best-tested tools
Basic rules for formulating questions:
the question must be unambiguous;
the question should be as short and simple as possible;
in the wording of the question, only those words that are obviously well known to the respondents should be used;
avoid double negatives in the question (“Would you use non-recommended literature?”;
avoid prejudice in the wording of questions, i.e. do not use “biased” as well as prompting questions;
do not drive the respondent into a corner with questions, provide for the possibility of "retreat", evading the answer;
for some closed questions, use the answer option "other options", thereby turning the closed question into a semi-closed one;
in case of a possible negative reaction to the question, formulate it in an indirect form.
Preference should be given to a written survey of respondents. Currently, a number of universal questionnaires have been developed to help social workers collect and process the received data about the client. However, these questionnaires have certain disadvantages. The main disadvantage of universal questionnaires is due precisely to their universality - a social worker cannot use them in each specific case. Consequently, along with the available universal means of collecting and processing information, a social worker must be able to develop his own, meeting the narrow (specific) tasks and specifics of work in a given social service.

2.2. Methodology and interview technology

An interview is a conversation conducted according to a predetermined plan and involving direct contact between the researcher and the respondent (interviewee).
An interview is a purposeful communication. A scientific interview is a method of obtaining information in the course of a lively dialogue, subordinated to a specific research goal. The terms conversation and interview have a close meaning. This is facilitated by the fact that the second term is borrowed from the English language, where it is a complete synonym for our word conversation. However, in sociology they prefer the term "interview" in psychology - "conversation". In social work, the term "conversation" is more appropriate. 3
An interview has a number of advantages in relation to a questionnaire: there are practically no unanswered questions; vague and controversial issues can be clarified; it is possible to record not only the verbal, but also the non-verbal reaction of the respondent; the information received is more complete, deeper and more reliable. It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of Russian respondents: their impatience, fear of the survey, the degree of secrecy, emotionality. In addition, there may be semantic difficulties associated with inadequate understanding of the words used during the survey.
Interviews differ:
in terms of the degree of standardization of questions;
by the number of topics discussed;
by the number of respondents.
A formalized interview is a conversation according to a detailed program that includes a sequence and design of questions with multiple choice answers. Questions can be open or closed.
An informal interview is a long conversation according to a general program, but without specifying specific questions, with minimal detail on the behavior of the speaker (interviewer).
According to the number of topics discussed, the following types of interviews are distinguished: focused (directed) and unfocused (non-directed).
A focused, or directed, interview is a detailed discussion of one topic with which the respondent is familiar in advance. A focused interview can be formalized or non-formalized.
An unfocused (non-directed) interview is a free conversation between a researcher and a respondent, in which there is no subject unity, a common theme, or research intent.
According to the number of respondents, individual or personal interviews and group interviews are distinguished. In the latter case, the interviewer is called the moderator. The main types of group interviews are focus groups and brainstorming. The focus group method is predominantly exploratory in nature, it uses questionnaires that are simple in structure. A synonym for this term can be a group discussion.
A focus group is a conversation of a small group of people according to a certain plan on a topic set in advance by a specialist - a researcher. Focus group discussion appears preferable to questionnaires or face-to-face interviews due to more in-depth responses to moderator questions; the emergence of new ideas that arise in the course of a group discussion of the problem; efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the method. A focus group allows you to quickly identify the causes of a problem.
It is possible to distinguish between interviews by place of conduct: at the place of residence, at the place of work or study. According to the style of interviewing, there are hard and soft. According to the target, diagnostic and clinical interviews are distinguished (the latter is used as a method of psychotherapeutic assistance). Interview (conversation) in the activities of a social worker plays a very important role. The ability to conduct a conversation is included in the circle of his professional competence. Therefore, we will focus not so much on the technique of conducting a conversation as on the nature of the information obtained using this research method.
Externally, the conversation resembles a normal conversation between two people. The naturalness and simplicity of obtaining information in this way determines its attractiveness. In this sense, conversation is akin to observation. The difference lies in the fact that by observing, the researcher receives objective information about the phenomenon (client, situation, problem). In the conversation of a specialist researcher, he is mainly interested in subjective data, i.e., information passed through the consciousness of the interlocutor. Of course, you can also ask about some objective things: age, marital status, place of residence. But this data can be obtained through other channels, in a different way. But to get an idea about the well-being of a person, his problems, experiences, the easiest way is by questioning him. There are things that are generally difficult to imagine otherwise. This applies to opinions, tastes, assessments, preferences, expectations. This is precisely the area where surveys are the most appropriate research method.
The external simplicity of conducting a conversation should not be misleading about the essence of this method of obtaining information. His qualifieduse imposes certain requirements on the researcher, his knowledge, experience, skills. The main problem is the need to combine the role of a participant in a conversation and an external observer. Externally, the researcher should be included in the conversation: ask questions with interest, listen carefully, adequately respond to the words of the interlocutor. And internally, he must maintain control over the situation, actively direct the conversation in the right direction, carefully observe the interlocutor - this allows you to perceive not only verbal, but also "read" non-verbal information. Verbal information is what is said, the content of statements. Non-verbal information is what they say. Non-verbal information complements and enriches verbal information, sometimes significantly modernizing the meaning of statements.
Conversation is a flexible method of obtaining information. Therefore, it best corresponds to the type of research, which is designated as exploratory (pilot). Here hypotheses are not so much tested as put forward. The pilot study is purely inductive in nature - the identification of specific facts gradually moves to cautious conclusions and generalizations.
One of the main problems that arise when using a conversation as a research technique is the problem of fixing data. There are two extreme options: either try to fix everything with the help of technical means, or rely entirely on memory. In practice, some intermediate option is used: the researcher makes brief notes during the conversation.
As in any communication, the factor of understanding is important in a conversation. In the field of social work, the situation of misunderstanding, due to the discrepancy between personal experience and the meanings that people give to their words, is quite typical due to the fact that the object of research here is often people belonging to a special socio-cultural environment. It is important that the researcher be aware of such moments of misunderstanding and try to eliminate, as far as possible, those barriers that arise in the way of mutual understanding.
A researcher who uses conversation as a way of obtaining information always faces the problem of distinguishing between the subjective and the objective in the information obtained in this way. To increase the reliability of the conclusions based on the results of the conversation, one should turn to comparing the data obtained during the conversation with data obtained from other sources.
The source of subjectivity is not only the interlocutor, but also the researcher himself, who acts as an interpreter of the conversation data.
Advantages of the method of conversation. The conversation method allows:
conduct research without a pre-formulated scenario;
communicate with the respondent using the vocabulary familiar to him;
receive deeply personal information; to reveal a subjective attitude to something;
provide the respondent with the opportunity to become an expert on the issue under discussion and collaborate with a specialist, which is not always possible with a traditional interview;
receive qualitative (i.e., not quantitative) information on a wide range of issues.
However, this method is associated with significant difficulties at the stage of processing the obtained data and their formalization. In addition, it assumes deep knowledge by the specialist (interviewer) of the issues under discussion. The survey method in various variations is widely used by social services to obtain primary information about the needs for services, the quality of services provided, the effectiveness of a particular method, the content of methodological recommendations, etc. Chapter 3. An example of a survey in social work