Writing & Communication Skills for Family & Community Social Services PDF

WRITING & COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR FAMILY & COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES CSS 1210 LECTURE 2 UNDERSTANDING“THE LITERATURE” “THERE ARE NO BAD SOURCES, JUST CORRECT AND INCORRECT WAYS OF USING CERTAIN TYPES OF SOURCES” (DR. DON) “THE LITERATURE”: THE BODY OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH THAT HAS [ALRE...

WRITING & COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR FAMILY & COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES CSS 1210 LECTURE 2 UNDERSTANDING“THE LITERATURE” “THERE ARE NO BAD SOURCES, JUST CORRECT AND INCORRECT WAYS OF USING CERTAIN TYPES OF SOURCES” (DR. DON) “THE LITERATURE”: THE BODY OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH THAT HAS [ALREADY] BEEN PUBLISHED […] ABOUT A PARTICULAR SUBJECT [YOU ARE RESEARCHING AND/OR WRITING ABOUT]” WHAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT RESEARCHING, READING, AND CRITIQUING MANAGING THE LITERATURE WHAT IS A “LITERATURE REVIEW?” GRAMMAR REVIEW “SOCIAL WORKERS ARE INCREASINGLY UNDER PRESSURE TO BE ABLE TO JUSTIFY THEIR DECISIONS AND ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTIONS, YET AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD READING, APPEAR THAT IDEAS ABOUT WHAT CONSTITUTES EFFECTIVE SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE ARE FREQUENTLY CONTESTED, AND OFTEN NOT WRITING, & WELL-DOCUMENTED [AS …] AVAILABLE RESEARCH EVIDENCE” (2 “WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?”) CRITIQUING WHAT IS RESEARCH? “A PLANNED, CAUTIOUS, SYSTEMATIC, AND RELIABLE WAY OF FINDING OUT SOMETHING OR DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING” (2) THE RESEARCH QUESTION – A KEY STARTING POINT BASIC STEPS OF A RESEARCH PROJECT: 1. DEVELOP A NARROW, FOCUSED, ANSWERABLE RESEARCH QUESTION 2. DO A LITERATURE REVIEW (WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC?) 3. RESEARCH DESIGN, THEN COLLECT YOUR DATA (THE LITERATURE REVIEW IS PART OF THIS) 4. ANALYSE YOUR DATA (WHAT IS IT TELLING YOU?) 5. WRITE UP YOUR FINDINGS DID YOU CONSIDER RESEARCH ETHICS? (HUMAN SUBJECTS; ETHICAL RESEARCH PRACTICES) QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH THE LITERATURE SEARCH EFFECTIVE READING AND NOTETAKING CHECKLIST: “SQ3R” TECHNIQUE TYPES OF “LIT REVIEW” SOURCES: THERE ARE NO BAD SOURCES!! TEXT BOOKS READERS JOURNAL ARTICLES (PEER REVIEWED) ENCYCLOPEDIAS SCHOLARLY BOOKS REPORTS RESEARCH UNITS, GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, AND BUREAUS (“GREY LITERATURE”) PUBLIC INTEREST DOCUMENTARIES  social family and social social work social care sociological sciences society services abstracts; online; abstracts; index; studies; abstracts; criminal expanded ISI web of justice academic AGELINE; PsycINFO. knowledge; abstracts; asap; SOME LIBRARY DATABASES FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH (“STUDYING FOR SOCIAL WORK” P. 7) KEEP TRACK OF YOUR LITERATURE/DATA SEARCH KEEP ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE RECORDS TRACKING TOOLS LIKE ENDNOTE, PROCITE, OR ZOTERO HTTPS://WWW.ZOTERO.ORG/ ENGAGING WITH THE LITERATURE IN YOUR WRITING AT EVERY STAGE OF THE WRITING PROCESS OF A REPORT OR ACADEMIC PAPER, FROM THE LITERATURE REVIEW TO THE FINAL DRAFT, YOU NEED TO BE ENGAGING WITH WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ON THE TOPIC AS A WAY OF ARTICULATING YOUR OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS. ENTERING THE CONVERSATION: FINDING MY OWN ACADEMIC “VOICE” BY ENGAGING WITH THE LITERATURE IN ACADEMIC WRITING, WHAT “THEY SAY” (THE LITERATURE REVIEW/WHAT THE OTHER EXPERTS ON THE TOPIC HAVE ALREADY SAID) BECOMES A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF YOUR OWN ACADEMIC PAPER. FIRST STATE WHAT “THEY SAY,” THEN CRITIQUE IT, THEN STATE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. THREE CHOICES: AGREE (BUT YOU HAVE TO SAY WHY/HOW YOU AGREE) DISAGREE (BUT YOU HAVE TO SAY WHY/HOW YOU DISAGREE) AGREE UP TO A POINT (AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO CLARIFY WHY AND HOW) SUMMARIZING OTHERS’ ARGUMENTS EFFECTIVE SUMMARIZATION AN IMPORTANT STRATEGY FOR THE RESEARCH STAGE NOT JUST A READING STRATEGY, BUT A KEY ESSAY-WRITING STRATEGY EFFECTIVE SUMMARIZATION AS AN ESSAY WRITING STRATEGY DISTILLATION OF MATERIALS “SPIN” EFFECTIVE SUMMARIZATION EXAMPLE OF AN OVERLY BIASED SUMMARY OF DAVID ZINCZENKO’S ARTICLE “DON’T BLAME THE EATER”: “DAVID ZINCZENKO’S ARTICLE, “DON’T BLAME THE EATER,” IS NOTHING MORE THAN AN ANGRY RANT IN WHICH HE ACCUSES THE FAST-FOOD COMPANIES OF AN EVIL CONSPIRACY TO MAKE PEOPLE FAT. I DISAGREE BECAUSE THESE COMPANIES HAVE TO MAKE MONEY.” NOW LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE ARTICLE ACTUALLY SAYS… AN EXAMPLE OF A GOOD SUMMARY OF ZINCZENKO’S ARTICLE WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS/SPIN (TS/IS) IN HIS ARTICLE “DON’T BLAME THE EATER,” DAVID ZINCZENKO BLAMES THE FAST-FOOD INDUSTRY FOR FUELING TODAY’S SO-CALLED OBESITY EPIDEMIC, NOT ONLY BY FAILING TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE WARNING LABELS ON ITS HIGH-CALORIE FOODS BUT ALSO BY FILLING THE NUTRITIONAL VOID IN CHILDREN’S LIVES LEFT BY THEIR OVERTAXED WORKING PARTENTS. WITH MANY PARENTS WORKING LONG HOURS AND UNABLE TO SUPERVISE WHAT THEIR CHILDREN EAT, ZINCZENKO CLAIMS, CHILDREN TODAY ARE EASILY VICTIMIZED BY THE LOW- COST, CALORIE-LADEN FOODS THAT THE FAST-FOOD CHAINS ARE ALL TOO EAGER TO SUPPLY. WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG BOY, FOR INSTANCE, AND HIS SINGLE MOTHER WAS AT WORK, HE ATE AT TACO BELL, MCDONALDS, AND OTHER CHAINS ON A REGULAR BASIS, AND ENDED UP OVERWEIGHT. ZINCZENKO’S HOPE IS THAT WITH THE NEW SPATE OF LAWSUITS AGAINST THE FOOD INDUSTRY, OTHER CHILDREN WITH WORKING PARENTS WILL HAVE HEALTHIER CHOICES AVAILABLE TO THEM, AND THAT THEY WILL NOT, LIKE HIM, BECOME OBESE. IN MY VIEW,HOWEVER, IT IS THE PARENTS, AND NOT THE FOOD CHAINS, WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S OBESITY. WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT MANY OF TODAY’S PARENTS WORK LONG HOURS, THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL THINGS THAT PARENTS CAN DO TO GUARANTEE THAT THEIR CHILDREN EAT HEALTHY FOODS. “I SAY”: OFFER YOUR OWN ARGUMENT IN RESPONSE TO WHAT “THEY” HAVE SAID QUICKLY AND CONCISELY. “I SAY” THREE BASIC RESPONSES TO WHAT “THEY SAY”: “I AGREE THAT…”; “ I DISAGREE THAT…”; OR “I AM OF TWO MINDS. I AGREE THAT _______, BUT I CANNOT AGREE THAT ______.” WHETHER YOU ARE DISAGREEING OR AGREEING, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY AND HOW (IT’S YOUR INTERPRETATION OF OTHERS’ IDEAS WE’RE ULTIMATELY INTERESTED IN) THE “TWIST-IT-AROUND” MOVE DONALD TRUMP ARGUES FOR MUCH MORE LAX GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION, SAYING THAT CRIME AND TERRORISM IS ON THE RISE AND WE NEED MORE GUNS TO PROTECT OURSELVES. I AGREE THAT GUN-RELATED VIOLENCE IS ON THE RISE, BUT THAT’S PRECISELY WHY I SUPPORT STRICTER GUN CONTROL. FEWER NUMBER OF GUNS IN CIRCULATION WILL MEAN LESS GUN- RELATED DEATHS. BOTH AGREEING AND DISAGREEING I AGREE WITH ___ UP TO THIS POINT, HOWEVER, I DISAGREE THAT/I WOULD ALSO ADD THAT… ON THE ONE HAND….ON THE OTHER HAND…. PLANTING A NAYSAYER ANTICIPATE OBJECTIONS: “OUR WRITING IMPROVES WHEN WE NOT ONLY LISTEN TO […] OBJECTIONS BUT GIVE THEM AN EXPLICIT HEARING IN OUR WRITING” (78- 9) DIALOGUE IS NOT JUST ABOUT ENGAGING WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID, BUT WITH WHAT THEY MIGHT SAY EXAMPLE THE SKEPTIC IN ME FEELS THAT I HAVEBEEN IGNORING SOME OF THE MOST COMMON ASSUMPTIONS WE ALL MAKE ABOUT OUR BODIES AND THESE SHE FEELS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. FOR EXAMPLE: “YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL,” SHE SAYS TO ME, “THAT YOU FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU LOSE WEIGHT. YOU BUY NEW CLOTHES. YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF MORE EAGERLY IN THE MIRROR. WHEN SOMEONE INVITES YOUTO A PARTY YOU DON’T STOP AND ASK YOURSELF WHETHER YOU WANT TO GO. YOU FEEL SEXIER. ADMIT IT. YOU LIKE YOURSELF BETTER.” (KIM CHERNIN, THE OBSESSION) THE REMAINDER OF KIM’S CHAPTER CONSISTS OF ANSWERS TO HER OWN “INNER CRITIC.”