Deck 3: Ethics and Cultural Competence in Social Work Research

Question 1

In social work, ethics provide rules of behavior based on ______.

A) political considerations
B) agency policies
C) moral values
D) the results of quantitative studies of social work effectiveness

Answer 1

moral values

Question 2

Cultural competence provides which benefit to social work practice?

A) It guides decisions about whether a given source of evidence is proper for the implementation of evidence-based practice.
B) It informs the research process in such a way that it makes it more meaningful to our understanding of the cultural influences upon behavior.
C) It determines the research question that will be pursued in a research study.
D) It determines the proper statistic for testing the study hypothesis.

Answer 2

It informs the research process in such a way that it makes it more meaningful to our understanding of the cultural influences upon behavior.

Question 3

Human subjects research ______.

A) involves a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or identifiable private information
B) includes social work clients who are being evaluated in order to determine whether the client is eligible for a critical service of the agency
C) involves human subjects whether or not data are collected
D) entails the use of deceptive techniques that are designed to get people to participate in a study

Answer 3

involves a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or identifiable private information

Question 4

According to the text, the concept of ______ connects ethics and cultural competence.

A) causation
B) vulnerable population
C) generalization
D) chance

Question 5

The Code of Ethics indicates that researchers who use human subjects should ______.

A) place more emphasis upon the benefits of the study than the harm that might come from being a participant in a study
B) pay more attention to privacy than confidentiality
C) be sure to report the results of the research study accurately
D) avoid conflicts of interest only if the conflict results in a major amount of money the social worker could earn from the study

Question 6

When using human subjects in research, the concept of respect refers to ______.

A) self-determination
B) minimizing harm
C) avoiding an unnecessary burden upon a vulnerable population
D) causation

Question 7

When using human subjects in research, the concept of justice refers to ______.

A) respect
B) beneficence
C) avoiding unnecessary burden upon a vulnerable population
D) protection from harm

Question 8

If you wish to conduct a research study where it is not feasible for you to acquire voluntary consent, the Institutional Review Board is likely to approve your study under which of the following circumstances?

A) The IRB will not approve your study because you must have voluntary consent in all studies.
B) The IRB will likely approve your study if you are employing a vulnerable population.
C) The IRB will likely approve your study if the theme of your study is social justice.
D) The IRB will likely approve your study if the benefits of your study outweigh the disadvantages.

Question 9

The Institutional Review Board is less likely to undertake a full review of your research proposal if you are ______.

A) not planning to make the results of your study public
B) working with a vulnerable population
C) obtaining information from minors
D) obtaining information from persons in prisons

Question 10

Which of the following is true about the Institutional Review Board?

A) The IRB reviews all research studies regardless of circumstances.
B) The IRB reviews all studies in the same manner.
C) The IRB has levels of review whereby some study proposals are more carefully scrutinized than others.
D) The IRB only reviews research proposals where there is likely to be harm done to study subjects.

Question 11

Cultural competence requires both knowledge and ______.

A) self-awareness
B) self-determination
C) self-efficacy
D) self-confidence

Question 12

Cultural competence requires that you ______.

A) appreciate your own culture along with those that are different
B) advocate for social justice
C) understand the cultures of others more than you understand your own culture
D) provide services to persons without consideration of differences among different cultures

Question 13

Cultural competence in descriptive research requires ______.

A) the examination of statistical significance
B) the use of the experimental research design
C) consideration of culture as a variable
D) a focus upon social justice

Question 14

Cultural competence in explanatory research suggests the ______.

A) consideration of some cultural variables as causes
B) quantitative measurement, rather than the qualitative measurement, of cultural variables
C) inclusion of gender as a dependent variable
D) use of an exploratory research design

Question 15

Cultural competence in evaluative research suggests the consideration of ______.

A) the use of a convenience sample of a diverse population
B) the possibility that cultural variables influence client outcome
C) the use of a cultural snowball sample in the examination of causation
D) culture as the dependent variable

Question 16

Research on cultural competence among social workers has tended to support which conclusions?

A) The extensive array of research on this subject has suggested that social workers are not very culturally competent.
B) The research on cultural competence among social workers is too equivocal to draw any conclusions.
C) There has been no research on cultural competence among social workers.
D) The limited research on cultural competence among social workers has suggested that social workers generally are culturally competent.

Question 17

In ______, the Surgeon General of the United States offered a directive that research would not be funded by the public health service without due consideration of certain ethical principles in the design of the study.

A) 1896
B) 1916
C) 1966
D) 2016

Question 18

According to the text, what are ways for the researcher to make his or her interaction with the IRB less complicated?

A) You collect your data anonymously from a harmless questionnaire whereby you obtain the voluntary participation of adults who are not in a vulnerable population.
B) You conduct a study that does not cost much money to undertake, is directed towards people in poverty, and is culturally competent.
C) You conduct a study that offers a solid financial incentive for people you wish to be included in your study, and you use a traditional survey as the mechanism for the retrieval of your data.
D) You conduct a study that measures variables in a qualitative fashion and focuses upon cultural issues.

Question 19

Because some words have different meanings to people of different cultures, the social work researcher should ______.

A) select a convenience sample of people from different cultures
B) employ a comparison group design when conducting an evaluation study
C) select a statistical measure for the testing of the hypothesis that has cultural meaning
D) select measurement tools that are sensitive to different meanings for certain words

Question 20

Suppose a researcher has proposed to conduct a study on the natural responses to stressful encounters by faking a heart attack on a busy street corner while another researcher observes the behavior of people who react. The study subjects do not know the heart attack is a fake. The observer will make notes about the behaviors of the bystanders but will not know their identities. Which issue in research ethics would be most problematic for this study, so that the IRB would tend to focus upon it?

A) confidentiality
B) voluntary participation
C) harm
D) justice

Question 21

Children are not usually capable of giving informed consent.

Question 22

The IRB is less likely to place a proposed study on a high level of review if the results are not going to be made public.

Question 23

Public behavior (e.g., acting a certain way while shopping) is more likely to be protected by the IRB than private behavior (e.g., reading a book in your bedroom).

Question 24

Under no circumstances would the IRB approve a study proposal if there is not a provision for obtaining written consent to participate by the study subjects.

Question 25

Conflict of interest is often the subject of agency policies, but it is not an ethical issue.

Question 26

The Code of Ethics requires that social workers be honest in the reporting of their research results.

Question 27

You do not need to demonstrate an appreciation of your own culture in order to demonstrate cultural competence.

Question 28

Cultural competence requires self-awareness but does not require knowledge.

Question 29

The circumstances of certain studies require a higher level of scrutiny by the IRB.

Question 30

Cultural competence is relevant to all four of the major steps in the research process.

Question 31

Briefly explain what conflict of interest in research means and whether it is allowed by the Code of Ethics.

Question 32

Briefly explain the ethical principle of justice in the use of human subjects in research and whether it would be relevant to the use of prisoners as study subjects.

Question 33

Identify the concept of informed consent in the use of human subjects in research and explain why you believe this principle would or would not be among the principles most likely to be difficult to enforce in studies by social workers.

Question 34

Explain whether research has shown that social workers are culturally competent and the implications of this fact for social work education.

Question 35

Give one idea about how cultural competence is relevant to the step in research that involves developing study methods.