Sociology Humanistic Perspective in Social Work Practice Essay

SC Sociology Humanistic Perspective in Social Work Practice Essay

Select a theoretical concept or idea taken from a major theory of human behavior that you can imagine illuminating your understanding of social work practice. Draft a Literature Review of three or more journal articles or book chapters by key authors who elaborate your selected concept. (Do not use your course texts for this assignment.) Summarize key points of what you have read under a subheading, “Key Points”. Next, find two or three brief case examples, from the articles you have chosen or from other sources, and introduce these in a section headed “Case Examples”. The examples should stand alone, without comment, but should be related to the concept you have chosen. Finally, discuss the examples in the light of the key points you extracted from the literature you reviewed. Last, cite implications for future social work practice and/or research. The paper should be between 6-7 pages in length.It must conform to the Publication Manual of the APA (6th Ed.). The purpose of the assignment is three-fold: (1) to research a useful theoretical concept, in detail, from the points of view of current, principle authors (not simply from the course textbook); (2) to apply this concept to case examples; (3) to gain experience in writing a professional paper in scientific form, using formal, objective English and APA style. A suggested model/outline for this assignment is included in Appendix C of this document. (A grading scale for this assignment is in Appendix D.)Appendix C

Notes and Standard Outline for Completing the Research Paper

The following guidelines may be helpful in completing your research paper. The finished paper should conform to the standards of the Publication Manual of the APA 6th Ed. Pay particular attention to the crediting of sources, the citing of references and the use of headings and subheadings.

A standard research paper has five sections, plus the reference list. For this assignment a useful outline might include (1) Introduction; (2) Literature Review and summary; (3) Case Examples; (4) Discussion and (5) Summary and Conclusions. The Introduction states the purpose of the paper and what you intend to do in the rest of the paper. The Literature Review describes objectively what other writers have found and written about on your subject. You might review three or four articles that address the specific subject of your paper. Case Examples are actual bits of human interaction that occurred in practice. The Discussion section is like a brief essay in which you bring together, the salient points of the authors whose works you reviewed, your case examples and you own ideas about these. In the Summary and Conclusions section, you draw two or three conclusions from the discussion and very briefly relate them to future social work practice. Below are some suggestions for writing each section.

Title page is a separate page.

Type font should be consistent with the body of the paper. Avoid using bold or large type.(See APA Publication Manual, 6th Ed.)

Introduction (1 page)

 The introduction leads the reader into the paper. It should stimulate interest and cause the reader to want to continue to read the whole paper. It should state the purpose of the paper, the concept that you are going to address and how you are going to address it. A rough outline of an introduction: (1) The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of __________. (2) The main premise is that this concept can be usefully applied in social work practice with ______________. (3) I will review three or four studies that present views on this concpet; (4) I will summarize the key points of the authors of these studies; (5) I will then present two practice examples that show how the concept might be used in practice. Finally I will discuss the premise in the contexts of the case examples and literature reviewed. I will suggest ideas for future social work practice.

 Review of Literature (2-3 pages)

There are many ways to review three or more articles or studies. You might take them in order of their importance to your paper and briefly state the important findings of the authors, paraphrasing these in your own words. In this, you should not include direct quotes of authors nor comment, editorialize, evaluate or compare articles. You simply relate what the authors did, found and/or said. You can comment on them, later, in the discussion section.

 Summary (of Literature Review) (1 page)

 This summary is within the literature review section. Summarize the (two, three or four) main points of the articles; state that you will next provide some case examples relating to these main points.

Case Examples (1 to 1 ½ pages)

 Examples should relate to your premise, study question, or theory or concept you are examining. You should provide some very brief background information to help reader identify the context of the examples. For example: “The following three examples were drawn my initial sessions as co-leader of hospital-based support groups for parents of with mental illness who have young children”. The examples should more or less stand alone in this section. Discussion should be reserved for the next section.

Discussion (1 -2 pages)

The discussion section is where you integrate the points the authors made with your case examples and with your own views related to your premise or study question. You have freedom in this section to give your views and opinions. You might then suggest how these views and opinions might benefit yourself and others in future practice.

Summary and Conclusions (1/2 page)

Very briefly state what you have done. “The purpose of my paper was to examine how that Beck’s (1992) concept of Reference List (Use a separate page. Use APA format.)