Courses & Units

Social Work Thesis A HGW414

Restricted to BSW(Hons).

Introduction

Social Work Thesis A extends your understanding of the purpose and practices of research that you gain in HGW423 Social Work Research Practice. You will do this by conceptualising and beginning to implement a research topic that focuses on improving the wellbeing and life chances of social work clients, service users and other stakeholders. You will learn advanced skills in research design and methods, and you will be required to defend the focus and methods of your research in discussion with others. Upon successful completion of this unit, you will advance the implementation of your research project in Semester 2.

Summary

Unit name	Social Work Thesis A
Unit code	HGW414
Credit points	12.5
College/School	College of Arts, Law and Education School of Social Sciences
Discipline	Social Work
Coordinator	Professor Milena Heinsch
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Honours

Availability

Location	Study period	Attendance options	Available to
Hobart	Semester 1	On-Campus	International	Domestic
Launceston	Semester 1	On-Campus	International	Domestic
Cradle Coast	Semester 1	On-Campus	International	Domestic

Key

: On-campus
: Off-Campus
: International students
: Domestic students

Note

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Key Dates

Study Period	Start date	Census date	WW date	End date
Semester 1	26/2/2024	22/3/2024	15/4/2024	2/6/2024

* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2024 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2024 will be available from the 1st October 2023. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

Learning Outcomes

Devise and implement practical, informed, ethical and just responses to the tensions and dilemmas associated with the organisational, legal and policy contexts of social work practice.
Apply interdisciplinary research evidence and social work theories to construct clever interventions that improved the wellbeing and life chances of social work clients, service users and other stakeholders.
Defend chosen methods and processes for projects and research in discussion with relevant stakeholders, such as community members, co-collaborators, peers and academic supervisors.

Fee Information

Field of Education	Commencing Student Contribution ^1,3	Grandfathered Student Contribution ^1,3	Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution ^2,3	Domestic Full Fee ⁴
090501	$2,040.00	$957.00	$1,118.00	$2,324.00

¹ Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
² Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
³ Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
⁴ Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.

If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.

Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Entry into the Research Honours pathway

Co-requisites

HGW423

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	4 x 2-hour seminars, 2 x 3-hour research workshops; weekly 1-hour individual supervision
Assessment	Literature review (50%)\|Presentation of topic and chosen methods (50%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable \| View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required	You will need the following text: Alston, M., & Bowles, W. (2018). Research for social workers: An introduction to methods (4th ed.). Allen and Unwin. You can purchase this book from online booksellers such as Booktopia. The UTAS library will also have copies (access may be limited in times of high demand). This text is also required for the co-requisite unit HGW608 Social Work Research Practice. You will also be required to read the following: Gordon, J. (2018). The voice of the social worker: A narrative literature review. British Journal of Social Work, 48, 1333-1350. Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26, 91-108. Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018). Systematic or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18, 143. The above papers will help support your decision making around the type of literature review to conduct as part of your Honours Thesis and will form the basis of some of the content in this unit.
Recommended	There is no set reading list for this unit as you will be provided with resources tailored to your research topic by your unit coordinator and your thesis supervisor as required. You will need to access and reference other research texts, journal articles, and other resources beyond this to successfully complete the assessment tasks in this unit. Further information about accessing these resources will be provided on MyLO and your thesis supervisor will make suggestions. As a starting point, the following texts may be helpful and are available through the UTAS library (many as e-books). Please note that the following texts are recommended only, and you are not required to purchase these for this unit. Aveyard, H. (2014). Doing a literature review in health and social care: A practical guide. Open University Press. D’Cruz, H. & Jones, M. (2014). Social work research in practice: Ethical and political contexts (2nd ed.). Sage. Flynn, C., & McDermott, F. (2016). Doing research in social work and social care: The journey from student to practitioner researcher. Sage. Grinnell, R., & Unrau, Y. (2014). Social work research and evaluation (10th ed.). Oxford University Press. Joubert, L. B., & Webber, M. (Eds.). (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Practice Research. Routledge. Steinberg, D. (2015). The social work student’s research handbook (2nd ed.). Routledge. Strega, S., & Brown, L. (Eds.). (2015). Research as resistance: Revisiting critical, Indigenous and anti-oppressive approaches (2nd ed.). Canadian Scholar’s Press Inc.
Links	Booktopia textbook finder

Required

You will need the following text:

Alston, M., & Bowles, W. (2018). Research for social workers: An introduction to methods (4th ed.). Allen and Unwin.

You can purchase this book from online booksellers such as Booktopia. The UTAS library will also have copies (access may be limited in times of high demand). This text is also required for the co-requisite unit HGW608 Social Work Research Practice.

You will also be required to read the following:

Gordon, J. (2018). The voice of the social worker: A narrative literature review. British Journal of Social Work, 48, 1333-1350.
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26, 91-108.
Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018). Systematic or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18, 143.

The above papers will help support your decision making around the type of literature review to conduct as part of your Honours Thesis and will form the basis of some of the content in this unit.

Recommended

There is no set reading list for this unit as you will be provided with resources tailored to your research topic by your unit coordinator and your thesis supervisor as required. You will need to access and reference other research texts, journal articles, and other resources beyond this to successfully complete the assessment tasks in this unit. Further information about accessing these resources will be provided on MyLO and your thesis supervisor will make suggestions. As a starting point, the following texts may be helpful and are available through the UTAS library (many as e-books). Please note that the following texts are recommended only, and you are not required to purchase these for this unit.

Aveyard, H. (2014). Doing a literature review in health and social care: A practical guide. Open University Press.
D’Cruz, H. & Jones, M. (2014). Social work research in practice: Ethical and political contexts (2nd ed.). Sage.
Flynn, C., & McDermott, F. (2016). Doing research in social work and social care: The journey from student to practitioner researcher. Sage.
Grinnell, R., & Unrau, Y. (2014). Social work research and evaluation (10th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Joubert, L. B., & Webber, M. (Eds.). (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Practice Research. Routledge.
Steinberg, D. (2015). The social work student’s research handbook (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Strega, S., & Brown, L. (Eds.). (2015). Research as resistance: Revisiting critical, Indigenous and anti-oppressive approaches (2nd ed.). Canadian Scholar’s Press Inc.

Links

Booktopia textbook finder

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