What is your overall appraisal of the INTERNAL VALIDITY of the study based on the appropriateness and rigor of the design, sampling, and measurement methods that the researchers used?

PART 1. BACKGROUND
(NO POINTS)

This assignment builds on the previous one. Whereas Assignment 2 focused on locating empirical evidence and appraising LEVELS of evidence, Assignment 3 focuses on appraising QUALITY and APPLICABILITY of evidence, and on using empirical evidence to inform and improve professional social work practice.
For the sake of continuity and manageability, Assignment 3 asks you to address the effectiveness practice question that you addressed at the end of the previous assignment. Based on feedback from your instructor on Assignment 2, feel free to refine your effectiveness practice question as needed.

1. To begin, please specify the social work EFFECTIVENESS PRACTICE QUESTION you are seeking to answer. Your practice question should be formatted using the PICO framework and include each of the PICO components.

For this assignment, you also are asked to use the research article you began appraising at the end of Assignment 2 unless otherwise directed by you instructor. Recall that you were asked to select an article that provides the highest level of evidence for addressing your specified effectiveness practice question. Please note the requirements for the article you selected:1
a. The article should have been published in a peer-reviewed journal that has an Impact Factor for the year the article was published.
b. The article should describe primary (i.e., original) research and data. In other words, the article MAY NOT BE a meta-analysis, systematic review, summary review, or secondary data analysis.
c. The article should describe a group-based experiment or quasi-experiment that tests at least two different interventions, programs, policies, strategies, etc.
d. The article should be no more than five (5) years old.
2. Next, provide the reference for the article you selected and a link to the article:

1 Your instructor may specify additional requirements.
The article you selected will be the basis for all remaining questions in this assignment. When responding, it is essential to provide enough detail so that your instructor can assess your understanding of key concepts, as well as your ability to appropriately and correctly apply both key concepts and terminology.

PART 2. CRITICALLY APPRAISING QUALITY OF EVIDENCE
(70 POINTS TOTAL)

In this part of the assignment, you are asked to critically appraise the QUALITY of evidence offered in the article that you selected.

1. Indicate the type of research goal addressed in the study you appraised (exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory) and briefly describe the goal in your own words. (10 POINTS)

2. Using appropriate terminology and notation, state and briefly describe the design and design methods used in the study described in the article you selected. Also describe the extent to which the design of the study corresponds with the “intervention” and “comparison” components of your PICO-formulated practice question. (10 POINTS)
3. Using appropriate terminology state and briefly describe the target population, sample and sampling methods used in the study described in the article you selected. Also
describe the extent to which the sample corresponds with the “population” component of
your PICO-formulated practice question. (10 POINTS)

4. Using appropriate terminology, state and briefly describe the dependent variable(s) and corresponding measurement methods used in the study described in the article you selected. Also describe the extent to which the dependent variable(s) and corresponding measurement methods of the study correspond with the “outcome” component of your PICO-formulated practice question. (10 POINTS)

5. What is your overall appraisal of the INTERNAL VALIDITY of the study based on the appropriateness and rigor of the design, sampling, and measurement methods that the researchers used? As part of your response, consider the strengths and weaknesses of the study that stem from the study’s methods. (10 POINTS)
6. What is your overall appraisal of the EXTERNAL VALIDITY of the study based on the appropriateness and rigor of just the sampling methods that the researchers used? As part of your response, consider the strengths and weaknesses of the study that stem from the study’s sampling. (10 POINTS)

7. In relation to your practice question, HOW STRONG IS THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE offered in the article that you selected, based on BOTH the internal and external validity of the study, as discussed in your responses to the previous questions? Critically discuss your answer. (10 POINTS)
PART 3. INTERPRETING AND APPLYING THE BEST AVAILABLE EVIDENCE TO IMPROVE PRACTICE, POLICY AND SERVICES
(30 POINTS TOTAL)
The final part of the assignment focuses on summarizing the results of the study you appraised and applying evidence offered in the article.
1. Briefly summarize the results of the study described in the article you appraised (include ONLY the results relevant to your practice question). (5 POINTS)
2. Based on the results of the article, what is the answer to the effectiveness practice question you sought to answer? (5 POINTS)
3. In relation to your practice question, HOW STRONG IS THE APPLICABILITY OF EVIDENCE offered in the article you selected? As part of your discussion, consider how the goal addressed in the study aligns with your effectiveness practice question and the extent to which each component of your practice question (i.e., PICO) is reflected in the study. Also consider the external validity of the study. Critically discuss your response. (10 POINTS)
4. Finally, briefly discuss the extent to which you would use the evidence offered in the article to guide your professional practice based on your appraisal of the strength of the QUALITY, and APPLICABILITY of the evidence. (10 POINTS)

References

Finally, provide a list of references for all materials referenced above using correct APA 7th edition formatting.

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