Thursday Workshops and Special Sessions

Registration will open the week of October 21. Thank you!

Registration fee: $100/session

Thursday, January 16, 2020, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
RMW-1: Who’s Included & Who’s Not: Incorporating a Racial Equity Lens into Social Work Research Methods Training
RMW-2: Handling Missing Data
RMW-3: Moderation, Mediation and Longitudinal Mediation Analysis: Case Studies and Practical Demonstration using R/Mplus
RMW-4: Harnessing Big Data for Social Science and Health Research

Registration fee: $15/session

Thursday, January 16, 2020, 8:00 am – 10:00 am
SSRPCB-1: Becoming a Brief and Brilliant Speaker: Communicating Your Work for Impact with a Public Audience
SSRPCB-2: Lessons Learned and Strategies Shared: How to Successfully Develop your Scholarly Agenda as an Underrepresented Junior Faculty Member
SSRPCB-3: Developing a Successful Career as an Associate Dean for Research

Thursday, January 16, 2020, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm
SSRPCB-4: Disseminating Research to Influence Policy and Practice: A Skills-Based Workshop on Public Impact Scholarship for Social Work
SSRPCB-5: NIH Funding Opportunities: A Conversation with Program Officers
SSRPCB-6: Advancing the Public Impact of Social Work Scholarship: Promising Approaches for Supporting Faculty

See below for additional information (title, speakers, and descriptions)

The Thursday plenary session and invited symposia are developed by the Vice President/Conference Chair.  The Thursday morning workshop sessions are developed by the Vice President-elect.  The SSWR Board of Directors and the Conference Committee provides input into the development of all invited sessions.

Thursday, January 16, 2020
Registration fee is $100. Register early as space is limited!

8:00 am – 12:00 pm

RMW-1: Who’s Included & Who’s Not: Incorporating a Racial Equity Lens into Social Work Research Methods Training

Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes, Washington University in St. Louis (bio)

A racial equity lens provides researchers with a unique understanding of the lived experiences of oppressed and marginalized populations. These inequities often include but are not limited to implicit and explicit bias, and individual, institutional, and cultural experiences of racism. Because of the inequities that exist, there is an imperative need and paradigm shift that needs to occur in social work that requires intentionality in incorporating an anti-racist framework in research methods training to understand the perpetuity of inequities that exist among oppressed and marginalized populations. The goal of this workshop is to provide participants with an overview of theories, methods, and strategies in applying a racial equity lens in programs of research. Consistent with a racial equity lens, tools will be provided on how to value community participation and theory in methods. Strategies in recruiting and including oppressed and marginalized populations in research methods training will also be discussed.

RMW-2: Handling Missing Data

Yoonsun Choi, University of Chicago (bio)
Nate Okpych, University of Connecticut (bio)

This session will cover a basic background for missing data (e.g., reasons for missing data, missing data mechanisms (e.g., MCAF, MAR, NMAR), older conventional approaches and their limitations); introduce two most widely accepted approaches (e.g., full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) and multiple imputation (MI)) with more information on MI procedures, options, decisions and limitations; and provide a motivating example of MI in Stata. This session would be more appropriate for those who may have no or little experience using FIML or MI or who want to refresh their practical knowledge in handling missing data.

RMW-3: Moderation, Mediation and Longitudinal Mediation Analysis: Case Studies and Practical Demonstration using R/Mplus

(Din) Ding-Geng Chen, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (bio)

This workshop aims to address the moderation, mediation and time-varying mediation causal inferences in typical social work research with real data analysis using R/Mplus. The proposed approach will help advance scientific knowledge, improve the rigorousness of quantitative research in social work areas, and provide a more accurate guidance for social work practices.

RMW-4: Harnessing Big Data for Social Science and Health Research

Quynh Nguyen, University of Maryland (bio)

The goals of this workshop is to introduce you to methods for how to extract content from big data sources such as Twitter and Google Street View to answer research questions particularly around the influence of social and built environments on health. There are many sources of organic big data – that are available but currently not leveraged for health research. We argue that using these data can help us implement cost-efficient and larger studies than previously possible. In this workshop, we cover the basis for how to get started using big data for research.

Thursday, January 16, 2020
These training-oriented sessions target cutting-edge topics vital to contemporary social work research. Registration fee is $15. Enroll early for these important opportunities to engage with national experts, funding institutions, and research colleagues.

8:00 am – 10:00 am

SSRPCB-1: Becoming a Brief and Brilliant Speaker: Communicating Your Work for Impact with a Public Audience

(Chair) Kimberly Bender, University of Denver (bio)
Daphne Watkins, University of Michigan (bio)
Kristie Seelman, Georgia State University (bio)

Social work researchers are trained to communicate the complexities of their research methods to other researchers, but they often also want to translate the main conclusions of their work to have broader impact in non-academic circles. They want policymakers, practitioners, and community members to understand and use their findings for action. This session will train attendees to transform their research into easily digestible segments, key points, and compelling narratives so that others can more deeply engage the public relevance of their research. Attendees will be coached through a process of identifying their main and sub ideas and outlining a mini-talk they can build upon using skills learned in the workshop.

SSRPCB-2: Lessons Learned and Strategies Shared: How to Successfully Develop your Scholarly Agenda as an Underrepresented Junior Faculty Member

(Chair) Henrika McCoy, University of Illinois at Chicago (bio)
Rowena Fong, The University of Texas at Austin (bio)
Anthony Peguero, Virginia Tech University (bio)
Willie Elliott III, University of Michigan (bio)
David Allen Patterson Silver Wolf, Washington University in St. Louis (bio)
Beth Richie, University of Illinois at Chicago (bio)

Participants in this invited session will share their challenges and triumphs, as underrepresented faculty members, with developing and maintaining a string scholarly agenda. There will be opportunity for questions and answers with a goal of providing attendees with concrete strategies for creating their own successful outcomes.

SSRPCB-3: Developing a Successful Career as an Associate Dean for Research

(Chair) Joann Sobeck, PhD, Wayne State University (bio)
Michael Fendrich, PhD, University of Connecticut (bio)
Catherine Cubbin, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin (bio)
Rogerio Pinto, University of Michigan (bio)

This workshop will help mid-career participants who hold or aspire to hold administrative positions regarding research. The workshop will aim to provide skills to secure and/or maintain an ADR position. Specifically, participants will (1) develop a clear picture about the day-to-day operation of the ADR Office, (2) understand expectations and skills needed for the position, (3) acquire skills to deal with challenges and develop strategies for maintaining a balance between academic administration and research productivity, and (4) identify steps for career development and transition. Benefits of holding an ADR position that accrue to the individual, school, and broader field of social work will also be discussed.

10:15 am – 12:15 pm

SSRPCB-4: Disseminating Research to Influence Policy and Practice: A Skills-Based Workshop on Public Impact Scholarship for Social Work

Jennifer C. Greenfield, University of Denver (bio)
Shannon Sliva, University of Denver (bio)

This skills-based workshop will offer a conceptual model for public impact scholarship in social work, differentiating it from models of community-engaged or participatory action research. The presenters will highlight strategies used by social work researchers to initiate or support policy change or to translate research into practice environments. Workshop participants will draft and refine a public impact statement for one or more of their central findings and identify appropriate mechanisms to disseminate their message to target audiences.

SSRPCB-5: NIH Funding Opportunities: A Conversation with Program Officers

(Chair) Luis Zayas, The University of Texas at Austin (bio)
Denise Juliano-Bult, MSW, National Institute of Mental Health
Layla Esposito, PhD, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Adelaida Rosario, PhD, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

This session is intended for investigators at all career levels who want to learn more about funding opportunities at the National Institutes of Health.  Experienced program officers from several institutes will discuss the application process, funding mechanisms, and areas of key interests for NIH support.  Attendees will have ample time to ask questions and engage in conversation with panelists.

SSRPCB-6: Advancing the Public Impact of Social Work Scholarship: Promising Approaches for Supporting Faculty

Laura S. Abrams, University of California, Los Angeles (bio)
Alan Dettlaff, University of Houston (bio)
Tom Gregoire, The Ohio State University (bio)
David Jenkins, University of Louisville (bio)
Amanda Moore McBride, University of Denver (bio)
Edwina Uehara, University of Washington (bio)

Building off of the speakers’ article in JSSWR regarding public impact scholarship, the aim of this session is to identify opportunities for social work to make greater public impact as a discipline. We extend the definition of public impact scholarship to include research questions and methods, not only translation and dissemination. We will review institutional challenges to public impact scholarship, including university culture, levers for impact (or lack thereof), and academic values, and discuss promising approaches to the promotion of public impact scholarship through mentorship, direct support, promotion and tenure, and capacity building.

 

Scroll to Top