Instructions: Please select from the form below your top 10 choices for a GRA for next year. Reminder: The PhD Office will do its best to assign you a GRA project (or projects) that you choose, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to do this. Available Projects To Chose From: POTENTIAL 20 HOUR GRA PROJECTS FOR 2006-2007: A. OKTAY, Julianne: Doctoral Program Assistant & Research On Family Issues in Breast Cancer (12 Month Position) This is a 12-month GRA (September 1, 2006 - August 30, 2007). It is equally divided between working with Dr. Oktay on her research and serving as assistant to the doctoral program. For the research component, the major emphasis will be on family issues in breast cancer, genetic counseling and testing. The student will assist with literature review, transcribing interviews, coding interviews, and grant development. Skills needed include library skills, ability to conduct literature searches, strong writing ability and an interest in health and illness. Typing and computer skills are a plus. For the Ph.D. program assistant component, the student will work with Dr. Oktay on recruitment and marketing (e.g., web page development, maintaining bulletin boards, and publicity).The program assistant must be a good "people person" - able to contact and interact with potential applicants to the program. Good organizational skills and graphics are desirable. The time schedule is flexible and the work can be done wherever the student is most productive. However, the student must be able to meet weekly with Dr. Oktay. The student is also expected to participate in information seminars, program events, and to take applicants on tours of the School and campus.
B. TICE, Carolyn UMBC: UMBC BSW Program Departmental Assistant This GRA is offered by the Baccalaureate Social Work Program at UMBC. The GRA will work under the direction of the Associate Dean. The duties include work related to research, professional publication and presentation, student recruitment, and alumni affairs. The GRA will be responsible for a variety of tasks associated with SPSS, Adobe, and MS Word; research skills necessary for conducting both qualitative and quantitative projects with minimal supervision; writing skills are critical for submission to professional publications, presentations, and grants; and, interpersonal skills needed to engage potential students and assist with the development of an alumni association. The GRA will complete the following projects as a result of involvement with the BSW Program: participate in submission of at least two (2) professional articles; participate in at least two (2) professional presentations; contribute to at least one (1) grant submission; assist in the organiza-tion of at least two (2) student recruitment events; and assist in the organization of at least one (1) alumni event.
Potential 10-Hour GRA Projects: C. CORNELIUS, Llewellyn: Cancer Disparities in Maryland The GRA will participate in providing technical assistance to community partners around the state of Maryland in the development of cancer disparities research skill, with an emphasis on translating community programs into empirical research projects. The GRA will perform the following tasks · Library research on cancer prevention, treatment and follow up care with an emphasis on community based interventions
· Conducting presentation on IRB and HIPAA regulations as it related to research projects
· Conducting presentations on community based participation in research
· Assisting on the monitoring of a program evaluation activity
This assignment will contribute to the student’s education by: · Exposure to the design and implementation of research projects
· Familiarity with the IRB and HIPAA regulations
· Exposure to community based participatory research
The applicant should have experience in using MS word, as well as experience in using library electronic databases and an interest in health disparities with a preference for those who have related experience. Hours are flexible. May require periodic travel to community meeting in Baltimore, the Washington area and the Eastern shore. The applicant must be able to work independently. And be product-task oriented.
D. DePANFILIS, Diane: Child Maltreatment/Child Welfare -- Family Connections The GRA will be assigned to work on child maltreatment/child welfare related research projects - primarily Family Connections research which uses an experimental design to assess outcomes of three service alternatives in comparison to no treatment (information and referral only). The GRA will work as a member of a team and may participate in the following tasks: 1. Recruitment of research participants
2. Reviewing IRB procedures with study participants.
3. Facilitating CASI (computer assisted self administered interviews) with research participants (must have own transportation to client homes and will be reimbursed for mileage).
4. Participating on an interdisciplinary research team that will meet a minimum of 4 times during the year.
5. Participating with a small research team to weekly review research activities and progress toward goals.
6. Participating in the assessment of fidelity of implementation of 3 alternate interventions.
7. Opportunities for consulting with 7 other program sites across the country who are replicating Family Connections (through interactive video meetings).
8. Participating in the development of reports, presentations, papers (through data already collected).
9. Implementing daily tracking and backing up procedures, data management procedures, and data analysis (depending on skills).
10. Other tasks - all members of this small team work together flexibly to get work done.
Basic Computer skills are expected (literature review searching, WORD, PowerPoint). The student will be trained to use ACCESS databases, and depending on prior skill, with the SPSS statistical software package, and may be assigned data management/analysis tasks. Advanced research knowledge and skills are not required. All work must be carried out at the SSW - 550 W. Baltimore Street and in client homes. It is expected that the majority of work will be performed between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., however, we ask everyone to be available for some flexible scheduling on evenings and/or weekends in order to accommodate client needs. Time on this project must be scheduled in a minimum of 4-hour blocks. The GRA must have strong interpersonal skills and good social work assessment skills.
E. DiBLASIO, Fred: Forgiveness Study The research study is an experimental design where three groups are formed. Group I receives a forgiveness treatment (the test variable), Group II, a cognitive behavioral treatment (an alternative treatment control), and Group III, not treatment (control). A follow-up research study will be designed during the 2005-2005 academic years. Computer skills and advanced research knowledge and skills are not required. Hours and location of work can be somewhat flexible, and hours can be negotiated with the student. The primary work location is at the SSW, and the student may do some of the work at his/her home. There will be some library research required. The student will be taught to do the following tasks: 1. Organize study materials
2. Review literature
3. Assist in follow-up study protocol
4. Assist in grant writing
5. Tasks related to publication
This assignment would contribute to the student’s ability to do research, learn the fundamentals of grant writing, learn how to publish and, of course, learn a treatment strategy for helping clients to forgive. The preferred student will have a strong desire to learn and a willingness to make contributions.
F. GIOLA, Deborah: Recipients of evidence-based practice This research involved new narrative data that will need to be transcribed, thematic coding, etc. The narrative will be from individual with severe mental illness who are recipients of evidence-based practice (EBP) mental health treatments from practitioners in a community MH setting who are transitioning from case management to EBP. The GRA will analyze qualitative data as a second coder. This data is part of a larger project where practitioners have been interviewed three times about their experience with the adoption of evidence based practice. The GRA will needs basic work-processing skill for the transcription of data. Willing to teach the GRA coding of qualitative data but it would be a plus if they had done this before. The individual should have an interest in rehabilitation and recovery for individual with severe mental disorders and in participating in the articles that will result from this study. Hours can be flexible, especially as it concerns data transcription and coding. Student can do some of this work from home. Regular scheduled meetings will be at the school.
G. HOPKINS, Karen: Grassroots Nonprofit Resource Mentoring Project The GRA would be involved in several different projects: 1. Including participation in a statewide “Child Welfare Workforce Study on Recruitment and Retention” that will most likely begin June 1, 2006. This will lead to conference presentations and some publication co-authorships.
2. Grant development and training development for a “Learning Organization Demonstration Project” with supervisors/managers.
3. Grant development and Planning for a proposed “Center for Management, Leadership, and Community Development” in the School of Social Work.
The student needs to have familiarity with SPSS, specifically data entry, data management, and data analysis. The assistant should be adept at library searches for purposes of literature review, quantitative and qualitative data analysis knowledge, and grant proposal writing. Some of the tasks the student would perform are library-based research (specifically literature reviews), research design and development (i.e., project, survey, training), secondary data analysis (documents, records), original data collection, coding, data entry and data analysis, write up (as part of publication co-authorship, presentations), qualitative interviews and analysis, and grant development activities (research, proposal writing). The student should obtain a good understanding of MACO oriented research projects. There would be exposure to both quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis and participation as coauthor on articles and/or conference papers. The student would also obtain experience in project and grant development. The student should have an interest in macro practice, workforce-type projects. Hours are flexible. Data analysis can be done at the office or home depending on the student’s access to SPSS software. Content analysis/coding can be done at home. Library work can be scheduled to accommodate the student’s schedule. Interviews with agency personnel will need to be conducted in the field. The student will need to attend research/project team meetings.
H. LINDSEY, Michael: Research on MH Services Research Targeting High-Risk Youth The GRA will be assigned to work on a variety of research projects related to mental health services research targeting high-risk youth. Among these projects, the investigator is currently preparing a grant proposal to be submitted to NIMH, and the GRA will assist in the preparation of this proposal. The GRA will perform literature reviews, IRB protocol development, data analysis and database management, and should have experience with grant proposal writing. Knowledge of SPSS, NVivo (willing to train) or other qualitative analysis software is preferable. The GRA can expect to have a well-rounded experience to include the process of preparing proposals to secure federal and private funds to support research, development of research plan, implementation of intervention protocol, and manuscript preparation. Work hours are flexible. Other research projects include secondary data analyses of nationally representative datasets (i.e., The Longitudinal Dataset of Child Abuse and Neglect – LONGSCAN; National Survey of Black Americans) focusing on mental health services research targeting high-risk youth. The GRA will gain experiences related to data analysis, as well as manuscript and conference presentation preparations. A final research project in which the GRA will be involved pertains to the investigator’s collaboration with the Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action (CSMHA) on a faith community partnership. The investigator is working with Dr. Mark Weist in the Department of Psychiatry, UMB on this faith community partnership to meet the mental health needs of foster care youth in the 21219 zip code (Baltimore, MD). The GRA will be required to attend meetings to discuss progress on research project involvement and assigned activities. Some of these meetings will include community partners and will require the GRA to meet in community settings.
I. LINSENMEYER, Debra: Outcomes of Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Project The GRA will assist the administrator with data collection and analysis related to research efforts focusing on program evaluation and outcomes. This involves follow-up studies of Title IV-E BSW & MSW graduates who have participated in the program to ascertain program satisfaction, employment in public child welfare positions, job satisfaction, and specialty practice area. In addition, survey instruments are utilized to assess present students’ competencies in areas critical to child welfare practice, and focus groups are planned to include data from the supervisors of former Title IV-E students. The program is interested in moving in the direction of retention studies in child welfare practice and in developing and utilizing tools to assist in the selection of future child welfare practitioners. The GRA will need to utilize SPSS for data analysis as well as Microsoft Office applications and have the ability to design and evaluate survey instruments. There is an opportunity to assist in delivering child welfare related training seminars to the Title IV-E MSW and BSW students. There is a strong preference for a GRA with previous experience in and knowledge of Child Welfare practice and/or policy and a professional interest in and commitment to this practice specialty. In addition, familiarity with outcome measures in child welfare, competency based training, and experience in teaching/training of child welfare professionals is highly valued. There will be opportunities to participate in professional conferences and seminars to present Title IV-E research findings and professional papers.
J. MEYER, Megan: Outcomes of Political Violence By Social Movement Organizations The research project continues the work conducted during the past year. The goal is to understand the outcomes of political violence by examining social movement organizations (SMOs) that have chosen to use violence to achieve their goals. The research method is a historical comparative case-study design, which involves collecting archival data on a sample of violence-using SMOs. The study will investigate the conditions under which violent groups achieve their goals and, therefore, develop a better understanding of the dynamic interactions between users of violence, their targets, and the public. A sample of violent American groups and basic information on each is currently being gathered. Six organizations will be chosen from this sample, and full case-studies will be developed. The GRA should have a basic understanding of the Access database system and be interested in learning the Atlas/ti qualitative data analysis program. No advanced research knowledge or skills are required. The student should have an interest in social justice/social change. The GRA will conduct library research, create a database listing organizations and their characteristics, and will assist in gathering and analyzing case-study data on six organizations. The student will learn about data collection and analysis methods used in comparative case studies and develop skills in two commonly used data analysis computer programs. Hours and location of the work are flexible. Some tasks will require travel to local university libraries.
K. Mulroy, Elizabeth: The Impact of Involvement in Civic Activities By Low-Income Residents on Community and Self- Empowerment The multi-level project will investigate the extent to which civic participation in program activities on site at a very low-income housing complex contributed to organizational development, community improvement, and resident well-being. Issues of interest include: 1. the role of very low-income women as volunteers in community building
2. factors that support and hinder the sustainability of community-based family support programs
3. the role of competition and funding cutbacks in inter-organizational network formation and maintenance. (Data over a five-year period has been collected).
This GRA would be ideal for a student interested in research that focuses on organizational and community factors. Advanced research knowledge and skills are not required. Preferred students would have an interest in organizations and communities, programs and services for women and children, and housing issues. Computer skills are required and knowledge of SPSS, a statistical software package, is desired. The student would perform qualitative and quantitative data analysis, data entry, and literature reviews. The GRA offers an opportunity to develop skills in methods of conducting community-based research, emphasizing mixed methods. The hours are flexible, but the student is expected to work a minimum of 10 hours per week. Weekly meetings with the professor are required.
L. MUNSON, Carlton: Study of Language Delays in Traumatized Children Continuation of analysis of data from a large study of language delays in children who have been traumatized by abuse and neglect. The GRA will enter and analyze date in SPSS software (with assistance). The GRA will perform literature searches and will assist in interviewing key professionals who work in this area. The GRA will also work on the startup phase of a new research project on the role of mentoring by faculty of MSW and PhD students. The student will gain experience from working on an active research project and the start-up of a new research project. The hours and location of work are flexible. The student must do some of the work in the professor’s office to facilitate supervision and guidance.
M. RINGLE, Shoshana: Intimate Partner Violence in Faith Based Communities (Muslim) The GRA will work with Dr. Ringle on a research project regarding Intimate Partner Violence in the Muslim community. This is the third part of a project that includes Orthodox Jewish, Evangelical Christian and Muslim communities. The GRA will work on a qualitative analysis study on the subject, interviewing spiritual leaders, Muslim social workers and survivors regarding attitudes towards intimate partner violence. Some of the duties include qualitative data analysis, literature searches, and other tasks pertaining to the project. Preference is for a student with NUDIST experience; however, if not I will train. Additionally there is a possiblity for conference presentations and article collaboration.
N. SHDAIMAH, Corey: Child Welfare Cases The research involves two distinct but related projects. The first is working with the Maryland Family Court Improvement Project (MFCIP) who has requested a workload assessment using focus groups with judges and lawyers. It will involve close collaboration with the MFCIP. The second project is a pilot study to examine the relationship between child abuse and neglect charges and poor housing conditions. This will be a multi-method study, with an emphasis on qualitative research with attorneys representing parents and children and with child welfare workers. It will be supplemented by quantitative research to try to examine some of the connections suggested by the literature and data from the qualitative component. The GRA will work on the following: · Collaborative work with the MFCIP
· Literature review
· Design and implementation of focus groups
· Data analysis
· Dissemination of results through publication or conferences
· Grant application of continuation funding
· Multi-method study design
Skills needed: · Prefer SPSS
· Qualitative software a plus
· Skills for literature search
The GRA will get hands on experience in two projects that use focus groups, intensive interview, and basic quantitative data analysis (level of participation depends on student’s interest). This assignment will start in June of 2006 and continue through the school year. Hours are flexible and much of the work can be done at home or at the library depending on the student’s access to a computer
top . | 
