Learning Exercise

Open Education Literature Review  

  In this assignment, students will create an open educational resource for health social work practice. Students will research a particular topic or issue related to health care social work, provide a synthesis of the most recent literature on the topic and make suggestions for the application to social work practice in health care.

Objectives:

• Analyze the latest research/ literature/ knowledge about a specific topic related to health care social work using variety of sources 
• Synthesize the literature to highlight major themes  
• Apply this knowledge to social work practice by outlining recommendations for use in practice
• Share your work with a wider audience to add value to the field of health social work

Assignment Instructions:

1) Choose a topic or issue related to social work practice in healthcare that particularly intrigues you.  We have a brief list of topic ideas that health care social workers in the lower mainland have identified as being areas of research that would be useful to them in their work.  You may choose one of these topics or choose a topic related to health care social work that you are interested in (please discuss your topic with your instructor first). Make sure to narrow the focus of your topic so that it can be adequately researched for this assignment.

2) Search the literature. Be sure to define keywords in your search, and consider your source selection criteria (specific time frame, location focus, specific patient population, specific therapeutic modality etc.) It is important to include any articles that are contrary to your point of view. Use a minimum of 10-15 sources (most sources should be peer reviewed journal articles, but high quality grey literature can also be included) to gather the most current information about the topic.

3)  Read the articles thoroughly and evaluate them. Look for themes or patterns (common findings/ trends in the research/ influential theories). Develop a thesis statement based on your conclusions.

4) Write your paper synthesizing the information gained from multiple sources, weaving them into a coherent discourse, using the sources as evidence to support key points.

5) Include a section titled “ Application to Practice” where you articulate how this literature review might be used in social work practice in health care.

6) Upload your review to the Wiki template (see video guide on assignment page in Canvas.  Use the resources listed to find an openly sourced image to accompany your literature review. If choosing to publish your work openly, use the license creator https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/ to give your work a creative commons license. You can edit your submission after receiving feedback from your Instructor if you wish (this is not required). You may choose to attach your name or publish anonymously.

Here is a guidebook on doing a social work literature review (notice this is an open educational resource)  https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/29080/Guidebook-for-Social-Work-Literature-Reviews-and-Research-Questions-1587069015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y  

For more information on renewable assignments, please see:https://flexible.learning.ubc.ca/news-events/renewable-assignments-student-work-adding-value-to-the-world/