CAPSTONE I: EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS.

Catalog description

This course guides students through the systematic process of critically reviewing, extracting, and synthesizing existing empirical and theoretical literature on a social work topic of their choosing. Emphasizing methodological rigor, the course covers foundational principles of evidence synthesis, including the development of structured research questions, comprehensive database search strategies, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction protocols, and quality appraisal of diverse source types. Students will examine approaches to synthesizing both quantitative and qualitative evidence, with attention to identifying convergences, contradictions, and substantive gaps in the existing knowledge base. The course culminates in the production of a complete systematic literature review manuscript that meets standards appropriate for scholarly publication, equipping students with a transferable methodological skill set essential for evidence-informed social work research and practice. Prerequisites: SOCW 6311 : Capstone Proposal.