Describe the characteristics of the research that provide evidence that either an ethnographic or case study approach was used.
The study of ethnography is based on learning and understanding a specific group and investigating a particular problem that they maybe facing (Capella University, 2017a). Within the qualitative ethnographic study of Shepard (2013), the author really takes a look at a organizational group of workers and the stress that they experience within this field. For example, Shepard (2013) looks at health care, harm reduction, and human services workers and the traumatic stress that they experience working with the pain and struggles of their clients. Within the human services field, workers can deal worth homelessness, drug uses, and people diagnosed with terminal illnesses. Shepard (2013) uses this study to review the lives of these types of workers who have died due to the stress and poses the question of “How we can create a culture of wellness, pleasure, care, and support in the fields of harm reduction and human services.” (p. 3).
Identify the key phenomena under investigation.
The phenomena under investigation is the range of stress that harm reduction, health care, and human services workers deal with on a day to day basis within the field of their work. For instance, Shepard (2013) reviews the various types of stress, such as post traumatic stress, vicarious stress, and burnout. This study tapes into these workers lives who coped with this
In this paper, the definition and description of what a case study is, what are some reasons for using a case study, what are some disadvantages and advantages of this approach? Also included in this paper I will talk about what are some of the ways a researcher can acquire information that can is used for a case study. A case study can be defined as a descriptive account of the behavior, history, and other relevant factors concerning a particular individual (Cozby, Bates, 2012).
1. Based on reading this selection, how is ethnographic research different from other social science approaches to research?
The National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics acknowledges the challenges caused by compassion fatigue and promotes the importance of self-care in the social work profession. According to the NASW Code of Ethics, “[p]rofessional self-care in social work is critical to maintaining ethical and professional behavior and providing competent services to clients across diverse settings” (NASW, 2009, p. 269). They also provide ways in which to support social workers and help alleviate the stress of the profession. Along with the services already provided, the NASW supports “the development of creative and innovative support services for social workers, which may include supports groups, professional retreats, Web site resources, online support, and chat groups” (NASW, 2009, p. 270). The National Association of Social Worker’s view on self-care is very beneficial and complimentary to the way in which I also view self-care.
Social workers deal with intense situations daily. It is important that social workers are aware of how they are affected by these interactions. Priscilla Dass-Brailsford explains in her book, that countertransference, vicarious trauma (VT), secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and satisfaction, and burnout are all different ways that counselors can be affected (Dass-Brailsford, 2007). This is where it is important for social workers to have a plan of self-care and stress management resources to use.
Produce a methodology for the chosen area of research, the approach taken and a précis of findings.
Case studies are one of the first types of research to be used in the qualitative methodology and repeating the study several times will lead to the increased reliability of the study (Starman, 2013). This methodology is appropriate because it will allow for data collection results to be generalized based on the theoretical propositions and not the population (Harrison et al. 2017).
Compare and contrast the following qualitative research methods: case study, phenomenological, and grounded theory. Synthesize the findings and determine which is best suited to a study on your potential dissertation topic. Analyze the issues associated with sample selection, validity, and bias in such a study.
Social work is recognized as a helping profession, by attempting to improve a better quality of life and accessing the needs of clients. However, when addressing the needs of client, over time can cause a great deal of stress on a social worker, which leads to burnout. In the social work field, particularly hospice, social workers work in a high loss environment which can also contribute to burnout and their own death anxiety issues. In this research proposal, we will investigate how social workers within hospice face burnout and how it is relates to death anxiety.
As with any career, human service professionals face potential challenges that make it difficult for them to accomplish the objectives of their positions. When challenged with these obstacles, it becomes increasingly difficult for the human service professional to deliver the outstanding help and care a client needs. One such challenge is that of burnout, a reaction to the stress and strain inherent in a position that causes individuals to adopt a negative attitude about work and clients as well as become detached with the expectations of their position and its overall purpose (Woodside & McClam, 2015, p. 256). There are also physical reactions to burnout, including exhaustion, stomach issues or other illnesses, and body pain (Woodside & McClam, 2015, p. 256). This burnout can be triggered by a number of different factors, from difficulties in allocating scarce resources (Woodside & McClam, 2015, p. 249) and motivating clients to help themselves (Woodside & McClam, 2015, p. 256), to self-neglect on the part of the helper (Jackson, 2014).
The method I chose for this analysis is in-depth interview. This ethnographic method will be best because it allows me to understand an
There have been an increasing number of studies done in the past 40 years based on the concept of “burn-out” and specifically the work environment for human service workers and the evident amount of job stress these suffer from. Human service workers play a vital role in our community and it is terrible to think that so many of these passionate people are overwhelmed and burnout from their careers. Another big issue is not only the impact burnout has on the individual but on their clients and organization. A professional who is burned out cannot assist a client to the best of their ability. For example, an inmate in a correctional facility will not be getting the best care in order to rehabilitate them and reintegrate them into society if
Shepard (2013) completed an ethnography qualitative study on the impacts of stress within those individuals who work in health care, harm reduction, and the human services field. The type of data collected within this study was primarily focused obtaining narratives from the participants. Shepard (2013) wanted to obtain the felt experiences of those who worked within the field of helping take care of others and seeing them through difficult times of their life. The data was mainly collected through interviews of friends and colleagues, as well as direct observation of those individual’s that were greatly impacted by stress to the point of self-destruction and premature
Our memories often time embellish the memories we once had of such great people, places, times, and etc. We live these times up to standard that makes us reminisce, hurt, contemplate and so much more. The power of a photograph has been described to have worth a thousand words, metaphorically meaning of course, that what an image can capture in one instance, something that may not ever be captured through words. For too many centuries we have been without, what many of us now take for granted, the photograph. What we capture in a picture, has much more value than we often time see in our commercials, people, places, they tell a story to the ignorant, paint a picture for blind, give the deaf something to listen to, and so much more.
It is evident that the relationship between work stress and mental health has been established by numerous research studies. As discussed in Koesky (1993), the fact that all jobs involve some degree of stress makes it all the more alarming as to the level of stress experienced by individuals working in the human services. That is, given that these individuals are heavily involved in the lives of others, they often develop mental health symptoms that are characteristic of work-related stressors. In fact, “This involvement, which requires caring commitment and empathic responding, places workers at risk for a special type of strain commonly referred to as 'burnout'” (Koesky, 1993, p. 319).
According to Elkin and Rosch (1990) workplace related stress in a major problem in the U.S. and it creates a major expense for corporations. Koeske, Kirk, and Koeske (1993) indicate that all jobs have some level of stress but jobs that are in the human services have additional stressors because they “derive from intense involvement in the lives of others”. (p.319). They also refer to the type of stress experienced by individuals working in human services as “burnout” (Koeske, Kirk, and Koeske, 1993, p.319). Another factor that can influence our stress level is how we handle life’s demands. There are different ways of reacting to the situations we face every day of our lives. We have all heard of expressions such as ‘road rage’ and ‘going postal’. These are terms that we have come to identified with violent reactions to stressors caused by situations all of us face every day. How many of us have experiences in the road that