This course is a general introduction to the theory and practice of social research and particularly to the application of the scientific method to social work practice.  This course as designed has a two-fold focus:  1) to give students a working knowledge of issues and techniques of measurement in empirical research, and 2) to acquaint them with commonly used research designs and their underlying logical rationales.  The initial emphasis of the course will be predominantly academic and didactic, but it will gradually move into critiquing applications to research problems and issues pertinent to the social work profession.  It is anticipated that, at the end of the course, students will be able to make critical evaluations of a study's research design and the validity of the data analysis(es) performed in it.  This broad-based objective will be achieved by acquainting the student with the basic constructs and language of scientific research, with the taxonomy of research designs available, with the types of studies generally used in applied social research and with the basic forms of data analysis. The contribution of this course to the overall core foundation and advanced year curricula will be addressed.