Spring URA Tarleton State University Kelly Annestrand

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1 Spring URA 2014 Tarleton State University Kelly Annestrand

2 Personal Background Sophomore social work student transfer from Malone University in Ohio I live in Canyon Lake, Texas (thus my personal connection with the condition of rural communities) Main area of interest in social work field is youth within a school setting Have taken a total of 3 social work classes so far here at Tarleton (Intro, Welfare, and Diversity) Not yet in the social work program hoping to change that next semester!

3 What is Research to Me as a Social Work student? Discovery Making an impact Involvement in something larger than oneself Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. - Proverbs 31:8 (NLT)

4 Spring 2014 URA Research Project Strengthening Rural Communities: Assessing Quality of Life in Erath County

5 Social Work Core Values Involved in Research Project Service investigating community needs Social justice using data to apply for grants to better the community Dignity and worth of the person privacy policy and anonymity of study Importance of human relationships showing genuine interest and care for participants in this study showed a reciprocal behavior on their part to help with the data collection by filling out the surveys Integrity truthful data reporting Competence care taken to complete the research to the best of our abilities with utmost professionalism

6 Tasks Read research studies/articles related to this topic Collect data from Erath County residents about their quality of life through the form of surveys distributed through the World Health Organization Input data into Excel Analyze data with SPSS Other errands here and there (ex: writing/delivering thank-you letters, putting booklets together, etc.)

7 Data Collection Experience Overall a positive experience Was overwhelming at first attempting to find participants, but once it was started and had a game plan it flowed fairly well Learned that setting a specific time and day for data collection with an individual increased the completion rate Learned that one cannot be shy with asking people to participate - I really had to come out of my shy bubble Learned that one has to have a backup plan for everything go well beyond the minimum for data collection in case some do not come through Inputting data into Excel was relatively easy, albeit timeconsuming was interesting seeing all the results come together!

8 Excel & SPSS Excel is used to input the collected data and organize the material through the use of various columns to represent each factor or variable SPSS is the statistical component used to analyze data: once the data is imported into SPSS from Excel, analysis can be undertaken regarding certain factors of the factors to determine if a statistically significant relationship exists between the two. Charts and graphs can also be generated to demonstrate the data and possible relationships between the variables In the future, I would like to continue using Excel for initial data input, and to use the SPSS to analyze variables from the data packets collected to summarize the quality of life in Erath County

9 Additional Research Questions I d Like to Explore from this Data. How does the quality of life in Erath County compare to the quality of life in other rural counties? Are there risk factors correlated with a poorer quality of life in Erath County? Do there exist any disparities between Erath County and an urban area s quality of life?

10 Personal Reflections on the Research I believe that there are limitations to these responses, particularly the small sample size, as well the lack of ethnic/racial diversity, and also the overrepresentation of women As a result of these limitations, I do not believe a conclusion can be reached yet about statistically significant relationships between specific variables in the research However, I do believe it is possible for residents to perceive themselves as having a satisfactory quality of life while finding dissatisfaction with services offered I was surprised at how many personally remarked on their unhappiness with the social services offered here based on personal experience, and do believe that portion is significant

11 Research Results

12 Responses From Participants According to the sample size I collected (20 participants), most residents reported they would rate their quality of life good or very good Likewise, the responses from the mental health section also indicated very positive responses (very few reported loneliness or unsatisfactory personal relationships) The physical health component was also positive most participants reported healthy lives without much sickness or medicine required to maintain their lifestyle However, HALF of the free response questions indicated the services in Erath County were unsatisfactory in some way: either the services needed to be expanded, more should be offered, or should be improved generally as a result of their lack of funding that keeps a lot of services outdated.

13 Select Responses on Quality of Community Services They need to develop more services Make resources available Expand your services This community does not offer enough services Need more child care and rural transportation Programs in Erath are not proactive, nor do they offer quality care Insufficient funding

14 How Much Do You Need Any Medical Treatment To Function in Your Daily Life?

15 How Satisfied Are You with Your [Physical] Health?

16 How Satisfied Are You With Personal Relationships?

17 How Often Do You Have Negative Feelings Such As Blue Mood, Despair, Anxiety, Depression?

18 Personal Strengths Passionate about this topic as I am a rural resident myself I like making lists, and lists of lists, and lists of lists of lists, which helped me stay on track with the schedule of events regarding the data collection Commitment to fulfilling tasks to the best of my ability as quickly as possible

19 Personal Limitations Personally limited on time Was not prepared for setbacks Not familiar with Erath County had difficulties finding willing participants

20 Strengths of Project Experience Opened my eyes to what research really is Hands-on experience participation in data collection and analysis Got to communicate with a number of residents about positive and negative aspects about living in a rural area, helping me realize there is a good deal of work that can be done here to improve our community

21 Limitations of Project Experience Not as much racial/ethnic diversity in my sample size Difficulty in finding willing participants who lived in Erath County, or had not previously taken the survey Difficulty in retrieving completed surveys (many were incomplete or lost) Overrepresentation of women in sample size of data

22 Recommendations for Future URA s Working on Research Projects Be passionate about the research project you re pursuing! Set personal deadlines Don t stretch yourself too thin with additional commitments Have good time management Don t be afraid to ask for help