The SSW is offering a new advanced research course in fall 2020 through spring 2021 - SOWK 789: Neighborhood- and Community-Level Research Methods. This advanced research course will help students learn to develop and address community and policy-oriented research questions that can be answered using observational community-level data. If you are interested in learning more about Baltimore neighborhoods, including some of the greatest challenges and social problems facing these communities, and you want to further develop your research skills in the process, this course is a great opportunity! Students in this course will gain hands-on research experience by formulating their own research questions and collecting data in the Baltimore community to help answer these questions. The course will cover basics of research methods and design, systematic data collection techniques, describing and analyzing data and applying findings to policy and practice. We will use community observation methods to enhance an existing dataset of community-level variables, which includes illicit drug activity, housing and neighborhood conditions, and street attributes such as tree cover. This is an exciting and unique opportunity to gain research experience by exploring a community-level topic of interest to you, by collecting and analyzing real, local, and current data. This class will meet 4 Fridays in the fall and 4 Fridays in the spring. Please direct any questions to Dr. Nicole Mattocks (nmattocks@ssw.umaryland.edu) or Dr. Jay Unick (junick@ssw.umaryland.edu).