Using graphs to present data

1. Using graphs to present data Constructing graphs and interpreting data

2. Types of graphs commonly used in social work • Bar charts • Pie charts • Histograms • Line charts • Charts for single system designs

3. You must use graphs that are appropriate to the level of measurement associated with the variable you are measuring

4. Bar Chart: Number of children with income under the poverty line

5. Pie Chart

6. Percents for Pie Chart

7. Histogram: Ages of MSW students responding to exit survey Graph

8. Line Chart

9. Techniques for Making Comparisons: Histogram

10. Techniques for Making Comparisons: Line Chart

11. Single System Designs • Used by practitioners to measure whether intervention is effective. • Not a formal evaluation of worker performance. • Comparisons are made by comparing baseline measures to intervention phase. • Measures used are usually ratio: standardized scores or counting behaviors. • Behavioral counts are usually self-reports • Sometimes comparisons are made across clients, types of interventions, or types of behaviors

12. Single –system Design Graph –

13. Single System Designs include • At least two phases, baseline and intervention. (AB design) • Baseline is a period when clients do not receive an intervention. • Intervention is when treatment is offered. • The reason this is done is because things may be happening in the client’s life that affects the target behavior – you want to control for these effects by alternating no treatment with treatment – you can see if patterns are similar during both phases. • Intervention is successful if there are changes in the trend line (up or down) after the intervention starts

14. Other types of designs • ABA (baseline, intervention, baseline. • ABC (baseline, Intervention #1, Intervention #2, etc.) • Multisystems designs – targets two or more behaviors in the same client or two or more clients with the same problems and target behavior or attribute. • Baseline for client number two is extended until after the intervention has started for client #1 in order to further control for the effects of the surrounding environment.

15. Issues with Single System Designs • A variety of factors can influence the success or failure of the intervention – the agency, the worker, client-worker interaction, the client’s home or work environment – what happens in the client’s community or the country. • You can’t generalize findings from one single system design to other clients, workers or settings.