Research Skills for Social Services Mentoring Programme (January 2023)

Registration

Interested applicants can register for the course via NUS Online Application Portal.

Registration is closed.

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Registration guide for corporate-sponsored participants

Registration guide for self-sponsored participants

Registration Requirement

Kindly note that in addition to registering through the NUS Online Application Portal, interested applicants must submit a brief research proposal at this link.

About

This 13-week course is a research mentoring programme that offers social service professionals an opportunity to complete a small-scale research project with guidance from experienced researcher-mentors. Participants in this programme will be supported by workshops, peer group discussions, and regular feedback from mentors. Throughout the programme, social service professionals will be guided from the conceptualisation of the research problem to data collection, data analysis, and presentation of their research findings.

While the workshops and mentors may provide support on specific research methods or skills, these would tailor towards the needs and requirements of the research projects proposed. The programme strives to provide a holistic guidance and support on the different stages of research for each proposed research project.

Programme Objectives

At the end of the programme, participants are expected to achieve the following objectives:
• Conceptualise and construct sound research questions relevant to their social service practice that would develop into feasible research projects completed within the programme time-frame;
• Apply appropriate research methods to their research projects;
• Understand and appreciate ethical concerns on social service research;
• Conduct data collection or fieldwork necessary for their research projects;
• Conduct appropriate data analyses and provide accurate data interpretations for their research projects; and
• Prepare and present research findings for a mini-conference.

Programme Requirements

All participants are required to:
• Conceptualise and complete a research project, either individually or in small groups
• Submit two assignments to the mentors for comments
• Attend and contribute actively during the workshops and mentoring sessions
• Present research findings on programme graduation day

All participants of the programme are expected to attend and contribute actively during the workshops and the discussion groups organised by the mentors.

Target Programme Participants

The programme welcomes all participants working in the social service or health sectors, who have a strong interest in research. Participants should have at least a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline and basic knowledge on social research. In particular, the programme is targeted at:
• Social workers
• Medical social workers
• Allied health professionals
• Social service practitioners and professionals from government agencies or voluntary welfare organisations

Programme Structure

The research mentoring programme will be conducted over 13 weeks (in-person). There will be 2 full-day workshops, 6 mentoring sessions, and 1 end-of-course graduation presentation.

• Workshop 1: 12 Jan 2023, 9:00AM – 6:00PM
• Workshop 2: 13 Jan 2023, 9:00AM – 6:00PM
• 6 mentoring sessions: to be arranged with mentors
• Graduation presentation (for participants): 12 Apr 2023

Programme Mentor and Trainer

Dr Seah Lay Hoon is a Senior Research Fellow at the Social Service Research Centre (SSR), NUS. She received her postgraduate diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and her masters and Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research work entails the use of qualitative methods and analysis such as interviews, ethnographic observations, researcher-practitioner collaborative inquiry, thematic analysis, discourse analysis and applied linguistic analysis.

Programme Trainer

Dr Gerard Chung is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Social Service Research Centre (SSR), NUS. He completed his Ph.D. in social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. He is interested in researching parenting and families, intervention development, and casework processes in social service agencies.

Programme Fee

This course is SSG-approved. Participants who are Singaporeans or Singaporean Permanent Residents will be eligible for subsidies of 70% of the course fees, excluding GST. Singaporean participants who are aged 40 years old and above will be eligible for higher subsidies of up to 90% of course fees. Participants are required to attend at least 75% of the course and obtain a pass grade for the required assignments.

Research Skills for Social Services Mentoring Programme (January 2023)