Class record · SCWK · SSW

SCWK 7747

Research Methods in Social Work Practice · 17 instructors on record · 58 sections

What the course score is made of

69BC evaluations58 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

20thMore challenging than 20% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

85BC — “Intellectually Challenging”58 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

25thMore work than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

41BC — “Workload”58 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

Prerequisite for all advanced research courses. Required of all M.S.W. students. An introduction to research methods and statistical analysis of social work data. The course covers basic methods of social research including principles of research investigation, research design and problem formulation, survey methods, sampling, measurements, and the use of a statistical software package for descriptive and basic inferential statistics for data analysis and hypothesis testing.

The board

17 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 3

Find an instructor among the 17Filters the rows below. Positions are always against the whole class, so a rank does not change when the list is narrowed.

Scores are real averages. The order also accounts for how many records back each one — the count is under every score — so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. 2 of the 17 rows carry a mark saying so.

Rank	Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
1	Christina MatzSocial Work	968 records	28th	22nd
2	Scott EastonSocial Work	945 records	25th	39th
3	William ByansiSocial Work	944 records	25th	26th
4	Thomas CreaSocial Work	944 records	25th	70th
5	Melissa BrownSocial Work Provisional fewer records	961 record	25th	21st
6	Megan TaylorSocial Work Provisional	941 record	25th	36th
7	Sophia EisenbergSocial Work Provisional	921 record	25th	9th
8	Patrick MulkernSocial Work Provisional	891 record	25th	19th
9	Laura BondSocial Work Provisional	872 records	—	—
10	Spencer SandbergSocial Work Provisional	862 records	—	6th
11	Charles CurrieCounseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology Provisional fewer records	871 record	—	—
12	Matias Placencio-CastroSocial Work	854 records	25th	13th
13	Ricardo Suarez RojasCounseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology Provisional	822 records	—	19th
14	Catherine TaylorSocial Work	814 records	25th	15th
15	Indrani SaranSocial Work	805 records	30th	17th
16	Thomas O'hareSocial Work	7910 records	—	—
17	Thanh TranSocial Work	433 records	25th	3rd

All 17 instructors listed.

How this board is orderedPositions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted. The comparison here is the class itself: a thin record is read against how this class was rated overall, not against the university.

Every instructor with an evaluation record for this class is on this board — it is not a top ten, and nothing is hidden behind a “show more”. Overall is the instructor's blended score for THIS class only, and its one contributing source is Boston College's evaluations for the sections in the row's record count — nothing on this board is an average across the other things they teach. Workload and Challenge are RANKS against every class we hold, not scores: BC's questions all sit near the top of the 1-5 scale, so a raw number would put almost every row in the high eighties and tell you nothing. Challenge is BC's “intellectually challenging” item, which students answer positively about courses that stretched them — it is not a measure of difficulty or grading. Neither column is ever marked better or worse. 8 of 17 rows are marked provisional: fewer than 3 records stand behind the number. That is thin evidence, not a bad instructor — the record count is in every row.

The line

All 13 items · means across 58 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

8923rd pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9450th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

8925th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

8714th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8522nd pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8620th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

772nd pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8414th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

8832nd pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9043rd pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

4125th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8520th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

8417th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

58 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Matias Placencio-Castro	Fall 2025	01	91	69	40
Christina Matz	Fall 2025	02	91	74	40
Thomas O'hare	Fall 2025	03	93	86	—
Christina Matz	Fall 2025	04	94	81	60
Thomas O'hare	Fall 2025	05	73	58	—
William Byansi	Fall 2025	06	100	78	40
Catherine Taylor	Fall 2025	07	62	49	40
Sophia Eisenberg	Fall 2025	07	92	49	40
Catherine Taylor	Fall 2025	09	79	64	40
Patrick Mulkern	Fall 2025	09	89	64	40
William Byansi	Fall 2025	10	96	81	40
Megan Taylor	Fall 2025	11	94	76	40
Scott Easton	Fall 2025	11	96	76	40
Thomas Crea	Summer 2025	01	92	84	40
William Byansi	Fall 2024	01	86	65	40
Christina Matz	Fall 2024	02	99	76	40
Thomas O'hare	Fall 2024	03	82	82	—
Christina Matz	Fall 2024	04	97	77	—
Spencer Sandberg	Fall 2024	04	86	77	—
Thomas O'hare	Fall 2024	05	91	81	—
Indrani Saran	Fall 2024	06	88	68	60
Scott Easton	Fall 2024	07	97	86	40
William Byansi	Fall 2024	08	95	65	40
Catherine Taylor	Fall 2024	09	88	70	40
Catherine Taylor	Fall 2024	10	96	76	40

Showing the first 25.

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.