Research Methods for Social Workers

by Bonnie L. Yegidis, Robert W. Weinbach

This research methods text for social work is accessible to students in level and writing style, and its paperback format makes it less expensive than most texts on the market. The authors are social work instructors who understand the realities of social work practice and have included many social work practice examples. The text is ideal for a one-semester or quarter research methods course for undergraduate or graduate students with little or no prior knowledge of research. Qualitative research methods are discussed and appropriate examples are offered throughout the book, not just in a single chapter. The fifth edition includes new information on needs assessment, how quantitative and qualitative methods can be used together, more information on ethical issues throughout the text and an updated literature review section.

Genres: Textbooks, Social Work, Read For School

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was assigned as required reading for my Master of Social Work coursework ("Generalist Social Work Research").

This book does a good job at breaking down social work research as a whole. This would not be a great guide for someone wishing to conduct their own research, but it does a good job at what it sets out to do: provide a general overview.

However, the organization of this book did not, at times, make sense. For example, evaluation is discussed in the middle of the book, before data collection. Additionally, this book did not find a good balance between over and underexplaining. Some parts contained so much technical jargon that they would be unreadable to someone with no research background. Other parts either entirely ignored or glazed over key parts of the research process.