Research Methods for Social Work (Empowerment Series)

by Allen Rubin

researchers are faced with a dilemma: either do the study under conditions of weak scientific rigor or forgo the study. Having no better alternative and believing that limited evidence may be better th...

if social work practitioners are going to be guided by the findings of social work research studies, then they must understand social work research methods well enough to distinguish studies with adequate scientific methodologies and credible findings fro...

the quality of the social work research produced ultimately depends not just on the researchers’ methodological expertise but also on their practice knowledg...

Without a partnership between practice-oriented researchers and methodologically informed practitioners, there is not likely to be a climate of support in agencies for the type of research our field needs— research that is responsive to the real needs of agency practitioners...

an understanding of research methods will help you critically appraise and use research produced by others, communicate with researchers to help ensure that their work is responsive to the needs of practice, and ultimately help foster an agency ...

strive to make sure we provide our clients with the most effective...

practitioners who conform only to ongoing practices without keeping abreast of the latest research in their field are not doing everything possible to provi...

failure to keep abreast of the research in the field is a...

cannot justify disregarding research with the rationalization that we are too busy helping people.

If our services have not been tested for their effects on clients, then chances are we are not really helping anyone.

less work for us if we unquestioningly perpetuate ongoing practices. That way, we do not make waves. We do not have to think as much. There is one less task—r...

practitioners who keep up on the research and know they are doing all they can to provide the best possible services to their clients might experience more job sat...

main reason to use research, however, is compassion ...

care about helping them, and thus we seek scientific evidence about the effects of the services we are providing and of alternative...

If the services we provide are not effective and others are, then we are harming our clients by perpe...

wasting their time (and perh...

allowing their problems to go on without the best pos...

deny our clients a service opportunity that might b...

practitioners who critically appraise and use research discriminately may be more compassionate—and e...

A long list of other examples of completed research studies would also convey the value of research to social work and why students preparing to become practitioners should know research methods so that they can use and contribute to such research.

could cite countless examples for additional topics on which you might someday want to see research findings related to policy or administration.

example, why do so many of your agency’s clients terminate treatment prematurely? What types of clients stay with or drop out of treatment? What reasons do they give? What services did they receive? How satisfied were they with those services? What proportion of time do practitioners in your agency spend on different practice roles? Do they spend too much time performing functions that are more highly gratifying and too little time on functions that are less attractive but more needed by clients? What characteristics of social service volun...

should you locate your outreach efforts? Where are you most likely to engage hard-to-reach individuals such as the homeless or recent immigrants? Why do so many homeless individuals refuse to stay in shelters, sleeping instead on the streets? What are their experiences when they stay in a shelter, and what is staying in a shelter like from their point of view? What proportion of your target population does not understand English? Why are so few ethnic minorities being served by your agency? What does your agency mean to them? What is the agency atmosphere like from their viewpoint? What happens to the children of unskilled mothers whose welfare benefits have been severed? We could go on and on, but you get the idea: The possibilities are endless.

Learning research methods has value to practitioners beyond just using research studies.

also be able to use research methods in face-to-face contact with people, especially...

practitioners collect clinical data from vario...

Research concepts about such topics as measurement error, reliability, validity, and the principles of sampling will help them evaluate the quality and meaning of the clinical data they collect and help them...

Practitioners must examine the conditions and situations under which they collect information as part of their practice in the same way and for the same reasons as one systemati...

Ethics is one of the most important concerns of social workers as they consider research, and it is a topic that is...

(NASW) specifically requires social workers to keep current with and critically examine practice-related research in the professional literature and to include evidence-based knowledge ...

When we use research discriminatingly, we help uphold and advance the values and mission of the profession and thus a...

social work students quite commonly approach research methodology with skepticism about the ethic...

you will have a better understanding not only of the ethical dilemmas involved in social work research but also of the reasons why our professional code of ethics bears on our responsibili...

the success of your efforts to help people is likely to be enhanced by your use of scient...

Social work research seeks to provide the practical knowledge that social workers need to solve the problems they confront. • Social work research seeks to give the field the information it needs to alleviate human suffering and promote social welfare. • Social work research seeks to accomplish the same humanistic goals as social work practice. Like practice, social work research is a compassionate, problem-solving, and practical endeavor. • Recognizing when particular interventions for particular practice situations have been supported by adequate scientific evidence is an important guide to social work practice. • Social work practitioners should understand social work research methods well enough to discriminate between strong and weak studies. • Compassion for clients is the main reason for social workers to use research. • Social workers have an ethical responsibility to utilize research and contribute...

When we understand through experience, we make observations and seek patterns of regularities in what we observe. • In day-to-day inquiry, we often make mistakes. Science offers protection against such mistakes. • When we use the scientific method, everything is open to question, and we should keep an open mind about everything we think we know or want to believe. • When we use the scientific method, we should consider the things we call “knowledge” to be provisional and subject to refutation. • When we use the scientific method, we should search for evidence that is based on observation as the basis for knowledge. • Scientific observations should be systematic, comprehensive, and as objective as possible. • Scientific observations should be specified in ways that show the basis for the conclusions that were reached and that allow others to judge whether the evidence warrants those conclusions. • The scientific method calls for the replication of studies. • Sometimes we jump to general conclusions on the basis of only a few observations. Researchers and scientific practitioners avoid overgeneralization through replication, or the repeating of studies. • Once a conclusion has been reached, we sometimes ignore evidence that contradicts the conclusion, paying attention only to evidence that confirms it. Researchers and scientific practitioners commit themselves in advance to a set of observations to be made regardless of whether a pattern seems to be emerging early. • When co...

Competency 1 Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior: The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers requires social workers to keep current with evidence-based knowledge and to use it as part of what informs their practice decisions.

implies engaging in the EBP process,

Competency 2 Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice: You will learn in this chapter that an important part of EBP involves taking client diversity and differences into account when considering the app...

Competency 4 Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice: This competency requires...

Competency 5 Engage in Policy Practice: You will learn in this chapter that EBP applies to all levels of social work prac...

competence for engaging in policy practice will be enhanced by learning how to apply the EBP process to inform the development of and to critical...

Competency 7 Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities: Among the things you need to learn to do to meet this competency is how to select appropriate intervention strategies based on research knowledge as integrated with your understanding of the values and preferences of client systems. Doing so is a major part of the EBP process.

Competency 8 Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities: This competency specifies that you should be knowledgeable about evidence-informed interventions and understand methods of identifying, analyzing, and implementing evidence-informed interventions to achieve client system goals.

Competency 9 Evaluate Practice with Individuals Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities: This competency includes learning how to apply evaluation f...

we examined the value of research in social work as well as the risks of not taking a scientific approach in making decisions about social work practice or social policy. In this chapter, we’ll examine in depth a comprehensive model to guide social workers in taking a scientific ...

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a process in which practitioners make decisions in light of the best...

EBP model encourages practitioners to integrate the best available research evidence with the following: their practice expertise and other resources; characteristics, circumstances, needs, values and preferences of their client system or target population; and knowledge of...