Research Evidence and Social Work Practice: The Place of Evidence-Based Practice
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- Published: 20 August 2013
- Volume 42 , pages 123–133, ( 2014 )
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- James Drisko 1
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This article will examine what evidence-based practice (EBP) is and is not. EBP will be defined and distinguished from other different, but related, terms and concepts. The steps of EBP as a practice decision-making process will be detailed and illustrated. The kinds of evidence EBP values and devalues will be discussed in several contexts. The administrative uses of EBP and its larger societal context will also be examined. A family therapy based example of doing EBP in clinical practice will show how it can be a real benefit to practice, but also points out some of its challenges and limitations.
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Drisko, J. Research Evidence and Social Work Practice: The Place of Evidence-Based Practice. Clin Soc Work J 42 , 123–133 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-013-0459-9
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Published : 20 August 2013
Issue Date : June 2014
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-013-0459-9
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Practice research methods in social work: Processes, applications and implications for social service organisations
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Bowen McBeath, Michael J Austin, Sarah Carnochan, Emmeline Chuang, Practice research methods in social work: Processes, applications and implications for social service organisations, The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 52, Issue 6, September 2022, Pages 3328–3346, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab246
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Although social work research is commonly rooted within social service settings, it can be difficult for social work researchers and practitioners to develop and sustain participatory studies that specifically promote knowledge sharing and service improvement involving organisational practice. One participatory approach is practice research (PR), which involves social work researchers and practitioners collaborating to define, understand and try to improve the delivery of health and social care services and organisational structures and processes. The two goals of this commentary are to introduce essential methods and approaches to PR and to identify points of connection involving PR and social service organisational studies. Our specific focus on PR in statutory, voluntary and private social service organisations reflects efforts to connect practice, theory and qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop and share organisationally-situated knowledge.
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Foundations of Social Work Research
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Reviewed by LaToya Smith-Jones, Adjunct Professor, University of Texas at Arlington on 3/26/24
The textbook covers various topics that are familiar to the Social Work profession. There are relatable examples given within the book, which allow Social Work students to understand discussions through the lens of an actual practitioner. Each... read more
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
The textbook covers various topics that are familiar to the Social Work profession. There are relatable examples given within the book, which allow Social Work students to understand discussions through the lens of an actual practitioner. Each section provides an area where research vocabulary is listed and reviewed, as well as examples to deepen the understanding of the vocabulary used.
Content Accuracy rating: 5
The information presented in the textbook is presented with accuracy. Bias was not noticed within the text.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 5
The information presented within the textbook was up-to-date. Classical studies were also included in the textbook. The classical studies allow the students to understand the historical influence regarding the research process.
Clarity rating: 5
The textbook provides examples and a separate vocabulary section in order to understand the jargon and technical terminology. individuals who do not have a research background will be able to comprehend the information written.
Consistency rating: 5
The textbook is consistent regarding terminology and framework. Each section builds upon the previous section.
Modularity rating: 5
Each section is broken up according to the topic of the chapter. Each chapter is broken up in sections, which allows for an easier read.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
The chapters are presented in a logical and clear fashion. The information presented within the textbook builds upon itself. Students are first introduced to background information regarding the topic and then they are given information regarding the application of the information shared.
Interface rating: 5
There were not any interface issues.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5
There were not any grammatical errors noted.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
Information within the text was inclusive and included examples of various ethnicities and backgrounds.
The textbook is excellent to use for students who do not have a research background. The manner in which the information is presented and laid out assists with aiding students' understanding.
Reviewed by Quentin Maynard, Assistant Professor, University of Southern Indiana on 11/30/22
This text covers topics that social work students need to understand to be consumers of research. The author and contributors include current real work examples to help emphasize the different topics. Integrating the chapter on Real World Research... read more
This text covers topics that social work students need to understand to be consumers of research. The author and contributors include current real work examples to help emphasize the different topics. Integrating the chapter on Real World Research throughout the text might help emphasize to students that engaging in research is necessary to our profession, even as practitioners.
The content was accurate and error-free.
The content of the text was up-to-date and included information relevant to social work research. Since the main author solicited contributions from colleagues at their institution, updates and changes would likely be relatively straightforward.
The book seemed accessible for individuals with limited research experience. Key words were defined in the text and included in a glossary at the end of each section and the text.
The text was consistent in style and organization. Chapter subsections have specific learning objectives allowing students to know what will be covered in each chapter. Doing this reduces bloat and increases clarity for readers.
The text did not appear to be structured in a way that was overwhelming or difficult to follow.
The structure of the book was logical.
The digital pdf and the online versions of the text were intuitive and easy to navigate. I did not notice any issues with the interface in either format.
No writing or grammar errors noted.
The text is culturally sensitive. It includes a content advisory at the beginning of each chapter which allows students to be aware of specific topics (e.g., racism, sexism, and poverty) discussed or mentioned in the chapter. While this text was adapted for students at a specific university, the authors include topics that reach much farther than that audience. The examples included cover a diverse set of people and situations.
This is a comprehensive text that allows students the opportunity to learn how to be consumers of social work research. While practice evaluation might not be the scope of this text, other than the chapter on Real World Research, including discussions about how students might apply the concepts of each chapter in social work practice. The structure of the book allows students to see the research that their professors are engaging in and might make research more accessible to social work students and practitioners
Reviewed by Matt Walsh, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Marian University on 12/30/21
This textbook covers all the aspects of research you would expect for an introduction to social work research. It uses classic examples of past research to highlight the importance of ethics in research. It also does a good job of discussing... read more
This textbook covers all the aspects of research you would expect for an introduction to social work research. It uses classic examples of past research to highlight the importance of ethics in research. It also does a good job of discussing both quantitative and qualitative research as well as single system designs and program evaluation. My one critique as someone who does qualitative research is that it mentions the importance of trustworthiness and rigor in qualitative research but does not mention how a research can achieve this. However, it does go into other elements like coding and it would not be hard to provide student with supplemental materials about memoing or peer debriefing as examples and to be fair, it is hard to put everything in just one chapter.
All components are accurately described and well-written. The glossary at the end of each section is helpful for key words. The text appears to be error-free and unbiased.
There are links to recent examples which highlights the real world aspect of research.
This text is clear in its description of research and its major components. Certain aspects like causality get a little advanced for a introduction to research book but there are good visual to aid in students' understanding of some of the more complicated concepts. (Please note that I am reviewing this with BSW students in mind, MSW students may not find some of these sections as overwhelming as I suspect my students might).
The book is very well structured and consistent throughout.
The text is well structured and organized as a whole and in terms of each chapter and each section with the chapters.
The topics follow the order of most other foundational research books I have seen and have a logical flow to them.
I did not find any interface issues.
I could not see any grammatical errors.
There are good examples throughout that display an effort to have inclusivity, diversity, and equity in this text.
I feel like this book would provide students with a good understanding about research and could be used interchangeably with other foundational/introduction books on the market, especially if the professor is familiar with teaching research and has already established a good foundation (quizzes, lecture slides, assignments, activities, etc.).
Reviewed by Vivian Miller, Assistant Professor in Social Work, Bowling Green State University on 1/5/21
The text Foundations of Social Work Research covers social work research comprehensively and appropriately. Across twelve chapters, the author begins by introducing research, the science behind research and how this translates to the profession of... read more
The text Foundations of Social Work Research covers social work research comprehensively and appropriately. Across twelve chapters, the author begins by introducing research, the science behind research and how this translates to the profession of social work, and the importance of understanding research as it applies to social work practice across all system levels. In addition to comprehensive chapters, the text contains a glossary, practice behavior indices, bibliography, derivative notes, and links by each chapter.
This text is an accurate text that is error free. This text is extremely well-written and includes real-life examples, drawing on written contributions from social work faculty across practice settings and populations, as well as students at the masters and doctoral levels.
Much of research methods and the process is overall static, however the author does an incredible job to provide timely, relevant, and applicable examples throughout the text to ensure that this version will not be obsolete within a short period of time.
This text is clearly written and is easy to move through. This text contains chapters and sub-chapters. I’d recommend this book for a higher-level undergraduate program or graduate program (e.g., MSW), as there is technical terminology used. Additionally, the author provides a glossary at the back of the text, hyperlinked to each chapter on the web-version. Moreover, there are definitions highlighted at center page throughout the text.
This text is very consistent. Chapters build on one another and are written in clear order.
The use of subheadings throughout allows this text to be separated into smaller reading sections. For instance, if an instructor wanted to assign reading for “Probability sampling,” this topic can be readily extracted from the full text. A student can understand this topic area despite being separated from the text as context is provided to the reader in each sub-chapter. The use of bolded words, images, examples, and hyperlinks throughout make the text easy to separate and digest.
This text is very well-organized and moves through each section in a step-wise process building on each previous content area.
There are no interface issues in the text. Images display well, as well as key takeaway and glossary charts throughout each chapter.
The text contains no grammatical errors.
This text is culturally sensitive. Examples across all system levels (e.g., micro, messo, and macro) are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
Highly recommend this text for a Social Work research course.
Table of Contents
- Chapter One: Introduction to research
- Chapter Two: Linking methods with theory
- Chapter Three: Ethics in social work research
- Chapter Four: Design and causality
- Chapter Five: Defining and measuring concepts
- Chapter Six: Sampling
- Chapter Seven: Survey research
- Chapter Eight: Experimental design
- Chapter Nine: Unique features of qualitative research
- Chapter Ten: Unobtrusive research
- Chapter Eleven: Real-world research
- Chapter Twelve: Reporting research
Ancillary Material
About the book.
This textbook was created to provide an introduction to research methods for BSW and MSW students, with particular emphasis on research and practice relevant to students at the University of Texas at Arlington. It provides an introduction to social work students to help evaluate research for evidence-based practice and design social work research projects. It can be used with its companion, A Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions by Rebecca L. Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo, or as a stand-alone textbook.
About the Contributors
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We would like to highlight two options for PDF readers, in particular. The beta edition of Zotero includes a PDF annotation tool, and researchers can use tags, notes, highlights, and other features to mark up the textbook and take notes. We have included a tutorial below. Unfortunately, you cannot perform group annotation in Zotero in shared PDFs, so this is for individual note-taking only.
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Second, studies of practice research in social work remain scant in Asia and Singapore Webber 2020 Ho et al. 2023;Teo, Koh, and Kwan 2023), with limited insights into organisational contexts ...
Research on Social Work Practice (RSWP), peer-reviewed and published eight times per year, is a disciplinary journal devoted to the publication of empirical research concerning the assessment methods and outcomes of social work practice. Intervention programs covered include behavior analysis and therapy; psychotherapy or counseling with individuals; case management; and education.
It is, simply collecting information and thinking systematically about it. The word 'research' carries overtones of abstruse statistics, and complex methods, white coats and computers. Some social research is highly specialized, but most of it is not; much of the best work is logically very straight-forward.
social work. The development of research for use in practice has matured considerably during recent decades and well beyond Meyer's (1976) characterization of social work research as being haphazard and with little demand. Austin (1999) chronicles and describes the advancement of social work research highlighting the development
Practice research in social work is evolving and has been iteratively defined through a series of statements over the last 15 years (Epstein et al., 2015; Fook & Evans, 2011; Joubert et al., 2023; Julkunen et al., 2014; Sim et al., 2019).Most recently, the Melbourne Statement on Practice Research (Joubert et al., 2023) focused on practice meeting research, with an emphasis on 'the ...
RESEARCH ON SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE Sponsored by the Society for Social Work and Research Bruce Thyer, Ph.D., LCSW, Editor University of Georgia Laura L. Myers, Ph.D., Managing Editor University of Georgia Editorial Board Members, 2000-2002 Beth R. Crisp, Ph.D.University of Glasgow, Scotland Jorge Delva, Ph.D.Florida State University
Purpose: This study evaluated the possible effects of empathy-focused group work on the participants, which is designed by bringing together cisgender heterosexual and LGBTQ+ people. Method: The study group of the research consists of 28 people (14 people ... Restricted access Research article First published July 10, 2023 pp. 568-577.
workers deliver their practice agenda and in many ways good research and good social work are synonymous. D'Cruz and Jones (2004: 2) write that: We teach research to social work students because we believe that social work practice is more likely to be effective when social workers are able to draw on and evaluate previ-ous research.
The Relevance of Social Work Research to Practice 40 The findings indicated that the extent to which social work research influences practice is minimal. Only two academics were able to confidently state their research informed practice, but this also highlights the question of what constitutes "practice."
Practising Social Work Research: Case Studies for Learning, second edition (ToC) May 2017. Publisher: University of Toronto Press. Authors: Rick Csiernik. King's University College. Rachel ...
Social work knowledge, theory and practice1. Social work knowledge, theory and practiceSOCIAL WORKERS practise across a wide range. of settings all kinds of different people. Some work primarily with individuals others work with families or groups of p. ople in therapeutic or community contexts. Some social workers focus on community ad.
of the electronic versions of journals Research on Social Work Practice (2000 to July 2010), Child and Family Social Work (2000 to July 2010), and Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work (2004-2010). Two members of the research team independently assessed the relevance of retrieved articles, described the methods of included studies and ...
Theories and Approaches in Social Work Practice Research If we want scientific knowledge, and especially empirical evidence, to play an effective role in professional action, then we have to focus on the contexts where the processes of generating knowledge for action actually take shape, that is, on the organizations engaged in social work
Abstract This article traces themes over time for conducting social work research to improve social work practice. The discussion considers 3 core themes: (a) the scientific practitioner, including different models for applying this perspective to research and practice; (b) intervention research; and (c) implementation science. While not intended to be a comprehensive review of these themes ...
research design hierarchy to determine and restrict funding and academic priorities constitutes social movement within research, education, economics and politics (Cheek 2011; Trinder 2000). Third, EBP has been used administratively as a rationale for making policy and funding changes to mental health and social work services (Tanenbaum 2003;
This article presents a conceptual review of the literature concerning social work and theory. Based on analysis of 93 research studies, drawn from literature in English published between. 1968 and 2016, the review considers the many ways that theory is conceptualised in the.
Abstract. Although social work research is commonly rooted within social service settings, it can be difficult for social work researchers and practitioners to develop and sustain participatory studies that specifically promote knowledge sharing and service improvement involving organisational practice.
Boyle (2006:7), define social work as "an art, a science, a profession that helps. people to solve personal, group (especially family), and communit y problems. and to attain satisfying personal ...
2021 •. Melody Kshetrimayum. The environment and frameworks within which social work professionals work and conduct research have changed and evolved over time. Subaltern voices on equality, social justice, human rights, development, security, education, health and mental health, employment, immigration and empowerment have emerged against ...
This textbook was created to provide an introduction to research methods for BSW and MSW students, with particular emphasis on research and practice relevant to students at the University of Texas at Arlington. It provides an introduction to social work students to help evaluate research for evidence-based practice and design social work research projects. It can be used with its companion, A ...
heoretical concernsIntroductionAssessment is a term often used in social work with little regard to its definition and the me. nings created by and made of it. It is recognised as a key task in social work practice (Bartlett, 1. 70; Parker, 2013; Parker, 2020). Government policy acknowl-edges this and has, in the UK, developed frameworks for ...
The body of research available to support social work practice continues to grow. With increasing challenges in remaining up to date to ensure best practice, systematic literature reviews are key to accessing and appraising potentially relevant evidence, providing a comprehensive body of empirical research (Saini & Shlonsky, 2012).
Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques to one or more of the following ends: Helping people obtain tangible services (e.g., income, housing, food) Providing counseling and interventions with individuals, families, and groups.
1.3 Evidence-based practice; 1.4 Social work research; 2. Starting your research project. ... Graduate research methods in social work quiz bank (Day et al., 2020) Scaffolded assignments for a research proposal (DeCarlo, 2020) ... If the links inside your PDF do not work, you are using the print PDF instead of the web PDF. ...
Competency #2: Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice. ... Competency #6: Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. Social workers use practice experience to inform research, employ evidence-based interventions, evaluate their own practice, and use research findings to improve practice ...