- Title
- Introduction: social work research
- Creator
- Gray, Mel; Webb, Stephen A.
- Relation
- International Social Work, Volume 3 p. vii-xviii
- Relation
- http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book233036#tabview=toc
- Publisher
- Sage
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2010
- Description
- Volume III covers key historical and contemporary themes on the nature and quality of research in social work. It begins with a series of articles which 'map social work's research agenda'. These articles show social work's early quest for a scientific knowledge base and a positivist epistemology such that practice could be based on empirical research, i.e., on interventions with proven effectiveness. As a reaction against this trend, there was a strong move to advocate for and embrace qualitative research, which led to small-scale situated studies, the findings of which lack the generalisability of quantitative research. Coming in to fill 'the void left by the abandonment of positivist research ... and of the logico-deductive method as an orientation to knowledge' development, Ixer (1999, p. 514) argues, is critical reflection based on Schon's (1983) reflection-in-action thesis. It held the promise of a practice-oriented approach to release learners and practitioners from the shackles of theory by enabling them to theorise inductively from practice (Fook, 2002), i.e., it offered opportunities for practice-based research. However, reflective practice is being overtaken by the evidence-based practice movement though critical debate continues as to whether qualitative data constitutes evidence (Hammersley, 1996); whether evidence-based practice is a matter of governance and control (Karger, 2001); whether 'we are all positivists!' anyway (Thyer, 2008) as the empiricist agenda continues (Raynor, 1984) despite its limits (Smith, 1987); or should we, as White (1997) suggests, move 'beyond retroduction' and embrace reflexivity? It seems the jury is still out on these matters.
- Subject
- social work; research methodology; practice
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1053459
- Identifier
- uon:15595
- Identifier
- ISBN:9781847875631
- Language
- eng
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