social work research definition

Social Work Research Methods That Drive the Practice

A social worker surveys a community member.

Social workers advocate for the well-being of individuals, families and communities. But how do social workers know what interventions are needed to help an individual? How do they assess whether a treatment plan is working? What do social workers use to write evidence-based policy?

Social work involves research-informed practice and practice-informed research. At every level, social workers need to know objective facts about the populations they serve, the efficacy of their interventions and the likelihood that their policies will improve lives. A variety of social work research methods make that possible.

Data-Driven Work

Data is a collection of facts used for reference and analysis. In a field as broad as social work, data comes in many forms.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

As with any research, social work research involves both quantitative and qualitative studies.

Quantitative Research

Answers to questions like these can help social workers know about the populations they serve — or hope to serve in the future.

How many students currently receive reduced-price school lunches in the local school district?
How many hours per week does a specific individual consume digital media?
How frequently did community members access a specific medical service last year?

Quantitative data — facts that can be measured and expressed numerically — are crucial for social work.

Quantitative research has advantages for social scientists. Such research can be more generalizable to large populations, as it uses specific sampling methods and lends itself to large datasets. It can provide important descriptive statistics about a specific population. Furthermore, by operationalizing variables, it can help social workers easily compare similar datasets with one another.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative data — facts that cannot be measured or expressed in terms of mere numbers or counts — offer rich insights into individuals, groups and societies. It can be collected via interviews and observations.

What attitudes do students have toward the reduced-price school lunch program?
What strategies do individuals use to moderate their weekly digital media consumption?
What factors made community members more or less likely to access a specific medical service last year?

Qualitative research can thereby provide a textured view of social contexts and systems that may not have been possible with quantitative methods. Plus, it may even suggest new lines of inquiry for social work research.

Mixed Methods Research

Combining quantitative and qualitative methods into a single study is known as mixed methods research. This form of research has gained popularity in the study of social sciences, according to a 2019 report in the academic journal Theory and Society. Since quantitative and qualitative methods answer different questions, merging them into a single study can balance the limitations of each and potentially produce more in-depth findings.

However, mixed methods research is not without its drawbacks. Combining research methods increases the complexity of a study and generally requires a higher level of expertise to collect, analyze and interpret the data. It also requires a greater level of effort, time and often money.

The Importance of Research Design

Data-driven practice plays an essential role in social work. Unlike philanthropists and altruistic volunteers, social workers are obligated to operate from a scientific knowledge base.

To know whether their programs are effective, social workers must conduct research to determine results, aggregate those results into comprehensible data, analyze and interpret their findings, and use evidence to justify next steps.

Employing the proper design ensures that any evidence obtained during research enables social workers to reliably answer their research questions.

Research Methods in Social Work

The various social work research methods have specific benefits and limitations determined by context. Common research methods include surveys, program evaluations, needs assessments, randomized controlled trials, descriptive studies and single-system designs.

Surveys involve a hypothesis and a series of questions in order to test that hypothesis. Social work researchers will send out a survey, receive responses, aggregate the results, analyze the data, and form conclusions based on trends.

Surveys are one of the most common research methods social workers use — and for good reason. They tend to be relatively simple and are usually affordable. However, surveys generally require large participant groups, and self-reports from survey respondents are not always reliable.

Program Evaluations

Social workers ally with all sorts of programs: after-school programs, government initiatives, nonprofit projects and private programs, for example.

Crucially, social workers must evaluate a program’s effectiveness in order to determine whether the program is meeting its goals and what improvements can be made to better serve the program’s target population.

Evidence-based programming helps everyone save money and time, and comparing programs with one another can help social workers make decisions about how to structure new initiatives. Evaluating programs becomes complicated, however, when programs have multiple goal metrics, some of which may be vague or difficult to assess (e.g., “we aim to promote the well-being of our community”).

Needs Assessments

Social workers use needs assessments to identify services and necessities that a population lacks access to.

Common social work populations that researchers may perform needs assessments on include:

People in a specific income group
Everyone in a specific geographic region
A specific ethnic group
People in a specific age group

In the field, a social worker may use a combination of methods (e.g., surveys and descriptive studies) to learn more about a specific population or program. Social workers look for gaps between the actual context and a population’s or individual’s “wants” or desires.

For example, a social worker could conduct a needs assessment with an individual with cancer trying to navigate the complex medical-industrial system. The social worker may ask the client questions about the number of hours they spend scheduling doctor’s appointments, commuting and managing their many medications. After learning more about the specific client needs, the social worker can identify opportunities for improvements in an updated care plan.

In policy and program development, social workers conduct needs assessments to determine where and how to effect change on a much larger scale. Integral to social work at all levels, needs assessments reveal crucial information about a population’s needs to researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders. Needs assessments may fall short, however, in revealing the root causes of those needs (e.g., structural racism).

Randomized Controlled Trials

Randomized controlled trials are studies in which a randomly selected group is subjected to a variable (e.g., a specific stimulus or treatment) and a control group is not. Social workers then measure and compare the results of the randomized group with the control group in order to glean insights about the effectiveness of a particular intervention or treatment.

Randomized controlled trials are easily reproducible and highly measurable. They’re useful when results are easily quantifiable. However, this method is less helpful when results are not easily quantifiable (i.e., when rich data such as narratives and on-the-ground observations are needed).

Descriptive Studies

Descriptive studies immerse the researcher in another context or culture to study specific participant practices or ways of living. Descriptive studies, including descriptive ethnographic studies, may overlap with and include other research methods:

Informant interviews
Census data
Observation

By using descriptive studies, researchers may glean a richer, deeper understanding of a nuanced culture or group on-site. The main limitations of this research method are that it tends to be time-consuming and expensive.

Single-System Designs

Unlike most medical studies, which involve testing a drug or treatment on two groups — an experimental group that receives the drug/treatment and a control group that does not — single-system designs allow researchers to study just one group (e.g., an individual or family).

Single-system designs typically entail studying a single group over a long period of time and may involve assessing the group’s response to multiple variables.

For example, consider a study on how media consumption affects a person’s mood. One way to test a hypothesis that consuming media correlates with low mood would be to observe two groups: a control group (no media) and an experimental group (two hours of media per day). When employing a single-system design, however, researchers would observe a single participant as they watch two hours of media per day for one week and then four hours per day of media the next week.

These designs allow researchers to test multiple variables over a longer period of time. However, similar to descriptive studies, single-system designs can be fairly time-consuming and costly.

Learn More About Social Work Research Methods

Social workers have the opportunity to improve the social environment by advocating for the vulnerable — including children, older adults and people with disabilities — and facilitating and developing resources and programs.

Learn more about how you can earn your Master of Social Work online at Virginia Commonwealth University . The highest-ranking school of social work in Virginia, VCU has a wide range of courses online. That means students can earn their degrees with the flexibility of learning at home. Learn more about how you can take your career in social work further with VCU.

From M.S.W. to LCSW: Understanding Your Career Path as a Social Worker

How Palliative Care Social Workers Support Patients With Terminal Illnesses

How to Become a Social Worker in Health Care

Gov.uk, Mixed Methods Study

MVS Open Press, Foundations of Social Work Research

Open Social Work Education, Scientific Inquiry in Social Work

Open Social Work, Graduate Research Methods in Social Work: A Project-Based Approach

Routledge, Research for Social Workers: An Introduction to Methods

SAGE Publications, Research Methods for Social Work: A Problem-Based Approach

Theory and Society, Mixed Methods Research: What It Is and What It Could Be

READY TO GET STARTED WITH OUR ONLINE M.S.W. PROGRAM FORMAT?

Bachelor’s degree is required.

VCU Program Helper

This AI chatbot provides automated responses, which may not always be accurate. By continuing with this conversation, you agree that the contents of this chat session may be transcribed and retained. You also consent that this chat session and your interactions, including cookie usage, are subject to our privacy policy .

Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics

First Online: 27 October 2022

Cite this chapter

Kanamik Kani Khan 4 &
Md. Mohsin Reza 5

2940 Accesses

Social research is often defined as a study of mankind that helps to identify the relations between social life and social systems. This kind of research usually creates new knowledge and theories or tests and verifies existing theories. However, social research is a broad spectrum that requires a discursive understanding of its varied nature and definitions. This chapter aims to explain the multifarious definitions of social research given by different scholars. The information used in this chapter is solely based on existing literature regarding social research. There are various stages discussed regarding how social research can be effectively conducted. The types and characteristics of social research are further analysed in this chapter. Social research plays a substantial role in investigating knowledge and theories relevant to social problems. Additionally, social research is important for its contribution to national and international policymaking, which explains the importance of social research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Available as PDF
Read on any device
Instant download
Own it forever
Available as EPUB and PDF
Compact, lightweight edition
Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
Free shipping worldwide - see info
Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Adcock, R., & Collier, D. (2001). Measurement validity: A shared standard for qualitative and quantitative research. American Political Science Review, 95 (3), 529–548.

Article Google Scholar

Adelman, C. (1993). Kurt Lewin and the origins of action research. Educational Action Research, 1 (1), 7–24.

Babin, B. J., & Svensson, G. (2012). Structural equation modeling in social science research: Issues of validity and reliability in the research process. European Business Review, 24 (4), 320–330.

Barker, R. L. (Ed.). (2013). The Social Work Dictionary (6th ed.). NASW Press.

Google Scholar

Bernard, H. R. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Sage.

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Burns, D. (2007). Systemic action research: A strategy for whole system change . Policy Press.

Book Google Scholar

Carroll, W. K. (Ed.). (2004). Critical strategies for social research . Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Coghlan, D. (2019). Doing action research in your own organization (5th ed.). Sage.

Corbetta, P. (2011). Social research: Theory, methods and techniques . Sage.

Correa, C., & Larrinaga, C. (2015). Engagement research in social and environmental accounting. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 6 (1), 5–28.

Crano, W. D., Brewer, M. B., & Lac, A. (2014). Principles and methods of social research . Routledge.

Creswell, J. W. (2018). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson.

Crothers, C., & Platt, J. (2010). The history and development of sociological social research methods. In C. Crothers (Ed.), Historical Developments and Theoretical Approaches in Sociology (Vol. 1). UK: EOLSS Publishers.

De Vaus, D. (2013). Surveys in social research (6th ed.). Routledge.

Dictionary.cambridge. (n.d.). Research. Retrieved 09 May 2020 from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/research

Golovushkina, E., & Milligan, C. (2012). Developing early stage researchers: Employability perceptions of social science doctoral candidates. International Journal for Researcher Development, 3 (1), 64–78.

Green, A. G., & Gutmann, M. P. (2007). Building partnerships among social science researchers, institution-based repositories and domain specific data archives. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 23 (1), 35–53.

Gupta, V. (2012). Research methodology in social science . Enkay Publication.

Hall, R. (2008). Applied social research: Planning, designing and conducting real-world research . Victoria: Macmillan Education Australia.

Henn, M., Weinstein, M., & Foard, N. (2009). A critical introduction to social research (2nd ed.). Sage.

Hesse-Biber, S. N., & Leavy, P. L. (2006). Emergent methods in social research . Sage.

Jie, Z., Xinning, S., & Sanhong, D. (2008). The academic impact of Chinese humanities and social science research. Aslib Proceedings, 60 (1), 55–74.

Kalof, L., Dan, A., & Dietz, T. (2008). Essentials of social research . Open University Press.

Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 559–603). Sage.

Kumar, A. (2002). Research methodology in social science . New Delhi: Sarup & Sons.

May, T. (2011). Social research: Issues, methods and process (4th ed.). Open University Press.

Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2018). Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th ed.). Pearson Canada Inc.

Penz, E. (2006). Researching the socio-cultural context: Putting social representations theory into action. International Marketing Review, 23 (4), 418–437.

Ragin, C. C., & Amoroso, L. M. (2019). Constructing social research: The unity and diversity of method (3rd ed.). Sage.

Robson, C. (2011). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers (3rd ed.). Blackwell.

Sarantakos, S. (2013). Social Research (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Saunders, M., Lewis, L., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.

Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16 (10), 837–851.

Walliman, N. (2016). Social research methods the essentials (2nd ed.). Sage.

Weller, K. (2015). Accepting the challenges of social media research. Online Information Review, 39 (3), 281–289.

Whyte, W. F. (Ed.). (1991). Participatory action research . Sage.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, England

Kanamik Kani Khan

Department of Social Work, Jagannath University, Dhaka, 1100, Bangladesh

Md. Mohsin Reza

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kanamik Kani Khan .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Centre for Family and Child Studies, Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

M. Rezaul Islam

Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Niaz Ahmed Khan

Department of Social Work, School of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

Rajendra Baikady

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Khan, K.K., Mohsin Reza, M. (2022). Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics. In: Islam, M.R., Khan, N.A., Baikady, R. (eds) Principles of Social Research Methodology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_3

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_3

Published : 27 October 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-19-5219-7

Online ISBN : 978-981-19-5441-2

eBook Packages : Social Sciences

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Find a journal
Track your research

Scientific Inquiry in Social Work

(9 reviews)

Matthew DeCarlo, Radford University

ISBN 13: 9781975033729

Publisher: Open Social Work Education

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Shannon Blajeski, Assistant Professor, Portland State University on 3/10/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book provides an introduction to research and inquiry in social work with an applied focus geared for the MSW student. The text covers 16 chapters, including several dedicated to understanding how to begin the research process, a chapter on ethics, and then eight chapters dedicated to research methods. The subchapters (1-5 per chapter) are concise and focused while also being tied to current knowledge and events so as to hold the reader's attention. It is comprehensive, but some of the later chapters covering research methods as well as the final chapter seem a bit scant and could be expanded. The glossary at the end of each chapter is helpful as is the index that is always accessible from the left-hand drop-down menu.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The author pulls in relevant current and recent public events to illustrate important points about social research throughout the book. Each sub-chapter reads as accurate. I did not come across any inaccuracies in the text, however I would recommend a change in the title of Chapter 15 as "real world research" certainly encompasses more than program evaluation, single-subject designs, and action research.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Another major strength of this book is that it adds currency to engage the reader while also maintaining its relevance to research methods. None of the current events/recent events that are described seem dated nor will they fade from relevance in a number of years. In addition, the concise nature of the modules should make them easy to update when needed to maintain relevancy in future editions.

Clarity rating: 5

Clarity is a major strength of this textbook. As described in the interface section, this book is written to be clear and concise, without unnecessary extra text that detracts from the concise content provided in each chapter. Any lengthy excerpts are also very engaging which lends itself to a clear presentation of content for the reader.

Consistency rating: 5

The text and content seems to be presented consistently throughout the book. Terminology and frameworks are balanced with real-world examples and current events.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters of this textbook are appropriately spaced and easily digestible, particularly for readers with time constraints. Each chapter contains 3-5 sub-chapters that build upon each other in a scaffolding style. This makes it simple for the instructor to assign each chapter (sometimes two) per weekly session as well as add in additional assigned readings to complement the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The overall organization of the chapters flow well. The book begins with a typical introduction to research aimed at social work practitioners or new students in social work. It then moves into a set of chapters on beginning a research project, reviewing literature, and asking research questions, followed by a chapter on ethics. Next, the text transitions to three chapters covering constructs, measurement, and sampling, followed by five chapters covering research methods, and a closing chapter on dissemination of research. This is one of the more logically-organized research methods texts that I have used as an instructor.

Interface rating: 5

The modular chapters are easy to navigate and the interface of each chapter follows a standard presentation style with the reading followed by a short vocabulary glossary and references. This presentation lends itself to a familiarity for students that helps them become more efficient with completing reading assignments, even in short bursts of time. This is particularly important for online and returning learners who may juggle their assignment time with family and work obligations.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

At first glance at the table of contents, the book doesn't seem to be overtly committed to cultural representation, however, upon reading the chapters, it becomes clear that the author does try to represent and reference marginalized groups (e.g., women, individuals with disabilities, racial/ethnic/gender intersectionality) within the examples used. I also am very appreciative that the bottom of each introduction page for each chapter contains content trigger warnings for any possible topics that could be upsetting, e.g., substance abuse, violence.

As the author likely knows, social work students are eager to engage in learning that is current and relevant to their social causes. This book is written in a way that engages a non-researcher social worker into reading about research by weaving research information into topics that they might find compelling. It also does this in a concise way where short bits of pertinent information are presented, making the text accessible without needing to sustain long periods of attention. This is particularly important for online and returning learners who may need to sit with their readings in short bursts due to attending school while juggling work and family obligations.

Reviewed by Lynn Goerdt, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - Superior on 9/17/21

Text appears to be comprehensive in covering steps for typical SWK research class, taking students from the introduction of the purpose and importance of research to how to design and analyze research. Author covers the multitude of ways that social workers engage in research as way of building knowledge and ways that social work practitioners conduct research to evaluate their practice, including outcome evaluation, single subject design, and action research. I particularly appreciated the last section on reporting research, which should be very practical.

Overall, content appears mostly accurate which few errors. Definitions and citations are mostly thorough and clear. Author does cite Wikipedia in at least one occasion which could be credible, depending on the source of the Wikipedia content. There were a few references within the text to comic or stories but the referenced material was not always apparent.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content of Scientific Inquiry for Social Work is relevant, as the field of social work research methods does not appear to change quickly, although there are innovations. The author referenced examples which appear to be recent and likely relatable to interests of current students. Primary area of innovation is in using technology for the collection and analysis of data, which could be expanded, particularly using social media for soliciting research participants.

Style is personable and content appears to be accessible, which is a unique attribute for a research textbook. Author uses first person in many instances, particularly in the beginning to present the content as relatable.

Format appears to be consistent in format and relative length. Each chapter includes learning objectives, content advisory (if applicable), key takeaways and glossary. Author uses color and text boxes to draw attention to these sections.

Modularity rating: 4

Text is divided into modules which could easily be assigned and reviewed in a class. The text modules could also be re-structured if desired to fit curricular uniqueness’s. Author uses images to illuminate the concepts of the module or chapter, but they often take about 1/3 of the page, which extends the size of the textbook quite a bit. Unclear if benefit of images outweighs additional cost if PDF version is printed.

Textbook is organized in a very logical and clear fashion. Each section appears to be approximately 6-10 pages in length which seems to be an optimal length for student attention and comprehension.

Interface rating: 4

There were some distortions of the text (size and visibility) but they were a fairly minor distraction and did not appear to reduce access to the content. Otherwise text was easy to navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

No grammatical errors were noted but hyperlinks to outside content were referenced but not always visible which occasionally resulted in an awkward read. Specific link may be in resources section of each chapter but occasionally they were also included in the text.

I did not recognize any text which was culturally insensitive or offensive. Images used which depicted people, appeared to represent diverse experiences, cultures, settings and persons. Did notice image depicting homelessness appeared to be stereotypical person sleeping on sidewalk, which can perpetuate a common perception of homelessness. Would encourage author to consider images representing a wider range of experiences of a social phenomena. Content advisories are used for each section, which is not necessarily cultural relevance but is respectful and recognizes the diversity of experiences and triggers that the readers may have.

Overall, I was very impressed and encouraged with the well organized content and thoughtful flow of this important textbook for social work students and instructors. The length and readability of each chapter would likely be appreciated by instructors as well as students, increasing the extent that the learning outcomes would be achieved. Teaching research is very challenging because the content and application can feel very intimidating. The author also has provided access to supplemental resources such as presentations and assignments.

Reviewed by elaine gatewood, Adjunct Faculty, Bridgewater State University on 6/15/21

The book provides concrete and clear information on using research as consumers, It provides a comprehensive review of each step to take to develop a research project from beginning to completion, with examples. read more

Content Accuracy rating: 5

From my perspective, content is highly accurate in the field of learning research method and unbiased. It's all there!

The content is highly relevant and up-to-date in the field. The book is written and arranged in a way that its easy to follow along with adding updates.

The book is written in clear and concise. The book provides appropriate context for any jargon/technical terminology used along with examples which readers are able to follow along and understand.

The contents of the book flow quite well. The framework in the book is consistent.

The text appears easily adaptable for readers and the author also provides accompanying PowerPoint presentations; these are a good foundation tools for readers to use and implement.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The contents of the book flow very well. Readers would be able to put into practice the key reading strategies shared in the book ) because its organization is laid out nicely

Interface rating: 3

The interface is generally good, but I was only able to download the .pdf. This may present issues for some student readers.

There are no grammatical errors.

The text was culturally relevant and provided diverse research and practice examples. The text could have benefited from sexamples of intersectional and anti-oppressive lenses for students to consider in their practice.

This text is a comprehensive introduction to research that can be easily adapted for a BSW/MSW research course.

Reviewed by Taylor Hall, Assistant Professor, Bridgewater State University on 6/30/20

This text is more comprehensive than the text I currently use in my Research Methods in Social Work course, which students have to pay for. This text not only covers both qualitative and quantitative research methods, but also all parts of the research process from thinking about research ideas to questions all the way to evaluation after social work programs/policies have been employed.

Not much to say here- with research methods, things are black and white; it is or isn't. This content is accurate. I also like to way the content is explained in light of social work values and ethics. This is something our students can struggle with, and this is helpful in terms of showing why social work needs to pay attention to research.

There are upcoming changes to CSWE's competencies, therefore lots of text materials are going to need to be updated soon. Otherwise, case examples are pertinent and timely.

Clarity rating: 4

I think that research methods for social workers is a difficult field of study. Many go into the field to be clinicians, and few understand (off the bat) the importance of understanding methods of research. I think this textbook makes it clear to me, but hard to rate a 5 as I know from a student's perspective, lots of the terminology is so new.

Appears to be so- I was able to follow, seems consistent.

Yes- and I think this is a strong point of this text. This was easy to follow and read, and I could see myself easily divvying up different sections for students to work on in groups.

Yes- makes sense to me and the way I teach this course. I like the 30,000 ft view then honing in on specific types of research, all along the way explaining the different pieces of the research process and in writing a research paper.

I sometimes struggle with online platforms versus in person texts to read, and this OER is visually appealing- there is not too much text on the pages, it is spaced in a way that makes it easier to read. Colors are used well to highlight pertinent information.

Not something I found in this text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

This is a place where I feel the text could use some work. A nod to past wrongdoings in research methods on oppressed groups, and more of a discussion on social work's role in social justice with an eye towards righting the wrongs of the past. Updated language re: person first language, more diverse examples, etc.

This is a very useful text, and I am going to recommend my department check it out for future use, especially as many of our students are first gen and working class and would love to save money on textbooks where possible.

Reviewed by Olubunmi Oyewuwo-Gassikia, Assistant Professor, Northeastern Illinois University on 5/5/20

This text is an appropriate and comprehensive introduction to research methods for BSW students. It guides the reader through each stage of the research project, including identifying a research question, conducting and writing a literature review, research ethics, theory, research design, methodology, sampling, and dissemination. The author explains complex concepts - such as paradigms, epistemology, and ontology - in clear, simple terms and through the use of practical, social work examples for the reader. I especially appreciated the balanced attention to quantitative and qualitative methods, including the explanation of data collection and basic analysis techniques for both. The text could benefit from the inclusion of an explanation of research design notations.

The text is accurate and unbiased. Additionally, the author effectively incorporates referenced sources, including sources one can use for further learning.

The content is relevant and timely. The author incorporates real, recent research examples that reflects the applicability of research at each level of social practice (micro, meso, and macro) throughout the text. The text will benefit from regular updates in research examples.

The text is written in a clear, approachable manner. The chapters are a reasonable length without sacrificing appropriate depth into the subject manner.

The text is consistent throughout. The author is effective in reintroducing previously explained terms from previous chapters.

The text appears easily adaptable. The instructions provided by the author on how to adapt the text for one's course are helpful to one who would like to use the text but not in its entirety. The author also provides accompanying PowerPoint presentations; these are a good foundation but will likely require tailoring based on the teaching style of the instructor.

Generally, the text flows well. However, chapter 5 (Ethics) should come earlier, preferably before chapter 3 (Reviewing & Evaluating the Literature). It is important that students understand research ethics as ethical concerns are an important aspect of evaluating the quality of research studies. Chapter 15 (Real-World Research) should also come earlier in the text, most suitably before or after chapter 7 (Design and Causality).

The interface is generally good, but I was only able to download the .pdf. The setup of the .pdf is difficult to navigate, especially if one wants to jump from chapter to chapter. This may present issues for the student reader.

The text was culturally relevant and provided diverse research and practice examples. The text could have benefited from more critical research examples, such as examples of research studies that incorporate intersectional and anti-oppressive lenses.

This text is a comprehensive introduction to research that can be easily adapted for a BSW level research course.

Reviewed by Smita Dewan, Assistant Professor, New York City College of Technology, Department of Human Services on 12/6/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This is a very good introductory research methodology textbook for undergraduate students of social work or human services. For students who might be intimidated by social research, the text provides assurance that by learning basic concepts of research methodology, students will be better scholars and social work or human service practitioners. The content and flow of the text book supports a basic assignment of most research methodology courses which is to develop a research proposal or a research project. Each stage of research is explained well with many examples from social work practice that has the potential to keep the student engaged.

The glossary at the end of each chapter is very comprehensive but does not include the page number/s where the content is located. The glossary at the end of the book also lacks page numbers which might make it cumbersome for students seeking a quick reference.

The content is accurate and unbiased. Suggested exercises and prompts for students to engage in critical thinking and to identify biases in research that informs practice may help students understand the complexities of social research.

Content is up-to-date and concepts of research methodology presented is unlikely to be obsolete in the coming years. However, recent trends in research such as data mining, using algorithms for social policy and practice implications, privacy concerns, role of social media are topics that could be considered for inclusion in the forthcoming editions.

Content is presented very clearly for undergraduate students. Key takeaways and glossary for each section of the chapter is very useful for students.

Presentation of content, format and organization is consistent throughout the book.

Subsections within each chapter is very helpful for the students who might be assigned readings just in parts for the class.

Students would benefit from reading about research ethics right after the introductory chapter. I would also move Chapter 8 to right after the literature review which might inform creating and refining the research question. Content on evaluation research could also be moved up to follow the chapter on experimental designs. Regardless of the organization, the course instructors can assign chapters according to the course requirements.

PDF version of the book is very easy to use especially as students can save a copy on their computers and do not have to be online. Charts and tables are well presented but some of the images/photographs do not necessarily serve to enhance learning. Image attributions could be provided at the end of the chapter instead of being listed under the glossary. Students might also find it useful to be able to highlight the content and make annotations. This requires that students sign-in. Students should be able to highlight and annotate a downloaded version through Adobe Reader.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Content is not insensitive or offensive in any way. Supporting examples in chapters are very diverse. Students would benefit from some examples of international research (both positive and negative examples) of protection of human subjects.

Reviewed by Jill Hoffman, Assistant Professor, Portland State University on 10/29/19

This text includes 16 chapters that cover content related to the process of conducting research. From identifying a topic and reviewing the literature, to formulating a question, designing a study, and disseminating findings, the text includes research basics that most other introductory social work research texts include. Content on ethics, theory, and to a lesser extent evaluation, single-subject design, and action research are also included. There is a glossary at the end of the text that includes information on the location of the terms. There is a practice behaviors index, but not an index in the traditional sense. If using the text electronically, search functions make it easy to find necessary information despite not having an index. If using a printed version, this would be more difficult. The text includes examples to illustrate concepts that are relevant to settings in which social workers might work. As most other introductory social work research texts, this book appears to come from a mainly positivist view. I would have appreciated more of a discussion related to power, privilege, and oppression and the role these play in the research topics that get studied and who benefits, along with anti-oppressive research. Related to evaluations, a quick mention of logic models would be helpful.

The information appears to be accurate and error free. The language in the text seems to emphasize "right/wrong" choices/decisions instead of highlighting the complexities of research and practice. Using gender-neutral pronouns would also make the language more inclusive.

Content appears to be up-to-date and relevant. Any updating would be straightforward to carry out. I found at least one link that did not work (e.g., NREPP) so if you use this text it will be important to check and make sure things are updated.

The content is clearly written, using examples to illustrate various concepts. I appreciated prompts for questions throughout each chapter in order to engage students in the content. Key terms are bolded, which helps to easily identify important points.

Information is presented in a consistent manner throughout the text.

Each chapter is divided into subsections that help with readability. It is easy to pick and choose various pieces of the text for your course if you're not using the entire thing.

There are many ways you can organize a social work research text. Personally, I prefer to talk about ethics and theory early on, so that students have this as a framework as they read about other's studies and design their own. In the case of this text, I'd put those two chapters right after chapter 1. As others have suggested, I'd also move up the content on research questions, perhaps after chapter 4.

In the online version, no significant interface issues arose. The only thing that would be helpful is to have chapter titles clearly presented when navigating through the text in the online version. For example, when you click through to a new chapter, the title simply says "6.0 Chapter introduction." In order to see the chapter title you have to click into the contents tab. Not a huge issue but could help with navigating the online version. In the pdf version, the links in the table of contents allowed me to navigate through to various sections. I did notice that some of the external links were not complete (e.g., on page 290, the URL is linked as "http://baby-").

Cultural representation in the text is similar to many other introductory social work research texts. There's more of an emphasis on white, western, cis-gendered individuals, particularly in the images. In examples, it appeared that only male/female pronouns were used.

Reviewed by Monica Roth Day, Associate Professor, Social Work, Metropolitan State University (Saint Paul, Minnesota) on 12/26/18

The book provides concrete and clear information on using research as consumers, then developing research as producers of knowledge. It provides a comprehensive review of each step to take to develop a research project from beginning to completion, with appropriate examples. More specific social work links would be helpful as students learn more about the field and the uses of research.

The book is accurate and communicates information and largely without bias. Numerous examples are provided from varied sources, which are then used to discuss potential for bias in research. The addition of critical race theory concepts would add to this discussion, to ground students in the importance of understanding implicit bias as researchers and ways to develop their own awareness.

The book is highly relevant. It provides historical and current examples of research which communicate concepts using accessible language that is current to social work. The text is written so that updates should be easy. Links need to be updated on a regular basis.

The book is accessible for students at it uses common language to communicate concepts while helping students build their research vocabulary. Terminology is communicate both within the text and in glossaries, and technical terms are minimally used.

The book is consistent in its use of terminology and framework. It follows a pattern of development, from consuming research to producing research. The steps are predictable and walk students through appropriate actions to take.

The book is easily readable. Each chapter is divided in sections that are easy to navigate and understand. Pictures and tables are used to support text.

Chapters are in logical order and follow a common pattern.

When reading the book online, the text was largely free of interface issues. As a PDF, there were issues with formatting. Be aware that students who may wish to download the book into a Kindle or other book reader may experience issues.

The text was grammatically correct with no misspellings.

While the book is culturally relevant, it lacks the application of critical race theory. While students will learn about bias in research, critical race theory would ground students in the importance of understanding implicit bias as researchers and ways to develop their own awareness. It would also help students understand why the background of researchers is important in relation to the ways of knowing.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wareham, Associate Professor, Wayne State University on 11/30/18

The book provides a comprehensive introduction to research methods from the perspective of the discipline of Social Work. The book borrows heavily from Amy Blackstone’s Principles of Sociological Inquiry – Qualitative and Quantitative Methods open textbook. The book is divided into 16 chapters, covering: differences in reasoning and scientific thought, starting a research project, writing a literature review, ethics in social science research, how theory relates to research, research design, causality, measurement, sampling, survey research, experimental design, qualitative interviews and focus groups, evaluation research, and reporting research. Some of the more advanced concepts and topics are only covered at superficial level, which limits the intended population of readers to high school students, undergraduate students, or those with no background in research methods. Since the book is geared toward Social Work undergraduate students, the chapters and content address methodologies commonly used in this field, but ignore methodologies that may be more popular in other social science fields. For example, the material on qualitative methods is narrow and focuses on commonly used qualitative methods in Social Work. In addition, the chapter on evaluation is limited to a general overview of evaluation research, which could be improved with more in-depth discussion of different types of evaluation (e.g., needs assessment, evaluability assessment, process evaluation, impact/outcomes evaluation) and real-world examples of different types of evaluation implemented in Social Work. Overall, the author provides examples that are easy for practitioners in Social Work to understand, which are also easily relatable for students in similar disciplines such as criminal justice. The book provides a glossary of key terms. There is no index; however, users can search for terms using the find (Ctrl-F) function in the PDF version of the book.

Overall, the content inside this book is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. However, the content is limited to the Social Work perspective, which may be considered somewhat biased or inaccurate from the perspective of others in different disciplines.

The book describes classic examples used in most texts on social science research methods. It also includes contemporary and relevant examples. Some of the content (such as web addresses and contemporary news pieces) will need to be updated every few years. The text is written and arranged in such a way that any necessary updates should be relatively easy and straightforward to implement.

The book is written in clear and accessible prose. The book provides appropriate context for any jargon/technical terminology used. Readers from any social science discipline should be able to understand the content and context of the material presented in the book.

The framework and use of terminology in the book are consistent.

This book is highly modular. The author has even improved upon the modularity of the book from Blackstone’s open text (which serves as the basis of the present text). Each chapter is divided into short, related subsections. The design of the chapters and their subsections make it easy to divide the material into units of study across a semester or quarter of instruction.

Generally, the book is organized in a similar manner as other texts on social science research methods. However, the organization could be improved slightly. Chapters 2 through 4 describe the process of beginning a research project and conducting a literature review. Chapter 8 describes refining a research question. This chapter could be moved to follow the Chapter 4. Chapter 12 describes experimental design, while Chapter 15 provides a description and examples of evaluation research. Since evaluation research tends to rely on experimental and quasi-experimental design, this chapter should follow the experimental design chapter.

For the online version of the book, there were no interface issues. The images and charts were clear and readable. The hyperlinks to sources mentioned in the text worked. The Contents menu allowed for easy and quick access to any section of the book. For the PDF version of the book, there were interface issues. The images and charts were clear and readable. However, the URLs and hyperlinks were not active in the PDF version. Furthermore, the PDF version was not bookmarked, which made it more difficult to access specific sections of the book.

I did not find grammatical errors in the book.

Overall, the cultural relevance and sensitivity were consistent with other social science research methods texts. The author does a good job of using both female and male pronouns in the prose. While there are pictures of people of color, there could be more. Most of the pictures are of white people. Also, the context is generally U.S.-centric.

Chapter 1: Introduction to research
Chapter 2: Beginning a research project
Chapter 3: Reading and evaluating literature
Chapter 4: Conducting a literature review
Chapter 5: Ethics in social work research
Chapter 6: Linking methods with theory
Chapter 7: Design and causality
Chapter 8: Creating and refining a research question
Chapter 9: Defining and measuring concepts
Chapter 10: Sampling
Chapter 11: Survey research
Chapter 12: Experimental design
Chapter 13: Interviews and focus groups
Chapter 14: Unobtrusive research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches
Chapter 15: Real-world research: Evaluation, single-subjects, and action research
Chapter 16: Reporting and reading research

Ancillary Material

Open Social Work Education

About the Book

As an introductory textbook for social work students studying research methods, this book guides students through the process of creating a research project. Students will learn how to discover a researchable topic that is interesting to them, examine scholarly literature, formulate a proper research question, design a quantitative or qualitative study to answer their question, carry out the design, interpret quantitative or qualitative results, and disseminate their findings to a variety of audiences. Examples are drawn from the author's practice and research experience, as well as topical articles from the literature.

There are ancillary materials available for this book.

About the Contributors

Matt DeCarlo earned his PhD in social work at Virginia Commonwealth University and is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Radford University. He earned an MSW from George Mason University in 2010 and a BA in Psychology from the College of William and Mary in 2007. His research interests include open educational resources, self-directed Medicaid supports, and basic income. Matt is an Open Textbook Network Campus Leader for Radford University. He is the founder of Open Social Work Education, a non-profit collaborative advancing OER in social work education.

Contribute to this Page

Search Menu
Advance articles
Editor's Choice
Author Guidelines
Submission Site
Open Access
About The British Journal of Social Work
About the British Association of Social Workers
Editorial Board
Advertising and Corporate Services
Journals Career Network
Self-Archiving Policy
Dispatch Dates
Journals on Oxford Academic
Books on Oxford Academic

Article Contents

Introduction, research design, human agency, discussion and conclusion, acknowledgements.

< Previous

Human Agency and Social Work Research: A Systematic Search and Synthesis of Social Work Literature

Article contents
Figures & tables
Supplementary Data

Cameron Parsell, Elizabeth Eggins, Greg Marston, Human Agency and Social Work Research: A Systematic Search and Synthesis of Social Work Literature, The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 47, Issue 1, January 2017, Pages 238–255, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv145

Permissions Icon Permissions

Human agency is core to social work. Practice theories and frameworks position human agency as socially mediated, but assume that people possess human agency to play determining roles in their life circumstances. Some of the discipline's seminal thinkers, however, argue that social work has adopted a disproportionate focus on the individual, whereby the human agency of social work clients and people experiencing marginalisation more broadly is highlighted. This article draws on a systematic search, screening and synthesis of contemporary (2008–12) social work journals to identify and assess the profession's engagement with human agency. Of the 6,935 articles screened, we identified 549 articles, or 7.9 per cent, that engaged with human agency of clients or non-social worker groups. The minority of social work literature engaging with human agency presents expressions of human agency, or an identification of the barriers to expressing human agency, in empirically and theoretically meaningful ways. The social work literature that considers human agency highlights the diversity and complexity of people's lives. Moreover, it demonstrates human agency as socially mediated and contingent. The research literature outlines an empirical basis to underpin social work's empowerment, change and emancipation objectives.

Human agency is core to social work. Since the profession's conception, and consistently with practice frameworks and formal definitions, social work has sought to locate and understand human action as an individual interacting with their environment ( Hugman, 2009 ). Through interactions with the environment, social work positions people with the agency ‘to make their own history’ ( Reisch and Jani, 2012 , p. 1145). Social work theories position human agency as socially mediated. As elaborated below, human agency is defined as an individual's capacity to determine and make meaning from their environment through purposive consciousness and reflective and creative action ( Houston, 2010 ). In line with ecological and person-in-environment perspectives, social work intervenes to change social institutions and systems to enhance the well-being and material circumstances of excluded individuals ( Adams et al. , 2009 ; International Federation of Social Workers, 2015 ). Social work person-in-environment practice frameworks rest on assumptions that individuals possess human agency. Consistently with the broad sociological definition of human agency driving this article, social work theories recognise that the environment determines the person but the person determines the environment ( Brekke, 2012 ). Social work engages at the interacting person and environment dimension and social work's engagement is predicated on human agency.

Given that social work theories and practice frameworks prioritise an individual's capacity for human agency and that social work practitioners are overwhelmingly employed to work with people in direct service provision roles, we could conclude that social work scholarship—as published in contemporary social work journals—focuses on questions of human agency. More specifically, we could expect that social work research examines the human agency of people working with social workers.

Indeed, many of the profession's seminal thinkers not only conclude that social work scholarship focuses on the individual and their human agency, but also assert that contemporary social work scholarship is disproportionately directed towards the individual. A common explanation is that social work's disproportionate focus on the individual is part of the neo-liberal project ( Hyslop, 2012 ). Gray et al. (2015) observe that neo-liberalism is used as a master narrative to describe all that is wrong with welfare, and neo-liberalism drives social work towards a focus on the behaviours and actions of individuals experiencing material and symbolic exclusion. This focus on individual action and behaviour, it is argued, glosses over structural and systematic forces where individual problems are embedded ( Schram, 2002 ). Garrett (2015) cites Michael Gove, a leading conservative political figure in the UK, as a high-profile example of the state pushing social work away from a social analysis of disadvantage. Garrett (2015) argues that, through political rhetoric and the training of social workers, the state directs social work towards an individual analysis of social problems, whereby social work is pressured to intervene with individuals to change their actions and behaviour as the solution to the problems they experience. Central to Garrett's thesis is that social work in contemporary British society is too heavily directed, and being further pushed, towards the human agency of social work clients. The casting of social problems as matters of individual behaviour—a focus on the individual—implicitly and explicitly brings questions of human agency to the fore.

In a similar analysis from the USA, Levin et al. (2013) argue that social work has overlooked systems and ecological frameworks. With Olson (2007) , they argue that organisational pressures and a desire to achieve a professional status mean that social work focuses on micro-based interventions directed at individual behaviour. Indeed, Reisch and Jani (2012) suggest that contemporary social work in the USA has moved away from its critical narrative of resistance and challenging the status quo. Instead, and consistently with the characterisation of neo-liberalism in the UK, they argue that social work has moved towards dominant cultural ideas of the primacy of the individual.

Others have outlined contrasting views. Rather than the individual as the unit of analysis, Parsell, Tomaszewski and Phillips (2014) claim that, for political and ideological reasons, social work has deliberately overlooked human agency of social work clients. Social work is a value-based profession which explicitly advocates for marginalised and excluded groups ( Healy, 2015 ). The critique of Parsell, Tomaszewski and Phillips (2014) assumes that a focus on the agency of individuals experiencing disadvantage, if that agency portrays them negatively, may undermine advocacy efforts to disrupt social oppressions. Consistently with Wacquant's (2002) critique of contemporary urban ethnographers who deliberately focus on the positive attributes of the marginalised as a means to highlight their acceptability to the middle class, Parsell, Tomaszewski and Phillips (2014) assert that social work scholarship has not sufficiently engaged with the agency of marginalised populations to avoid problematic discourses of the undeserving poor where people are blamed for their poverty. Martin (2011) takes this line of argument further. He asserts that, in their quest to develop sophisticated explanatory theories, social scientists have ignored individuals and not taken account of an individual's assessment of their situation. Instead, social scientists privilege third-person explanations of human action where human agency is discounted ( Martin, 2011 ).

Driven by the theoretical, ideological and practice significance of human agency for social work, this article examines how contemporary social work literature engages with human agency. Following debate about whether social work either focuses disproportionately on human agency or deliberately avoids it, we draw on a systematic search and synthesis of contemporary social work literature to develop an evidence base for these claims and counter claims. Two research questions are addressed. First, to what extent does contemporary social work literature engage with questions of human agency? Second, in what ways does contemporary social work literature position human agency?

Social work and systematic reviews

Systematic reviews are powerful resources for researchers and practitioners because they provide a succinct yet comprehensive synthesis of research evidence in particular areas. Social workers have used systematic reviews to generate diverse evidence about the nature and extent interventions, including: substance disorder treatment ( Clark et al. , 2014 ); social workers in schools ( Meares et al. , 2013 ); reintegration of people seeking asylum to their country of origin ( Carr, 2014 ); care farming for young people in foster-care ( Downes et al. , 2015 ); and other aspects of child protection systems ( McFadden et al. , 2015 ; Rock et al. , 2015 ).

Social work also uses systematic reviews to examine how disciplinary journals deal with certain issues, including: prevention ( Ruth et al. , 2015 ), epistemology ( Gringeri et al. , 2013 ) and the use and quality of structural equation modelling ( Guo et al. , 2009 ). The content of scholarly social work journals is central to the profession's endeavours to carve out an identity ( Ruth et al. , 2015 ). The stated aim of many disciplinary journals is to disseminate knowledge for the purposes of informing practice. With practice frameworks of people interacting in their environment social work has much to contribute about human agency of excluded groups. Whether, and how, the profession deals with human agency demonstrates an understanding of the positioning of problems that individuals experience, while also identifying the position of social work in addressing the problems. By systematically searching and synthesising articles published in social work journals—identifying what is highlighted and what is overlooked—we can gain insights into the normative positions and public image advocated by social work ( Grise-Owens, 2002 ; Ruth et al. , 2015 ).

Conceptualising human agency

To facilitate our systematic search and synthesis, we drew on the published literature to identify salient features of human agency. Unlike concepts used in the majority of social work systematic searches, agency is an ambiguous ( Loyal and Barnes, 2001 ) and multidimensional concept ( Hitlin and Johnson, 2015 ). Emirbayer and Mische (1998) developed an influential sociological model of agency that moves beyond classic ideas of human action as habitual and embedded within past experiences. Their model of agency recognises that people do not only act out of habit and routine, rather agency is oriented towards future possibilities and an individual's capacity to reflect upon and evaluate their present situation. Adopting Emirbayer and Mische's model, we add to it with Hitlin and Johnson (2015) to integrate aspirations and optimism in achieving life goals as meaningful components of human agency.

These sociological models of human agency are consistent with social work practice principles which position individuals with the capacity to determine their life outcome ( Reisch and Jani, 2012 ). Social work researchers have drawn on social models of human agency to locate both social workers and client's capacity for projective and creative action in a context mediated by available resources and social conditions ( Goh, 2015 ; Smith, 2014 ). Individual action is always imbued with structure, but social action is never completely determined or structured ( Emirbayer and Mische, 1998 ). This is similar to bounded agency—the capacity of an individual to influence their life course ( Shanahan et al. , 1997 ).

The socially embedded notion of agency fits well with contemporary psychological theories that reject ideas of free will and describe human action as a dynamic interplay of a person influenced by their environment. Although action is structured, people are ‘contributors to their circumstances, not just products of them’ ( Bandura, 2006 , p. 164). It is the capacity to exercise agency that is central to self-determination and a core aspect of developing a sense of identity ( Ryan and Deci, 2000 ). This socially located characterisation of human agency drives the empirical research presented in this article.

To identify and examine how social work academic literature deals with human agency, we systematically searched, screened and coded the content of forty-eight social work journals published over a five-year period from 1 January 2008 through 31 December 2012. We selected the forty-eight journals based on Hodge and Lacasse's (2011) ranking of social work journal quality. Hodge and Lacasse (2011) identified eighty active social work discipline journals; using the Google Scholar h-index, they ranked journals from 1 to 80. Initially, we planned to search the top-fifty-ranked journals, but our search identified that two top-fifty-ranked journals ceased publication by 2008. These are the Journal of Social Work and Long-Term Care and the Journal of Social Work Research and Evaluation .

Developed from our conceptualisation of human agency, we developed a search string comprised of terms that are representative of human agency which were joined together with Boolean operator or ‘human agency’ or agency or choice or voice or identity or consciousness or ‘human reason’ or ‘self-determination’ or autonomy or action. Using this search string, in late 2013 and early 2014, we searched the forty-eight journals across the title, abstract and keywords search fields within our five-year window. In practice, an article would be identified if it contained at least one search term in either its title, abstract or keywords.

Our search terms are not exhaustive, but they do enable examination of social work literature to identify the use of human agency defined as a construct that positions people as not entirely subject to structure—or made implicitly invisible by structure. Agency instead recognises an individual's capacity for evaluation, projection, reason, self-determination and action.

Systematic search strategy

Screen shot of SysReview coding form

Is the document unique (not a duplicate)? (Yes = eligible; No = ineligible);

Does the document refer to human agency? (Yes/Unsure = eligible; No = ineligible).

If ‘Yes’, continue to Step 2.

If ‘No’, brief explanation for exclusion recorded.

Social work or social worker practitioners

Clients or any non-social worker group

Qualitative notes describing the article, with a focus on content dealing with human agency and methodology, were identified and reported ( Hsieh and Shannon, 2005 ).

PRISMA diagram for systematic search and screening process

Addressing research question 2, the remainder of our article draws on the content analysis of the 549 articles that included human agency of clients or non-social worker groups to tease out how the social work literature positions human agency. The 549 articles include the 382 with a sole focus on client agency and the 167 articles that included clients and social workers. We do not analyse content regarding social worker agency that was captured in the 167 articles that included clients and social workers or the 162 that focused on human agency of only social workers (see Marston and McDonald (2012) for a critical discussion on social worker agency). Social worker agency will be the focus of another article.

The content analysis revealed three themes in the way social work literature engages human agency of clients or non-social worker groups, which are: (i) human action, (ii) meaning making and identity construction and (iii) normative claims for and barriers to human agency.

Agency: human action

Social work research engages human agency by reporting on empirical research where human action is described. Consistently with sociological theories on human agency as a deliberative and thoughtful process, social work research provides empirical accounts of individuals human action located within a myriad of social contexts. Belliveau (2011) and Dodsworth (2012) are noteworthy examples. Belliveau (2011) draws on a qualitative study with undocumented Mexican mothers living in the USA to illustrate the strategies they use to access, or to avoid, publically funded services and resources. Dodsworth's study of sex workers in the UK provides a sophisticated detailing of women's actions. She shows how some women strongly assert their self-determination and expressions of choice as sex workers. Significantly, the agency women expressed, and the limited agency other women identified, were mediated by disadvantaged life histories and criminal and moral forces that stigmatise sex work ( Dodsworth, 2012 ; also see Bruckner, 2008 ).

Schormans (2010) used a photographic methodology that facilitated a research environment where people with intellectual disabilities actively constructed and edited a desired sense of self and outward representation. By drawing on a methodology that challenged the positioning of research subjects as passive, people with intellectual disabilities actively worked to subvert assumptions that they were objects to be gazed at and defined.

Agency as expressed through action was central to Zdun's (2012) research with immigrant youth imprisoned in Germany. He shows how some young adults actively resist confirmative behaviour and are not motivated to avoid recidivism. Moreover, in overtly engaging in criminal and violent action, the young adults feel a sense of superiority over authorities ( Zdun, 2012 ). Emond (2010) also demonstrated how human action contributes to emotional and social outcomes. In research with children living in Cambodian orphanages, Emond details examples of children providing self-care and care to others. Their actions of providing care constituted practical means to achieve a sense of status and power, and to demonstrate their loyalty and respect to adults.

In a way theoretically consistent with person-in-environment frameworks, social work scholarship dealing with human action explicitly ties agency to the social context. Hussey's (2011) work on women's decision to terminate pregnancies as mediated by state legislation and public opinion represents a salient example. Other social work research extends the analysis of human action to embed agency within a biographical context, notably perpetrating violence against children ( Damant et al. , 2010 ) and engaging in sex work ( Harding and Hamilton, 2009 ; also Dodsworth, 2012 , above). These studies highlight the actions of perpetrating violence and engaging in sex work as something the individuals owned, but nevertheless human actions that are located within previous life experiences of surviving abuse as children.

Other social work research details human agency via actions and behaviours with an explicit framing of individuals as positive. Rather than just identifying and detailing human agency among marginalised groups, social work research show positive human action vis-à-vis assumptions or research literature where the marginalised groups are portrayed as passive or problematic. Common among this research is the presentation of resilience ( Bottrell, 2009 ; Murray, 2010 ).

Often, the research highlighting positive agency foregrounds public assumptions of groups as negative or powerless. Dominelli et al. (2011) demonstrate the active role of a ‘good dad’ that men with children in the child protection system pursue. In a social context where authorities, including social workers, are suspicious of fathers, they show the positive efforts and endeavours that father's strive for. Karabanow et al. 's (2012) research is likewise emblematic of presenting data on human action to highlight the moral worth of excluded groups. They show how young people living on the streets in Guatemala pursue an innovative and entrepreneurial life in which they actively contribute to, and develop, informal economies.

Agency: meaning making and identities

In addition to empirical research which highlights agency via human action, social work research engages with human agency through analysis of people's active meaning-making processes. Armour (2010) draws on both questionnaire and qualitative interview data to show how Holocaust survivors made meaning of their lives. Her research highlights human agency by detailing, with analytical depth, people's intentions, aspirations and mental processes to achieve a state of survival.

The reflective process of meaning making is likewise evident in numerous social work articles that consider the deliberative processes of identity formation and expression. The research pays particular attention to identity formation and expression in light of major life disruptions and stressors. Berzoff (2011) argues that loss of a deceased loved one constitutes a means for people to transform the self and make positive advancements in their lives, whereas Borum (2012) shows that a strong sense of African American identity is protective against suicide and depression. Bentley (2010) provides a similarly nuanced account of the role of psychiatric medication influencing the ascribed and felt identities among people with serious mental illnesses.

The social work research examining people's sense of self and a projected self draws on broad sociological theories of identities as something that are not only plural—we have multiple identities—but identities as socially located. The research shows the agentic processes involved in identity constructions vis-à-vis life events, which include: young people's lives after they leave domestic violence shelters ( Overlien, 2011 ); older people incorporating spirituality into their identities ( Randall, 2009 ); purposefully disclosing and concealing identity ( Chase, 2010 ); negotiating, locating and successfully achieving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered identities ( Cashore and Tuason, 2009 ; Levy, 2012 ); parents managing their identities after their children are placed in out-of-home care ( Schofield et al. , 2011 ); and mothers' shaping their identities in recovery from addiction ( Virokannas, 2011 ). The social work research detailing the meaning making and identity processes demonstrates that people are active agents in the sense of self they feel. As Carpenter-Aeby and Aeby (2009) show, identities are scripts that people work on.

Through a positioning of people with agency, social work research shows how identities are not simply imposed. Rather, people, even those who are marginalised or living in socially stigmatised situations, actively construct a sense of self. The process of identity construction, consistently with the linking of human action to a broader social context, recognises that identity construction—or avoidance—is socially mediated.

Mik-Meyer's (2010) analysis is instructive. She demonstrates how people's sense of identity as a fat person is mediated by their participation in weight loss programmes and broader society norms. Miller (2011) extends this proposition of identities as socially mediated by illustrating how, through participation in a sexual offenders' rehabilitation programme, people are purposefully encouraged to construct a specific identity. Solberg (2011) also shows how the counselling process encourages clients to articulate specific identities and narratives, but clients nevertheless construct their own identities incongruent with the service provider's expectations.

Normative claims for, and barriers to, agency

Thus far, we have shown two dominant ways in which social work research engages human agency, either through detailed accounts of socially mediated human action or through active meaning-making processes, including identity formation and construction. The analysis revealed that social work research also considers agency by making normative claims that people ought to be able to express agency or by identifying barriers to agency experienced by marginalised groups.

Archard and Skivenes (2009) represent the former. Drawing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, they argue for the significance of children having an authentic voice in discussions affecting them. With recognition of the challenges that child protection represents, particularly when children's voices and position contrasts with the formal assessment of their needs, they strongly advocated for systems and practices that enable children to express agency ( Archard and Skivenes, 2009 ). Leece and Leece (2011) also make normative claims for agency vis-à-vis the social constraints that render expressions of agency difficult. In research examining internet forums, they show how people with disabilities and their carers advocate for the right of people with disabilities to wield power so that they have the autonomy to make their own choices rather than social workers making choices for them ( Leece and Leece, 2011 ). Manthorpe et al. 's (2009) article is an exemplar of the social work research which grapples with, and makes assertions for, the significance of people having the opportunities to exercise control and play determining roles in consumer driven care. This work highlights the need for institutional, practice and regulation reform to ensure that vulnerable people using consumer directed services are in a position to best act in their own interests.

Social work research consistently elucidates the barriers to expressing agency that marginalised populations experience. Often, this work focuses on challenges to human agency as action, such as: people in poverty with dependent children improving their material circumstances ( Okech et al. , 2012 ); older people in nursing homes participating civically ( Anderson and Dabelko-Schoeny, 2010 ); women with cognitive impairments controlling their fertility ( Burgen, 2010 ); and homeless shelter residents' challenges to eating healthy food ( Hartnett and Postmus, 2010 ).

Research identifying the barriers to expressing human agency also draws attention to challenges to identity construction, particularly achieving positive identities as parents. Grahame and Marston (2012) showed how welfare to work policy were not only experienced as intrusive, but also how broader policy and cultural narratives of welfare recipients undermined women's capacity to express and have valued their identities as good mothers. Mignon and Ransford (2012) identified the barriers that women in prison faced in performing their role as mothers.

Two key points can be taken from the analysis and unpacked further. First, the literature engaging human agency represents a noteworthy minority. Our systematic search and synthesis of 6,935 articles identified 711 which dealt with human agency. If we remove the 162 articles that only included social worker human agency, the 549 articles that included human agency of social work clients or non-social worker groups represent 7.9 per cent of all articles published during the five-year search period. It is impossible to determine what percentage of social work research ought to include the human agency of social work clients. On the other hand, given that clients, or individuals experiencing marginalisation, exclusion or social problems, are the centre of the profession's existence, it could reasonably be argued that contemporary social work research focuses insufficiently on questions of human agency.

Although we did not methodically count, during the systematic search and synthesis it appeared that far more articles focus on diverse aspects and finer details of the social work profession than they do on the human agency of the people the profession exists for. Given the core position that human agency assumes in social work frameworks, not to mention the centrality that client human agency assumes for social work practice, we are surprised that contemporary social work research does not engage with human agency more frequently. Indeed, after reading the critiques of contemporary social work as a profession imbued by neo-liberalism and regressing down a trajectory of focusing on individuals rather than social systems, the 7.9 per cent of articles including human agency was unexpected. If human agency is central to the profession, and we believe that it is, is social work reliant on other disciplines, such as psychology, anthropology, sociology and psychiatry, to provide an understanding of human agency? Can Brekke's (2012) critique that social work has failed to develop a coherent model of science to underpin the profession offer some answers to why social work mostly overlooks the agency of clients or marginalised groups more broadly?

Second, the social work research that does engage in human agency overwhelmingly presents expressions of human agency, or an identification of the barriers to expressing human agency, in empirically and theoretically meaningful ways. Contrary to the claim of Parsell, Tomaszewski and Phillips (2014) , social work research positions human agency in a way that portrayed individuals as neither negative nor responsible for their problems. The research examining human agency cannot be considered part of the neo-liberal project of individualising social problems. Rather, the corpus of social work research dealing with human agency provides evidence of how expressions of agency are indeed socially mediated. The work provides a solid basis for social work practice to grasp the complexity of practising in a person-in-environment framework.

Houston's (2010) research exemplifies social work scholarship grappling with socially mediated human agency that can drive social work practice. Consistently with the sociological model of agency underpinning the search and synthesis in this paper, Houston (2010) argues for the importance of social work moving beyond characterisations that position people as cultural dopes, passively progressing along a predetermined path. His theoretical insights of people possessing the capacity for human agency as central to social work's empowerment, change and emancipation objectives are instructive. Instead of a limiting perspective that individualises social problems, Houston (2010) presents a theoretical argument to show how avoiding human agency limits the opportunities open to social work. Houston's theoretical work, and that of the social work research reported above, provide space for understanding the interdependent world that Young (2011) described, where all of us, including people living in poverty, respond individually to structured conditions. Rather than ignoring human agency, achieving social justice requires altering social structures where human agency takes place.

Limitations

There are three noteworthy limitations to this article. First, our location of human agency in social work articles was limited by the number of terms in our search string. Although we developed our search string from the broadly sociological and psychological literature, we are conscious that it was not exhaustive, and invariably we would have missed some articles. This limitation could be addressed by refining our search string to include more synonyms for agency (e.g. self-efficacy, capabilities). Second, our claims are explicitly directed towards social work research published in forty-eight social work journals. In addition to excluding the other thirty-two social work journals identified by Hodge and Lacasse (2011) , we are conscious that social work scholars publish outside of professional disciplinary journals and in grey literature. This literature is not considered. Third, our analysis is a time-specific snapshot. We limited our search to complete years and so did not include research published in 2013. Future systematic searches could expand the time frame to 2013–15.

The social work research that engages with human agency identified in this systematic search and synthesis demonstrates the diversity and complexity of people's lives. As a profession, social work has drawn on practice frameworks and theoretical ideas to present nuanced accounts of human agency within a multitude of social contexts. Scholars have shown how an examination of the human agency of people experiencing exclusion and marginalisation is not the antithesis to social justice or a part of the neo-liberal project and the narrowing of social problems to the individual. Our research does not support the proposition that social work focuses disproportionately on individuals. Instead, the social work research that does engage with individuals presents expressions of human agency in ways that set forward an empirical basis for social work to intervene in the space between the individual and broader economic, cultural and social systems where disadvantage is embedded. As the social work research demonstrates, it is the socially mediated expressions of human agency where solutions to social injustice and social problems can be sustainably developed.

The research received no specific funding.

Adams R. , Dominelli L. , Payne M. ( 2009 ) Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates , 3rd edn, Basingstoke , Palgrave Macmillan .

Google Scholar

Google Preview

Anderson K. , Dabelko-Schoeny H. ( 2010 ) ‘ Civic engagement for nursing home residents: A call for social work action ’, Journal of Gerontology and Social Work , 53 3 , pp. 270 – 82 .

Archard D. , Skivenes M. ( 2009 ) ‘ Hearing the child ’, Child & Family Social Work , 14 4 , pp. 391 – 9 .

Armour M. ( 2010 ) ‘ Meaning making in survivorship: Application to Holocaust survivors ’, Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment , 20 4 , pp. 440 – 68 .

Bandura A. ( 2006 ) ‘ Toward a psychology of human agency ’, Perspectives on Psychological Science , 1 2 , pp. 164 – 80 .

Belliveau M. ( 2011 ) ‘ Gendered matters: Undocumented Mexican mothers in the current policy context ’, Affilia , 26 1 , pp. 32 – 46 .

Bentley K. ( 2010 ) ‘ Psychiatric medication and meaning-making in a residential program for adults with serious mental illness ’, Qualitative Social Work , 9 4 , pp. 479 – 99 .

Berzoff J. ( 2011 ) ‘ The transformative nature of grief and bereavement ’, Clinical Social Work Journal , 39 3 , pp. 262 – 9 .

Borum V. ( 2012 ) ‘ African American women's perceptions of depression and suicide risk and protection: A womanist exploration ’, Affilia , 27 3 , pp. 316 – 27 .

Bottrell D. ( 2009 ) ‘ Understand “marginal” perspectives: Towards a social theory of resilience ’, Qualitative Social Work , 8 3 , pp. 321 – 39 .

Brekke J. ( 2012 ) ‘ Shaping a science of social work ’, Research on Social Work Practice , 22 5 , pp. 455 – 64 .

Bruckner M. ( 2008 ) ‘ Women in prostitution and social responsibility ’, Social Work & Society , 6 2 , pp. 315 – 32 .

Burgen B. ( 2010 ) ‘ Women with cognitive impairment and unplanned or unwanted pregnancy: A 2-year audit of women contacting the pregnancy advisory service ’, Australian Social Work , 63 1 , pp. 18 – 34 .

Carpenter-Aeby T. , Aeby V. ( 2009 ) ‘ Rewriting family stories during successful transition from an alternative school: One student's story of “violent female” to “phenomenal women” ’, Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment , 19 3 , pp. 281 – 97 .

Carr H. ( 2014 ) ‘ Returning “home”: Experiences of reintegration for asylum seekers and refugees ’, British Journal of Social Work , 44 ( Supp 1 ), pp. i140 – 56 .

Cashore C. , Tuason T. ( 2009 ) ‘ Negotiating the binary: Identity and social justice for bisexual and transgender individuals ’, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services , 21 4 , pp. 374 – 401 .

Chase E. ( 2010 ) ‘ Agency and silence: Young people seeking asylum alone in the UK ’, British Journal of Social Work , 40 7 , pp. 2050 – 68 .

Clark T. , McGovern P. , Mgbeokwere D. , Wooten N. , Owusa H. , McGraw K. ( 2014 ) ‘ Systematic review: The nature and extent of social work research on substance use disorders treatment interventions among African Americans ’, Journal of Social Work , 14 5 , pp. 451 – 72 .

Damant D. , Lapierre S. , Lebosse C. , Thibault S. , Lessard G. , Hamelin-Brabant L. , Lavergne C. , Fortin A. ( 2010 ) ‘ Women's abuse of their children in the context on domestic violence: Reflection from women's accounts ’, Child & Family Social Work , 15 1 , pp. 12 – 21 .

Dodsworth J. ( 2012 ) ‘ Pathways through sex work: Childhood experiences and adult identities ’, British Journal of Social Work , 42 3 , pp. 519 – 36 .

Dominelli L. , Strega S. , Walmsley C. , Callahan M. , Brown L. ( 2011 ) ‘ “Here's my story”: Fathers of “looked after” children recount their experiences in the Canadian child welfare system ’, British Journal of Social Work , 41 2 , pp. 351 – 67 .

Downes M. , Lakhani A. , Maujean A. , Macfarlane K. , Kendall E. ( 2015 ) ‘ Evidence for using farm care practices to improve attachment outcomes in foster children: A systematic review ’, British Journal of Social Work Advance Access published August 19, 2015 , 10.1093/bjsw/bcv070 .

Emirbayer M. , Mische A. ( 1998 ) ‘ What is agency? ’, American Journal of Sociology , 103 4 , pp. 962 – 1023 .

Emond R. ( 2010 ) ‘ Caring as a moral, practical and powerful endeavour: Peer care in a Cambodian orphanage ’, British Journal of Social Work , 40 1 , pp. 63 – 81 .

Garrett P. ( 2015 ) ‘ Introducing Michael Gove to Loic Wacquant: Why social work needs critical sociology ’, British Journal of Social Work , doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcv024 .

Goh E. ( 2015 ) ‘ Vulnerable families as active change agents of their own change process: A bidirectional perspective ’, Social Work , 60 2 , pp. 145 – 54 .

Grahame T. , Marston G. ( 2012 ) ‘ Welfare-to-work policies and the experience of employed single mothers on income support in Australia: Where are the benefits? ’, Australian Social Work , 65 1 , pp. 73 – 86 .

Gray M. , Dean M. , Agllias K. , Howard A. , Schubert L. ( 2015 ) ‘ Perspectives on neoliberalism for human service professionals ’, Social Service Review , 89 2 , pp. 368 – 92 .

Gringeri C. , Barusch A. , Cambron C. ( 2013 ) ‘ Epistemology in qualitative social work research: A review of published articles, 2008–2010 ’, Social Work Research , 37 1 , pp. 55 – 63 .

Grise-Owens E. ( 2002 ) ‘ Sexism and the social work curriculum: A content analysis of the journal of social work education ’, Affilia , 17 2 , pp. 147 – 66 .

Guo B. , Perron B. , Gillespie D. ( 2009 ) ‘ A systematic review of structural equation modelling in social work research ’, British Journal of Social Work , 39 8 , pp. 1556 – 74 .

Harding R. , Hamilton P. ( 2009 ) ‘ Working girls: Abuse or choice in street-level sex work? A study of homeless women in Nottingham ’, British Journal of Social Work , 39 6 , pp. 1118 – 37 .

Hartnett H. , Postmus J. ( 2010 ) ‘ The function of shelters for women: Assistance or social control? ’, Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment , 20 2 , pp. 289 – 302 .

Healy K. ( 2015 ) ‘ Becoming a trustworthy profession: Doing better than doing good ’, Australian Social Work Advance Access published July 21, 2015 , 10.1080/0312407X.2014.973550 .

Higginson A. , Neville R. ( 2014 ) SysReview [Systematic Review Management Software] , Brisbane , The University of Queensland .

Hitlin S. , Johnson M. ( 2015 ) ‘ Reconceptualising agency within the life course: The power of looking ahead ’, American Journal of Sociology , 120 5 , pp. 1429 – 72 .

Hodge D. , Lacasse J. ( 2011 ) ‘ Ranking disciplinary journals with Google Scholar H-Index: A new tool for constructing cases for tenure promotion, and other professional decisions ’, Journal of Social Work Education , 47 3 , pp. 579 – 96 .

Houston S. ( 2010 ) ‘ Further reflections on Habermas's contribution to discourse in child protection: An examination of power in social life ’, British Journal of Social Work , 40 6 , pp. 1736 – 53 .

Hsieh H. , Shannon S. ( 2005 ) ‘ Three approaches to qualitative content analysis ’, Qualitative Health Research , 15 9 , pp. 1277 – 88 .

Hugman R. ( 2009 ) ‘ But is it social work? Some reflections on mistaken identities ’, British Journal of Social Work , 39 6 , pp. 1138 – 53 .

Hussey L. ( 2011 ) ‘ Is welfare pro-life? Assistance programs, abortion, and the moderating role of states ’, Social Service Review , 85 1 , pp. 75 – 107 .

Hyslop I. ( 2012 ) ‘ Social work as a practice of freedom ’, Journal of Social Work , 12 4 , pp. 404 – 22 .

International Federation of Social Workers ( 2015 ) Global Definition of Social Work , available online at http://ifsw.org/get-involved/global-definition-of-social-work/ .

Karabanow J. , Gurman E. , Naylor T. ( 2012 ) ‘ Street youth labor as an expression of survival and self-worth: Voices from youth in Guatemala City ’, Critical Social Work , 13 2 , pp. 42 – 59 .

Leece J. , Leece D. ( 2011 ) ‘ Personalisation: Perceptions of the role of social work in a world of brokers and budgets ’, British Journal of Social Work , 41 2 , pp. 204 – 23 .

Levin L. , Goor Y. , Tayri M. ( 2013 ) ‘ Agency advocacy and organisational development: A feasible policy practice alliance ’, British Journal of Social Work , 43 3 , pp. 522 – 41 .

Levy D. ( 2012 ) ‘ The importance of personal and contextual factors in resolving conflict between sexual identity and Christian upbringing ’, Journal of Social Service Research , 38 1 , pp. 56 – 73 .

Loyal S. , Barnes B. ( 2001 ) ‘ Agency as a red herring in social theory ’, Philosophy of the Social Sciences , 31 4 , pp. 507 – 24 .

Manthorpe J. , Stevens M. , Rapaport J. , Harris J. , Jacobs S. , Challis D. , Netten A. , Knapp M. , Wilberforce M. , Glendinning C. ( 2009 ) ‘ Safeguarding and system change: Early perceptions of the implications for adult protection services of the English individual budgets pilots—a qualitative study ’, British Journal of Social Work , 39 8 , pp. 1465 – 80 .

Marston G. , McDonald C. ( 2012 ) ‘ Getting beyond heroic agency in conceptualising social workers as policy actors in the twenty-first century ’, British Journal of Social Work , 42 6 , pp. 1022 – 38 .

Martin J. ( 2011 ) The Explanation of Social Action , Oxford , Oxford University Press .

McFadden P. , Campbell A. , Taylor B. ( 2015 ) ‘ Resilience and burnout in child protection social work: Individual and organisational themes from a systematic literature review ’, British Journal of Social Work , 45 5 , pp. 1546 – 63 .

Meares P. , Montgomery K. , Kim J. ( 2013 ) ‘ School-based social work interventions: A cross-national systematic review ’, Social Work , 58 3 , pp. 253 – 62 .

Mignon S. , Ransford P. ( 2012 ) ‘ Mothers in prison: Maintaining connections with children ’, Social Work and Public Health , 27 ( 1–2 ), pp. 69 – 88 .

Mik-Meyer N. ( 2010 ) ‘ Putting the right face on a wrong body: An initial interpretation of fat identities in social work organisations ’, Qualitative Social Work , 9 3 , pp. 385 – 405 .

Miller D. ( 2011 ) ‘ Being called to account: Understanding adolescents’ narrative identity construction in institutional contexts ’, Qualitative Social Work , 10 3 , pp. 311 – 28 .

Murray C. ( 2010 ) ‘ Conceptualizing young people's strategies of resistance to offending as “active resilience” ’, British Journal of Social Work , 40 1 , pp. 115 – 32 .

Okech D. , Howard W. , Kim J. ( 2012 ) ‘ Efficacy and agency among poor families with and without children ’, Child & Family Social Work , 18 4 , pp. 417 – 28 .

Olson J. ( 2007 ) ‘ Social work's professional and social justice projects: Conflicts in discourse ’, Journal of Progressive Human Services , 18 1 , pp. 45 – 69 .

Overlien C. ( 2011 ) ‘ Narrating the good life: Children in shelters for abused women talk about the future ’, Qualitative Social Work , 11 5 , pp. 470 – 85 .

Parsell C. , Tomaszewski W. , Phillips R. ( 2014 ) ‘ Exiting unsheltered homelessness and sustaining housing: A human agency perspective ’, Social Service Review , 88 2 , pp. 295 – 321 .

Randall W. ( 2009 ) ‘ Transcending our stories: A narrative perspective on spirituality in later life ’, Critical Social Work , 10 1 , pp. 31 – 46 .

Reisch M. , Jani J. ( 2012 ) ‘ The new politics of social work practice: Understand context to promote change ’, British Journal of Social Work , 42 6 , pp. 1132 – 50 .

Rock S. , Michelson D. , Thomson S. , Day C. ( 2015 ) ‘ Understanding foster placement instability for looked after children: A systematic review and narrative synthesis of quantitative and qualitative evidence ’, British Journal of Social Work , 45 1 , pp. 177 – 203 .

Ruth B. , Velasquez E. , Marshall J. , Ziperstein D. ( 2015 ) ‘ Shaping the future of prevention in social work: An analysis of the professional literature from 2000 through 2010 ’, Social Work , 60 2 , pp. 126 – 34 .

Ryan R. , Deci E. ( 2000 ) ‘ Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being ’, American Psychologist , 55 1 , pp. 68 – 78 .

Schofield G. , Moldestad B. , Hojer I. , Ward E. , Skilbred D. , Young J. , Havik T. ( 2011 ) ‘ Managing loss and a threatened identity: Experiences of parents of children growing up in foster care, the perspectives of their social workers and implications for practice ’, British Journal of Social Work , 41 1 , pp. 74 – 92 .

Schormans A. ( 2010 ) ‘ Epilogues and prefaces: Research and social work and people with intellectual disabilities ’, Australian Social Work , 63 1 , pp. 51 – 66 .

Schram S. ( 2002 ) Praxis for the Poor: Piven and Cloward and the Future of Social Science in Social Welfare , New York , New York University Press .

Shanahan M. , Elder G. , Miech A. ( 1997 ) ‘ History and agency in men's lives: Pathways to achievement in cohort perspective ’, Sociology of Education , 70 1 , pp. 54 – 67 .

Smith Y. ( 2014 ) ‘ Rethinking decision making: An ethnographic study of worker agency in crisis intervention ’, Social Service Review , 88 3 , pp. 407 – 42 .

Solberg J. ( 2011 ) ‘ Activation encounters: Dilemmas of accountability in constructing clients as “knowledgeable” ’, Qualitative Social Work , 10 3 , pp. 381 – 98 .

Virokannas E. ( 2011 ) ‘ Identity categorization of motherhood in the context of drug abuse and child welfare services ’, Qualitative Social Work , 10 3 , pp. 329 – 45 .

Wacquant L. ( 2002 ) ‘ Scrutinizing the street: Poverty, morality, and the pitfalls of urban ethnography ’, American Journal of Sociology , 107 6 , pp. 1468 – 1532 .

Young I. ( 2011 ) Responsibility for Justice , Oxford , Oxford University Press .

Zdun S. ( 2012 ) ‘ The meaning of agency in processes of desisting from delinquent behaviour in prison: An explanatory study among juvenile inmates in Germany ’, Journal of Social Work Practice , 26 4 , pp. 459 – 72 .

Email alerts

Citing articles via.

Recommend to your Library

Affiliations

Online ISSN 1468-263X
Print ISSN 0045-3102
Copyright © 2024 British Association of Social Workers
About Oxford Academic
Publish journals with us
University press partners
What we publish
New features
Open access
Institutional account management
Rights and permissions
Get help with access
Accessibility
Advertising
Media enquiries
Oxford University Press
Oxford Languages
University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
Cookie settings
Cookie policy
Privacy policy
Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

School Membership
Individual Membership
Individual Life Membership
Affiliate Membership
Student Membership
School Members
Individual Members
Individual Life Members
Affiliate Members
Student Members
Bulk Membership
Multi Year Membership
Global Definition of Social Work
Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles
Global Standards For Social Work Education And Training
IASSW definition on Clinical Social Work
Global Agenda
Social Work Research Statement
IASSW Newsletters
IASSW UN NY Newsletters
COVID-19 Updates from IASSW
IASSW — A Brief History
IASSW — 90 years Journey
IASSW Presidents
Mission & Vision
IASSW Structure
IASSW Constitution
Board Orientation Powerpoint – 2020
IASSW: Regional, Sub regional & National Representatives
IASSW: List of Committees (2022)
Reports from IASSW Board of Directors
IASSW Annual Reports
IASSW Reports – General Assembly-2024
Capacity Building
International Projects
IASSW statement on Social Work research
Workshop on Social Work Research at Seoul conference
IASSW Advocacy Statement on Human Rights
Sustainability, Climate Change, Disaster Intervention Committee
Concept note on Human Rights
Women’s Interest Group (WIG)
Language Committee

Username or E-Mail

Forget Password?

Do not have an account?

Already a member.

The IASSW Statement on Social Work Research

The IASSW Statement on social work research, RC 9July 2014 /the IAASW Board 7 – 9 July 2014

In accordance with its core mandate of promoting and enhancing social work education and training on a global level, IASSW is committed to strengthening social work research (SWR). This research statement is aligned with the social development aims highlighted in the new 2014 IASSW/IFSW Global Definition of Social Work.

IASSW STATEMENT ON RESEARCH an introduction to IASSW role

The purpose of social work research is to develop knowledge in support of the mission and purposes of social work as a discipline and a profession. Specifically, social work research is conducted to aid in understanding individual, interpersonal and larger social and structural problems and their consequences: 1. assess needs and resources of people in their environments and changing contexts of their lives; 2. inform development, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs and services, especially those for marginalized and vulnerable populations; and 3. enhance social wellbeing and advance human rights and social, economic and environmental justice. Social work research activities are ultimately mechanisms for promoting excellence in social work practice, services and education.

The recognition of the practice-teaching-research nexus in social work means that research must form an integral part of social work education at undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral levels. It is important that practice is informed by research. It is equally important that lessons from practice are incorporated into the research and teaching endeavor. Overcoming splits between education and research and between research and practice, and bringing together teaching, research, community engagement and field practice education in meaningful ways is a key element of social work research. Contextually sensitive and relevant research must inform pedagogical strategies and outcomes and contribute to a research-informed professional culture, within a critical paradigm that interrogates what constitutes evidence.

Social work upholds the ethical standards of science and social work and aims to promote social justice, individual and community well-being and human dignity as core values underlying human rights and social responsibility. The ethical stance in social work research promotes the best interests of service users and vulnerable and or disadvantaged groups and calls for the development of participative approaches in education, research and practice.

Social work research utilizes a large variety of methodologies and methods and embraces plurality, diversity, multiple realities/truths and different ways of investigation and knowing. Critical analysis of different contexts of inquiry informed by diverse epistemological approaches and embracing qualitative and quantitative mixed methods is essential in social work research. Building on multimethod, comparative and inter- and trans-disciplinary and international approaches, social work research generates critical and innovative knowledge production.

Social work research, knowledge implementation and dissemination take place in the dynamic and dialectic networks of the various stakeholders of social work educators and researchers, practitioners, professionals, policy makers and service users. Social work research favours research and knowledge generation through practice and action and as such it is process-oriented and based on long-term engagement in practice with service users and communities.

Given the nature of social work’s commitment to justice, human rights and working towards more egalitarian societies, social work researchers cannot remain neutral and uninvolved. Their research endeavours are guided by the IASSW/IFSW Statement on Ethical Principles, the Global Standards for Education and Training , the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, and the Global Social Work Definition that all subscribe to the notion that principles of human rights, social justice, respect for diversities and contextual relevance, grant social work its mandate. Social work research has a critical stance even in relation to these value based principles. Research should help us to see the critical points in our endeavours.

Skip to header navigation
Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer
Member login

International Federation of Social Workers

Global Online conference

Global Definition of Social Work

The following definition was approved by the IFSW General Meeting and the IASSW General Assembly in July 2014:

Global Definition of the Social Work Profession

“Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing. The above definition may be amplified at national and/or regional levels.”

Translations

In alphabetic order:

Version in Afrikaans
Version in Arabic
Version in Bosnian
Version in Bulgarian
Version in Catalán
Version in Chinese
Version in Croatian
Version in Czech
Version in Danish
Version in Dutch
Version in French
Version in Germany (Austria)
Version in German (Germany)
Version in German (Switzerland)
Version in Gallego
Version in Greek
Version in Hebrew
Version in Italian
Version in Japanese
Version in Kiswahili
Version in Norwegian
Version in Persian
Version in Polish
Version in Portuguese
Version in Russian
Version in Spanish
Version in Swedish
Version in isiZulu

Commentary notes for the Global Definition of Social Work

The commentary serves to unpack the core concepts used in the definition and is detailed in relation to the social work profession’s core mandates, principles, knowledge and practice.

Core Mandates

The social work profession’s core mandates include promoting social change, social development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people.

Social work is a practice profession and an academic discipline that recognizes that interconnected historical, socio-economic, cultural, spatial, political and personal factors serve as opportunities and/or barriers to human wellbeing and development. Structural barriers contribute to the perpetuation of inequalities, discrimination, exploitation and oppression. The development of critical consciousness through reflecting on structural sources of oppression and/or privilege, on the basis of criteria such as race, class, language, religion, gender, disability, culture and sexual orientation, and developing action strategies towards addressing structural and personal barriers are central to emancipatory practice where the goals are the empowerment and liberation of people. In solidarity with those who are disadvantaged, the profession strives to alleviate poverty, liberate the vulnerable and oppressed, and promote social inclusion and social cohesion.

The social change mandate is based on the premise that social work intervention takes place when the current situation, be this at the level of the person, family, small group, community or society, is deemed to be in need of change and development. It is driven by the need to challenge and change those structural conditions that contribute to marginalization, social exclusion and oppression. Social change initiatives recognize the place of human agency in advancing human rights and economic, environmental, and social justice. The profession is equally committed to the maintenance of social stability, insofar as such stability is not used to marginalize, exclude or oppress any particular group of persons.

Social development is conceptualized to mean strategies for intervention, desired end states and a policy framework, the latter in addition to the more popular residual and the institutional frameworks. It is based on holistic biopsychosocial, spiritual assessments and interventions that transcend the micro-macro divide, incorporating multiple system levels and inter-sectorial and inter-professional collaboration, aimed at sustainable development. It prioritizes socio-structural and economic development, and does not subscribe to conventional wisdom that economic growth is a prerequisite for social development.

The overarching principles of social work are respect for the inherent worth and dignity of human beings, doing no harm, respect for diversity and upholding human rights and social justice.

‪Advocating and upholding human rights and social justice is the motivation and justification for social work. The social work profession recognizes that human rights need to coexist alongside collective responsibility. The idea of collective responsibility highlights the reality that individual human rights can only be realized on a day-to-day basis if people take responsibility for each other and the environment, and the importance of creating reciprocal relationships within communities. Therefore a major focus of social work is to advocate for the rights of people at all levels, and to facilitate outcomes where people take responsibility for each other’s wellbeing, realize and respect the inter-dependence among people and between people and the environment.

Social work embraces first, second and third generation rights. First generation rights refer to civil and political rights such as free speech and conscience and freedom from torture and arbitrary detention; second generation to socio-economic and cultural rights that include the rights to reasonable levels of education, healthcare, and housing and minority language rights; and third generation rights focus on the natural world and the right to species biodiversity and inter-generational equity. These rights are mutually reinforcing and interdependent, and accommodate both individual and collective rights.

In some instances “doing no harm” and “respect for diversity” may represent conflicting and competing values, for example where in the name of culture the rights, including the right to life, of groups such as women and homosexuals, are violated. The Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training deals with this complex issue by advocating that social workers are schooled in a basic human rights approach, with an explanatory note that reads as:

Such an approach might facilitate constructive confrontation and change where certain cultural beliefs, values and traditions violate peoples’ basic human rights. As culture is socially constructed and dynamic, it is subject to deconstruction and change. Such constructive confrontation, deconstruction and change may be facilitated through a tuning into, and an understanding of particular cultural values, beliefs and traditions and via critical and reflective dialogue with members of the cultural group vis-à-vis broader human rights issues.

Social work is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, and draws on a wide array of scientific theories and research. ‘Science’ is understood in this context in its most basic meaning as ‘knowledge’. Social work draws on its own constantly developing theoretical foundation and research, as well as theories from other human sciences, including but not limited to community development, social pedagogy, administration, anthropology, ecology, economics, education, management, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, public health, and sociology. The uniqueness of social work research and theories is that they are applied and emancipatory. Much of social work research and theory is co-constructed with service users in an interactive, dialogic process and therefore informed by specific practice environments.

This proposed definition acknowledges that social work is informed not only by specific practice environments and Western theories, but also by indigenous knowledges. Part of the legacy of colonialism is that Western theories and knowledges have been exclusively valorised, and indigenous knowledges have been devalued, discounted, and hegemonised by Western theories and knowledge. The proposed definition attempts to halt and reverse that process by acknowledging that Indigenous peoples in each region, country or area carry their own values, ways of knowing, ways of transmitting their knowledges, and have made invaluable contributions to science. Social work seeks to redress historic Western scientific colonialism and hegemony by listening to and learning from Indigenous peoples around the world. In this way social work knowledges will be co-created and informed by Indigenous peoples, and more appropriately practiced not only in local environments but also internationally. Drawing on the work of the United Nations, the IFSW defines indigenous peoples as follows:

They live within (or maintain attachments to) geographically distinct ancestral territories.
They tend to maintain distinct social, economic and political institutions within their territories.
They typically aspire to remain distinct culturally, geographically and institutionally, rather than assimilate fully into national society.
They self-identify as indigenous or tribal.

Social work’s legitimacy and mandate lie in its intervention at the points where people interact with their environment. The environment includes the various social systems that people are embedded in and the natural, geographic environment, which has a profound influence on the lives of people. The participatory methodology advocated in social work is reflected in “Engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing.” As far as possible social work supports working with rather than for people. Consistent with the social development paradigm, social workers utilize a range of skills, techniques, strategies, principles and activities at various system levels, directed at system maintenance and/or system change efforts. Social work practice spans a range of activities including various forms of therapy and counseling, group work, and community work; policy formulation and analysis; and advocacy and political interventions. From an emancipatory perspective, that this definition supports social work strategies are aimed at increasing people’s hope, self-esteem and creative potential to confront and challenge oppressive power dynamics and structural sources of injustices, thus incorporating into a coherent whole the micro-macro, personal-political dimension of intervention. The holistic focus of social work is universal, but the priorities of social work practice will vary from one country to the next, and from time to time depending on historical, cultural, political and socio-economic conditions.

It is the responsibility of social workers across the world to defend, enrich and realize the values and principles reflected in this definition. A social work definition can only be meaningful when social workers actively commit to its values and vision.

Additional information

ADDITIONAL MOTIONS THAT WERE PASSED AT THE IFSW GENERAL MEETING RELATING TO THE GLOBAL DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK

“No part of this definition shall be construed in a way to interfere with any other parts of this definition”

“Amplifications on national and/or regional levels shall not interfere with the meaning of the elements of the definition and with the spirit of the whole definition”

“As the definition of social work is the key element for establishing the identity of an occupational group, a future revision of this definition has to be initiated only after precise evaluation of the implementation process and the need for change. Adding further comments is to be first choice before altering the definition.”

Login / Account
Documentation
Online Participation
Constitution/ Governance
Secretariat
Our members
General Meetings
Executive Meetings
Meeting papers 2018
Meet Social Workers from around the world
Frequently Asked Questions
IFSW Africa
IFSW Asia and Pacific
IFSW Europe
IFSW Latin America and Caribbean
IFSW North America
Education Commission
Ethics Commission
Indigenous Commission
United Nations Commission
Information Hub
Upcoming Events
Keynote Speakers
Global Agenda
Archive: European DM 2021
The Global Agenda
World Social Work Day

Subject List
Take a Tour
For Authors
Subscriber Services
Publications
African American Studies
African Studies
American Literature
Anthropology
Architecture Planning and Preservation
Art History
Atlantic History
Biblical Studies
British and Irish Literature
Childhood Studies
Chinese Studies
Cinema and Media Studies
Communication
Criminology
Environmental Science
Evolutionary Biology
International Law
International Relations
Islamic Studies
Jewish Studies
Latin American Studies
Latino Studies
Linguistics
Literary and Critical Theory
Medieval Studies
Military History
Political Science
Public Health
Renaissance and Reformation

Social Work

Urban Studies
Victorian Literature
Browse All Subjects

How to Subscribe

Free Trials

In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Survey Research

Introduction.

Cross-Cultural Research
Self-Administered Paper/Pencil
Interviewer-Administered Paper/Pencil
Computer-Assisted
Online or Electronic

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

Child Welfare Effectiveness
Rare and Orphan Diseases and Social Work Practice
Unaccompanied Immigrant and Refugee Children
Find more forthcoming articles...
Export Citations
Share This Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Survey Research by Jorge Delva , Debora S. Tauiliili LAST REVIEWED: 30 July 2014 LAST MODIFIED: 30 July 2014 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0182

In its simplest term, a survey refers to the administration of questions to obtain information about people’s behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs about a topic. A survey may include a single question by asking, for example, if respondents approve of child spanking, or if they ever smoked cigarettes; or a survey may consist of a battery (a compilation) of questions to assess, measure, or determine, for example, whether the respondent has ever experienced depressive symptoms. When more than one question is asked, the set of questions is often referred to as an instrument or questionnaire. Questionnaires may include stand-alone questions and multiple questions about the same topic and constructs. Examples of stand-alone questions include asking someone to disclose his or her age or to describe his or her attitude toward abortion. Questionnaires may also include a measure, (a set of related questions that, when combined, may better assess the intended construct). Thousands of measures exist, and most can be found on the Internet. A survey can be administered once or repeatedly, to a handful of individuals or to hundreds of thousands, and it can be administered by mail, in person, by phone, email, Internet, or through mobile devices. A considerable amount of survey research in social work, and in several social science disciplines and allied fields (e.g., education and public health) is devoted to measuring a construct with a high degree of validity and reliability. Validity refers to ensuring that the question(s) do measure the construct they are purported to measure, and reliability refers to measuring the construct consistently. The authors’ experience is that most education about survey research in social work and the social sciences and allied disciplines focuses on measurement issues; there is less concern with best practices to draw samples that are representative of the larger population. The analytic methods that are needed to properly analyze these data also tend to be neglected. To address these gaps, in this annotated bibliography we review books, manuscripts, reports, and Internet sites on the administration and analyses of surveys that rely on samples drawn to be generalizable to the larger population. From time to time, we also provide examples of surveys conducted with samples that were not drawn to be representative of the larger populations to illustrate some aspect of survey research, data collection, or analytic methods, with some of the most nascent approaches such as those studies using real-time data capture and social media.

Healey 2002 , Henry 1990 , Kalton 1983 , and Rubin and Babbie 2014 provide excellent introductions to the various survey sampling and survey (or questionnaire) administration methods that survey researchers can use without relying on advanced statistical terms. Stone, et al. 2007 and Thyer 2010 include chapters on various sampling methods, but Lavrakas 2008 provides the most comprehensive coverage of survey methods and analytic approaches.

Healey, J. F. 2002. Statistics: A tool for social research . 2d ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

This book has a chapter that provides a clear introductory description of the concepts of sampling and sampling distribution for those interested in conducting survey research by drawing samples that can be representative of the general population.

Henry, G. T. 1990. Practical sampling . Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

This book provides an easy-to-read description of various sampling strategies that can help the survey researcher draw representative samples, leading to the most precise estimate. It includes numerous examples of various sampling strategies. This book does not require advanced knowledge of statistics for the reader to get a general overview of representative samples.

Kalton, G. 1983. Introduction to survey sampling . Newbury, CA: SAGE.

This book also provides an easy-to-read description of various sampling strategies (proportionate and disproportionate stratification, cluster and multistage sampling, probability proportional to size sampling, sampling frames) as well as a description of nonresponse, sample size calculations, and survey analysis. This book will be of interest to those who desire to have a general knowledge of the ways survey research may be conducted with sampling methods that can generalize the findings of the survey to the larger population.

Lavrakas, P. J. ed. 2008. Encyclopedia of survey research methods . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This encyclopedia, over one thousand pages with over 320 contributors, provides what is perhaps the most comprehensive and detailed coverage of survey research methods, covering a considerably wide range of methodological and statistical topics. Available online by subscription.

Rubin, A., and E. R. Babbie. 2014. Research methods for social work . Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

This book includes chapters, with an excellent introduction to sampling methods with easy-to-follow examples. A chapter called “Survey Research” essentially refers to survey (or questionnaire) administration methods (interviews, self-administered Internet, telephone).

Stone, A. A., S. Shiffman, A. A. Atienza, and L. Nebeling, eds. 2007. The science of real-time data capture . New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

This edited book provides a comprehensive discussion and review of real-time data capture methods, focusing on one that is called ecological momentary assessment (EMA). This is an excellent book for anyone interested in detailed methodological and some statistical considerations of EMA.

Thyer, B. 2010. The handbook of social work research methods . 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This edited book includes a chapter, “Probability and Sampling” (pp. 37–50), that provides a clear description of the concept of probability and different types of sampling procedures (random, stratified, systematic), with easy-to-understand examples. Those with introductory knowledge of statistics will be able to more easily understand the basic statistical concepts that are included as part of the examples. However, those without statistical knowledge will still be able to gain an understanding of different sampling procedures.

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login .

Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here .

About Social Work »
Meet the Editorial Board »
Adolescent Depression
Adolescent Pregnancy
Adolescents
Adoption Home Study Assessments
Adult Protective Services in the United States
African Americans
Aging out of foster care
Aging, Physical Health and
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
Alcohol Use Disorder
Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
Anti-Oppressive Practice
Asian Americans
Asian-American Youth
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Baccalaureate Social Workers
Behavioral Health
Behavioral Social Work Practice
Bereavement Practice
Bisexuality
Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
Bullying and Social Work Intervention
Canadian Social Welfare, History of
Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
Central American Migration to the United States
Child Maltreatment Prevention
Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
Child Poverty
Child Sexual Abuse
Child Welfare
Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
Child Welfare and Parents with Intellectual and/or Develop...
Child Welfare, Immigration and
Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
Children of Incarcerated Parents
Christianity and Social Work
Chronic Illness
Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Community Development
Community Policing
Community-Based Participatory Research
Comparative Social Work
Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
Conflict Resolution
Council on Social Work Education
Counseling Female Offenders
Criminal Justice
Crisis Interventions
Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
Dementia Care
Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
Depression and Cancer
Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
Differential Response in Child Welfare
Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
Direct Practice in Social Work
Disabilities
Disability and Disability Culture
Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
Eating Disorders
Ecological Framework
Economic Evaluation
Elder Mistreatment
End-of-Life Decisions
Epigenetics for Social Workers
Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
Ethics and Values in Social Work
European Institutions and Social Work
European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
Family Caregiving
Family Group Conferencing
Family Policy
Family Services
Family Therapy
Family Violence
Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Field Education
Financial Literacy and Social Work
Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
Forensic Social Work
Foster Care
Foster care and siblings
Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
Grounded Theory
Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
Harm Reduction
Health Care Reform
Health Disparities
Health Social Work
History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
History of Social Work from 1980-2014
History of Social Work in China
History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
HIV/AIDS and Children
HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
Homelessness
Homelessness: Ending Homelessness as a Grand Challenge
Homelessness Outside the United States
Human Needs
Human Trafficking, Victims of
Immigrant Integration in the United States
Immigrant Policy in the United States
Immigrants and Refugees
Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
Immigration and Health Disparities
Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
Immigration and Poverty
Immigration and Spirituality
Immigration and Substance Use
Immigration and Trauma
Impaired Professionals
Implementation Science and Practice
Indigenous Peoples
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
In-home Child Welfare Services
Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
International Human Trafficking
International Social Welfare
International Social Work
International Social Work and Education
International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
Internet and Video Game Addiction
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Intervention with Traumatized Populations
Intimate-Partner Violence
Juvenile Justice
Kinship Care
Korean Americans
Latinos and Latinas
Law, Social Work and the
LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
Mainland European Social Work, History of
Major Depressive Disorder
Management and Administration in Social Work
Maternal Mental Health
Medical Illness
Men: Health and Mental Health Care
Mental Health
Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
Mental Health Services from 1990 to 2023
Mental Illness: Children
Mental Illness: Elders
Meta-analysis
Microskills
Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
Military Social Work
Mixed Methods Research
Moral distress and injury in social work
Motivational Interviewing
Multiculturalism
Native Americans
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
Neighborhood Social Cohesion
Neuroscience and Social Work
Nicotine Dependence
Occupational Social Work
Organizational Development and Change
Pain Management
Palliative Care
Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
Pandemics and Social Work
Parent Training
Personalization
Person-in-Environment
Philosophy of Science and Social Work
Physical Disabilities
Podcasts and Social Work
Police Social Work
Political Social Work in the United States
Positive Youth Development
Postmodernism and Social Work
Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Practice Interventions and Aging
Practice Interventions with Adolescents
Practice Research
Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
Productive Engagement of Older Adults
Profession, Social Work
Program Development and Grant Writing
Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
Psychoeducation
Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
Psychosocial Framework
Psychosocial Intervention with Women
Psychotherapy and Social Work
Race and Racism
Readmission Policies in Europe
Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
Rehabilitation
Religiously Affiliated Agencies
Reproductive Health
Restorative Justice
Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
Risk Management in Social Work
Rural Social Work in China
Rural Social Work Practice
School Social Work
School Violence
School-Based Delinquency Prevention
Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
Sexual Assault
Single-System Research Designs
Social and Economic Impact of US Immigration Policies on U...
Social Development
Social Insurance and Social Justice
Social Justice and Social Work
Social Movements
Social Planning
Social Policy
Social Policy in Denmark
Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
Social Work and Islam
Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
Social Work Education and Research
Social Work Leadership
Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
Social Work Regulation
Social Work with Interpreters
Solution-Focused Therapy
Strategic Planning
Strengths Perspective
Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
Supplemental Security Income
Survey Research
Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
Syrian Refugees in Turkey
Systematic Review Methods
Task-Centered Practice
Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
Technology for Social Work Interventions
Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
Technology in Social Work
Terminal Illness
The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
Transdisciplinary Science
Translational Science and Social Work
Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
Transtheoretical Model of Change
Trauma-Informed Care
Triangulation
Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
United States, History of Social Welfare in the
Universal Basic Income
Veteran Services
Vicarious Trauma and Resilience in Social Work Practice wi...
Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
Victim Services
Virtual Reality and Social Work
Welfare State Reform in France
Welfare State Theory
Women and Macro Social Work Practice
Women's Health Care
Work and Family in the German Welfare State
Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
Young and Adolescent Lesbians
Youth at Risk
Youth Services
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Legal Notice
Accessibility

[66.249.64.20|195.158.225.244]
195.158.225.244

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

11.1 Evaluation research

Learning objectives.

Describe how to conduct evaluation research
Define inputs, outputs, and outcomes
Identify the three goals of process assessment

As you may recall from the definition provided in Chapter 1, evaluation research is research conducted to assess the effects of specific programs or policies. Evaluation research is often used when some form of policy intervention is planned, such as welfare reform or school curriculum change. The focus on interventions and social problems makes it natural fit for social work researchers. It might be used to assess the extent to which intervention is necessary by attempting to define and diagnose social problems in social workers’ service areas, and it might also be used to understand whether their agencies’ interventions have had their intended consequences. Evaluation research is becoming more and more necessary for agencies to secure and maintain funding for their programs. The main types of evaluation research are needs assessments, outcomes assessments, process assessments, and efficiency analyses such as cost-benefits or cost-effectiveness analyses. We will discuss two types in this section: outcomes assessments and process assessments .

Outcomes Assessments

An outcomes assessment is an evaluation designed to discover if a program achieved its intended outcomes. Much like other types of research, it comes with its own peculiar terminology. Inputs are the resources needed for the program to operate. These include physical location, any equipment needed, staff (and experience/knowledge of those staff), monetary funding, and most importantly, the clients. Program administrators pull together the necessary resources to run an intervention or program. The program is the intervention your clients receive—perhaps giving them access to housing vouchers or enrolling them in a smoking cessation class. The outputs of programs are tangible results of the program process. Outputs in a program might include the number of clients served, staff members trained to implement the intervention, mobility assistance devices distributed, nicotine patches distributed, etc. By contrast, outcomes speak to the purpose of the program itself. Outcomes are the observed changes, whether intended or unintended, that occurred due to the program or intervention. By looking at each of these domains, evaluation researchers can obtain a comprehensive view of the program.

Let’s run through an example from the social work practice of the wife of Matt DeCarlo who wrote the source material for much of this textbook. She runs an after-school bicycling club called Pedal Up for children with mental health issues. She has a lot of inputs in her program. First, there are the children who enroll, the volunteer and paid staff members who supervise the kids (and their knowledge about bicycles and children’s mental health), the bicycles and equipment that all clients and staff use, the community center room they use as a home base, the paths of the city where they ride their bikes, and the public and private grants they use to fund the program. Next, the program itself is a twice weekly after-school program in which children learn about bicycle maintenance and bicycle safety for about 30 minutes each day and then spend at least an hour riding around the city on bicycle trails.

In measuring the outputs of this program, she has many options. She would probably include the number of children participating in the program or the number of bike rides or lessons given. Other outputs might include the number of miles logged by the children over the school year, the number of bicycle helmets or spare tires distributed, etc. Finally, the outcomes of the programs might include each child’s mental health symptoms or behavioral issues at school.

Process Assessments

Outcomes assessments are performed at the end of a program or at specific points during the grant reporting process. What if a social worker wants to assess earlier on in the process if the program is on target to achieve its outcomes? In that case a process assessment is recommended, which evaluates a program in its earlier stages. Faulkner and Faulkner (2016) describe three main goals for conducting a process evaluation.

The first is program description , in which the researcher simply tries to understand how the program looks like in everyday life for clients and staff members. In our Pedal Up example, assessing program description might involve measuring in the first few weeks the hours children spent riding their bikes, the number of children and staff in attendance, etc. This data will provide those in charge of the program an idea of how their ideas have translated from the grant proposal to the real world. If, for example, not enough children are showing up or if children are only able to ride their bikes for ten minutes each day, it may indicate that something is wrong.

Another important goal of process assessment is program monitoring . If you have some social work practice experience already, it’s likely you’ve encountered program monitoring. Agency administrators may look at sign-in sheets for groups, hours billed by clinicians, or other metrics to track how services are utilized over time. They may also assess whether clinicians are following the program correctly or if they are deviating from how the program was designed. This can be an issue in program evaluations of specific treatment models, as any differences between what the administrators conceptualized and what the clinicians implemented jeopardize the internal validity of the evaluation. If, in our Pedal Up example, we have a staff member who does not review bike safety each week or does not enforce helmet laws for some students, we could catch that through program monitoring.

The final goal of process assessments is quality assurance. At its most simple level, quality assurance may involve sending out satisfaction questionnaires to clients and staff members. If there are serious issues, it’s better to know them early on in a program so the program can be adapted to meet the needs of clients and staff. It is important to solicit staff feedback in addition to consumer feedback, as they have insight into how the program is working in practice and areas in which they may be falling short of what the program should be. In our example, we could spend some time talking with parents when they pick their children up from the program or hold a staff meeting to provide opportunities for those most involved in the program to provide feedback.

Needs Assessments

A third type of evaluation research is a needs assessment. A needs assessment can be used to demonstrate and document a community or organizational need and should be carried out in a way to better understand the context in which the need arises. Needs assessments focus on gaining a better understanding of a gap within an organization or community and developing a plan to address that gap. They will often precede the development of a program or organization and are often used to justify the necessity of a program or organization to fill a gap. Needs assessments can be general, such as asking members of a community or organization to reflect on the functioning of a community or organization, or they can be specific in which community or organization members are asked to respond to an identified gap within a community or agency.

Needs assessments should respond to the following questions:

What is the need or gap?
What data exist about the need or gap?
What data are needed in order to develop a plan to fill the gap?
What resources are available to do the needs assessment?
Who should be involved in the analysis and interpretation of the data?
How will the information gathered be used and for what purpose?
How will the results be communicated to community partners?

In order to answer these questions, needs assessments often follow a four-step plan. First, researchers must identify a gap in a community or organization and explore what potential avenues could be pursued to address the gap. This involves deciphering what is known about the needs within the community or organization and determining the scope and direction of the needs assessment. The researcher may partner with key informants within the community to identify the need in order to develop a method of research to conduct the needs assessment.

Second, the researcher will gather data to better understand the need. Data could be collected from key informants within the community, community members themselves, members of an organization, or records from an agency or organization. This involves designing a research study in which a variety of data collection methods could be used, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, community forums, and secondary analysis of existing data. Once the data are collected, they will be organized and analyzed according to the research questions guiding the needs assessment.

Third, information gathered during data collection will be used to develop a plan of action to fill the needs. This could be the development of a new community agency to address a gap of services within the community or the addition of a new program at an existing agency. This agency or program must be designed according to the results of the needs assessment in order to accurately address the gap.

Finally, the newly developed program or agency must be evaluated to determine if it is filling the gap revealed by the needs assessment. Evaluating the success of the agency or program is essential to the needs assessment process.

Evaluation research is a part of all social workers’ toolkits. It ensures that social work interventions achieve their intended effects. This protects our clients and ensures that money and other resources are not spent on programs that do not work. Evaluation research uses the skills of quantitative and qualitative research to ensure clients receive interventions that have been shown to be successful.

Key Takeaways

Evaluation research is a common research task for social workers.
Outcomes assessment evaluate the degree to which programs achieved their intended outcomes.
Outputs differ from outcomes.
Process assessments evaluate a program in its early stages, so changes can be made.
Inputs- resources needed for the program to operate
Outcomes- the issues the program is trying to change
Outcomes assessment- an evaluation designed to discover if a program achieved its intended outcomes
Outputs- tangible results of the program process
Process assessment- an evaluation conducted during the earlier stages of a program or on an ongoing basis
Program- the intervention clients receive

Image attributions

assess by Wokandapix CC-0

Foundations of Social Work Research Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca L. Mauldin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

trending now in US News

Judge loses temper as Michael Cohen's ex-lawyer testifies in...

Married teacher who was surprised by students on ‘GMA’ is...

RFK Jr. lists voting address at Westchester home — that's in...

Biden bizarrely suggests he was VP during pandemic in latest...

Sean 'Diddy' Combs blasted by ex-spiritual adviser over...

Hunter Biden now claims he didn't introduce dad to Burisma exec...

Ex-boyfriend eyed in murder of NYC woman, 29, butchered in front...

Teen rapper accidentally kills himself on social media video...

Nih official finally admits taxpayers funded gain-of-function research in wuhan — after years of denials.

View Author Archive
Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

It’s about time!

At long last, National Institutes of Health (NIH) principal deputy director Lawrence Tabak admitted to Congress Thursday that US taxpayers funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China in the months and years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Dr. Tabak,” asked Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, “did NIH fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through [Manhattan-based nonprofit] EcoHealth [Alliance]?”

“It depends on your definition of gain-of-function research,” Tabak answered. “If you’re speaking about the generic term, yes, we did.”

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Hearing: Overseeing the Overseers: A Hearing with NIH Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak.

The response comes after more than four years of evasions from federal public health officials — including Tabak himself and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci — about the controversial research practice that modifies viruses to make them more infectious.

Tabak added that “this is research, the generic term [gain-of-function], is research that goes on in many, many labs around the country. It is not regulated. And the reason it’s not regulated is it poses no threat or harm to anybody.”

Dr. Bryce Nickels, a professor of genetics at Rutgers University and co-founder of the pandemic oversight group Biosafety Now, told The Post the exchange “was two people talking past each other.”

“Tabak was engaging in the usual obfuscation and semantic manipulation that is so frustrating and pointless,” Nickels said, adding that the NIH bigwig was resisting accountability for risky research that can create pathogens of pandemic potential.

Researchers working in a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2017.

“Instead of addressing this directly, Tabak launched into a useless response about how ‘gain-of-function’ encompasses many types of experiments,” he added.

In July 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) barred the Wuhan Institute of Virology from receiving federal grants for the next 10 years.

EcoHealth Alliance , whose mission statement declares it is “working to prevent pandemics,” had all of its grant funding pulled by HHS for the next three years on Tuesday.

EcoHealth Alliance president Dr. Peter Daszak, in a hearing earlier this month before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, testified that his organization “never has and did not do gain-of-function research, by definition.”

But that claim directly contradicted Daszak’s private correspondence, including a 2016 email in which he celebrated the end of an Obama administration pause on gain-of-function research.

The EcoHealth head was also called out in sworn testimony to the COVID panel by Dr. Ralph Baric, a leading coronavirologist who initiated the research himself and declared it was “absolutely” gain-of-function.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, in Washington.

In an October 2021 letter to Congress, Tabak had acknowledged NIH funded a “limited experiment” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that tested whether “spike proteins from naturally occurring bat coronaviruses circulating in China were capable of binding to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model.”

He did not describe it as gain-of-function research — but disclosed that EcoHealth “failed to report” the bat coronaviruses modified with SARS and MERS viruses had been made 10,000 times more infectious, in violation of its grant terms.

The NIH scrubbed its website of a longstanding definition for gain-of-function research the same day that the letter was sent.

Tabak also noted in his October 2021 letter that the “sequences of the viruses are genetically very distant” from COVID-19 — but other grant proposals from EcoHealth have since drawn scrutiny for their genetic similarities.

Fauci has repeatedly denied that the Wuhan lab research involved gain-of-function experiments, clashing with Republicans in high-profile hearings and “ playing semantics ” with the term during a closed-door interview with the House COVID panel earlier this year.

“He needs to define his definition of gain-of-function research, because as I have through this process in the last three years, read many, many published articles about gain-of-function research, or creation of a chimera, this is a new one,” COVID subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) said following Fauci’s grilling in January .

Dr. Anthony Fauci attends the 31st Annual White House Correspondents' Garden Brunch at Beall-Washington House on April 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.

The ex-NIAID head and White House medical adviser under President Biden was escorted by Capitol Police and his attorneys to and from the committee room for his two days of interviews — and repeatedly dodged The Post’s questions about gain-of-function research and pandemic lockdown restrictions.

In 2021, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held Fauci’s feet to the fire over the evasions in several hearings.

“The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Fauci declared that May.

NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins holds up a model of the coronavirus as he testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee looking into the budget estimates for National Institute of Health (NIH) and the state of medical research, Wednesday, May 26, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

In another House hearing the same month, then-NIH director Dr. Francis Collins testified that researchers at the Wuhan lab “were not approved by NIH for doing gain-of-function research .”

“We are, of course, not aware of other sources of funds or other activities they might have undertaken outside of what our approved grant allowed,” Collins added cautiously at the time.

That ignorance about what experiments came about as a result of the NIH grants was underscored by Daszak during his COVID subcommittee hearing last week.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

The EcoHealth leader acknowledged he had not asked longtime collaborator and Wuhan Institute of Virology deputy director Shi Zhengli for any viral sequences since before the pandemic began.

In his own closed-door testimony to the House subcommittee released Thursday, Collins echoed Tabak’s comments but went further by saying there “is a generic description of gain-of-function which is utilized in scientific and public conversation, but is not appropriate to apply that to a circumstance where we’re talking about a potential pathogen.”

“We need to be highly cognizant of the risks of gain-of-function technology now that scientific capabilities exist for creating something in a lab that didn’t exist 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago,” Wenstrup told The Post following Thursday’s hearing.

“Drs. Fauci and Collins, over a decade ago, both conceded that there are risks associated with gain-of-function research.”

EcoHealth received more than half a million dollars for its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology as part of a grant of more than $4 million to study the emergence of bat coronaviruses between 2014 and 2024.

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Donald Trump, testifies before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 08, 2023 in Washington, DC.

That grant was revoked in 2020, reinstated in 2023 and finally suspended and proposed for debarment this week.

The House subcommittee is still investigating whether COVID-19 accidentally leaked out of a lab in Wuhan, which has been described as the most likely cause of the pandemic by the FBI, US Energy Department, ex-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Robert Redfield and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe .

Nickels also slammed Tabak Thursday for still claiming the evidence points to SARS-CoV-2 originating in a “wild animal market in Wuhan.”

Start and end your day informed with our newsletters

Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories

Thanks for signing up!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Never miss a story.

“No credible scientist still believes this. In fact, the wet market theory has even been refuted by the world’s leading coronavirus expert, Ralph Baric, in his testimony from January,” Nickels said.

The Rutgers prof added that Thursday’s hearing highlighted the lack of oversight for scientific research on pathogens that poses a threat to humans, making it “up to the grantee to oversee themselves,” as Wenstrup put it.

“It’s pure insanity to continue to delegate responsibly for risk/benefit analysis of research that poses an existential threat to humanity to the scientist that will perform the work and their institutions,” Nickels claimed.

“We just had a devastating pandemic likely caused by creation of a [Pathogen with Enhanced Pandemic Potential] in a lab, and yet scientists want the public to trust them that they can police themselves?” he balked. “That’s just total and complete nonsense.”

Fauci is scheduled to answer questions about the gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab and theories of the origin of the pandemic in a public subcommittee hearing set for June 3.

Share this article:

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

About Violence Prevention
Resources for Action
Cardiff Model

Violence Prevention

About The Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention

Violence Topics

diverse group of children lying on each other in a park

About Adverse Childhood Experiences

About Child Abuse and Neglect

A man and a child are sitting and talking on steps outside a housing area. A basketball lies at the feet of the young boy.

About Community Violence

About Firearm Injury and Death

About Intimate Partner Violence

About Sexual Violence

About Youth Violence

About Abuse of Older Persons

About Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys

About The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)

About The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)

Featured Resources

Essentials for Parenting Teens

Essentials for Parenting Toddlers and Preschoolers

Cardiff Violence Prevention Model Toolkit

Violence is an urgent public health problem. CDC is committed to preventing violence so that everyone can be safe and healthy.

For Everyone

Public health.

COMMENTS

(PDF) Social Work Research and Its Relevance to Practice: "The Gap
The social work profession should take action to address and further research the research-practice disconnect by establishing a clear definition and aims of social work research, and training ...
Social Work Research Methods
Social work researchers will send out a survey, receive responses, aggregate the results, analyze the data, and form conclusions based on trends. Surveys are one of the most common research methods social workers use — and for good reason. They tend to be relatively simple and are usually affordable.
Social Work Research Methods
Social work research means conducting an investigation in accordance with the scientific method. The aim of social work research is to build the social work knowledge base in order to solve practical problems in social work practice or social policy. Investigating phenomena in accordance with the scientific method requires maximal adherence to ...
One
We will then ask whether research in social work is or ought to be marked by particular values. In closing, we will ask in what sense social work research is a field with a distinctive identity that demarcates it from other fields. Rather than offer up a catalogue of ready-reference definitions of 'science', 'research', 'social work ...
Social Work Research and Its Relevance to Practice: "The Gap Between
The social work profession should take action to address and further research the research-practice disconnect by establishing a clear definition and aims of social work research, and training academics in effective research-to-practice translational methods.
PDF 1 Why Research for Social Work?
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. As a ...
Social Work Research
Social Work Research publishes exemplary research to advance the development of knowledge and inform social work practice. Find out more. Advertisement. Latest articles "The Air Is Being Sucked Out of the Room": Experiences of Social Work Students of Color with Antiracism Education in the Classroom and Practicum
Foundations of Social Work Research
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 ...
Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics
Abstract. Social research is often defined as a study of mankind that helps to identify the relations between social life and social systems. This kind of research usually creates new knowledge and theories or tests and verifies existing theories. However, social research is a broad spectrum that requires a discursive understanding of its ...
Scientific Inquiry in Social Work
As an introductory textbook for social work students studying research methods, this book guides students through the process of creating a research project. Students will learn how to discover a researchable topic that is interesting to them, examine scholarly literature, formulate a proper research question, design a quantitative or qualitative study to answer their question, carry out the ...
About
About the Journal. Social Work Research publishes exemplary research to advance the development of knowledge and inform social work practice. Widely regarded as the outstanding journal in the field, it includes analytic reviews of research, theoretical articles pertaining to social work research, evaluation studies, and diverse research studies ...
Social Work Research: Concept, Scope
Concept. Purpose of social work research is to produce new knowledge or to increase already available knowledge in the field of social work. Social work research gives new dimensions to social work techniques and methods and provides new ways to deal with problems. Social work research attempts to highlight insights about what intervention or ...
10.2 Conceptual definitions
In quantitative methods, conceptualization involves writing out clear, concise definitions for our key concepts. These are the kind of definitions you are used to, like the ones in a dictionary. A conceptual definition involves defining a concept in terms of other concepts, usually by making reference to how other social scientists and ...
Social Intervention Research
Social intervention research focuses on the effects of an intervention under study. Of primary importance is understanding changes in the health and well-being of a target population. Subsequent results are then, ideally, used for decisions on future service provision. The goal of social intervention research is to bring about change in ...
Social research
Social research is research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative.. Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analyses of many cases (or across intentionally designed treatments in an experiment) to create valid and reliable ...
Human Agency and Social Work Research: A Systematic Search and
The social work research detailing the meaning making and identity processes demonstrates that people are active agents in the sense of self they feel. As Carpenter-Aeby and Aeby (2009) show, identities are scripts that people work on. Through a positioning of people with agency, social work research shows how identities are not simply imposed.
The IASSW Statement on Social Work Research
Social work research activities are ultimately mechanisms for promoting excellence in social work practice, services and education. The recognition of the practice-teaching-research nexus in social work means that research must form an integral part of social work education at undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral levels.
5.2 Conceptualization
Conceptualization is a process that involves coming up with clear, concise definitions. Conceptualization in quantitative research comes from the researcher's ideas or the literature. Qualitative researchers conceptualize by creating working definitions which will be revised based on what participants say.
Global Definition of Social Work
Global Definition of the Social Work Profession. "Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to ...
5.4 Operationalization
An operational definition consists of the following components: (1) the variable being measured, (2) the measure you will use, (3) how you plan to interpret the results of that measure. ... Let's pick a social work research question and walk through the process of operationalizing variables. Suppose we hypothesize that individuals on a ...
PDF Social Work Research: Meaning, Importance and Scope
Social work research is regarded as the systematic use of research concepts, methods, techniques and strategies to provide information related to the objectives of social work programmes and practices. Thus the unit of analysis of social work research could be individuals, groups, families or programme of the agency.
Survey Research
A considerable amount of survey research in social work, and in several social science disciplines and allied fields (e.g., education and public health) is devoted to measuring a construct with a high degree of validity and reliability. Validity refers to ensuring that the question(s) do measure the construct they are purported to measure, and ...
11.1 Evaluation research
Evaluation research is becoming more and more necessary for agencies to secure and maintain funding for their programs. The main types of evaluation research are needs assessments, outcomes assessments, process assessments, and efficiency analyses such as cost-benefits or cost-effectiveness analyses. We will discuss two types in this section ...
NIH director admits taxpayers funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan
Asked by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) whether an NIH grant to the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance supported the gain-of-function experiments, Tabak said, "If you're speaking about the generic term ...
Violence Prevention
About Violence Prevention. CDC works to prevent violence by understanding the factors that influence violence. Apr. 9, 2024. About The Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention. The public health approach is a four-step process that can be applied to prevent violence. Apr. 9, 2024.

Social Work Research Methods That Drive the Practice

Data-Driven Work

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research

Mixed Methods Research

The Importance of Research Design

Research Methods in Social Work

Program Evaluations

Needs Assessments

Randomized Controlled Trials

Descriptive Studies

Single-System Designs

Learn More About Social Work Research Methods

Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and Characteristics

Cite this chapter

Access this chapter

Author information

Corresponding author

Editor information

Rights and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Download citation

Share this chapter

Scientific Inquiry in Social Work

Formats Available

Table of Contents

Ancillary Material

About the Book

About the Contributors

Contribute to this Page

Article Contents

Human Agency and Social Work Research: A Systematic Search and Synthesis of Social Work Literature

Social work and systematic reviews

Conceptualising human agency

Agency: human action

Agency: meaning making and identities

Normative claims for, and barriers to, agency

Limitations

Email alerts

Affiliations

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Do not have an account?

The IASSW Statement on Social Work Research

Global Definition of the Social Work Profession

Translations

Commentary notes for the Global Definition of Social Work

Core Mandates

Additional information

Social Work

How to Subscribe

In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Survey Research

Related Articles Expand or collapse the "related articles" section about

Other Subject Areas

Survey Research by Jorge Delva , Debora S. Tauiliili LAST REVIEWED: 30 July 2014 LAST MODIFIED: 30 July 2014 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0182

11.1 Evaluation research

Outcomes Assessments

Process Assessments

Needs Assessments

Key Takeaways

Image attributions

Share This Book

trending now in US News

Judge loses temper as Michael Cohen's ex-lawyer testifies in...

Married teacher who was surprised by students on ‘GMA’ is...

RFK Jr. lists voting address at Westchester home — that's in...

Biden bizarrely suggests he was VP during pandemic in latest...

Sean 'Diddy' Combs blasted by ex-spiritual adviser over...

Hunter Biden now claims he didn't introduce dad to Burisma exec...

Ex-boyfriend eyed in murder of NYC woman, 29, butchered in front...

Teen rapper accidentally kills himself on social media video...

Start and end your day informed with our newsletters

Thanks for signing up!

Share this article:

Violence Prevention

Violence Topics

Featured Resources

For Everyone

COMMENTS