Summary of:
Research Skills for Social Work A. Whittaker
Sage Publications, 2nd ed., 2012
ISBN 9780857259271
Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 7
Chapter 1
Research is important for social work as the social workers need to be highly skilled and
knowledgeable to work effectively and improve the quality of work. The social work degree
creates a demand that a social worker has a good understanding of the theories and models
involved.
Methodology: refers to the totality of how the research was undertaken. It includes the
research approach, epistemological position and specific research methods you will choose
like interviews or questionnaires
● Research approach: either quantitative or qualitative
● Research method: practical ways you will use to collect the data. The 4 most
common research methods are:
○ Interviews
○ Questionnaires
○ Focus groups
○ Documentary analysis
Sampling: the process of selecting research participants (or data sources like documents).
The sample is chosen from the population which is the total of possible data sources.
Epistemology: study of knowledge. Addresses whether something counts as legitimate
knowledge. Research projects contain assumptions about what is legitimate knowledge. This
is known as its epistemological position or stance.
It is important to plan the research well as you otherwise run the risk of time consuming
problems because the data does not answer your research questions or it is difficult to
analyze. Allowing yourself enough time is important.
It could be useful to keep a research journal in which you can note any ideas or thoughts,
relevant literature that you read, conversations you have had and to -do lists. It is very
helpful to have it all in one place and to put dates to track progress and keep an overview.
Audit trail: documenting the research process
Classic research studies work well because they have chosen simple, focused research
questions. not too broad and not too narrow
When choosing a research topic, consider 3 main things:
1. What are you interested in studying?
2. What will fit your course requirements?
, 3. What are you able to study? (ethically, time wise and available/ access to resources)
Quantitative research: (think of ‘’the n in quantitative research stands for Numbers’’) It
emphasised quantification and measurements which can be analysed using statistical tests
to establish relationships between variables. This can lead to testable hypotheses.
Qualitative research: emphasizes words as data. Words of participants in interviews or
written data. Seeks to explain the meaning of social phenomena through exploring the ways
individuals understand their worlds.
➢ Generally smaller sample sizes, but more in depth
➢ mostly used in social work
There has been a trend of combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods
Positivism as an epistemological position: the traditional scientific method (quantitative)
applied in the natural sciences was believed to be appropriate to the study of society. From a
positivist stance the researcher is an objective observer that explains relationships between
observed phenomena. 3 major claims of positivism:
1. Reality is viewed as consisting only of what can be experienced through the senses
(so people’s intentions, wishes and fears should not be studied scientifically)
2. inquiry should be based on scientific observations and not on philosophical
speculation
3. the natural and human sciences are similar as they both have logical and
methodological principles, including the belief that facts are different from values
This has been criticized as it is sometimes not appropriate for researching the complexities
of our social world. Realism became increasingly influential. Critical realism allows for
, theoretical content that can not be directly observed, which would not be acceptable in
positivism
Interpretivism: argues that it is inappropriate to study social phenomena using traditional
scientific method because they do not consider the viewpoints of the social actors involved
Reflexivity: researchers being self aware of their own beliefs, values and attitudes and their
personal effects on the setting they have studied. Self critical about their research methods
and how they have been applied. (Payne and Payne, 2004, p191).
Action research: Rather than just studying the social world, action research seeks to
change it in practical ways
➔ Associated with smaller scale research projects that address real world problems.
particularly practitioners who want to improve practice
➔ Cyclical: findings are fed back directly into practice in an ongoing process
Participatory action research (PAR): form of action research committed to the
involvements of those who are most affected
➔ highly compatible with anti discriminatory and anti oppressive practice
➔ similar approaches are among others: appreciative inquiry and co operative inquiry
which both commit to promoting the empowerment of participants but have different
emphases and are very time consuming
Case study: detailed inquiry into a single example of a phenomenon (can be organization.
individual, event, process, location or period time. 3 types of case study:
1. critical case: chosen due to features that challenge an existing theory or hypothesis
2. unique case: chosen due to distinctiveness is its merit, although it can provide ways
of understanding more usual cases
3. Revelatory case: chosen due to the fact it can provide new insights and ideas
Clinical data mining (CDM); practice based research strategy to systemically analyse data
from agency records (medical, nursing and other hospital records)
➢ Particularly useful to practitioners and students but is useful and powerful as a
research design for a wide range of researchers.
➢ Can be used by practitioners to evaluate their own interventions and reflect upon
their own practice. Generally used retrospectively to analyse existing data but can be
combined with original data collection
➢ less resource intensive than most other forms of research, not costly or time
consuming as data is already available
➢ unobtrusive and more ethical than other approaches because it does not involve
risks in data collection (interviewing about sensitive topics)
➢ main limitation is that any research method relies on clinical records and thus has
constraints but this it recognized and can be minimised with proper safeguards
➢ 3 basic types of CDM studies:
○ 1: uses quantitative data converted to quantitative data base for statistical
analyses.
○ 2: Converted from qualitative to quantitative data
○ 3; purely qualitative data where narrative data receives a qualitative analysis
Ethnography; approach to research that aims to develop an in-depth understanding of
particular cultures and settings.
Research Skills for Social Work A. Whittaker
Sage Publications, 2nd ed., 2012
ISBN 9780857259271
Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 7
Chapter 1
Research is important for social work as the social workers need to be highly skilled and
knowledgeable to work effectively and improve the quality of work. The social work degree
creates a demand that a social worker has a good understanding of the theories and models
involved.
Methodology: refers to the totality of how the research was undertaken. It includes the
research approach, epistemological position and specific research methods you will choose
like interviews or questionnaires
● Research approach: either quantitative or qualitative
● Research method: practical ways you will use to collect the data. The 4 most
common research methods are:
○ Interviews
○ Questionnaires
○ Focus groups
○ Documentary analysis
Sampling: the process of selecting research participants (or data sources like documents).
The sample is chosen from the population which is the total of possible data sources.
Epistemology: study of knowledge. Addresses whether something counts as legitimate
knowledge. Research projects contain assumptions about what is legitimate knowledge. This
is known as its epistemological position or stance.
It is important to plan the research well as you otherwise run the risk of time consuming
problems because the data does not answer your research questions or it is difficult to
analyze. Allowing yourself enough time is important.
It could be useful to keep a research journal in which you can note any ideas or thoughts,
relevant literature that you read, conversations you have had and to -do lists. It is very
helpful to have it all in one place and to put dates to track progress and keep an overview.
Audit trail: documenting the research process
Classic research studies work well because they have chosen simple, focused research
questions. not too broad and not too narrow
When choosing a research topic, consider 3 main things:
1. What are you interested in studying?
2. What will fit your course requirements?
, 3. What are you able to study? (ethically, time wise and available/ access to resources)
Quantitative research: (think of ‘’the n in quantitative research stands for Numbers’’) It
emphasised quantification and measurements which can be analysed using statistical tests
to establish relationships between variables. This can lead to testable hypotheses.
Qualitative research: emphasizes words as data. Words of participants in interviews or
written data. Seeks to explain the meaning of social phenomena through exploring the ways
individuals understand their worlds.
➢ Generally smaller sample sizes, but more in depth
➢ mostly used in social work
There has been a trend of combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods
Positivism as an epistemological position: the traditional scientific method (quantitative)
applied in the natural sciences was believed to be appropriate to the study of society. From a
positivist stance the researcher is an objective observer that explains relationships between
observed phenomena. 3 major claims of positivism:
1. Reality is viewed as consisting only of what can be experienced through the senses
(so people’s intentions, wishes and fears should not be studied scientifically)
2. inquiry should be based on scientific observations and not on philosophical
speculation
3. the natural and human sciences are similar as they both have logical and
methodological principles, including the belief that facts are different from values
This has been criticized as it is sometimes not appropriate for researching the complexities
of our social world. Realism became increasingly influential. Critical realism allows for
, theoretical content that can not be directly observed, which would not be acceptable in
positivism
Interpretivism: argues that it is inappropriate to study social phenomena using traditional
scientific method because they do not consider the viewpoints of the social actors involved
Reflexivity: researchers being self aware of their own beliefs, values and attitudes and their
personal effects on the setting they have studied. Self critical about their research methods
and how they have been applied. (Payne and Payne, 2004, p191).
Action research: Rather than just studying the social world, action research seeks to
change it in practical ways
➔ Associated with smaller scale research projects that address real world problems.
particularly practitioners who want to improve practice
➔ Cyclical: findings are fed back directly into practice in an ongoing process
Participatory action research (PAR): form of action research committed to the
involvements of those who are most affected
➔ highly compatible with anti discriminatory and anti oppressive practice
➔ similar approaches are among others: appreciative inquiry and co operative inquiry
which both commit to promoting the empowerment of participants but have different
emphases and are very time consuming
Case study: detailed inquiry into a single example of a phenomenon (can be organization.
individual, event, process, location or period time. 3 types of case study:
1. critical case: chosen due to features that challenge an existing theory or hypothesis
2. unique case: chosen due to distinctiveness is its merit, although it can provide ways
of understanding more usual cases
3. Revelatory case: chosen due to the fact it can provide new insights and ideas
Clinical data mining (CDM); practice based research strategy to systemically analyse data
from agency records (medical, nursing and other hospital records)
➢ Particularly useful to practitioners and students but is useful and powerful as a
research design for a wide range of researchers.
➢ Can be used by practitioners to evaluate their own interventions and reflect upon
their own practice. Generally used retrospectively to analyse existing data but can be
combined with original data collection
➢ less resource intensive than most other forms of research, not costly or time
consuming as data is already available
➢ unobtrusive and more ethical than other approaches because it does not involve
risks in data collection (interviewing about sensitive topics)
➢ main limitation is that any research method relies on clinical records and thus has
constraints but this it recognized and can be minimised with proper safeguards
➢ 3 basic types of CDM studies:
○ 1: uses quantitative data converted to quantitative data base for statistical
analyses.
○ 2: Converted from qualitative to quantitative data
○ 3; purely qualitative data where narrative data receives a qualitative analysis
Ethnography; approach to research that aims to develop an in-depth understanding of
particular cultures and settings.
