First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
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Policy Press 2015
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ISBN 9781447314028 ePub
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The right of Christa Fouch to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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Social Work in Practice series
Series editors: Viviene Cree, University of Edinburgh and Steve Myers, University of Salford
This important series sets new standards in introducing social workers to the ideas, values and knowledge base necessary for professional practice. These core texts are designed for students undertaking professional training at all levels as well as fulfilling the needs of qualified staff seeking to update their skills or move into new areas of practice.
Editorial advisory board:
Suzy Braye, University of Sussex
Jim Campbell, Goldsmiths University of London
Gina Hardesty, Independent Consultant
Ravi Kohli, University of Bedfordshire
Jill Manthorpe, Kings College London
Kate Morris, University of Nottingham
Joan Orme, University of Glasgow
Alison Shaw, Policy Press
Charlotte Williams, RMIT University, Australia
Published titles in the series
Social work - Viv Cree
Social work and multi-agency working - Kate Morris
Youth justice in practice - Bill Whyte
Radical social work in practice - Iain Ferguson and Rona Woodward
Religion, belief and social work - Sheila Furness and Philip Gilligan
Communicating with children and young people - Michelle Lefevre
Social work and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people - Julie Fish
Supporting people with alcohol and drug problems - Sarah Galvani
Social work in the community - Barbra Teater and Mark Baldwin
Residential child care in practice - Mark Smith, Leon Fulcher and Peter Doran
Effective writing for social work - Lucy Rai
Coming soon
Social work and people with learning difficulties - Susan Hunter and Denis Rowley
Dedication
To the memory of Dr Annemie de Vos, who inspired research-mindedness and provided me with the foundations for everything I know about research. Thanks, Hanneke and Annesu, for sharing your mother with me and with many other emerging researchers.
To Professor Irwin Epstein and Dr Helen Rehr (in memoriam), whose practice-research endeavours continue to sustain an academic minority.
To Marcel and Maryke, who shared this journey in so many ways, and to family and friends who endured it, I am forever grateful.
To Susan, who gets to share all the challenging journeys: thank you!
Contents
Action research
A study with the focus on the involvement and participation of various stakeholders in a particular research project; a single activity which is simultaneously a form of inquiry and a form of practical action.
Applied research
Research aimed at solving practice problems.
Collaborative research
An orientation to research that enables and encourages individuals with diverse and complementary knowledge and skills to plan, design, implement and disseminate a scientific process to generate new knowledge.
Community of knowing
A group of individuals with a shared practice interest and/or passion for research in which they share expertise and the creation of new knowledge through both social gatherings and formal structures. There are a number of determinants that impact on the effectiveness of communities of knowing.
Community-based participatory research (CBPR)
Research that is based on a commitment to sharing power and resources and working towards beneficial outcomes for all participants, especially communities (see also Action research ).
Evaluation research
The systematic use of research methods to make judgements about the effectiveness and the overall merit, worth or values of some form of practice.
Evidence-based practice (EBP)
The use of the best available scientific knowledge derived from randomised controlled outcome studies and meta-analysis of existing outcome studies as one basis for guiding professional interventions and effective therapies, combined with professional ethical standards, clinical judgement and practice wisdom.
Interpretivism
A view in the social sciences that social research may not be subject to the same methods of investigation as the natural world, and that the influence of social actions on people should be considered (see also Positivism , as interpretivism is also known as anti-positivism).
Learning organisation
An organisation that actively engages in promoting the development of knowledge by extracting, storing and nurturing the knowledge that exists in individuals and systems.
Mixed-methods research
Both a philosophical assumption (methodology) that guides the many phases of the research process and a method that focuses on mixing both qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection and analysis.
Participatory action research (PAR)
See Action research . Used by some authors as a synonym for action research.
Partnership
A relational activity that enables sustained change and long-term benefits for all involved.
Positivism
A view in the sciences that logical and scientific knowledge (objective and measurable) is the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge (see also Interpretivism ).
Practice-based research (PBR)
