Blog Post 3 (not 4)

What gains/new insights/perspectives have you made about the uses of research to your future social work practice?

• There are many sources of information.
• Research has been done on a broad range of subjects and at this point in my social work program, I would have trouble thinking of a completely new idea, but I know they exist.
• I’m doing research to explore topics I’ve often wondered about, and this is how I picked my research topic.
• I’m starting to understand how best practices are formulated and tested.
• I’ve learned that professional associations are a good source of background information.
• I’m learning how to identify and assess relevant information.

How relevant is research to social work practice? What could research potentially do?

• Research is used to develop evidence based practices.
• Funding sources like governmental departments or private foundations want to see outcomes, measurements and research on how programs are working. These funding sources may want to scale a particular program and will want research to prove that the programs work and can be replicated.
• Research can provide information on best practices, it can answer questions, generate ideas, create an advocacy case and support what a social worker is experiencing or observing in the field.

How should social workers really think about the role of research?

Research is a place to go for answers and a way to share information. It can be used to  build a case for a policy change or a new program. Research is also a path to being impartial and base social work practice on evidence instead of emotions and doing what “feels right”. Research is a way to build support for the field.

Do social workers have to choose between doing research and working for their clients? Are these two issues distinct or are they different sides of the same coin?

Social workers may spend 90% of their time working with clients but they will likely include some form of research in their practice. Examples are researching new interventions, programs, benefits, drug side effects or housing options for a discharge plan. Social workers may be part of a research study or provide data to a researcher. I think they are different sides of the same coin but can vary greatly depending on the type of social work practice.

My meme.

I understand the concept of research and its importance. I worked for two large non-profits that based its programs on research and evidence-based practices.  I currently do a lot of research – but what I would call research with a small “r”. Now I’m learning how to do a more rigorous academic type of research and learning about its implications for social work practice.