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The role of research in social work practice
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Social work research is a systematic and objective inquiry that utilizes the scientific method to solve human problems and creates new knowledge that is generally applicable to the social work profession (Grinnell, Wiliams, & Unrau, 2012). Findings from research in social work help social work professionals understand the impact it has on theory, practice, and policy formulation. The purpose of research in social work is divided into four categories: exploration, description, evaluation, and explanation (Grinnell, Wiliams, & Unrau, 2012). Those categories are typical used when there is a new study being conducted or for a study that requires more information. From research, social workers can apply their findings to real world problems their clients are facing. …show more content…
According to EPAS, social work practitioners must strive for the use of evidence-based practices whenever possible. And the evidence they use is based off research studies that have used the scientific method to generate their research findings (Grinnell, Wiliams, & Unrau, 2012). Using evidence-based practice, social work researchers and practitioners can explore a vast amount of interventions that are used to provide a service to those in need. Research contributes to the development of knowledge and can be used to find evidence-based interventions that have been proven to be successful or unsuccessful while working with populations-at-risk (Grinnell, Wiliams, & Unrau, 2012). With research, social workers are also able to assist in advocating for policy reforms and social justice initiatives. Consider the following existing research example as it supports the importance of research in relation to the juvenile
Social Work is the study of people and how they interact with the systems in their environment and other people. Social Workers use theories, sets of ideas or concepts, of human behavior and apply them within their professional social work ethics to the problems facing clients in order to help them gain balance in the systems in their lives. Theories help to organize knowledge enabling social workers to help make sense of problems. There are many different theories. They have been grouped into broad categories called theoretical lenses (Rogers, A. 2013).
The social workers in both videos gathered information regarding each of the client’s issues. Another common denominator in both videos is that both of the social workers repeated what the client had said in their own words to allow the client to feel heard and understood. In the first video, social worker Karen asked direct questions relating to Mike’s alcohol addiction while also addressing how the addiction impacts his relationships including his marriage. Karen also addressed inconsistencies with the client doing so appropriately and quickly. It appears that in the first video, Karen focuses on the reality of the issue at hand to assist the client with establishing and accepting
As a social worker one cannot comprehend how vast the knowledge of research work impact the profession. All the intervention plans and diagnosis that relates to the need of clients as some research work that provide accurate information about the population and this awareness make social worker to feel relax that they have other sources that can be vital in providing help for their clients. More so research work helps social worker to verify if there intuition concerning a situation is correct, by researching on their findings to see the accountability of the result outcome. Without the knowledge from past research work it will be difficult for the social work profession to have ideas of the kind of intervention methods to use, since the profession address different needs of clients. But with some research work they have the right means in assisting clients in providing intervention
...n attempting to research this phenomenon. The research of juveniles and especially of their criminal conduct brings up many ethical issues and dilemmas. Participants’ guardians should be made aware of the research being conducted and participant confidentiality should be one of the researcher’s main priorities. An issue that may arise is the lack of guardian support for involvement in the research. In order to overcome this possible dilemma, informational packets should be created to hand out to guardians, which will include information about the research experiment. Confidentiality should be stressed and other than the survey or in-person interview, the observations by the researcher will be primarily unobtrusive, so guardians should be reassured that their approval in their child’s participation is only beneficial to bring about policy changes in school settings.
Social workers are increasingly recognized as an inevitable part of interdisciplinary teams in addressing the needs of clients who seek for legal remedies and services. The relationship between social work and law has been developing since 1917, when Mary Richmond, an architect of modern social work, acknowledged the role of legal authorities while developing her conceptual model for casework (Forgelson, 1970). Later, Mary Richmond drafted an early social work code of ethics in the early 1920s (Reamer, 1987). However, from the development perspective, all 50 states in the US have passed statutes requiring professionals from certain disciplines, including social work and law, to report any abuse or crime happened in the past or is going to happen in the nearest future if there are good reasons to believe that is true. Dubose and Morris (2005) stated that very few states passed similar mandatory reporting statutes for attorneys. It is not surprising that only a few states accepted these statutes because of the presence of the attorney-client privilege statute, which is true for all states. Due to differences in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and NASW Code of Ethics, professionals from the respective disciplines may have conflicts while both provide social and legal support to the same client from a domestic violence organization. There are two main reasons that allow the tension to happen, social workers are mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect but lawyers, on the contrary, have an ethical responsibility to maintain client confidentiality (Taylor, 2006).
Theories can help explain why a problem is occurring and where the most effective intervention should take place. Theories can be obtained from research and from facts. According to Michael Tropeano “a theory is a statement backed by evidence gathered through the scientific method intended to explain something. Theoretical approaches for social work are often used to explain human behavior and serve as starting points for practice models and treatments.”
In conclusion it is important to take in cultural, religious values into account when reaching a solution using evidence based research. Sometimes the intervention that is working on a macro level isn’t going to work in a smaller community setting. There are many factors that come into play when working with juveniles. The social worker must not only look at the scientific findings but factors within the family, school, community as well.
Identify and explain the three major sources of conflict and misinterpretations in social work practice: culture-bound values, class bound values, and language variables.
This class, Social Work Theory & Practice was made to be able to introduce me to social work theories, ideas, and skills needed to work in the social work profession. This class main tool used was a book called A Brief Introduction of Social Work Theory by David Howe which discusses social work theories in a compressive and explainable way. This class is important to my higher learning because it break down the theories that I will need to use during my practice and a...
Social workers should be able to define and describe main social work paradigms, philosophical and ideological approaches and appreciate their implications to practice, policy and research. Social workers should be also able to identify interrelations between social work paradigms, social policy and social
Krysik, J. L. & Finn, J. (2013). Research for effective social work practice. New York, NY:
Theory is defined as “…”. In the social work profession, it is not enough to just understand the definition of theory, but rather be able to integrate theory into practice when working to plan interventions at multiple practice levels. This integration of theory into the social work practice is an emphasis of the profession as noted in the profession’s core competencies. Core competency 2.1.6 “engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research” (NASW code of ethics) is the basis for theory integration within the social work profession. The profession’s practice behaviors state that social workers must “use research evidence to inform practice” (NASW code of ethics). In other words, social workers should “attend to findings
Research is a necessity when it comes to providing services. Social Workers need it to be able to determine their clients ' needs, to see what resources/services they have access to and if their client doesn 't have much access where can they get it. Research is also used to see how effective an intervention is and whether it would be a right fit for their clients. It provides social service agents with ways to identify problems within their clients, communities, organizations, and the government. Also it helps them to create ways to aid in effective change. It is very beneficial when a social worker needs to "assess the needs and resources of people in their environments, evaluate the effectiveness of social work services in meeting people
They recognize, support, and build on the strengths and resiliency of all people. Generalist social workers help people achieve their goals through the application of research supported interventions. Generalist social workers value the process whereby research, policy, ethics, and practice inform each other. The foundation of social work is built upon research and practice, focusing on social, political, and economic influences that produce human suffering and community disorganization. The goal is to understand how social problems present the individual level.
The work of a social worker is complex and all encompassing. Social workers work in many capacities seeking justice, liberation, and equality. There work is global, as they work to put policies in place to govern practices. To keep up with societal shifts and generational changes there learning is continuous. As new questions rise so does the need for the continuation of research, not only to answer these questions but to implement into