1. SWP3000
RESEARCH IN PRACTICE
SESSIONS 3 & 4
Val Gant
(with thanks and acknowledgement
to Vicki Coppock)

2. Outline of Session 3
• Philosophy of Research
– Key concepts
• Paradigm
• Ontology
• Epistemology
• Methodology
• Method
– Traditional Research Paradigms
• Positivism
• Interpretivism
– Feminist / Critical Social Science Paradigms
• Application of different paradigms to researching
social work practice

3. Research – like life – is a contradictory,
messy affair. Only on the pages of “how-
to-do-it” research methods texts or in the
classrooms of research methods courses
can it be sorted out into linear stages,
clear protocols, and firm principles.
(Plummer, 2008: p.477)

4. What is a paradigm?
• “the entire constellation of beliefs, values,
techniques and so on shared by members of a
given [scientific] community” (Kuhn, 1970 p175)
• “Paradigms function as maps, directing us to the
problems that are important to address, the
theories that are acceptable, and the procedures
needed to solve the problems…Paradigms
reflect changing values, countering the idea that
a fixed reality exists out there to be objectively
observed” (Marlow, 2001 p7)

5. Why do I need to know about
paradigms?
• Social work research never happens in a
vacuum!
• Different ‘ways of knowing’ cannot be
separated from discussion of techniques
or methods
• Different ways of knowing are related to
politics and ethics

6. Ontology
• Ontology is the study of ‘being’
• Ontological questions relate to
what it means to be human, the
nature of the world and,
ultimately, what is reality

7. Epistemology
• Where ontology is concerned with the nature of
social ‘reality’, epistemology is concerned with
the nature of knowledge
• Quite simply, it asks “How do we know what
we know?”
• Ontology and epistemology are inextricably
linked – ontological assumptions determine
epistemological considerations
• Whatever epistemological stance a researcher
adopts shapes the questions asked in the
research process

8. Methodology / Methods
• Methodology is concerned with how we can
know the social world and what proof / evidence
can we accept as reliable and valid
• Methods are concerned with how we collect
data that is reliable and valid
• It is at the level of methodology and methods
that it is possible to make the distinction
between quantitative and qualitative research

9. ‘Pure’ and ‘Applied’ Research
Simply:
• Pure research is concerned with producing
theory
• Applied research is concerned with the
application of theoretical knowledge in order
to solve practical problems
In social work the need to develop research-
based practice has meant greater emphasis on
applied research.

10. Two Traditional Views of How Research
Should be Conducted

11. Deductive and Inductive Approaches
Deductive Approach Inductive Approach

12. Deductive and Inductive Approaches to
the Same Issue
Deductive Example Inductive Example
Observation Observation
• Violence increases in the summer. • Violence increases in the summer.
Theory Study
• Heat increases aggression. • People asked about why they think
violence increases in the summer.
Example of a Study
• Participants in a warm or hot room Trends in Data
play a game where they can award or • People say the heat makes them
punish fellow players. more aggressive.
• If those in the hot room give more Theory
punishment this supports the theory. • Heat increases aggression.

13. Inductive Reasoning and Deductive
Reasoning Are Often Used Together
D I
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D D
U U
C C
T T
I I
V V
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14. Key Principles of Traditional Positivism
The Positivist approach involves:
• Empiricism: Researchers should only study observable “facts” that can be
proven without any argument:
– Unemployment rates, violence statistics, income, age, gender.
– Opinions, attitudes, emotions etc are not “facts” so are not studied.
• Quantitative Data: The data examined is numerical and subjected to
statistical analysis.
– Unemployment rates, violence statistics, number of males and females who
smoke, number of people aged 65+ who exercise etc.
• Looking for Causation: Facts should be used to find “social laws”:
– E.g. Increased temperatures lead to increases in violence.

15. Key Principles of Traditional Positivism
The Positivist approach also involves:
4. Deduction: To find “social laws”, theories need to be developed (can be
done in an inductive way) and tested through deductive methods.
– Also referred to as the hypothetico-deductive model where theories/
hypotheses are tested to determine whether their key principles hold.
5. Reliability/Replication: A “social law” should be found whenever the
“facts” are present.
– E.g. In hot temperatures, violence should always increase.
– If this does not occur, then the “social law” needs to be re-examined.
6. Objectivity/Value Free Research: Researchers own biases/opinions
cannot influence findings as “social laws” are based on “facts”.

16. Criticisms of Traditional Positivism
1. Empiricism: Facts are useful for explaining what behaviours occur in
society, but less useful for explaining why these behaviours occur.
– E.g. Increased temperature may lead to increased violence, but people may
have different reasons for acting violent when it is hot.
– To understand social behaviour you also need to also understand people’s
motivations, beliefs, attitudes, opinions etc.
2. Objectivity: A researcher is always choosing what theory to test and
what “facts” to examine, so research is not entirely objective.
– A researcher may favour one theory and, either intentionally or
unintentionally, only collect evidence that supports it.

17. Key Principles of
Traditional Interpretivism
The Interpretivist approach involves:
• Verstehen (subjective experience): Researchers need to study how people
interpret the world and subsequently act in it.
• Qualitative Data: Data tends to be written/spoken words or observational
notes. Trends in what is said and done are examined.
• Looking for Causes (but no “social laws”): Free will means rigid “social
laws” of behaviour are not possible, but common trends in the causes of
specific behaviours will emerge in the data. No statistical tests are used.
• Inductive: Theories about the causes of behaviour can only be developed
after studying how people interpret and act in the word (but research can
be used to test existing theories, so deduction is possible).

18. Key Principles of
Traditional Interpretivism
The Interpretivist approach also involves:
• Validity: As the researcher is stepping into the participants shoes, they
are getting an accurate view of the causes of person’s behaviour.
• Subjectivity/Value Laden: The researcher aims to be objective, but as
the researcher is doing the interpreting he/she can be very subjective
and influenced by his/her values and assumptions.

19. Criticisms of Traditional
Interpretivism
• Lack of Reliability: As the emphasis is on getting to know a
small number of people closely, the findings may not be
reliable (as the people may not represent the mainstream/
may behave differently under observation).
E.g. Participants claim they get more aggressive in the summer due to
increased alcohol consumption, but it may actually be due to the
heat for most people.
• Subjectivity: The researcher will have their own
experiences/cultural beliefs that will influence how they
perceive behaviours.

20. Traditional Positivism and
Interpretivism Compared
Positivism Interpretivism
Empiricism (Facts and Figures) Verstehen (Subjective Experience)
Quantitative Data Qualitative Data
Causation (Social Laws) Causes (but not Social Laws)
Deductive (usually) Inductive (usually)
Reliability Validity
Objective/Value Free Subjective/Value Laden

21. POSITIVISM INTERPRETIVISM
ONTOLOGY - The social world is like the natural - There is no objective truth
world
- Social reality is the outcome of
- There is an objective reality that is
interaction and meaning-making
separate from our consciousness
EPISTEMOLOGY - The generation of knowledge has to - Knowledge is generated by uncovering
be based on objective and and understanding the meanings,
generalisable principles motivations and intentions behind social
action
- Focus on quantifiable facts.
Motivations of actors are not - Co-construction of reality by researcher
measurable and subject
METHODOLOGY - Knowledge has to be generated - Valid data is usually qualitative and aims
objectively to understand the ways in which
individuals see the world
- Researcher should be detached in
the collection of facts
METHODS - Any method that produces reliable - Interviews, observation, focus groups
and valid data. Often, survey,
observation

22. Feminist paradigm
• Since all aspects of social life are shaped by
patriarchy, all theory and research must also
be patriarchal
• Traditional research identified as reflecting
gender-bias by concentrating on the social
world of men and male definitions of
‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’, validated by male
researchers and theorists
• ->Research for rather than on women

23. FEMINIST RESEARCH
ONTOLOGY - Gender is a central feature of identity and social organisation
- Gender reproduction and organisation are political/social/interactional
processes located simultaneously in individuals and the social structure
- The personal is political and the political is personal
EPISTEMOLOGY -Exposes the exercise of patriarchal power in the production of knowledge
- Knowledge generation comes from a commitment to affirming women’s
knowing; rediscovering the links between personal experience and structural
inequality; building collective insights among women which deepen their sense
of identity, interconnectedness and extending their analysis of repression and
how that repression is internalised
METHODOLOGY - Knowledge and social research as emancipation
METHODS - Any method that exposes gender inequality and discrimination
-Values and uses intuition, collaboration and feelings in research
- Often involves the participation of research subjects themselves

24. Some principles of feminist
research
- Recognises women’s personal experiences as valid data
- Focus on female world; everyday life as politics
- Has a commitment to exposing complex and diverse
nature of women’s oppression
- Disrupts prevailing notions of what is seen as inevitable
- Sees women as actors not passive objects of research
- Emphasises women’s strengths, not their victimisation
- Challenges tendency to ‘study down’; non-exploitative
- Asks in whose interests is the research?
- Has a commitment to research as basis for social change
for women
- Writes the researcher explicitly into the research
- Has a commitment to ‘giving back’; consciousness-raising

25. A feminist approach to social work
and domestic abuse research
Example:
Mullender A & Hague G (2005) ‘Giving a
voice to the survivors of domestic violence
through recognition as a service user
group’ in British Journal of Social Work 35,
1321-1341

26. Critical social science
“A research paradigm distinguished by its
focus on oppression and its commitment
to using research procedures to empower
oppressed groups.”
Rubin & Babbie, 2007 p37

27. CRITICAL SOCIAL SCIENCE
ONTOLOGY - There is no objective truth
- Social structures exert an influence over individuals
- Social reality reflects structural inequalities
EPISTEMOLOGY - Knowledge involves the exercise of power
- Social research exposes the exercise of power in the production of knowledge
METHODOLOGY - Knowledge and social research as emancipation
METHODS - Any method that exposes inequality and discrimination. Often involves the
participation of research subjects themselves

28. Characteristics of positivist, quantitative
approaches to researching social work
practice (Lishman, 2000)
• case monitoring and evaluation - through single
system designs
• the application of scientific perspectives and
experimental design and methods in practice
• application of and knowledge based on interventions
whose effectiveness has been demonstrated through
the research methods identified (i.e. from a
scientific, experimental perspective)

29. Strengths…
• the direct linking of evaluation and individual cases and the
practitioner's ownership of evaluation in practice
• the explicitness of specifying a client's problem, recording
change during intervention, and, as a result, evaluating the
success of the intervention
• the more general introduction, to social work critical analysis
of practice, of the importance of specifying aims and goals of
intervention, of working with clients and users within specific
and explicit contracts, the use of time limited intervention
and review, and the evaluation of intervention based on the
original specified aims.

30. Weaknesses include…
• the very specific, clear and measurable outcomes
may not reflect the complex and 'messy' problems
which social work practice encounters
• the limitations of criteria for success which are based
entirely on client change as a measure of the
effectiveness of intervention
• the failure to recognise that what social work offers
is contingent on the context. Any rigorous analysis of
'what works' has to question the context of the
programme, and what elements of it work for some
people in particular circumstances.

31. Characteristics of qualitative approaches
to researching social work practice
(Lishman, 2000)
• the utilisation of a range of social science methods,
including ethnography, discourse analysis, case
studies and narrative enquiry
• the contribution of practitioners to the construction
of social work knowledge (Fook, 1996)
• the lack of correlation between formal knowledge
and effectiveness in practice
• the use of Schon's model of reflective practice (1983)
which criticises the authority of scientific knowledge
and practice derived from 'pure' academic research
and values applied and performance based models
of professional knowledge and research.

32. Strengths…
• recognition of the need for evaluation in social work to
include the role of values and judgements about 'good'
practices and processes
• recognition of the importance of meaning and perceived
experience in social work encounters and not simply of
prescribed outcomes
• recognition of the importance of the voice of the consumer,
user or client in evaluating the experience of receiving a social
work service
• recognition of the social worker's understanding and
perception of assessment, process, decision making and
intervention, in the light of the professional ethical and
knowledge base, and wider organisational and resource
influences and constraints.

33. Potential weaknesses…
• a lack of clarity about specific purposes of
intervention and related outcomes
• a focus on individual, specific experience, rather than
data which is generalisable
• an emphasis on individual learning and experience
which may be seen as irrelevant, when success is
measured at political and programme level by
relatively crude indicators, for example, risk of re-
offending, reduction of unemployment.

34. Characteristics of participatory
approaches to researching social work
practice (Lishman, 2000)
• people are seen as experts in their own lives
• the strengths of local people are used to plan
action for change based on communally
owned values

35. Draws on…
• feminist theory and methodology
• the social model of disability
• 'people first' and 'equal people' perspectives in the field of
learning disabilities
• the psychiatric survivor movement and the challenge to
mental health/psychiatric 'knowledge' as derived from
medical research and practice
• theories derived from children's rights and perspectives
• theorising and knowledge about gay and lesbian choices,
lifestyles and behaviours
• theorising about race, and ethnicity

36. Strengths…
• the inclusion in a research/evaluation agenda of the
voices of people who may be excluded by race,
gender, disability, mental health, age, learning
disability or poverty, or a combination of these
factors
• the emphasis and promotion of the user
contribution, if not control, of the evaluation agenda
• the social inclusion, in policy and practice
development, of previously excluded voices
• the recognition of the need for accountability of
practitioners to service users, not just to employing
organisational hierarchies.

37. Potential weaknesses…
• conflicts between user requirements and
needs and resource allocation
• conflicts between user perceptions and social
work legal requirements in terms of risk
assessment and protection (in particular in
relation to children).
• conflicts between empowerment and the
protection and control purposes of some
aspects of social work.

38. Conclusion?
• What is required is a realistic assessment of
the relative strengths and weaknesses of
contested methodological positions and
judicious choice of method appropriate to
the purpose of the enquiry.

39. Outline of Session 4
• Identifying a research question
• Undertaking a literature review

40. Impetus for social work
research?
Most often (but not exclusively):
• Needs-led / Needs assessment
• Evaluation of practice / programme /
service

41. Strategies (D’Cruz & Jones, 2004)
• Exploratory research
– Generating knowledge about relatively under-
researched or newly emerging subject
– Associated with interpretivist paradigm
• Descriptive research
– Illuminating features or extent of the subject
– Moves between positivist and interpretivist
approaches
• Explanatory research
– Developing explanations of the subject
– Associated with positivist paradigm

42. Strategies cont.
• Needs assessments research is likely to
be exploratory or descriptive
– E.g. assessing the incidence of a particular
social issue or the extent of certain needs
• Evaluations are likely to be descriptive
or explanatory
– They can evaluate the process (experience
of a service) or the outcome (looking at
effectiveness) of a particular piece of practice
or a programme of work

43. E.g. of exploratory /descriptive
study of…
Transgender people’s experience of
domestic abuse…
http://www.lgbtdomesticabuse.org.uk/service-us
What barriers are faced by transgender
people when they seek help for domestic
abuse?

44. E.g. of explanatory /descriptive
study…
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a
particular training programme for social
workers in a department…
In what ways does LGBT Awareness and
Equality Training contribute towards
inclusive social work practice with LGBT
people experiencing domestic abuse?

45. Research questions… (Punch, 1998):
• Organise the project, giving it direction
and coherence
• Delimit the project, showing its boundaries
• Keep the researcher focused during the
project
• Provide a framework for writing up the
project
• Point to the data that will be needed

46. Research questions (D’Cruz & Jones,
2004):
• Can be ‘tightly’ or ‘loosely’ framed
• Explanatory research tends towards the
‘tight’ end of the continuum
• Exploratory research tends towards the
‘loose’ end of the continuum
• Descriptive research frequently moves
between the two

47. Identifying a research question
(D’Cruz & Jones, 2004)
• Identify a subject area that interests you
• Generate a list of possible questions for
research concerning this subject area
• Try to disentangle different questions from one
another and put them in some sort of order
• Attempt to develop a focus for a viable research
project drawing boundaries around what will /will
not be included
• Establish working definitions of key
terms/phrases

48. 4 criteria to be met in question-
setting (D’Cruz & Jones, 2004)
Must be:
• Feasible (funding; time; access etc.)
• Relevant
• Researchable (has the potential to be
answered by the generation of research
knowledge)
• Ethical

49. Important to remember…
• Positioning – how as individuals we
position ourselves within the research
process and acknowledging that position.
i.e. subjectivity matters!
• Reflexivity – a process of continuous
reflection about how we are interpreting
the social world /events, recognising that
“knowledge is made rather than revealed”
(Taylor & White, 2000 p199)

50. Factors in question setting (D’Cruz &
Jones, 2004)
TOPIC
Reviewing the literature Unpacking the issue
(what is already known?) (what might the research
add?)
Research question
(and its limitations)
Relevant, feasible, researchable,
ethical
Social context
Personal Relevant
Location Stakeholders
Reflexivity, participation, negotiation

51. The literature review:
“A literature review places the current
research in its historical and theoretical
context. It describes the background to the
study and the relationship between the
present study and previous studies
conducted in the same area. It also
identifies trends and debates in the
existing literature”
Marlow, 2001 p56

52. The literature review (Marlow, 2001)
Assists in:
• Generating the question
• Connecting the question to theory
• Identifying previous research
• Giving direction to the project

53. Searching the literature (Bell, 1993)
• Select topic
• Define terminology
• Define parameters
– Language; geography; time period; type of material
etc.
• List possible search terms
• Select sources
– Library catalogues; computer searches; bibliographies
in books; journals/articles; abstracts or theses; official
& legal publications; ‘grey’ literature

54. Critically analysing the literature
(Royse, 1999)
• What do the majority of studies conclude?
• What theories have attempted to explain the
phenomenon?
• What interventions have been tried?
• What instruments have been used to assess the
problem?
• What are the gaps in our knowledge about the
problem?
• What additional research needs have been
identified?

55. Writing the review (Royse, 2001)
• Make sure the early major or classical studies are
included, but..
• Do not focus so much on these that the review of the
literature is ‘light’ on current studies
• Make minimal use of direct quotes from other sources
and avoid incorporating long passages from original
sources
• Try to provide a balanced presentation, acknowledging
theories or explanations even if you don’t subscribe to
them
• Construct the literature review so that the reader can
easily follow your organisation of the material and will
come away knowing the breadth of prior research, the
gaps in the literature and the purpose of your proposal.
Distinguish for the reader the uniqueness of your study
or describe how it is similar to others

56. Additional references
*Bell J (1993) Doing Your Research Project: a guide for first time researchers in education and
social science, 2nd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press
Fook J ed. (1986) The Reflective Researcher: social workers’ theories of practice research, St
Leonards, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin
*Kuhn T (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed. Chicago, Illinois: University of
Chicago Press
Lishman J (2000) ‘Evidence for practice: the contribution of competing research methodologies’,
ESRC Seminar Series: Theorising Social Work Research: What works as evidence for practice?
The methodological repertoire in an applied discipline 27th April 2000 Cardiff
http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/misc/tswr/seminar5/lishman.asp
Marlow C (2001) Research Methods for Generalist Social Work, 3rd ed. Belmont, California:
Brooks/Cole
Plummer (2008) ‘Critical humanism and queer theory: living with the tensions’ in Denzin NK &
Lincoln YS eds The Landscape of Qualitative Research 3rd ed. London: Sage
*Punch M (1998) Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches,
London: Sage
Royse D (1999) Research Methods in Social Work, Chicago, Illinois: Nelson-Hall
Royse D et al. (2001) Program Evaluation: an introduction, 3rd ed. Belmont, California:
Brooks/Cole
*Schon D (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: how professionals think in action, New York: Basic
Books
Taylor C & White S (2000) Practising Reflexivity in Health and Welfare, Buckingham: Open
University Press
*denotes availability in Edge Hill Library, perhaps with later edition.