1

Module 2

Social Work Research

Component 1A

Role Name Affiliation

Principal Investigator Dr. Geeta Balakrishnan College of Social Work,

Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai
Paper Coordinator Dr. Yamini Suvarna College of Social Work,
Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai
Content Writer Dr. Yamini Suvarna College of Social Work,
Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai
Content Reviewer Dr. Sharath Kumar College of Social Work,
Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai
Language Editor Dr. Sharath Kumar College of Social Work,
Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai

Component 1B

Description of Module

Subject Name Social Work Education

Paper Name Research Methods and Statistics
Module Name Social Work Research
Module ID SW/RMS/2
Pre Requisites A clear understanding of the concept of scientific research
Objectives To understand the scope and areas of research in the social work
profession
Key words Social work research, qualitative research, quantitative research,
mixed methods

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Quadrant 1

1. Introduction
In the previous module, we learnt about scientific research. This module will focus on explaining how
scientific research can be used in the social work profession.

At the end of this module, the student will

 Appreciate the relevance of research in the social work profession
 Understand the scope of research in the social work profession
 Learn the different areas for social work research

2. The Relevance of Scientific Research to Social Work

Let us consider the following scenarios:

Scenario 1
A student social worker has been given the task to initiate a new program with a women’s group in a
slum community as part of her block placement. So the student social worker decides to talk to the
group of women and ask them what programs would be most suitable for them.

Scenario 2
An NGO wants to replicate its community teacher program in other areas and needs to raise funds for
this. The social worker in charge of the program approaches some of the teachers who have been part
of their program since its inceptions and writes down their stories.

Scenario 3
A senior social worker wants to evaluate the success of the vocational training program run by the
NGO for over 5 years. The senior social worker asks the grass root workers to contact to at least 10
percent of the youth who have been part of the vocational training program and get information from
them on how the vocational training program benefited them.

Scenario 4
An NGO which has been working in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai for more than 10 years wants to
expand its outreach to central suburbs. The staff members of the NGO identify one community in the
nearby central suburb for the initial intervention and visit each house in that community to get data.

In each of the above situations, the social workers are collecting first- hand information or primary
data from their past, current or future clients. They will then compile the collected data, make sense of
it (analyse it) and use it to either initiate new programs (provide new insights into what the clients
require as in Scenarios 1 and 4) or raise funds (the data will provide support the fact that this program
is successful as in Scenario 2) or bring about changes in the existing program (challenge and change
the known as in Scenario 3).

In the previous module, we learnt that research involved collecting primary data, analysing it and
comparing the data to support known information or challenge known information or provide new
insights into what is known. In other words, research is carried out in all the above scenarios.

3. Definition of social work research

Social work research may be defined as systematic investigation into the problems in the field
of social work (http://www.scribd.com/doc/46696769/Meaning-of-Social-Work-Research)
Social work research seeks to provide social workers information thatcan be taken into consideration
by social workers prior to making decisions that affect theirclients, programmes or agencies such as

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use of alternative intervention techniques or change ormodification of programme/client/objectives

and so forth.

Social work research usually uses one of the following methods:

 Quantitative methods
 Qualitative methods
 Mixed methods

3.1 Quantitative methods

Aliaga and Gunderson (2000)provide a concise and comprehensive definition of quantitative research
methods when they state that quantitative research focuses on explaining phenomena by collecting
data (both numeric and non-numeric)that are analysed using mathematically based methods (in
particular statistics). Quantitative research utilizes empirical methods to test hypotheses, understand
relationships between variables and make predictions
(http://www.xavier.edu/library/help/qualitative_quantitative.pdf). Such researches tend to have a
clearly defined and fixed methodology. The results are objective, deductive and generalizable. Let us
consider an example to clarify this point and explain the use of quantitative methods in social work
research. Suppose we want to understand the relationship between the frequency of mentoring and the
occurrence of burnout amongst counsellors. We could start the research with a claim “the more
frequent the meetings with the mentors, the less the occurrences of burnout amongst the counsellor”.
The research would then seek to prove whether this claim we have made is true or not. Data could be
collected from counsellors using a survey questionnaire. Thus, this is an example of a quantitative
research study in the social work arena. Modules 6 – 13 provide more details on how to conduct
quantitative researches.

3.2 Qualitative methods

Although there are many definitions of qualitative research, one of the simplest comes from Nkwi,
Nyamongo and Ryan (2001, p.1) which states that:
Qualitative research involves any research that uses data that do not indicate ordinal
values.
Qualitative research is exploratory and is used to either define or explain a problem
(http://www.surveygizmo.com/survey-blog/quantitative-qualitative-research/). It is inductive and
requires researchers to examine settings and people in a holistic manner. Qualitative researchers
attempt to understand people from their own frame of reference, while setting aside their (the
researchers) own beliefs, views, perspectives and predisposition. In qualitative research, there are
guidelines that can be followed and often the methodology evolves as the research develops.
Qualitative research recognises that there are multiple realities and is subjective in nature. Continuing
with the above example, a qualitative research could try to explore the different aspects of mentoring
which play a role in reducing burnouts amongst counsellors. Modules 22 – 28 provide more details on
how to conduct qualitative research studies.

3.3 Mixed methods

Mixed methods research involves a judicious mix of both qualitative and quantitative research
methods in a single research study. Tools for data collection are drawn from both to ensure that the
analysis is deductive as well as inductive. Johnson et al (2007) define mixed methods research as one
that allows inclusion of issues and strategies surrounding methods of data collection (e.g.
questionnaires, interviews, observations), methods of research (e.g., experiments, ethnography),and
related philosophical issues (e.g., ontology, epistemology, axiology). These are widely used in field
based social work as they enable the researchers to get a holistic picture of the issue being researched.

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4. Types of Social Work Research

The different types of social work research can be broadly categorised as below:
 Needs assessments can be defined as a systematic and on-going process which provides
usable and useful information about the needs of the target population – to those who can and
will utilize it to make judgments about policy and programmes. For example, an NGO may
conduct a needs assessment in a community before initiating new programs so that they can
identify the areas for intervention. These may make use of qualitative, quantitative or mixed
methods depending on the aims of the study. For example, a survey could be conducted with
all the members of a community to understand the needs of the community where the project
is to be implemented. Following this, a focus group discussion could be held with the
community leaders so that these needs can be prioritised.
 Situational analysis can be defined as a process that examines a situation, its elements, and
their relations, and that is intended to provide and maintain a state of situation awareness for
the decision maker. Often a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis
is conducted as part of a situation analysis. As part of a situational analysis study, the
researcher develops hypotheses about meaningful relations between entities and events,
estimates the organizational structures and intentions of threat entities, assesses
vulnerabilities of both one's own force and of threat assets and the level of risk posed by
specific threats (http://planningskills.com/askdan/20.php).
 Evaluation researchstudies tend to examine issues in terms of changing or modifying them.
Such studies seek not only to assess the merits of a programme but also endeavour to help
improve that which they evaluate (Robson, 2002).Evaluative research requires a dynamic,
developmental perspective: the qualitative evaluation approach focuses on the process. It
assumes that all programmes develop and change constantly and that the process is just as
important as the results. (Patton, 1991, pp. 52- 53)
 Impact assessment is the process of identifying the anticipated or actual impacts of a
development intervention, on those social, economic and environmental factors which the
intervention is designed to affect or may inadvertently affect. The impact assessment may take
place before a project or activity is initiated, on completion of the project or activityor at any
point of time during the implementation of the project or
activity.(www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/.../CoreText-1-WhatisImpactAssessment.doc).Impact
assessments focus on assessing the effects and the effectiveness of the programme(Robson,
2002 p. 179). An impact assessment research may be qualitative, quantitative or may make
use of mixed methods. Participatory impact assessments where the beneficiaries are part of
the research studies are slowly gaining popularity.
 Policy research is research that seeks to inform and influence public policy with a view to
bettering the lives of the people for whose benefit the policies are designed.
(http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/2426.pdf)

When deciding which type of research is best suited for your project, it is essential to look at the goals
and reason for doing the research. You should choose the type of research which is most closely
linked to your goals and rationale.

6. The stages of Social Work Research

The stages of Social Work Research are the same as those in any scientific research and are as
follows:
1. Problem identification /selecting focus of research
2. Literature review
3. Problem formulation- research question/statement/ hypothesis
4. Deciding the methodology
5. Writing a research proposal
6. Collecting the data

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7. Interpreting and analysing the data

8. Writing the research report

Please refer to Module 1 for more information on each of the stages given above. Please also refer to
Modules 4 and 5 for detailed information on conducting literature reviews and writing research
proposals respectively.

7. Types of Documents inSocial Work Research

There are many different types of reports that can be of use in the field of social work research. The
document that you produce at the end of your research project would depend on the type of your
research project. Documents in social work research can be categorised as the following:
 Process Documents are used to provide details of how a project was implemented or a study
conducted. As the name suggests, the emphasis is on the processes that were involved. One
definition of process documentation used by an NGO (St Anne’s foundation) working at the
international level is as follows:
Process documentation means to write down or record in some way a process that is
going on. It tells the story of how and why something happened, rather than just
describing what happened
(http://www.aecf.org/initiatives/mc/llp/chapter8_11.htm).
Process documents are extremely useful when the research project has an action
component to it. Moreover, an understanding of the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ can assist in
in planning the replication and/or scaling up of projects.

 Needs Assessment Reports are based on needs assessment studies. These reports not only
provide the organisation with a clear picture of the needs of the future beneficiaries of a
project, they can also help the organisation in planning the projects based on the needs of the
people. The data from such a report can also be used for raising funds for the project.

 Evaluation Reportsare based on evaluation researches which may use qualitative, quantitative
or mixed methods. It is an essential aspect of an evaluation research and focuses on
presenting the results as well as suggestions for improving the project/issue being evaluated.

 Impact Assessment Reportsfocus on understanding the effectof a project or program on

multiple stakeholders and beneficiaries.Many impact assessments make use of mixed methods
where in-depth interviews and focus groups are used along with survey questionnaires.
Moreover, often impact assessments involve different groups of respondents- the stakeholders
and staff implementing the program whose impact is being assessed need to be included as
respondents along with the direct beneficiaries of the said program. When writing up the
findings of such assessments, it is important to ensure that all groups of respondents are given
sufficient space. It may also be useful to write up the findings from the different groups
separately and then compare the same.

 Desk Research Reports: Desk research or desktop research is often called secondary research.
Such reports focuses on gathering and analyzing information, already available in
print or published on the internet (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/desk-
research.html#ixzz2umr7vA5X)

 Survey Reports:Survey is a non-experimental scientific design that focuseson collecting self-

reported data from the respondent predominantly through an interview or questionnaire. It
usually examines perceptions of people on a particular issue (Mc Burney, 1994). The survey
is a quantitative tool.

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 Case Study Reports: Case studies are a qualitative research method which focuses on
collecting detailed information about a person or a group or even an organisation. Such
reports are often used to tell the ‘story’ of the person or a group or organisation being
researched and hence are based on the perception and memories of the people involved.

 Monthly/Quarterly/Annual Reports: These are often internal reports created by the

organisation which provide data of the various projects implemented by the said organisation.
Such reports tend to be quantitative in nature and the format of the reports may vary across
different organisations. The focus of such reports is to provide a ‘snap-shot’ or an overall
picture of the work done by the organisation. These are useful when applying for funding for
existing projects or initiating new ones as such reports provide information on the growth and
development of the organisation.

8. Scope of Social Work Research

Social work research has many uses as listed below:
 To test knowledge or hypothesis
 To validate concepts and theories
 To build new theories
 To identify needs and resources
 To evaluate programmes
 To assess impact of programs and/or policies
 To understand problems faced by different groups of respondents such as
beneficiaries/clients, stakeholders and even professional social workers
Social work involves working in a number of different settings and with varied groups of clients.
Hence, areas for social work research too are many. Some of the broad area for social work research
could be:
 Child welfare, protection and children’s issues including vulnerable groups like street
children, child labourers and the girl child
 Women welfare and women’s issues
 Youth welfare and youth issues
 Welfare of the elderly and issues related to aging
 Welfare of the differently abled (both physical and mental) and issues related to them
 Welfare of SC and ST groups and issues related to them
 Gender issues
 Rural development issues
 Community development issues
 Health
 Poverty alleviation
 Juvenile Delinquency
 Crime and correction and legal aspects
 Social welfare departments and policies related to these
 Industrial social work
 Disaster management
 Ecological issues and sustainable development
 Housing rights
 Issues related to advocacy and networking
 Practice based research
There could be multiple research areas within each of the above mentioned broad areas. Moreover,
research could focus on individual, families, groups, communities or organisations within each of the
above mentioned areas.

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9. Summary
9.1 Social work research is a systematic process which involved collecting of data and analysing with
a view to enabling social workers to provide services and programs to their beneficiaries/clients in a
more effective manner.
9.2 Social work research can make use of qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods.
9.3 The stages of social work research are the same as those in any scientific research.
9.4 There are many different types of social work research and research reports. The choice of the
type of research and report should be made keeping in mind the goals of the research study.
9.5 The areas for social work research emerge from the different settings for the social work
profession as well as the varied groups with whom the social work professionals intervene.

References
1. Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Turner, L. A. (2007). Toward a definition of
mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2), 112–133.
2. Mc Burney, D.H. (1994) Research Methods (3rd Ed.) California: Brooks/Cole Publishing
Company.
3. Nkwi, P., Nyamongo, I., & Ryan, G. (2001). Field research into socio-cultural issues:
Methodological guidelines. Yaounde, Cameroon, Africa: International Center for Applied Social
Sciences, Research, and Training/UNFPA
4. Patton, M. Q. (1991) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. USA: Sage.
5. Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research. A resource for social scientists and practitioner-
researchers (2nd Ed.) Oxford: Blackwell.

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