methods of research social work

Graduate research methods in social work

(3 reviews)

Matt DeCarlo, La Salle University

Cory Cummings, Nazareth University

Kate Agnelli, Virginia Commonwealth University

ISBN 13: 9781949373219

Publisher: Open Social Work Education

Language: English

Formats Available

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Reviewed by Erin Boyce, Full Time Faculty, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 6/3/24

This book provides a strong comprehensive overview of each step in the research & evaluation process for students, clearly outlining each step with clarity and direction. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book provides a strong comprehensive overview of each step in the research & evaluation process for students, clearly outlining each step with clarity and direction.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content in this text is accurate, needing no clarification or added information, and is presented in an unbiased manner.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The relevance of this text is it's greatest strength. It is one of the strongtest research texts I've encountered, and while change always comes this text will survive new iterations of research, only needing minimal and straightforward updates.

Clarity rating: 5

As a research text, this is extremely user friendly. It is easy to read, direct, and does not interfere with student understanding. Students come away with a good understanding of the concepts from this text, and many continue to use it beyond the classroom.

Consistency rating: 5

This text is consistent with research methods and frameworks and stands alone among social work research texts as the most accessbile due to it's status as an OER and as a social work textbook.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is easily divisible into smaller readings, it works great for courses in which assignments are scaffolded to move students through the research process.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This text is organized to walk the student through the research process from start to finish, and is easily adjusted for different teaching styles.

Interface rating: 5

This text has no significant interface issues, the readings, links, and images are easily accessbile and are presented in a way that does not interfere with student learning.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This text is well edited and formatted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is culturally relevant, addresses issues of cultural relevance to social work, and highlights the role of social work values within the realm of social work research.

This is one of the best research texts I've encounted in over a decade of teaching. It is so easily digested and presents information in a direct and understandable way, and is one of the best texts for those teaching graduate level research for social workers. It is an inclusive text that honors the multiple levels of knowledge that our students come to us with, which helps sets it apart. And, the committment throughout the text to social work values and ethics is critical for todays social worker.

Reviewed by Laura Montero, Full-time Lecturer and Course Lead, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 12/23/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Graduate Research Methods in Social Work by DeCarlo, et al., is a comprehensive and well-structured guide that serves as an invaluable resource for graduate students delving into the intricate world of social work research. The book is divided into five distinct parts, each carefully curated to provide a step-by-step approach to mastering research methods in the field. Topics covered include an intro to basic research concepts, conceptualization, quantitative & qualitative approaches, as well as research in practice. At 800+ pages, however, the text could be received by students as a bit overwhelming.

Content appears consistent and reliable when compared to similar textbooks in this topic.

The book's well-structured content begins with fundamental concepts, such as the scientific method and evidence-based practice, guiding readers through the initiation of research projects with attention to ethical considerations. It seamlessly transitions to detailed explorations of both quantitative and qualitative methods, covering topics like sampling, measurement, survey design, and various qualitative data collection approaches. Throughout, the authors emphasize ethical responsibilities, cultural respectfulness, and critical thinking. These are crucial concepts we cover in social work and I was pleased to see these being integrated throughout.

The level of the language used is appropriate for graduate-level study.

Book appears to be consistent in the tone and terminology used.

Modularity rating: 4

The images and videos included, help to break up large text blocks.

Topics covered are well-organized and comprehensive. I appreciate the thorough preamble the authors include to situate the role of the social worker within a research context.

Interface rating: 4

When downloaded as a pdf, the book does not begin until page 30+ so it may be a bit difficult to scroll so long for students in order to access the content for which they are searching. Also, making the Table of Contents clickable, would help in navigating this very long textbook.

I did not find any grammatical errors or typos in the pages reviewed.

I appreciate the efforts made to integrate diverse perspectives, voices, and images into the text. The discussion around ethics and cultural considerations in research was nuanced and comprehensive as well.

Overall, the content of the book aligns with established principles of social work research, providing accurate and up-to-date information in a format that is accessible to graduate students and educators in the field.

Reviewed by Elisa Maroney, Professor, Western Oregon University on 1/2/22

With well over 800 pages, this text is beyond comprehensive! read more

With well over 800 pages, this text is beyond comprehensive!

I perused the entire text, but my focus was on "Part 4: Using qualitative methods." This section seems accurate.

As mentioned above, my primary focus was on the qualitative methods section. This section is relevant to the students I teach in interpreting studies (not a social sciences discipline).

This book is well-written and clear.

Navigating this text is easy, because the formatting is consistent

My favorite part of this text is that I can be easily customized, so that I can use the sections on qualitative methods.

The text is well-organized and easy to find and link to related sections in the book.

There are no distracting or confusing features. The book is long; being able to customize makes it easier to navigate.

I did not notice grammatical errors.

The authors offer resources for Afrocentricity for social work practice (among others, including those related to Feminist and Queer methodologies). These are relevant to the field of interpreting studies.

I look forward to adopting this text in my qualitative methods course for graduate students in interpreting studies.

1. Science and social work
2. Starting your research project
3. Searching the literature
4. Critical information literacy
5. Writing your literature review
6. Research ethics
7. Theory and paradigm
8. Reasoning and causality
9. Writing your research question
10. Quantitative sampling
11. Quantitative measurement
12. Survey design
13. Experimental design
14. Univariate analysis
15. Bivariate analysis
16. Reporting quantitative results
17. Qualitative data and sampling
18. Qualitative data collection
19. A survey of approaches to qualitative data analysis
20. Quality in qualitative studies: Rigor in research design
21. Qualitative research dissemination
22. A survey of qualitative designs
23. Program evaluation
24. Sharing and consuming research

Ancillary Material

About the book.

We designed our book to help graduate social work students through every step of the research process, from conceptualization to dissemination. Our textbook centers cultural humility, information literacy, pragmatism, and an equal emphasis on quantitative and qualitative methods. It includes extensive content on literature reviews, cultural bias and respectfulness, and qualitative methods, in contrast to traditionally used commercial textbooks in social work research.

Our author team spans across academic, public, and nonprofit social work research. We love research, and we endeavored through our book to make research more engaging, less painful, and easier to understand. Our textbook exercises direct students to apply content as they are reading the book to an original research project. By breaking it down step-by-step, writing in approachable language, as well as using stories from our life, practice, and research experience, our textbook helps professors overcome students’ research methods anxiety and antipathy.

If you decide to adopt our resource, we ask that you complete this short Adopter’s Survey that helps us keep track of our community impact. You can also contact [email protected] for a student workbook, homework assignments, slideshows, a draft bank of quiz questions, and a course calendar.

About the Contributors

Matt DeCarlo , PhD, MSW is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at La Salle University. He is the co-founder of Open Social Work (formerly Open Social Work Education), a collaborative project focusing on open education, open science, and open access in social work and higher education. His first open textbook, Scientific Inquiry in Social Work, was the first developed for social work education, and is now in use in over 60 campuses, mostly in the United States. He is a former OER Research Fellow with the OpenEd Group. Prior to his work in OER, Dr. DeCarlo received his PhD from Virginia Commonwealth University and has published on disability policy.

Cory Cummings , Ph.D., LCSW is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at Nazareth University. He has practice experience in community mental health, including clinical practice and administration. In addition, Dr. Cummings has volunteered at safety net mental health services agencies and provided support services for individuals and families affected by HIV. In his current position, Dr. Cummings teaches in the BSW program and MSW programs; specifically in the Clinical Practice with Children and Families concentration. Courses that he teaches include research, social work practice, and clinical field seminar. His scholarship focuses on promoting health equity for individuals experiencing symptoms of severe mental illness and improving opportunities to increase quality of life. Dr. Cummings received his PhD from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kate Agnelli , MSW, is an adjunct professor at VCU’s School of Social Work, teaching masters-level classes on research methods, public policy, and social justice. She also works as a senior legislative analyst with the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), a policy research organization reporting to the Virginia General Assembly. Before working for JLARC, Ms. Agnelli worked for several years in government and nonprofit research and program evaluation. In addition, she has several publications in peer-reviewed journals, has presented at national social work conferences, and has served as a reviewer for Social Work Education. She received her MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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The Handbook of Social Work Research Methods

Edition: Second Edition
By: Bruce A. Thyer
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Publication year: 2010
Online pub date: January 23, 2019
Discipline: Social Work
Methods: Survey research , Measurement , Sampling
DOI: https:// doi. org/10.4135/9781544364902
Keywords: attitudes , clients , outcomes , population , social work practice , substance abuse , web sites Show all Show less
Print ISBN: 9781412958400
Online ISBN: 9781544364902
Buy the book icon link

Subject index

The Handbook of Social Work Research Methods represents an area that we have several other publications coming out and a market we actively reach. In addition, Bruce Thyer is the editor of the journal Research in Social Work Practice and expressed interest in updating the book along with the other two candidates. In the field of social work, qualitative research is starting to gain more prominence as are mixed methods and various issues regarding race, ethnicity and gender. These changes in the field will be reflected and updated in the second edition of the handbook. It will also contain more on meta analysis, designs to evaluate treatment and will provide more support to help students harness the power of the Internet. The original mission of the handbook was to bring together leading scholars to write about research methods in social work. The second edition will stay true to this mission but will also attempt to be more student friendly and will be offered in a paperback edition. We will also make a greater effort to promote the book as a textbook, as we will do with the other two handbooks.

Front Matter

Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 | Introductory Principles of Social Work Research
Chapter 2 | An Overview of Quantitative Research Methods
Chapter 3 | Probability and Sampling
Chapter 4 | Reliability and Validity in Quantitative Measurement
Chapter 5 | Locating Assessment Instruments
Chapter 6 | Statistics for Social Workers
Chapter 7 | Descriptive Studies
Chapter 8 | Survey Studies
Chapter 9 | Needs Assessments
Chapter 10 | Secondary Data Analysis Studies
Chapter 11 | Pre-Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Designs
Chapter 12 | Randomized Controlled Experiments
Chapter 13 | Program Evaluation Studies
Chapter 14 | Single-System Studies
Chapter 15 | Using Cost → Procedure → Process → Outcome Analysis
Chapter 16 | Meta-Analyses
Chapter 17 | Systematic Reviews
Chapter 18 | An Overview of Qualitative Research Methods
Chapter 19 | Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research
Chapter 20 | Narrative Case Studies
Chapter 21 | Oral History Studies
Chapter 22 | Naturalistic Inquiry
Chapter 23 | Participant Observation Studies
Chapter 24 | Ethnographic Research Methods
Chapter 25 | Participatory Action Research Studies
Chapter 26 | Theoretical Research
Chapter 27 | Historical Research
Chapter 28 | Literature Reviews
Chapter 29 | Critical Analysis
Chapter 30 | Policy Analysis
Chapter 31 | Logic Models
Chapter 32 | Ethical Issues in Social Work Research
Chapter 33 | Gender, Ethnicity, and Racial Issues
Chapter 34 | International Research
Chapter 35 | Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
Chapter 36 | Applying for Research Grants

Back Matter

Author Index
About the Editor

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Social Work Research Methods

Introduction.

History of Social Work Research Methods
Feasibility Issues Influencing the Research Process
Measurement Methods
Existing Scales
Group Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Evaluating Outcome
Single-System Designs for Evaluating Outcome
Program Evaluation
Surveys and Sampling
Introductory Statistics Texts
Advanced Aspects of Inferential Statistics
Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative Data Analysis
Historical Research Methods
Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews
Research Ethics
Culturally Competent Research Methods
Teaching Social Work Research Methods

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work
Randomized Controlled Trials in Social Work
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Social Work Research Methods by Allen Rubin LAST REVIEWED: 14 December 2009 LAST MODIFIED: 14 December 2009 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0008

Social work research means conducting an investigation in accordance with the scientific method. The aim of social work research is to build the social work knowledge base in order to solve practical problems in social work practice or social policy. Investigating phenomena in accordance with the scientific method requires maximal adherence to empirical principles, such as basing conclusions on observations that have been gathered in a systematic, comprehensive, and objective fashion. The resources in this entry discuss how to do that as well as how to utilize and teach research methods in social work. Other professions and disciplines commonly produce applied research that can guide social policy or social work practice. Yet no commonly accepted distinction exists at this time between social work research methods and research methods in allied fields relevant to social work. Consequently useful references pertaining to research methods in allied fields that can be applied to social work research are included in this entry.

This section includes basic textbooks that are used in courses on social work research methods. Considerable variation exists between textbooks on the broad topic of social work research methods. Some are comprehensive and delve into topics deeply and at a more advanced level than others. That variation is due in part to the different needs of instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels of social work education. Most instructors at the undergraduate level prefer shorter and relatively simplified texts; however, some instructors teaching introductory master’s courses on research prefer such texts too. The texts in this section that might best fit their preferences are by Yegidis and Weinbach 2009 and Rubin and Babbie 2007 . The remaining books might fit the needs of instructors at both levels who prefer a more comprehensive and deeper coverage of research methods. Among them Rubin and Babbie 2008 is perhaps the most extensive and is often used at the doctoral level as well as the master’s and undergraduate levels. Also extensive are Drake and Jonson-Reid 2007 , Grinnell and Unrau 2007 , Kreuger and Neuman 2006 , and Thyer 2001 . What distinguishes Drake and Jonson-Reid 2007 is its heavy inclusion of statistical and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) content integrated with each chapter. Grinnell and Unrau 2007 and Thyer 2001 are unique in that they are edited volumes with different authors for each chapter. Kreuger and Neuman 2006 takes Neuman’s social sciences research text and adapts it to social work. The Practitioner’s Guide to Using Research for Evidence-based Practice ( Rubin 2007 ) emphasizes the critical appraisal of research, covering basic research methods content in a relatively simplified format for instructors who want to teach research methods as part of the evidence-based practice process instead of with the aim of teaching students how to produce research.

Drake, Brett, and Melissa Jonson-Reid. 2007. Social work research methods: From conceptualization to dissemination . Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This introductory text is distinguished by its use of many evidence-based practice examples and its heavy coverage of statistical and computer analysis of data.

Grinnell, Richard M., and Yvonne A. Unrau, eds. 2007. Social work research and evaluation: Quantitative and qualitative approaches . 8th ed. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

Contains chapters written by different authors, each focusing on a comprehensive range of social work research topics.

Kreuger, Larry W., and W. Lawrence Neuman. 2006. Social work research methods: Qualitative and quantitative applications . Boston: Pearson, Allyn, and Bacon.

An adaptation to social work of Neuman's social sciences research methods text. Its framework emphasizes comparing quantitative and qualitative approaches. Despite its title, quantitative methods receive more attention than qualitative methods, although it does contain considerable qualitative content.

Rubin, Allen. 2007. Practitioner’s guide to using research for evidence-based practice . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

This text focuses on understanding quantitative and qualitative research methods and designs for the purpose of appraising research as part of the evidence-based practice process. It also includes chapters on instruments for assessment and monitoring practice outcomes. It can be used at the graduate or undergraduate level.

Rubin, Allen, and Earl R. Babbie. 2007. Essential research methods for social work . Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks Cole.

This is a shorter and less advanced version of Rubin and Babbie 2008 . It can be used for research methods courses at the undergraduate or master's levels of social work education.

Rubin, Allen, and Earl R. Babbie. Research Methods for Social Work . 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks Cole, 2008.

This comprehensive text focuses on producing quantitative and qualitative research as well as utilizing such research as part of the evidence-based practice process. It is widely used for teaching research methods courses at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels of social work education.

Thyer, Bruce A., ed. 2001 The handbook of social work research methods . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This comprehensive compendium includes twenty-nine chapters written by esteemed leaders in social work research. It covers quantitative and qualitative methods as well as general issues.

Yegidis, Bonnie L., and Robert W. Weinbach. 2009. Research methods for social workers . 6th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This introductory paperback text covers a broad range of social work research methods and does so in a briefer fashion than most lengthier, hardcover introductory research methods texts.

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