Designed for those who practice, manage and pay for social work and have increasingly to provide evidence of its quality and effectiveness. This text aims to: present recent research of direct relevance to key issues in social work policy and practice; and promote understanding of research methods appropriate for both academic, practitioner and agency-based research. All the studies used in the text have been completed during 1994-1997 and are used to illustrate the adaptation and development of research designs and methods which are appropriate to the exploration of central and enduring questions in the delivery of effective social work services. These include strategies for dealing with poverty, with the maltreatment of children and elderly people, and methods for developing child centred practice and culturally/ethnically sensitive issues.
The evaluation of social work - priorities, problems and possibilities, Juliet Cheetham. Part 1 Studying the content, process and outcomes of social work: researching the effectiveness of a small scale project for sex offenders, Douglas Badger; the rights and wrongs of social work with children and young people, Steve Farnfield; researching community care assessments - a pluralistic approach, Nicky Stanley et al; elder abuse within a residential setting, Sheila Furness; elements of risk and supervision - evaluating outcome decisions, Peter Burke; experience of single case evaluation in a small agency, Angela Williams; an evaluation of social work practice in relation to poverty issues - do social workers' attitudes and actions correspond?, Monica Dowling. Part 2 Evaluating social work - some ways forward: analyzing the content of social work - applying the lessons from qualitative research, Sue White; promoting evaluation research on social work practice, Bruce Thyer; putting single-case evaluation into practice, Mansoor Kazi; practising evaluation, Ian Shaw.
This is an interesting and topical book, focusing on the promotion of evaluative research in social work The book is written in a ready-friendly style and practitioners are encouraged throughout to engage with the process of evaluative research as a way of assessing their own practice. This message is conveyed in a positive manner overall and most of the research studies detailed are particularly encouraging from this perspective Overall, the book is encouraging in relation to how evaluative research can be used and some of the ways it can improve social work practice and service delivery.
