What Types of Designs are We Using in Social Work Research and Evaluation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12384591
AutoresMichael J Holosko (0000-0002-1610-0079, University of Georgia School of Social Work, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Volumen20
Número6
Páginas665-673
Fecha de publicación2009-06-26
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaResearch on Social Work Practice (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1049-7315 • E-ISSN: 1552-7581
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1049731509339586
OpenAlexW2071535590
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas16
Referencias citadas23

This article addresses a void in the literature about social work research and evaluation (R&E) designs, in particular related to the quality of its published work. Data were collected by reviewing three empirically oriented journals, Research on Social Work Practice, Journal of Social Service Research, and Social Work Research over three publication years 2005, 2006, and 2007. A total of N = 329 articles were content analyzed accordingly: research versus nonresearch, designs used, design objectives, sample sizes, primary statistics used, and outcomes. Main findings were (a) social work’s R&E is uniquely characterized by a cohort of nonresearch studies, which assist in understanding our empirically published work; (b) the most frequently used designs were preexperimental (82.2%) and least frequently used were experimental (2.3%); (c) design objectives were equally dispersed across exploration, variable relationships, instrument development, and program/evaluation; (d) primary statistics used were parametric (82.2%); and (e) 96.7% of the studies specified outcomes within them. Implications are directed to better understanding the context of where social work R&E is conducted, not apologizing for the designs the author uses, and how one can and should strengthen our study designs to offset their concerns

Context (archaeology · Political science · Research design · Social research · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work