Social Work Education · 2003 · 72 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesSocial WorkEpistemologyEvidence-based PracticeNature Of ScienceQualitative Research MethodsScientific EvidenceSocial EpistemologySocial ScienceTranslating Evidence Into PracticeParticipatory InquiryParticipatory Knowledge ProductionStandpoint Methodology
Critics argue that the narrow focus on evidence‑based practice in social work limits understanding of research fundamentals and risks depriving the field of essential knowledge, raising epistemological concerns about the nature and authority of knowledge. The article challenges the binary framing of qualitative versus quantitative methods in evidence‑based social work, arguing that such a debate is unhelpful. It illustrates participatory research approaches that value diverse kinds of knowledge. The discussion demonstrates that both quantitative and qualitative methods can coexist in social work research and education.
It has been argued in a number of publications in the social work field that the current preoccupation with evidence-based practice is problematic, in that it offers a restricted and sometimes inappropriate understanding of the fundamentals of research in the social sciences. As a result social work and social care are at risk of deprivation of appropriate knowledge to inform practice. This article takes up this critique, in particular pointing out that the tendency for the debate to be reduced to one of competing (qualitative and quantitative) research methods is unhelpful. The issue is an epistemological one about the nature of knowledge and the authority of 'knowers'. The article gives examples of participatory approaches to research that start from a valuing of a range of kinds of knowledge. This opens the way for both quantitative and qualitative methods to have a place in social work research and social work education.