"This is an ambitious book. It aims at nothing less than a comprehensive account of the state of the art of social work research internationally and an intellectually original statement that will help to define and shape social work research. Those with a serious interest in social work research will agree that this is a major undertaking and one that should put social work research ′on the map′." -
Ian Sinclair, University of York, UK
"This terrific Handbook provides an essential map for navigating the complex currents of social work research today. It resists polemical and simplistic binaries to chart a course that emphasizes diversity, pluralism and sensitivity to political contexts in many featured exemplars. As key chapters note, inherent tensions at the heart of social work itself are mirrored in current debates about the purposes and methods of social work research. Rather than patch over differences, the volume invites us to understand historical roots of unresolvable tensions, and live with them. The international scope of the volume is unique--scholars from more than a dozen different countries were involved --and its broad scope counters the tendency toward parochialism of much North American literature. The Handbook should be essential reading for students and academics." -
Catherine Riessman, Boston University, USA
The SAGE Handbook of Social Work Research provides a comprehensive, internationally-focused account of leading social work research, offering an original and defining statement on contemporary theory and practice within the field. The groundbreaking Handbook engages critically with the nature and role of social work research and evaluation in contemporary societies around the globe, and asks four key questions:
- What is the role and purpose of social work research?
- What contexts shape the practice and purpose of social work research?
- How can we maximise the quality of the practice of social work research?
- How can the aims of social work in its varied domains be met through social work research?
Ranging over local, national and international issues, and exploring questions of theory and practice, this is a diverse and constructively organized overview of the field. It will quickly be recognized as a benchmark in the expanding field of social work research, setting the agenda for future work in the arena.
Dr. Ian Shaw is S R Nathan Professor of Social Work at National University of Singapore and Professor Emeritus at the University of York, England. He was the first chair of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA) and a founder editor of the journal Qualitative Social Work. He has authored almost 100 peer-reviewed papers, more than 20 books, 60 book chapters, and various research reports. He has written extensively in the journals on issues arising from the relationship between social work and sociology over the last century. His more recent books include Social Work Science (2016) and Research and the Social Work Picture (2018). He is pursuing a graduate programme in creative writing, which sits alongside his interests in gardening, his local church, volunteering in his village shop, playing badminton (badly), and Bob Dylan.
Katharine Briar-Lawson is an experienced academic administrator and national expert on family focused practice and child and family policy. Among her books (co-authored) are Family-Centered Policies & Practices: International Implications (2001) and (co-edited) Innovative Practices with Vulnerable Children and Families (2001). She has recently co-edited two volumes on Evaluation Research in Child Welfare, (2002) and Charting the Impacts of University-Child Welfare Collaboration, (2003). She is a member of the Council on Social Work Education Practice Commission; she also serves as associate editor for the New Global Development: Journal of International and Comparative Social Welfare, and is consulting editor for Social Work, as well as Family Preservation. She Co-Chairs the Gerontological Task Force for the National Association for Deans and Directors.
Joan Orme began her social work career as a probationofficer working first in Sheffield and then Southampton. Her first academic post at the University of Southampton was specifically for training probation officers. She continued in generic social work education, with a specific interest in probation education and training, at Southampton until she took up her post at Glasgow . Joan was appointed the first Professor of Social Work at the University of Glasgow in October 2000 and helped to establish the Glasgow School of Social Work, a joint Schoolof Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities. She was appointed the founding Head of the School in 2003. Joan is active in a number of Scottish and UK organisations. In 2001-2004 she was Chair of the Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee (JUC SWEC) that represents universities with social work courses. In that role she represented social work academics on the Department of Health Project Board for the Social Work degree in England . She was appointed a lifelong fellow of the JUC in 2005. In 2000-2004 she was a member of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Training Board and was Vice Chair from 2003-2005. She currently holds a Researcher Development Initiative (RDI) grant from the ESRC for Increasing the confidence and competence of Social Work researchers: building research capacity in social work. Details of the RDI are available at www.rdi.ac.uk. She is a member of the steering group that developed the JUC SWEC Research Strategy http://www.swap.ac.uk/research/strategy.asp and a member of the Steering Group for the Research and Development Strategy for Social Services in Scotland
Professor Ruckdeschel is Co-Editor and Co-Founding Editor, along with Ian Shaw of the UK, of the Sage journal Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice. He is a current member and past chair of the University-wide Qualitative Research Committee. He has also recently chaired the School of Social Work Rank & Tenure Committee (1998-2002) and the Family Concentration (1999-2002) and has served on and/or chaired numerous School committees. Professor Ruckdeschel currently serves on the Advisory Committee of Ethics Across the Curriculum (1998-present) and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Center for Health Care Ethics (1997-present).
