Social Work Resources: SAGE Research Methods: Social Work

This volume is the definitive resource for anyone doing research in social work. It details both quantitative and qualitative methods and data collection, as well as suggesting the methods appropriate to particular types of studies. It also covers issues such as ethics, gender and ethnicity, and offers advice on how to write up and present your research.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the nature of social work research. It clearly demonstrates how research-mindedness is key to improving individual and collective social work practice, helping practitioners to effectively navigate the complex issues they face on a daily basis. The book considers research in relation to a number of important social work themes, including ethics, anti-oppressive practice, service user research, evidence-based practice and interdisciplinary work. Understanding Social Work Research is clear and accessible, containing reflective questions and practice examples illustrating the links between research and social work practice. This book will be essential reading for all social work trainees, and will provide invaluable support for graduate students and practitioners wishing to consolidate their understanding of social work research.

To the uninformed, surveys appear to be an easy type of research to design and conduct, but when students and professionals delve deeper, they encounter the vast complexities that the range and practice of survey methods present. To complicate matters, technology has rapidly affected the way surveys can be conducted; today, surveys are conducted via cell phone, the Internet, email, interactive voice response, and other technology-based modes. Thus, students, researchers, and professionals need both a comprehensive understanding of these complexities and a revised set of tools to meet the challenges. This encyclopedia presents state-of-the-art information and methodological examples from the field of survey research. With more than 600 entries, this resource uses a Total Survey Error perspective that considers all aspects of possible survey error from a cost-benefit standpoint.

The A-Z is a collection of 94 entries ranging from qualitative research techniques to statistical testing and the practicalities of using the Internet as a research tool. Alphabetically arranged in accessible, reader-friendly formats, the shortest entries are 800 words long and the longest are 3000. Most entries are supported by suggestions for further reading. The book answers the demand for a practical, fast and concise introduction to the key concepts and methods in social research, supplies students with impeccable information that can be used in essays, exams and research projects, and demystifies a field that students often find daunting. This is a refreshing book on social research methods, which understands the pressures that modern students face in their work-load and seeks to supply an authoritative study guide to the field. It should fulfil a long-standing need in undergraduate research methods courses for an unpatronising, utterly reliable aid to making sense of research methods.