© British Association of Social Workers
First Principles of Practice Research
Bruce Thyer earned his MSW degree at the University of Georgia in 1978, and subsequently completed his Ph.D. degree in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1982. His postgraduate positions include serving as a Senior Clinical Social Worker with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Hospitals, and as an Associate Professor of Social Work at Florida State University. He now holds the positions of Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Georgia, Faculty Fellow in Developmental Disabilities with the University Affiliated Program in Athens, Georgia, and is an Associate Clinical Professor with the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
Correspondence to Bruce A. Thyer, Ph.D., School of Social Work, The University of Georgia, Athens, G A 30602, USA.
Summary
Critics of applying conventional quantitative research methods to the problems of social work practice research have ignored the considerable progress which has been achieved during the past decade in scientifically documenting the effectiveness of social services. A set of First Principles of Practice Research is outlined for use by researchers in the design and conduct of practice research, and for use by the consumers of research to evaluate the methodological rigour of practice experiments. The advocates of qualitative research are urged to provide the profession with similar positive examples of research on the outcomes of social work practice, and to develop explicit guide-lines for the conduct of qualitative studies.
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