Skip Navigation



BJSW Advance Access published online on September 26, 2005
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch223
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
35/8/1231    most recent
bch223v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Shaw, I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Article

Practitioner Research: Evidence or Critique?

Ian Shaw 1*

1 Professor of Social Work at the University of York, England

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Ian Shaw, E-mail: ifs2{at}york.ac.uk


  Abstract

In this paper, I revisit some of the origins and more recent directions in practitioner research in social work, seeing it as a phenomenon that--rather than being special or narrowly associated with social work--manifests a pervasive cluster of concerns about good professional practice in contemporary society. Drawing on some general conclusions of a recent study of practitioner inquiry, I indicate ways in which the wider systems of which it is a part frequently hamstring the potential of such research to operate as more than a fringe operation--a ‘street market’ version of mainstream research. I outline four ways in which social workers, service users, agency managers, academics, government departments and universities should work to a transformative agenda for practitioner research--transformative for both practice and research. This will involve refashioning the interface between the methodology and methods of practice and research; generating practitioner research capacity; recognizing the subtlety and critical potential of a genuinely ‘practical’ agenda in practitioner research; and rescuing practitioner research from a simply technical information-providing function, that by-passes the challenge to promoting critical practice.

Keywords: practitioner research, critical practice, practical research.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 International Social WorkHome page
P. McNamara and E. Neve
Engaging Italian and Australian social workers in evaluation
International Social Work, January 1, 2009; 52(1): 22 - 35.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J Soc WorkHome page
H. Cramer and J. Carlin
Family-Based Short Breaks (Respite) for Disabled Children: Results from the Fourth National Survey
Br. J. Soc. Work, September 1, 2008; 38(6): 1060 - 1075.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J Soc WorkHome page
P. Trevithick
Revisiting the Knowledge Base of Social Work: A Framework for Practice
Br. J. Soc. Work, September 1, 2008; 38(6): 1212 - 1237.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J Soc WorkHome page
P. Marsh and M. Fisher
The Development of Problem-Solving Knowledge for Social Care Practice
Br. J. Soc. Work, July 1, 2008; 38(5): 971 - 987.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Qualitative Social WorkHome page
M. Kjorstad
Opening the Black Box -- Mobilizing Practical Knowledge in Social Research: Methodological Reflections based on a Study of Social Work Practice
Qualitative Social Work, June 1, 2008; 7(2): 143 - 161.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 American Journal of EvaluationHome page
I. Shaw and A. Faulkner
Practitioner Evaluation at Work
American Journal of Evaluation, March 1, 2006; 27(1): 44 - 63.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.