“It is a guide that will be of equal assistance
to the novice researcher, the commissioner and the practitioner.
The authors deal with issues in a comprehensive and intelligent
way, from the idea through to analysis and final report.”
Community Care
Research affects every aspect of work within social welfare services.
This includes evaluating performance, undertaking service audits,
assessing needs, and enabling service users to be consulted and
involved. Providers and users should also be actively invited
to look at the implications of research reports and studies.
Given that policy makers, managers, fieldworkers, trainers and
students have to engage with a wide variety of research outputs,
it is crucial they fully understand how research is commissioned
and undertaken.
This book can help you to explore and understand:
- the planning of new research the various mechanisms that help
determine the type of research questions posed
- how the specific focus of a research study is decided
- how and why specific methods and approaches are adopted
- how to develop research tools that involve and empower users
- how models can be employed for testing and comparison purpose
- show and why the belief systems and backgrounds of researchers
influence research findings
- what checks and fail safe procedures need to be built into
a specific programme of research work
- what skills are required to properly examine and analyse the
collected research data how both the dissemination and use of
research work is controlled
To guide you through the Research process, the book divides
into three distinct but related sections. The first of these,
Planning the project, takes you through the entire planning process.
Whether undertaking the study yourself, or commissioning the work,
it is crucial that you understand and appreciate the issues that
arise at the various planning stages. Putting a project together
provides a comprehensive review of the different methods that
can be applied to answer your particular research questions. The
final section, Finishing off the project, covers the critical
data evaluation and analysis stages, stressing the importance
of theorising. This section concludes by looking at the various
ways the resulting study can be presented.
Throughout, the book offers practical advice, worked examples
and clearly structured information on the entire research process.
Hopefully this book will improve your ability to both undertake
and evaluate the worth of research in whatever area of social
research you are involved with.
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The practical guide to social welfare research