scholarly journals Systematic Literature Searching in Social Work: A Practical Guide With Database Appraisal

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152098685
Author(s):  
Katheryn Margaret Pascoe ◽  
Bethany Waterhouse-Bradley ◽  
Tony McGinn
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Services ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Science Citation Index ◽  
Literature Searching ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Performance Trends ◽  
Applied Social Science

Context: In response to the growth of evidence-based practice in social work, systematic literature reviews offer significant value to social work but are often met with concerns of time scarcity. Purpose: Through a case study search strategy addressing the research question “What are practicing frontline social workers’ experiences of bureaucracy?,” this article seeks to promote efficiency by providing a practical guide for conducting systematic literature searches and an appraisal of database performance in qualitative social work research. Method: The total citations, unique hits, sensitivity, and precision for each database were calculated before conducting a cross-study comparison with three previously published social work systematic searches to identify emerging performance trends. Results/Conclusion: Relying on a single database is subject to bias and will not provide comprehensive or sensitive findings; however, due to consistent high performance across four systematic searches, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Social Science Citation Index are recommended for future literature searching in social work.

CHANGES IN SOCIAL SERVECE DURING THE FIRST WAVE OF COVID-19 PAN-DEMIC

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Emília Janigová
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection

The paper pays attention to the provision of social services during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author describes selected quality standards of social services in connection with ensuring human rights protection. Based on the research of compliance with the criteria - basic human rights and freedoms, social status of the recipient, relationships, family, community in selected facilities describes the specifics of compliance with the imposed curfew, ban on visits and measures in force in times of emergency. At the implication level, it characterizes opportuni-ties and threats for social services, social work and asks social science issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applying the Transtheoretical Model to Pregnancy and STD Prevention: A Review of the Literature

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 304-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Transtheoretical Model ◽  
Validation Studies ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Social Science Citation Index ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Std Prevention ◽  
Applied Social Science

Purpose. To conduct a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and pregnancy and STD prevention. Data Sources. Computer database search (Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts [ASSIA], Biological Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, CINAHL-Allied Health, Current Contents, Current Index to Journals in Education, Education Index, ERIC, Excerpta Medica, Family Index, Index Medicus, Medline, Multicultural Education Abstracts, PsychInfo, Psychological Abstracts, Research Alert, Social Science Citation Index, Social Work Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts), and manual journal search. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. All English, peer-reviewed, original articles on the TTM as it relates to pregnancy and STD prevention published prior to December 31, 2001, were included. Editorials, commentaries, theses/dissertations, unpublished studies, technical reports, and books were not included. Data Extraction Methods. Articles were categorized as Intervention, Population (stage distribution), or Validation studies. Within each category, articles were subdivided into groups, summarized, and analyzed. Data Synthesis. The 32 articles reviewed included 9 intervention studies, 11 population studies, and 12 validation studies. Studies represented a variety of U.S. populations of a broad demographic range. Evidence both for and against criterion-related and construct validity of the TTM was found. Major Conclusions. Age, partner type, gender, reasons for engaging in safer sex behaviors (i.e., pregnancy vs. disease prevention), self-efficacy, sexual assertiveness, and perceived advantages and disadvantages of condom use were related to stage of change. The use of the TTM to reduce risk of pregnancy and STDs is a relatively new, but important, area of research. However, because of the wide-ranging differences in methodologies and samples, no strong conclusions about its effectiveness can yet be made.

scholarly journals An educational intervention focused on teaching Qualified Empathy to social work students in Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eija Raatikainen ◽  
Leigh Anne Rauhala ◽  
Seija Mäenpää
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Educational Intervention ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education

PurposeThe main goal of the one semester long intervention for first-year Bachelor of Social Services students was to enable them to increase their awareness of a variety of cultures and practices encountered in social pedagogical work and to support the development of their ability to interact empathically with clients.Design/methodology/approachThe aim of this article is to describe an educational intervention focused on teaching Qualified Empathic skills to social work students in higher education at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Finland. We introduce the concept of Qualified Empathy to describe professional empathic working skills and define it as: Qualified Empathy requires compassion for empathic action and it includes the ability for professional self-reflection, emotional skills and a healthy set of boundaries. Qualified Empathy encompasses the ability to tell the difference between sympathy and empathy, as it includes the capacity to use compassion to act in an empathic way in professional contexts (Raatikainen et al., 2017). The study was a case study, designed to explore the students' experiences of their one semester long educational intervention (n = 20). Our research question was: How do students construct Qualified Empathy as a dimension of their own professional expertise?FindingsThe results of the study demonstrate the progress areas of the students' Qualified Empathy skills. The development stages in the three progress areas are: (1) from emotional reaction to emotional response, (2) from understanding to empathic acting and (3) from client perspective to a more systemic approach. Implications of the results for Social Services students are discussed.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, as in all studies, some limitations need to be taken into account. One limitation of this study is the size and “nature of data”. Secondly, challenges with the concept of Qualified Empathy need to be addressed and more research is needed to define it more concretely. Even so, as it is a new concept, we need more discussion on the differences in the definition of empathy and Qualified Empathy. However, this study offers one new perspective for discussion which is the need for empathy training, in social work education practices and in the field. An important ethical aspect of research emphasizes that its implementation must not be to the detriment of the people being researched (Juuti and Puusa, 2020, pp. 168).Practical implicationsOur findings demonstrate that educational interventions can improve students' empathy skills to more qualified skills. We emphasized that maintaining the skill demands continuous reflection as a lifelong process. This article provides an overview of an educational intervention to improve students' Qualified Empathy skills and suggests a definition for educators to frame the teaching of professional empathy or empathy in a professional context – especially in the social work context. Furthermore, with this educational intervention in social work, we offer a way to support the students to – not only – have a more professional approach to empathy but also to find a way to establish a more emotionally sustainable environment for professionals in social services. It is essential for social work education to focus on the growth of Qualified Empathy in students through supervision and guidance which supports their professional competence. By doing so, we contribute to the development of more sustainable working environments in the social work context.Social implicationsProfessional empathy is seen as an important factor in building a socially sustainable society from the perspectives of employees, clients and patients. We noticed that it is important to allow time and space for the learners to internalize the concept of Qualified Empathy. When we allow for this, students begin to recognize and assign more value to it and, as we suggest, they become more adept in their interactions and work with clients.Originality/valueThe study was a case study, designed to explore the students' experiences of their one semester long educational intervention (n = 20). Our research question was: How do students construct Qualified Empathy as a dimension of their own professional expertise? The results of the study demonstrate the progress areas of the students' Qualified Empathy skills. The development stages in the three progress areas are: (1) from emotional reaction to emotional response, (2) from understanding to empathic acting and (3) from client perspective to a more systemic approach. Implications of the results for Social Services students are discussed.

scholarly journals Pekerjaan Sosial Sebagai Disiplin Ilmu dan Profesi

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
Adi Fahrudin
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Applied Social Science

Social work is an academic discipline and practice -based profession. As an academic discipline, social work is supported by theories derived from social work itself, social sciences and other relevant sciences. This confirm that social work is an applied social science that is at once a profession. To be considered a profession that social work should be practiced. Therefore, social work not only studied as an academic discipline but must be practiced. Practice without based on academic disciplines not directed and could be fraudulent, academic disciplines without practice is nothing more than discourse.

Modes of Relational Agency among Welfare-reliant Mothers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagit Sinai-Glazer ◽  
Boris H J M Brummans
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Human Agency ◽  
Relational Agency ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract How do welfare-reliant mothers enact their agency in relationships with social workers and social services? The present article addresses this question by investigating how twenty Israeli welfare-reliant mothers expressed different modes of human agency in in-depth interviews. Results show how research participants enact agency through (i) expressing anger, (ii) seeking help, (iii) resisting and (iv) engaging in non-action. By highlighting the multidimensional and situational nature of agency, this article offers a new relational lens for conceptualising and empirically studying human agency in social work.

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