Qualitative research skills acquisition within social work doctoral education using project-based learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 864-881
Author(s):  
Fan Yang ◽  
Quentin R Maynard ◽  
Sarah R Young ◽  
Jennifer L Kenney ◽  
Brad Barber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Doctoral Education ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Skills Acquisition ◽  
Research Traditions ◽  
Social Work Research

The future of social work research relies on the intellect and competence of current doctoral students. These future scholars who receive doctoral education that values qualitative inquiry will create a system where qualitative research traditions receive the same privilege as quantitative research traditions. Project-based learning provides learning opportunities that can challenge assumptions about what academia considers “real” research. This descriptive qualitative study explored key attributes of using project-based learning within two consecutive social work doctoral courses to encourage qualitative research skill development. Students and instructors participated in ideawriting and focus groups to assess the usefulness of PBL within these courses. The findings suggested that PBL may be useful for deepening knowledge about qualitative inquiry and reducing epistemological unconsciousness.

Disrupting hegemony in social work doctoral education and research: Using autoethnography to uncover possibilities for radical transformation

2020 ◽  
pp. 147332502097334
Author(s):  
Austin Gerhard Oswald ◽  
Sarah Bussey ◽  
Monica Thompson ◽  
Anna Ortega-Williams
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Education ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
Social Work Research

Social work has enhanced its profile in the United States by adopting a particular dialect of scientific inquiry wherein positivism and evidence-based practice are considered gold standards of social work research and practice. This ideological shift permeates doctoral education and research training, as well as social work more broadly. Little attention, however, is paid to the pedagogical approaches used to train doctoral students into a “science of social work,” and we know even less about critical methodologies in doctoral education. This collaborative autoethnography weaves together the personal narratives of three doctoral students and one early career faculty member navigating an academic context within a large public university in the United States. We employ a participatory and intersectional approach to analyze narrative data in terms of how our identities interact with the structures relevant to where we study and work. Three themes emerged from our collaborative analysis: becoming disillusioned by disciplinary shortcoming; confronting dissonance with radical solidarity; and making change on the inside using perspectives from the outside. We argue throughout that critical reflexivity is a tool to document, resist, and transform hegemonic discourse that narrowly defines what it means to embody social work research, practice, and education.

scholarly journals Disruptions, distractions, and discoveries: Doctoral students’ reflections on a pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 147332502097334
Author(s):  
Chinyere Y Eigege ◽  
Priscilla P Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Current Events ◽  
Research Agendas ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

This paper describes the reflections of two social work PhD students based on their personal and professional experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. The students describe their positionality and use that to expound on the impact of the pandemic on their lives. They reflect on the disruptions to their social work education and research priorities including transitioning to online learning and modifications to research agendas. They then discuss ongoing distractions such as worries about getting sick, mental health concerns, and financial constraints. They share their discoveries about glaring disparities in coronavirus infection and death rates, the need to adjust research agendas in response to current events, and the urgency for qualitative research strategies to add meaning to the numbers being reported. In addition, the authors describe shared experiences and intersections they discovered while writing this essay. Finally, recommendations for practice include recommitting to social work values to help surmount the ongoing waves of this pandemic; reimagining social work education so that disparities and injustice intersect with every subject taught and graduates become experts at leading social change; and harnessing the untapped potential of qualitative research to drive real, systemic change.

What's the problem with disaster? Anthropology, social work, and the qualitative slot

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1496-1516
Author(s):  
Tisha Joseph Holmes ◽  
John Mathias ◽  
Tyler McCreary ◽  
James Brian Elsner
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Disaster Anthropology ◽  
Political Economic

On March 3, 2019, an EF4 tornado devastated the rural Alabama communities of Beauregard and Smith Station, killing 23 people and causing direct injuries to another 97. This storm was unusually devastating, with twice the predicted casualty rate based on the tornado’s power, the impacted population, and impacted housing stock. In this paper, we apply qualitative methods from anthropology, geography, and planning to better understand the social context of this unusually devastating tornado. Recognizing that there are multiple formulations of the problem of disasters, we aim to highlight how interdisciplinary qualitative research can deepen our understanding of tornado disasters. Combining policy analysis, political economic critique, and ethnographic description, we seek to showcase how qualitative research enables us to interrogate and reimagine the problem of disasters. Rather than simply juxtaposing qualitative and quantitative methods, we emphasize how the heterogeneity of qualitative research methods can strengthen interdisciplinary research projects by generating dialogue about the multiple contexts relevant to understanding a social problem. While problem definition remains a central challenge to establishing a dialogue between anthropology and social work, here, we intend to extend this discussion to larger interdisciplinary collaborations. Situating the issue of problem formation within a broader ecology of qualitative inquiry, we highlight how dialogue about problem definition can, itself, produce meaningful insights into how we understand disasters.

Improving outcomes with Qualitative Data Analysis Software: A reflective journey

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin G Oswald
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Qualitative Data Analysis ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Qualitative Data Analysis Software

Now more than ever, qualitative social work researchers are being called upon to conduct increasingly complex, multifaceted, and intersectional research. Given the heightened complexity of social work research, it is necessary that scholars learn strategies to streamline the research process and digital tools for qualitative research are a mechanism to do so. In this paper, I share insights gleaned from personal experience working with Qualitative Data Analysis Software, specifically MAXQDA 12, to support a larger study that explored the social lives of older gay men. This paper highlights the various functions of MAXQDA 12 and how qualitative social work researchers can use the program to improve the research process and outcomes. Despite the rapid growth in production of digital tools for qualitative research there remains a dearth in studies that explicitly address how digital tools are used in the extant literature on qualitative research. This paper sheds light on this noted gap in the literature by exploring the functionality of MAXQDA 12 and how it can be applied to improve qualitative social work research.

Social work doctoral education: Are doctoral students being prepared to teach?

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandy R Maynard ◽  
Elizabeth M Labuzienski ◽  
Kristina S Lind ◽  
Andrew H Berglund ◽  
David L Albright
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Education ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Social Work Practitioners

Summary Longstanding tensions exist around the purpose of social work doctoral programs, particularly around the extent to which doctoral program should prepare their students to teach. Indeed, social work programs in the United States have been criticized for failing to prepare graduates for teaching; however, it has been a number of years since doctoral curricula have been reviewed. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which US social work doctoral programs are training their students to teach by assessing the extent to which pedagogical training is explicitly integrated into doctoral curricula and examining the scope and content of required doctoral courses on teaching. Content analysis of social work doctoral program curricula ( n = 72) and teaching and learning related course syllabi ( n = 24) was conducted by two coders. Syllabi were coded and analyzed to produce a profile of course objectives, readings, teaching strategies, assessment methods, and course content. Findings Of the 72 PhD programs, 90% included a goal related to the preparation of their students for teaching; however, only 37 (51%) required a course on teaching. Course content, teaching, and assessment methods were found to vary across courses. Applications Training the next generation of social work practitioners to engage in effective social work practice is critical to the profession; however, the preparation of doctoral students to provide quality education to future social work practitioners seems to be largely neglected. Implications for doctoral education are discussed.

scholarly journals Qualitative research between craftsmanship and McDonaldization. A keynote address from the 17th Qualitative Health Research Conference

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svend Brinkmann
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Justice Research ◽  
The Third ◽  
Qualitative Health Research ◽  
Social Justice Research

Although qualitative research methods remain marginalized in certain disciplines, qualitative inquiry has within the last couple of decades become generally accepted as a legitimate scientific way of working. Today, society at large is making more use of qualitative research than ever, not just in laudable social justice research, for example, but also in relation to market and consumer research and focus groups for different political parties. With this in mind, I wish to discuss three current questions for qualitative researchers: The first I will refer to as “ethical progressivism versus new ethical challenges”. Is qualitative research as such more ethical and progressive than quantitative research (as some have argued), or do qualitative researchers on the contrary face more elusive and perhaps difficult ethical challenges? The second question is called “solid evidence versus subjective anecdotes”. How should qualitative researchers respond to the current call for evidence? Should they seek legitimacy by accepting the dominant politics of evidence, or should they play by their own rules with the risk of increasing marginalization? The third question is “method versus intuition”. Should qualitative researchers strive for maximum transparency by following accepted methods, or should they proceed more intuitively like artists to create their stories? Both sides of the questions have their influential advocates today. I will argue that all three questions are handled most fruitfully by conceiving of qualitative research as a craft.

scholarly journals Changing research methodology: Two case studies of Critical Realism informing social work doctoral research

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70
Author(s):  
Shajimon Peter ◽  
Lynne Soon-Chean Park
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Productive Force ◽  
The Real ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Empirical Level

INTRODUCTION: Critical Realism (CR) has much to offer to social work research because of its recognition of the existence of objective and subjective realities. Bhaskar (1978) classifies these levels of reality as the empirical, the actual and the real. Empirical realities emerge from our experience of the world and include our subjective constructions. The underlying real reality is seen as a productive force, causing the empirical to appear. Researchers using CR methodology can employ an analytic process called retroduction. This approach involves moving back and forth from the empirical to the real to identify causal mechanisms that drive the empirical to manifest.APPROACH: This research brief is the outcome of a research methodology literature review undertaken by two doctoral students who employ CR perspectives. Their research proposals have been used as case studies to demonstrate the usefulness of CR in informing social work research. These findings were presented at the ANZSWWER international symposium held at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.FINDINGS: CR uncovers the epistemic fallacy of reducing ontology to the realm of epistemology. The totalising truth claims of both objectivism and subjectivism are replaced with an alternative conception of stratified forms of reality – the real, actual and empirical. Reality exists both objectively and subjectively. This enables researchers to bridge social constructionism and structural causation. It allows for study that explores the subjective considerations of respondents while examining the objective existence of causal mechanisms such as social structures, systems or processes. CONCLUSION: CR offers an alternative that social work researchers have long been searching for: to engage meaningfully in studies that examine perceived realities at the empirical level and the causal mechanisms that lie behind them.

A Model for Teaching Qualitative Research Methods to Undergraduate Social Work Students

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol L. Langer ◽  
Cynthia A. Lietz ◽  
Rich Furman
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Analytical Model ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Qualitative Research Methods ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative

Social work students are drawn to qualitative research methods, perhaps because of their experience with interviewing and their interest in process. However, since students need to learn both qualitative and quantitative research methods because both are used in the literature, instructors are challenged to teach both types of methods in one course. The purpose of this article is to illustrate one method used to teach qualitative research methods to undergraduate social work students. The model presents a narrative analysis and moves students from raw data to an analytical model.

Social pedagogical research in Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-89
Author(s):  
Pascal Bastian ◽  
Barbara Lochner
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Clear Picture ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
German Research ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Pedagogical Research

The number of empirical studies on German social work makes it difficult to gain a clear picture of them all. The increasing academisation of education and the expansion of study programs also reveal an increase in social work research in Germany. This article traces this development and discusses open questions. In addition, it demonstrates the importance of qualitative research, in particular for the development of professional casework. The paper proposes a systematization of German research in the field of social work and discusses this systematization based on the example of a study. Finally, the paper presents some further aspects and recent developments.

Qualitative Research in the Chinese Social Work Academy: Optimism and Invisible Disadvantages

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1296-1316
Author(s):  
Yanfeng Xu ◽  
Corey Shdaimah ◽  
Fang Zhao ◽  
Deborah Gioia
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Institutional Review Boards ◽  
Early Developmental Stage ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Institutional Review

Abstract There has been much discussion about the contributions of qualitative research to social work knowledge, but the experiences of social work faculty engaged in qualitative research are rarely discussed. Social work is at the early developmental stage in China, which makes the country a useful laboratory to examine this question. The current study aimed to understand experiences of Chinese qualitative social work faculty and how their methodological orientation affected their career trajectories. Nine semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed. Thematic data analysis revealed three major themes: suitability, methodological challenges and structural barriers. Findings indicate that qualitative social work research has an optimistic future in China, but methodological challenges and structural barriers create invisible disadvantages. This study highlights the need for rigorous qualitative research training, including apprenticeship; translation of more qualitative learning materials into Chinese; and support for the purchase, training and use of qualitative software packages. The results also point to the need for institutional review boards or other ethical oversight mechanisms. More importantly, there must be greater consensus regarding what constitutes scientific rigour, which projects should be funded, what are evaluative criteria for publication, and whom to hire and promote.

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