Enhancing the benefits of group involvement in research

Research can facilitate mutual learning, allow participants’ voices to be heard, increase practical usefulness of studies and foster empowerment. This paper discusses ways that groups can take part in research, outlines advantages and limits of each and explores strategies for enhancing benefits. This content is illustrated with brief examples from recent research publications and from two longer case studies. Groups and members can be involved as participants or co-producers of research. As participants, they either act as research subjects by contributing data, or as collaborators who are consulted at various times to help keep a study relevant to community issues. Being a subject offers an opportunity to reflect and share views, while collaborators and researchers can learn from working together. Though collaborators can exert influence, they have little control over decisions around focus, design, methods or dissemination of a study. Co-producing knowledge offers community groups more power, learning and empowerment but requires high levels of mutual trust, commitment and persistence. Potential gains and risks increase as involvement intensifies. However, researchers can enhance benefits at any level, by keeping this goal in mind when planning studies.

Applying Self-Directed Groupwork and Social Action Research Methodology with francophone parents of trans children and youth in Rural Quebec

Parental support is an important protective factor in preventing suicide among trans youth. However, parents often struggle to accept their child’s gender transition. Having access to a group and to meeting other parents facilitates the acceptance process, but support groups are rare and even more so outside urban areas. The research project discussed in this article was developed to understand specifically the experience of parents of francophone trans youth living in rural and remote communities in Quebec. A Self-Directed Group approach (Mullender, Ward and Fleming 2013), combined with Social Action Research (Author et al. 2015) was initiated to offer a platform for parents to explore the specificities of parenting a trans child in rural francophone Quebec. Parents were recruited through social and traditional media and a series of group meetings was planned to collect data and as well as to facilitate the parents' mobilization. Despite applying the Self-Directed Groupwork principles and process, many challenges were encountered, stimulating a number of reflections on the use of self-directed group work and social action in remote geographical areas. This paper explores some of those challenges and discusses a possible way forward for research.

Defining diversity in groupwork: A relational exploration

One of the basic assumptions underlying all traditional definitions is that diversity is a characteristic of an individual or a group, which is a problematic to groupwork. This paper explores Phases 1 and 2 of a multi-method research project exploring groupworkers’ understandings of diversity and how their perceptions impact their approach to group processes, with implications for group practice advancement. The project consists of sequential phases following a mixed-methods design. In the initial phase, in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted individually with 24 groupworkers. While the second phase (phase two) consisted of 4 focus groups involving theoretical and criterion sampling strategies to interview experienced therapeutically-oriented groupworkers in Western and Eastern Canada. The analysis was guided by Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant comparative method involving open-coding, followed by axial coding, and concluded with selective coding. Groupworkers reported feeling overwhelmed and, in some cases, “paralyzed” by the complex diversity present in their groups. These findings suggest attention to group diversity renders it potentially more relevant and salient. We also found the levels and complexity of diversity increased as the reflection by groupworkers deepened. In keeping with the traditional aims of groupwork, attending to diversity goes beyond the group to include responses to diversity in the organizational and community contexts. Dialogue and change in organizational responses to diversity is important in the areas of organizational climate, allocation of resources, and agency policy and procedures. Accordingly, offering groupworkers and members tools to attend and navigate diversity in situ is a first step towards recognizing its presence and importance. A critical step in moving forward is to examine the nuances of diversity and move beyond thinking of diversity in terms of demographic variables.

Reminiscence groupwork and autobiographical memory as part of meaningful activities

The current paper describes a reminiscence group activity session held as part of meaningful activities engagement for older adults. Topics of reminiscence included both autobiographical memories and memories of broader historical events from the past. Participants included those with memory impairment and those without, and participants with healthy memory were helpful in prompting memories in participants with memory impairment. Semantic and episodic autobiographical memory were assessed at baseline and following the end of both group activities, using the Episodic Autobiographical Memory Interview (EAMI) and quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life AD-scale (QOL-AD). The reminiscence intervention did not significantly affect autobiographical memory recall or quality of life. However, oral reminiscence was reported to have increased outside of the reminiscence sessions.

Researching Adverse Childhood Experiences in a Domestic Violence service: The role of co-operative inquiry groups in practice development and change

The long-term impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are of increasing interest to researchers and practitioners. While attention is being paid to the effectiveness of screening for ACEs to improve health and social outcomes, how to implement such practices has become key. The Irish study upon which this article is based used an action research approach to implement ACEs routine enquiry within a domestic violence service, while also utilising co-operative inquiry groups for practitioners within the organisation (n=10) and those working in associated fields of infant mental health, child protection and welfare and community support (n=7). This article documents the process of enacting the co-operative inquiry groups and outlines learning points, challenges and lessons. Drawing on Finlay’s (2002a, 2002b) theories on the variants of reflexivity in research processes, six themes emerged on the research process: insider and outsider status; the structure and approach to the groupwork process; participation in the group process; addressing fears; practice concerns; and motivations to act. We conclude with suggestions for effective co-operative inquiry processes and highlight the factors related to groupwork that may contribute to improvements in practice, organisational and community change.

Engaging in group work with migrant children for research – An innovative data collection method in the migration context in the city of Delhi, India

Recent years have seen migration becoming a focus of attention for policy makers and humanitarian practitioners across the world. Migration can be both internal and external and involve one of the most vulnerable groups in our society – children. In India, data point to a considerable number of children running away from their parental homes in rural villages and migrating to urban areas in search of better opportunities. Many end up in cities like Delhi where they are exposed to a number of risks and vulnerabilities. While many of these children reach cities with dreams of making it big, the reality of living on the street is fraught with a number of challenges. Transient and often moving in groups, meeting them alone for a chat is nearly impossible and even when one manages to have an individual meeting, curiosity impels others to join in. Against this backdrop, the lived experiences of migrant children in Delhi were studied using a group method as evidence suggests that group work as a method is being increasingly used in research with children (Darbyshire et al., 2005; Jason Davis & Lopez-Carr, 2010; Gibbs, 2007). As children feel more comfortable discussing their problems in groups than when they are alone with the researcher, this way, innovative techniques such as drawings, storytelling and alike were practiced to initiate discussions with and amongst migrant children that helped to explore their pre and post-migration experiences. Further, we examine the effectiveness of group work as a method for researching with children and its innovativeness in eliciting deeper meanings to their lives in comparison to other methods such as interviews or observation. Ethical issues of this method, particularly concerning informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, are addressed while encouraging the children to tell their stories in an open and honest manner. At the end of the sessions, many children reported that they felt heard and listened to, that their voice mattered, and that they developed a self of self. We conclude the paper with a careful consideration of some of the issues and challenges of employing group work as a research method with migrant children in an urban setting.

Community/Social Action Groupwork in Indigenous and Rural Communities Zimbabwe Summer 2019

In June 2018, I was fortunate enough to attend and present at the IASWG Symposium at Kruger National Park in South Africa. It was a truly amazing experience. However, in July of 2019 I was once again able to return to the African continent. This time to visit Zimbabwe. For the past four years, my friend and School Principal Chris Labbe, had been visiting and working with the IMVELO organization to raise funds for the following three schools: Ngamo Primary School, Mlevu Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School.These three schools are located in the indigenous and rural rural villages of Hwanga National Park. During the course of the visits to these three Schools, my wife Peg McGovern and I were able to observe the incredible work that was being done between IMVELO and the local communities. The overarching theme of the IASWG 2018 symposium had been “Groupwork in Communities.” On my visit to Hwanga, I witnessed the impact of Groupwork in these indigenous and rural communities. On my return home, I reviewed the Groupwork literature, and it reinforced what I observed and encountered in Zimbabwe. The wonderful sense of community, sustainability, cooperation, integration of programs, social action and empowerment. It truly was an amazing experience and a trip of a lifetime.

Digital social work practice through social networking sites. Case study with users of Social Services Community Centre from Malaga (Spain) on Facebook

Isolation is a clear indicator of social exclusion. To tackle it, we wondered if it would be possible to improve digital skills and strengthen bonds through online groups on a social networking site. This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out in Malaga (Spain) with unemployed users of social care services. From the perspective of social work practice with groups, this study aims at strengthening bonds and mutual help through improving digital skills. This was carried out using a Facebook group as a shared space for community empowerment. To know the impact of these interactions, netnography and social network analysis were conveyed, as well as algorithms to identify communities and assess cohesion. Results showed that Facebook groups may be effective tools to promote active learning and mutual support and which can be used effectively by social workers.