Social Work: Research

In this course, you will begin to understand social work research through the critical examination of the methods and organization of the ever-expanding professional literature associated with social work practice.

The field of social work research has experienced considerable growth over the past 25 years. This body of research is an essential source of knowledge for helping understand and solve complex social problems, but utilizing this research effectively requires proper contextualization. This course is intended to help you become an effective consumer of this professional literature by providing the tools necessary to find and comprehend what the research does and, importantly, does not tell us.

Be a part of this exciting time for the profession of social work and the opportunity to use this literature to help find solutions to complex social problems. Learn how to understand and appreciate a scientific approach to building and evaluating practice knowledge, and to use research to advocate for clients and inform policy. As you develop these skills, you will be well positioned to make correct use of the existing professional literature.

In this course, you will learn how to:

• Implement quantitative and qualitative research methods.

• Search procedures to effectively find existing research.

• Apply research to practice.