Research for Effective Social Work Practice

Very often research texts for social work students are dry, boring, and hard to relate to. Not this book! Nor do authors Krysik and Finn shy away from teaching research skills that are actually interesting and useful to students interested in real-life social work practice. See the chapter on writing in this book. Also, the brand new chapter on qualitative methods. Go to www.routledgesw.com/research to learn more! 3 unique cases teach students how to apply research issues and skills to a variety of different levels of social work intervention, and clients.

Table of Contents:
1. The Context of Social Work Research 2. The Politics and Ethics of Social Work Research 3. The Research Process: From Problems to Research Questions 4. Single Subject Research 5. Qualitative Research 6. Group Research Design 7. Sampling 8. Measurement 9. Implementation: From Data Collection to Data Entry 10. Describing Quantitative Data 11. Bivariate Statistics and Statistical Inference 12. Evaluation of Social Work Services 13. Writing and Presenting Research

About the Author :
Judy L. Krysik is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. She received her doctorate from Arizona State University (1995), and her BSW (1988) and MSW (1991) from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jerry Finn is a professor in the Social Work Program at University of Washington Tacoma. He received his doctorate from University of Wisconsin Madison (1980), and MSW (1974) from the University of Hawaii.

Review :
"This text is highly readable yet comprehensive enough to cover all areas of research knowledge needed by social work practitioners. It is neither too simplistic, nor too rigorous and it arouses the interest of students with research experience as well as those who are novices. I highly recommend this well-written, social work- specific resource."—Mark Cederburg, University of Kansas "I have been teaching research methods to social work students for over 25 years and wish I had come across this text earlier. Its organization corresponds very well to the demands of social work practice, addressing vital topics ranging from single-subject design to evidence-based practice. This book will help prepare social work graduates to actively conduct the studies necessary to enhance policy, service-delivery and practice."—Amanda Barusch, University of Utah "Krysik and Finn have written a research book that makes research easy to read and comprehend.　 It helps the social work student understand how they can (and should) evaluate their own practice once they graduate and enter the social work field.　 What an invaluable lesson!"—Laura Myers, Florida A&M University "This book is the most student-friendly textbook I have used. The research content is comprehensive and provides students with tools and many real life examples. The option to use Excel for data analysis is beneficial for students to transition over to SPSS. Moreover, the resources for the instructor help on class preparation since lessons can be modified easily."—Suk-Young Kang, University of Texas at Arlington "Readers will be pleasantly surprised to see a social work research text that includes fresh topics honestly addressed. Research knowledge and skills are portrayed as the power to thoughtfully pose and systematically answer important questions for our clients, agencies and society at large."—Kia Bentley, Virginia Commonwealth University "With the increasing importance of evidence-based practice in social work, this clearly written, student-friendly book serves as a valuable introduction to the topic. A very good place to start the process of understanding research."— Joel Fischer, University of Hawaii