Turning Ideas Into Research: Theory, Design and Practice

How do you turn a really good idea into a really good question, and how do you turn this into successful research? Barbara Fawcett and Rosalie Pockett use their expertise as supervisors and researchers to provide you with the frameworks and the theoretical and practical guidance you need to design, carry out and communicate your research effectively. Using a range of examples that relate research to the real world, they demonstrate: how to develop research questions how to select appropriate theoretical frameworks how to integrate theoretical perspectives with empirical research how to gather and interpret data how to ensure that the research undertaken makes a difference. The authors' user-friendly approach emphasizes the importance of participation, collaboration and inclusivity, and examines worldviews and understandings of knowledge in order to enable greater critical reflection. Chapters provide guidance on achieving impact with your research, and feature reflective questions to enhance your engagement with the issues covered. This text is the ideal companion as you set about transforming your ideas into robust research.

Table of Contents:
Part One: Thinking about research Chapter One: Why do research? Chapter Two: Partnerships in research Chapter Three: Ethical considerations Part Two: Thinking differently about knowledge and researching Chapter Four: Creating viable research from good ideas Chapter Five: Designing a research project: Qualitative researching Chapter Six: Designing a research project: Quantitative and mixed method researching Chapter Seven: Evaluative researching Chapter Eight: Constructively and critically appraising research Part Three: The impact of research Chapter Nine: Research dissemination, sustainability, making a difference and writing for publication Chapter Ten: Common pitfalls and dilemmas Chapter Eleven: Concluding remarks

About the Author :
Barbara Fawcett is Professor of Social Work (Adults and Communities) at the University of Birmingham. Previously she was Professor of Social Work and Policy Studies at the University of Sydney Australia. Prior to moving to Australia in 2004, Barbara was head of the large interdisciplinary School of Applied Social Studies at the University of Bradford. She spent thirteen years in the field before entering academia. Her research interests focus on older age and end of life, mental health, disability, participatory action research and postmodern feminism. She has authored and jointly authored eight books and has written a wide range of journal articles. Rosalie Pockett is an experienced senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, the University of Sydney. She has an extensive practice career in hospital and health social work where she held senior leadership and management positions in social work and allied health services. Rosalie's doctoral research investigated the occupational culture of social work in hospital settings and her ongoing research interests include: health inequalities; the social determinants of health and social justice perspectives; interprofessional education and practice; critical reflection in education and practice; leadership and management in social work; professional practice supervision; and classification systems for social work practice. Rosalie is an NH&MRC (National Health & Medical Research Council Australia) Travelling Fellowship recipient and a scholar of the Mount Sinai Social Work Leadership Programme, New York where her research interest in practice-based studies was developed. She has undertaken and published clinical data-mining studies in areas such as victim of crime presentations and advanced care/end-of-life planning in hospital settings. Her current research involves practice-based studies in oncology social work practice. Rosalie is a regular reviewer for a number of key social work journals and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Australian Social Work and the Australasian Board of the international journal, Social Work Education.

Review :
This new work by Fawcett and Pockett will inspire any practitioner who is wanting to engage in research but is unsure where and how to start. Its emphasis on working with core practice principles (respect and integrity in particular) throughout every step of the research process will encourage practitioners to engage in research. Both thinking about research, and doing it, are introduced in logical and accessible ways. Practitioners and research students will gain the confidence to translate their ′ideas into research′ by reading this excellent text.--Lou Harms The book has much to offer students of social research methods, higher degree students undertaking social research projects, and social work and human service practitioners contemplating a research project. It also contains useful material for critical reflection for more established researchers, who might benefit by pausing to take stock and reflect on the wider context and impact of their endeavours. Others engaged in service delivery, program and policy development may also find it a useful resource in thinking about evidence informed practice.--Bruce Lord "Bruce Lord BSW (Hons), MSW, PhD, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney" Fawcett and Pockett's book is designed to encourage practitioners to explore their important questions and create well-designed research projects. All the resources are here to help beginning researchers to get started. And best of all there is an emphasis on making an impact.--Liz Beddoe Turning vague ideas into credible research that can influence policy and practice requires an understanding of both research methods and the requirements of stakeholders. In this innovative volume, Barbara Fawcett and Rosalie Pockett tackle these mysteries which too often confound novice researchers. --Professor Beth Crisp the benefit of not being encyclopedic about this [methods] is that Fawcett and Pockett are able to keep space for discussing pressing contextual issues in practitioner research [...] There's a thoughtful critical tone here that reflects the contemporary neoliberal context but is not overwhelmed by it either. [...] An excellent introductory book that helps make research intelligible and do-able. Those new to research will enjoy it for that, and those who are not new will be impressed by the accessibility the book brings to the challenging contemporary complexities of knowledge-building. --Mark Brough "Australian Social Work" Unlike so many other introductory research books this is not a book that deals only in the techniques of research. There is a clear narrative in the text that is reflective of contemporary social tensions in research. It′s an excellent introductory book that helps make research intelligible and do-able. Those new to research will enjoy it for that, and those who are not new will be impressed by the accessibility the book brings to the challenging contemporary complexities of knowledge-building.--Cathy Humphreys "Australian Social Work Journal" Turning Ideas into Research offers a bundle of ideas that can help a novice researcher in particular. This target group can mainly draw a lot of ideas from the chapters on how to develop research questions and for what purpose, which theoretical framework you can choose and - if you have chosen a theoretical framework - what data you need to collect, how to interpret it, and how to take care of impact. I think that social scientists - who are at the beginning of their (promotional) course - will recognize and benefit from the booklet and the specific dilemmas that the authors name.--Astrid Molenveld This unique research text begins and ends with respect for practitioners' ideas and shows how they can be translated into practice-relevant knowledge. It puts the practitioner into Practice-Research and makes a powerful contribution to a truly international Practice-Based Research Movement.--Irwin Epstein