Social Work Research Methods: Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches
Topic 4: Approaches to Social Work Research
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Topic 4: Approaches to Social Work Research
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What are the two basic types of explanation?
What is the positivist approach to social work research?
What is the interpretive approach to social work research?
What is the critical approach to social work research?
What is the feminist approach to social work research?
What is the postmodern approach to social work research?
What are the common elements of these five approaches?
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What are the two basic types of Explanation?
• Ideographic research is investigation that seeks to
account for human behavior inductively, by
examining each individual case looking for
patterns and trends.
• Nomothetic research is investigation that seeks to
account for human behavior deductively, by testing
theories and general explanations broadly looking
for confirmation of hypotheses.
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What is the Positivist Approach to Social
Work Research?
Positivist research is the approach of the
natural sciences such as biology and
chemistry.
It seeks to discover natural laws.
It sees individuals shaped by external
forces.
It sees common sense as less valid than
science.
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Positivist Social Work Research continued…
• Positivist social work uses a deductive
system of definitions, axioms and laws.
• It is based on precise observations and facts.
• It is value-free and uses objective inquiry.
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What is the Interpretive Approach to Social
Work Research?
• Interpretive research seeks to understand meaningful social
action.
• It uses definitions created by humans in real situations.
• It recognizes that humans create their own situations.
• Common sense is a powerful everyday cause of behavior
in this approach.
• It is a perspective on behavior based on description.
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Interpretive Social Work Research
continued…
• Interpretive social work ordinarily resonates and
feels right to those who are studied.
• It is embedded in the local context of human
interactions.
• It’s treats values as integral to individuals and
groups.
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What is the Critical Approach to Social Work
Research?
• Critical research discovers myths and empowers
people to change their circumstances.
• It works from the theory that most individual and
institutional relationships are based on conflict and
hidden structures.
• It theorizes that people have unrealized potential.
• It contends that false beliefs hide true power.
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Critical Social Work Research continued…
• It helps people see how to build a better world.
• It unveils illusions caused by scarce resources.
• It states that all science involves values, some
right, some not.
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What is the Feminist Approach to Social Work
Research?
• Feminist research advocates the feminist value
position.
• No sexist assumptions or research questions are
allowed .
• Researchers develop an empathic relationships
with those they study.
• It is very sensitive to the relationship between
power and gender.
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Feminist Social Work Research continued…
• The researcher’s personal feelings and experiences
are important in feminist studies.
• It is very flexible when choosing data-gathering
strategies across many different academic fields.
• It follows action-oriented research that facilitates
personal and community change.
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What is the Postmodern Approach to Social
Work Research?
• In postmodern research, theory and ideology are
rejected.
• Intuition, imagination, emotion and experience are
critical.
• Extreme subjectivity merges the personal and
external world.
• Relativism suggests no preferred interpretations of
behavior in this approach.
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Postmodern Social Work Research
continued…
• The world is fluid and constantly changing.
• Here and now is the only reality that can be
studied.
• Its research never truly captures the
complexity of human interaction
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What are the Common Features of These Five
Approaches?
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All are empirical.
All are systematic
All are theoretical.
All are public.
All are self-reflective.
All are open-ended.
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