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Summary: Social workers, alongside many professionals in "caring" domains, often feel they are poorly represented in television dramas. This study draws on a 172-million-word database to consider how social workers and seven other professional groups (cop, doctor, nanny, nurse, priest, teacher, and therapist) are portrayed in English-medium TV programs in the period 2010–2017. IMDb plot summaries are analyzed, and 200 examples per profession (n = 1,600) are classified as negative, positive, or neutral. Employing the methodology of corpus linguistics, the study contrasts with previous research as the focus is on the language surrounding mentions of professionals rather than on visual depictions or characters' actions. Findings: The study evidences the prevalence of negative societal discourses around social workers as either judgmental bureaucrats or uncaring "childcatchers," contextualizing the findings through comparison with other professionals. The analysis also suggests that social work characters on TV—in common with those from other female-dominated professions such as nanny or nurse—are frequently referred to in terms of their sexual availability or physical appearance. Applications: Findings will have practical relevance for those interested in the recruitment, job satisfaction, and retention of practitioners, and in reducing the stigmatization of social workers and their clients. The innovative methodology employed in the study offers particular insights for social work researchers and also scriptwriters. The study evidences the ongoing need to support media professionals and the general public to better understand the challenges facing the profession and thereby reduce the tendency toward a culture of blaming individuals for society's failings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The James Lind Alliance (JLA) is a nonprofit United Kingdom (UK) organization that builds a set of research priorities for any given topic through the systematic involvement of practitioners, service users, carers, and stakeholders. In 2021/2022, we reviewed the impact of the JLA priority setting partnership (PSP) on adult social work research (2018). Our research question was "How has social work research responded to and changed since the 2018 JLA priority setting report; and where do we need to focus now?" We searched for research which aligned with the published priorities. We then interviewed 23 social work researchers to learn if/how they had engaged with the JLA PSP and what might be needed for future PSP exercises and research. Findings: We discuss our findings with reference to other reviews of JLA PSPs. We conclude that the JLA PSP for adult social work was uniquely suited to the field given the history of person-centered practices, and this may account for some of the positive reviews of the report. The JLA process and ethos were respected and the report potentially raised the profile of adult social work research, while highlighting unaddressed questions. Applications: Though there are many JLA PSP reviews, this study is one of the few to consider impact, we propose a review process could be applied to PSP exercises more regularly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This narrative review explores papers published in peer-reviewed journals reporting research from a practice research module of a qualifying program to examine their potential contribution to knowledge in mental health social work. Methods: A narrative review was undertaken according to the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews of papers published by the first three cohorts of a practice research module. Results: Eleven papers were included in the review which found, for example, some deficits in practitioners' knowledge, confidence and understanding. The studies were modest and had some common limitations, but a high number of online views indicate that the papers have the potential to impact on practice. Conclusion: This review found that it is possible to use a practice research module of a qualifying program to train social workers to undertake and publish high-quality research which has the potential to influence policy or practice beyond a students' own learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational support represents a critical driver of practice research projects. This analysis includes four international examples of such support (Norway, Finland, Belgium, and USA and China). The four studies capture the similarities and differences between university support and national government support. The analysis is placed within the context of defining practice research and the core components of organizational support. The findings emerged from presentations in a Practice Research Collaborative sponsored by the International Community on Practice Research in Social Work. The conclusion includes a discussion of a cross-case analysis along with the identification of implications for practice research studies in social work and affiliated professional disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article builds on the Practice Research Collaboratives (PRCs) as an initiative that developed from the Fifth Conference on Practice Research to provide a platform for practice researchers to engage actively around impact and influence. Research question: The unique features of research activities that enable transformational impact in three cases in social work practice research involving long-term community and university research partnerships. Methodology: Literature review and comparison of case studies. Results: The cases show how the processes of implementation are not only seen as linear, but constantly evolving at the same time as intervention fidelity in social work is crucial to improving outcomes for people, which can have transformative impacts for individuals and systems alike. Conclusion: We conclude by describing the importance of understanding the feasibility of complex problems and complex social situation which requires meaningful communication between partners, transparency and involvement of all players throughout the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The article reports on 20 years application of a user involvement methodology that was developed in the context of social work – the BIKVA Model. Through an analysis of its practical implementation, a novel form of action research emerges: Synthesised Action Research (SAR). Method: A scoping review of 69 practitioner reports is conducted and inductive content analysis is used. Results: The application of the BIKVA Model by practitioners reveals new variations that represent empirical translations which make the model fit better to various purposes and levels of engagement. Moreover, it highlights its application in policy areas beyond the original scope: social work. Conclusion: By identifying and elaborating the SAR contribution, the article demonstrates that considerable insights can be gained from analysing practitioners use of academic models and methodologies, providing a more nuanced understanding that can be used to enrich and nuance what was originally intended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines the strategy used by social work researchers to navigate a university institutional review board (IRB) to develop a youth-centered research ethics training for youth participatory action research. It outlines the training components and examples of interactive youth-focused research activities. It discusses lessons learned from working with IRBs to prepare and engage youth as research partners, as well as the implications of the study for research and practice.

The project of engaging undergraduates in research methods courses is an outstanding challenge for social work educators. Anxiety about the subject is common, for both students and instructors. Further, students’ wariness may reflect historical trauma and their knowledge about the ways in which research has been used to oppress people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual or ally, and other sexual and gender minorities communities; and other marginalized populations. This teaching note offers reflections and experiences about developing an undergraduate social work research methods course that uses antioppressive pedagogies to create student-centered learning with experiential team-based activities and ongoing critique about the role of power and privilege in research. Specific teaching resources and strategies are shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new form of volunteer-based intervention is mushrooming across Europe: social mentoring. Such programmes turn 'ordinary' citizens into mentors for individuals from disadvantaged groups. Related initiatives are becoming more institutionalised and social mentoring has gained popularity as a social policy measure, especially in the face of crises. However, the social work discussion has taken little notice of this burgeoning phenomenon adjoining our professional field. There is a lack of concepts and data that could fuel a debate at the intersection of mentoring for social inclusion, human services, and welfare policies. This paper presents a first attempt to outline what social mentoring means, why social work should engage with it and how we can research into it. It offers theoretical reflection on ongoing developments in the EU, based on observation of the literature and field. To expand the available knowledge, it is suggested that research should pay equal attention to all three constituent elements of the topic: personal relationships, programmes, and policies. In line with critical traditions, this paper suggests a holistic, multi-scalar perspective that is sensitive to social inequalities and power imbalances, while also embracing innovative and transformative aspects of social mentoring as a 'popular' form of social problems work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the factors contributing to the low utilization of quantitative research approaches among social work research students. A census sampling technique was employed to conduct a survey of 1268 students who had completed their final year research dissertations. The descriptive statistics revealed that 81% (n = 1022) of social work students employed qualitative research, 16% (n = 208) used mixed methods, and only 3% (n = 38) utilized quantitative approaches. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed factors that were statistically significant (ρ<.05) in predicting low utilization of quantitative approaches that include; the supervisor’s preference, the student’s secondary education, training in research methods, competency in statistics, methodological flexibility and suitability, resources constraints, professional assistance, and fear of failure. These findings prompt recommendations for social work training institutions to enhance their research capacity, adopt co-supervisions, advocate for quantitative research, and prioritize continuous research mentorship in statistical tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes LDA topic modeling to examine research trends related to COVID-19 within the field of social work, analyzing these trends through peer-reviewed articles from the Korea Citation Index database. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, a statistical method for discovering abstract topics within a collection of documents, is applied to categorize and summarize the thematic concentration of the literature. Five themes have emerged: healthcare service and digitalized methods, exploring mental health status, qualitative approaches to social service program responses to COVID-19, evaluation of care services, and public service and program responses to COVID-19. Key findings reveal that the Korean social work academia focused on digital-based non-face-to-face services, evaluating the adequacy of public social services, and analyzing mental health and caregiving services during the pandemic. These findings indicate a reassessment of social work practices in response to the pandemic, underscoring the need to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by varied national responses. Additionally, the application of Python and machine learning in this research has shown significant benefits for social work studies, enabling a deeper analysis of complex, big data and facilitating more informed decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising divorce rates in Nigerian society stress the need to prioritize marital stability. This study seeks to contribute to mitigating this issue by investigating key psychosocial factors that promote marital stability. Specifically, the study explores the psychosocial variables that enhance marital stability among couples in Nsukka Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State. Data were sourced from 24 married couples through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Purposive sampling was employed, and data generated for the study were meticulously translated, transcribed and analyzed thematically. The findings revealed the pivotal role of love, effective communication and cultural factors in sustaining marital stability. To enhance marital stability, the study recommends the need for social service providers such as social workers and guidance/family counselors to provide adequate counseling to married couples. The goal of promoting resilience, strengthening relationships, and supporting the well-being of married couples and their families in diverse cultural contexts underscores the importance of social service research in addressing complex social issues and improving outcomes for individuals and communities. Future research should expand to include larger and more diverse populations and assess the longitudinal effects of social service programs on marital stability in Southeast Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the ethical and methodological issues related to gatekeepers in social work research, often represented by social service professionals. This collaboration brings specific challenges, dilemmas, and benefits. A qualitative research strategy was used to explore research fatigue in the context of gatekeeping and its implications for ethics in social work research, particularly as it relates to marginalized and vulnerable groups. Eighteen interviews were conducted with researchers and gatekeepers. Constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze the data and the computer software program Atlas.ti was used to process the data. The results of the analysis are presented through three main themes: the specifics of gatekeeping in social work research; the time, emotional and ethical burden of research; and the search for new forms of collaboration and overcoming research fatigue. The research suggests that identifying the dynamics of research fatigue is key to minimizing the negative impacts on research practice and bridging the gap between research and practice in social work. In future studies, time dedicated to transparent communication, feedback, sharing research findings and building partnerships with social work practitioners and their clients could be an important element in preventing research fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of all the racial groups in the United States, people who identify as American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) have disproportionately worse health as a result of living in poverty. The preponderance of research connects poor health with a socioeconomic perspective, which might create prejudice against AI/AN. As already known, AI/AN's high rates of obesity, diabetes, and stroke in comparison with that of other ethnic groups are mainly derived from their impoverished economic conditions that have forced them to consume the food distributed by the U.S. government. When minority health is discussed generally, the ethnic density perspective explains a minority population's positive health despite low socioeconomic status. This perspective helps researchers and practitioners understand the connections of psychological and social factors with physical health and demonstrates positive health effects on minority groups. Despite the high correlation between ethnic density and health having been validated, little to no research has explored AI/AN's health from this perspective. Using 13,064 electronic health records, this research tests the relationship between AI/AN density and health outcomes. This article introduces an innovative analytical strategy (i.e. a data mining technique), which is ideal for discovering frequently appearing health outcomes in a group. The finding reveals positive relationships between health outcomes and AI/AN density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social 1 work was reintroduced to Hungary during the third wave of democratization in Europe. As an academic discipline, it is in a disadvantaged position: the domestic academic traditions prefer strict disciplinary boundaries to inter- or transdisciplinary integration. Ongoing reforms in the country highlight the economic gains and the societal mission of higher education, with a strong focus on internationalization and direct connections to professional practice. Unfortunately, in this new framework, social work is understood as an auxiliary profession. This, in combination with female academics' unfavorable position in Hungary, establishes a situation in which gender-based and disciplinary disadvantages result in a negative synergy. To explore the potential impacts, we maintain a dual focus throughout the paper and analyze academic women's position and the position of academics in social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in the number of older people incarcerated in prisons has given rise to increased costs of correctional health care. Despite the many benefits of compassionate release, it is rarely used. Citing barriers at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels, we contend that social workers are uniquely suited to increase the number of people released through this mechanism owing to a unique knowledge and skill set. We offer eight specific strategies for how social workers can increase the use of compassionate release by working with individuals, conducting and disseminating research, and engaging in advocacy as shaped by core professional principles and values and related curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to explore the challenges faced by researchers conducting social work research using qualitative research methods during the pandemic period. As part of the qualitative descriptive research methodology employed in this study, in-depth interviews were undertaken with 15 participants who utilized qualitative research methods in the field of social work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data, and MAXQDA 22 software was used for that process. As a result of the analysis, the following two main themes were identified: the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic reflected in the planning phase of social work research, and the challenges reflected in the data collection process. The research findings revealed that the characteristic of the COVID-19 pandemic that prioritizes the physical distance between people, and the structure of qualitative social work research prioritizing mutual interaction, trust-based relationships, observation, and making the experiences of disadvantaged groups visible do not align, which brings many challenges to the process of conducting online or face-to-face qualitative social work research during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social work academic field, in common with other professional qualification degrees requires academics to have substantial social work practice experience. This reflective paper explores the journey of two social work academics who have made the transition from practice to the academic environment within the last ten years. Having applied a duoethnographical approach, the authors discuss the potential challenges of making this transition but is more focused on the benefits that former social work practitioners bring to the academic and research environment. It discusses practice-based research and appreciative inquiry as beneficial research methods for social work research and the importance of engaging with people with lived experience in a collaborative approach to research. It emphasises that social workers with skills of engagement, critical analysis and managing challenging situations are well placed to undertake research and make recommendations for social work practice from an informed an ‘expert’ position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometriosis is a debilitating disease that primarily affects females. Although endometriosis is common, there are unique social barriers for regional Australian females that impact access to a diagnosis and treatment within the medical system. Barriers include gender bias, regional location and healthcare accessibility. Through feminist autoethnography, in this policy, practice, and perspective article, the authors discuss the lived experience of a regional female social worker and researcher with endometriosis as a case study example to analyse the social issues that create barriers to accessing healthcare treatment. Through autoethnography, the authors aim to inform social workers of endometriosis, advocate for increased social work practice with females suffering endometriosis, and identify directions for social work research regarding diverse females’ experiences obtaining an endometriosis diagnosis and treatment.IMPLICATIONSEndometriosis is a complex disease with biopsychosocial implications that should be of concern for social workers.Social work can play a critical role in working with, and advocating for, patients with endometriosis.Social work-driven research is vital to ensure that females’ lived experiences of endometriosis can shape practice and policy responses.Endometriosis is a complex disease with biopsychosocial implications that should be of concern for social workers.Social work can play a critical role in working with, and advocating for, patients with endometriosis.Social work-driven research is vital to ensure that females’ lived experiences of endometriosis can shape practice and policy responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the landscape of academic research and citation practices, the emergence of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI, represents a transformative leap forward. This paper delves into the multifaceted role of ChatGPT in revolutionizing scholarly endeavors beyond mere plagiarism detection. We explore how ChatGPT facilitates research collaboration, streamlines literature reviews, and assists in proper citation practices. By harnessing ChatGPT's contextual understanding and vast knowledge repository, social work researchers can unlock new avenues of creativity and efficiency in knowledge acquisition and dissemination. Moreover, this paper discusses the ethical considerations surrounding the integration of AI in academia and underscores the need for guidelines and education to ensure responsible usage. Ultimately, ChatGPT stands at the forefront of a technological revolution, empowering social work researchers to push the boundaries of knowledge acquisition and dissemination in unprecedented ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in 1906, the teachers who developed the profession of school social work conducted home visits to bridge communication between the school and home. In the more than 100 years that the profession has continued, home visiting has remained a cornerstone. Despite its continued importance, there remains a lack of comprehensive instruction on how to conduct effective home visits within higher education or professional development programs. This article aims to address this gap by acknowledging the limited research focused specifically on home visiting in school social work and consults the broader home visiting research, applying it to the unique setting of school social work. This article will delve into the purpose and benefits of home visiting, strategies for effective data collection during visits, cultural competencies necessary for fostering productive outcomes, and safety considerations for school social workers. Through this exploration, this article's authors aim to provide valuable insights and guidance for school social workers striving to enhance their practice and strengthen connections between schools and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School social work (SSW) roles are often surrounded by ambiguity across schools, districts, states, and nationally. The School Social Work Association of America's National Practice Model and National Evaluation Framework, along with the National Association of Social Workers' Standards for School Social Work Services are the guidance provided at the national level for practitioners and scholars alike. This study examined each of these pieces to thoroughly understand existing critical components of SSW practice. Comparing and analyzing these critical components across all three resources through systematic content analysis led to findings that illuminate the limited shared components. This call for action—to unify SSW practice models and frameworks in a way to prescribe justice-oriented work—comes from these findings, which indicate that current national-level resources are disjointed, incohesive, and lack focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, which are the foundational values of the social work profession. A unified framework would not only represent the current challenges and needs of SSW practitioners, but would also help establish clear roles, responsibilities, and boundaries for SSW practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores community organizing and its impact on social change through various interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches. Topics include collaborative strategies between social workers and urban planners, insights from a United Kingdom-based community organizing training program, and the effects of union organizing on low-wage workers' wages.

This conceptual article aims to explore how self-determination theory can be utilized in integrating workplace spirituality in social work administration to help address issues such as those related to employee well-being, job satisfaction, and motivation. The paper examines the interconnection between self-determination theory, workplace spirituality, and social work administration through a review of pertinent literature on these interrelated concepts. The complementation of self-determination theory and workplace spirituality in the realm of administration hopes to create a spiritually sensitive environment that boosts self-determination and promotes the well-being of social workers for them to become healthy and productive members of human service organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting face-to-face with the beneficiaries of social work services and having a discussion with them, in order to diagnose the beneficiary's problem and identify the context of the case-by-case intervention, is the basic form of performing a social worker's activity. That is precisely why, although the interview, as a research technique, is a method specific to sociological research, this technique has been taken up on a large scale in social work, not only for case intervention, but also as a research method. In general, the beneficiaries of assistential services, who are most often the subjects of scientific research in this field, are vulnerable people, so the interview poses two main challenges as a research technique. The first is organizing the framework in which the interview is carried out and the manner of conducting it by the researcher, in order to create the psychological context that favors the interviewee's communication with the researcher. The second is the way data is analyzed after collection, in order to minimize the influence of subjective interpretations on the part of the researcher. The purpose of this article is to analyze the way methodological errors can be avoided, in order to achieve a research that draws scientific conclusions with a high degree of validity and credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity and credibility of scientific research are determined by the strictness of planning and elaborating each stage of the research, by correlating the purpose of the research with the chosen research method, by avoiding methodological planning errors, as well as by carrying out each research stage in a manner that excludes errors in data collection, processing and interpretation. In the field of social work, par excellence, the value of an empirical research is conferred, among other things, by the possibility of extrapolating the conclusions of that research to similar situations in the practical activity of social workers, in case work with the beneficiaries of social work services. Due to the close connection between research and practice in this field of social sciences, the methodological design must be transparent and convincing, so as to give practitioners a high degree of confidence in the conclusions of the scientific study, as well as the possibility to capitalize on its informative benefits. So, methodological errors of research projects carried out in the field of social work can have a much wider and more tangible negative impact than in the case of other fields of science, at least from a pragmatic point of view, when theory is translated to practical applicability, and the scientific study is implemented in case work performed with the beneficiaries. This study aims to analyze the questionnaire survey in social work, by highlighting the main methodological errors that can affect the validity of such an empirical study, in order to identify the optimal solutions for a correct planning and methodological development of the scientific study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates social work practitioners' feasibility, attitudes, and familiarity with the Evidence Based Practice (EBP) process in their work and their ability to access and integrate research into their practice. Social work practitioners (N = 256) were recruited through Reddit and Facebook and completed an online survey. Participants completed demographic questions (e.g. time in practice, degree type, practice role), research-seeking behaviors, and completed three subscales of the Rubin & Parish Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment Scale. The three EBP process subscales assessed participants' familiarity, attitudes, and perceived feasibility of the EBP process. The familiarity subscale could range from zero to 40, and the mean in this sample was 26.75 (SD = 5.55). The attitudes subscale could range from 0 to 56, and the mean in this sample was 37.03 (SD = 5.49). Finally, the feasibility subscale could range from zero to 20, and the mean in this sample was 12.18 (SD = 2.81). A linear regression was run to predict familiarity, feasibility, and attitudes toward the EBP process. Those who reported seeking out research more often found the process more familiar and feasible. Those who were in practice longer found the EBP process less familiar and had more negative attitudes. Strategies to address research familiarity, feasibility, and attitudes toward the EBP process include continuing experiential learning in education, accessing research in social media, and the use of continuing education. Continuing to address the research-practice gaps is an essential step toward delivering EBP to clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School engagement is a luxury not often afforded to children involved in the child welfare system. Current definitions of school engagement largely center around three micro-level foci: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. These definitions rely heavily on the student and their participation in school in prescribed ways that can exclude system-involved youth, leaving little room to consider how life experiences and developmental trajectories interface with how students show up in educational spaces. This perspective of school engagement also lacks socio-ecological considerations that may impact children in the child welfare system, such as frequent school moves, trauma reactions, systemic racism, and insufficient access to structural resources. Each of these influences may affect how a child engages with school and how a school engages with children and families. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the conceptual misalignments of the current approaches to measuring school engagement for youth involved in the child-welfare system and its subsequent implications for practice and research. We present recommendations that may lead to more inclusive and equitable measures of this important "determinant of life success." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including experiences of loved ones of incarcerated individuals, Black feminist autoethnography on interpersonal violence and the victim-offender dialogue model in restorative justice.

The article explores social worker, Jane Gilgun's profound impact on qualitative social work practice. It delves into Gilgun's extensive career, marked by prolific intellectual output including numerous publications and books. It emphasizes Gilgun's unique approach to qualitative social work, intertwining personal experiences with scholarly pursuits.

Reflexivity is acknowledged as a crucial concept and is pivotal in the methodology of qualitative research. Various practices of reflexivity are adopted in the social science disciplines. However, the concept is difficult to pin down and the challenge for researchers is to address how to become reflexive and do reflexivity in research practice. In social work, reflexivity has further been developed and applied in practice contexts. The practice terms, critical reflection and reflection or reflectivity are interrelated in ways that aim to explain reflexivity in the profession which, in turn, can offer an enhanced understanding of reflexivity applied in research. This exploratory article promotes practising reflection – questioning, analysing and evaluating oneself in employing reflexivity in all the research stages: methodological construction, data collection and data analysis by undertaking three key self-focused activities: (1) thinking about one's own thinking; (2) observation of emotions/thoughts, role boundaries and power dynamics in research relationships; and (3) exploration of perceptual experiences. Maintaining the reflexive stance is achieved through reflectivity. The article is largely descriptive but draws on experience in a doctoral study of cultural competence and promotes the effective use of reflexivity in qualitative social work research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, Jane Frances Gilgun retired after nearly 40 years on the faculty at the University of Minnesota in Twin Cities, USA. This article—tracing a sliver of her rich intellectual biography—was crafted from a career interview conducted for by Debra Nelson-Gardell for QSW, in four sessions, between December 2021 and March 2022. Gilgun is known for her extensive writing on qualitative methodology in social work and its connection to the Chicago School as well as her decades-long feminist investigation of male violence. Starting from an ontological worldview in the inherent goodness of humankind, Gilgun seeks to explain deviations from that path. She has spent a lifetime at the intersecting seams of gender, violence, and abuse of power. Gilgun's career offers lessons for a next generation. Her work reminds us of the importance of the deep historical connections between qualitative social work and the Chicago School. It illustrates the time and dedication required to seriously investigate difficult topics using qualitative methodologies. It offers a bittersweet reminder that choosing the path less traveled—or resisting dominant views in the academy—can be a solitary experience but that building intentional communities of like-minded souls serves as a protective factor. Finally, Gilgun's career embodies the idea that serious research agendas are animated by large and important questions. Her scholarship has grappled head-on with the basic philosophical question of how evil can exist in a world rooted in goodness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary is a response to an invitation the editorial board of Qualitative Social Work extended to me to comment on an article that reports on my career interview as a qualitative social work researcher. The article appears in the present issue of the journal (Staller, 2024). The editors and I agree that Karen Staller did an exemplary job of interpreting the transcripts on which the article is based but that the transcripts were incomplete. In my enthusiasm for what I did say, I left things out. In this article, I added to the material that Karen had access to, such as laying out the principles of pragmatism that underlie qualitative social work research and practice and how I coped with the effects of hearing stories about violence and gained from it. I also added to the theory of violence that Karen wrote about and to her descriptions of my relationships with other feminists. I gave a brief account of deductive qualitative analysis that I did not mention at all in the interviews. I realize more than ever that there are differences between interviews, which are spontaneous utterances, and articles, that authors write over time, reflect upon, and revise countless times. Then editors have a go at them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial justice movements sparked by police killings of Black and Brown persons have led to a reassessment of the role of policing in America. This has promoted important conversations about how best to improve public safety and design law enforcement practices that are equitable and just across communities. A component of this conversation is addressing stress and trauma faced by police as a routine part of their duties, as it can affect the quality of policing. Job-related stress and trauma experienced by police officers are an international phenomenon, yet underexplored areas in social work research and practice. Police officers experience high levels of stress from routine exposure to traumatic situations, leading to high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use, and depression. Officers who are actively experiencing symptoms of stress and trauma are more likely to engage in misconduct, including the unnecessary use of force. This study explores the stress and trauma-related experiences of police officers. We conducted one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with 23 officers from an urban police department in St Louis, Missouri. Analysis of interviews addressed three areas: (1) stress and trauma experiences associated with police work, (2) negative effects of stress and trauma on officers, and (3) factors impacting officer access to treatment. We conclude that social work can contribute to improved policing outcomes by helping officers address their job-related stress and trauma through engaged research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, two social work academics reflect on their experiences conducting qualitative research with cancer patients and their caregivers. Reflections and insights from their experiences are provided for social work students, researchers, and social workers who want to conduct their research and/or practice in oncology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores issues of reflexivity and knowledge production when cisgender researchers conduct social work research, using feminist narrative methods, to advance understanding about trans and non-binary people's identities and experiences. Cisgender (or 'cis') refers to people who identify with the gender identity assigned to them at birth. The paper examines cis identity, privilege and positionality arguing for a reflexive engagement of the ways in which these influence ethical decision-making and research praxis. In this way, we speak to existing critiques that suggest that only trans and non-binary people should research their own experiences and identities. To address the neglect of gender diversity in education for social work practice and research, we propose that doing social work research with trans and non-binary communities requires cis researchers to adopt critical ethical reflexivity (CER) to scrutinise the impact of gender normativity and its effects in knowledge production for social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the experiences of people who focus on doing social care and social work. Topics mentioned include the initiative of the British Association of Social Work to campaign social work and social care in the 2024 general election, the need to emphasize political change and address crisis in cost of living and power imbalances, and the financial impact of the Robodebt scheme.

Today, many children are living with their grandparents in rural hometowns whilst their parents migrate to work in cities. This qualitative study explores these left-behind children's perspectives of grandparental involvement in their lives through Photovoice. Thirty left-behind children (63% female, mean age = 12 years) in a major labour-sending rural area in southwest China joined five-session Photovoice groups, during which they took photos that best represented their lives with their grandparents. Visual data of eighty-four photos were analysed with thematic analysis. The most prominent themes were living environments and daily routines with grandparents, followed by grandparents' material support, time spent together, reciprocal support and perceived cultural traditions from the grandparents. Boys highlighted more material support from their grandparents in their shared photos, whereas girls focused more on their perceptions of cultural traditions being passed from their grandparents. This study illustrates the multifaceted nature of intergenerational solidarity and highlights the protective roles grandparents play in left-behind families in the labour migration context. The findings suggest the importance of using strength-based, culturally sensitive social work research (e.g. Photovoice techniques) and practices (e.g. community empowerment) to foster quality grandparental companionship and intergenerational bonding in left-behind families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Women of reproductive age are prone to face deaths and complications from maternal-related health issues if they do not utilize proper healthcare services. Certain challenges act as a disparity and hinder women of reproductive age from accessing maternal health care services leading to deaths and further complications. The study investigated the challenges in pregnancy and how they create disparities in the health of women through poor utilization of maternal healthcare services. The study adopted a phenomenological qualitative design and data was gathered through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The sample size for this study was 24 women of reproductive age from Okrika Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Results of the study revealed that the majority of the women had a good knowledge of maternal healthcare services. Still, there was poor utilization of these care services due to challenges resulting from poverty, distance, religious beliefs, and inappropriate staff attitude which leads to poor care of the pregnant mother and the fetus resulting in preventable deaths and complications. The study concludes that these challenges that affect the utilization of maternal healthcare services must be addressed in order to help promote women's health and also improve the actualization of Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, there is a need for social service research that highlights the plights of women of reproductive age to ensure that their lives, health, and well-being are promoted. This study also recommends the continuous training of health workers to enable them to know how best to attend to these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people with borderline intelligence functioning (BIF) have intellectual functioning at the border between intellectual disability and those considered neurotypical. This population group is often underrepresented in social research, which makes it difficult to understand their experiences and needs. The research aims to understand the daily lives of young people with BIF to identify needs that society might not be aware of. The study was conducted with a sample of 30 young people. The ethnomethodological design was appropriate for the study of the routines and daily dynamics of these young people, which allowed the researchers to understand the experiences and meanings of the participants from their own perspective. The analysis was carried out in the context of the subject of Qualitative Research Tools in Social Work with fourth-year students, through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and field diaries. Data analysis was performed using the Atlas.ti23 qualitative content analysis program. The findings suggest a strong dependence on family and social support; a daily life marked by challenges; and a search for autonomy, among many other aspects. Collaboration with the participants allowed the researchers to better understand their experiences and needs from reflexivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We raise concerns about Quadlin and Montgomery's Social Psychology Quarterly article, "When a Name Gives You Pause," a study of whether racialized names affect the time to dog adoption in a county shelter. Our comment is guided by the recent insistence of American Sociological Association leadership for greater critical introspection in sociological research. First, the study is ahistorical by overlooking histories of human-animal relations and naming in the construction of anti-Blackness. Second, the study is acontextual by contorting labor market research and color-blind perspectives in a manner that directs undue attention to the treatment of dogs without specifying the concrete disadvantages for Black people. The study's narrow focus on adopters misrepresents organizational factors within animal shelters. These various oversights invest Quadlin and Montgomery's article in a whiteness-centered sociological tradition. We urge divesting from this tradition and conclude with a call for sociology to be more educative and reflexive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certain fields of research are deeply shaped by their proximity with policy-makers and administrations. The so-called 'regulatory sciences' and their corresponding expert communities emerge from this intermediary space between science and policy. Social studies of expertise and scientific experts show, however, that modes of engagement with policy-making vary greatly from one scientist to another. Two scientists that are part of the same research group or laboratory may engage the policy realm differently. How then does the social organization of research influence scientists' participation in scientific advice and the production of regulatory sciences? The paper looks at toxicology, a field in which knowledge production is centrally motivated by risk assessment, but one that has also seen the emergence of different knowledge-making motives, including advancement of fundamental knowledge and frontier research. A toxicology laboratory may thus harbor a diversity of moral economies of scientific advice. The paper argues that scientists' engagements with policy, through scientific advice and regulatory risk assessment, create organizational tensions and force changes to the standard, team-based social organization of research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systematic reviews require detailed planning of complex processes which can present logistical challenges. Understanding these logistical challenges can help with planning and execution of tasks Objectives: To describe the perspectives of expert searchers on the main logistical challenges when carrying out supplementary searches for systematic reviews, in particular, forward citation searching and web searching. Methods: Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 15 experts on searching for studies for systematic reviews (e.g. information specialists) working in health and social care research settings. Interviews were undertaken by video‐call between September 2020 and June 2021. Data analysis used thematic network analysis. Results: We identified three logistical challenges of using forward citation searching and web searching which were organised under the global theme of 'tension': time, team and technology. Several subthemes were identified which supported the organising themes, including allocating time, justifying time and keeping to time; reviewer expectations and contact with review teams; and access to resources and reference management. Conclusion: Forward citation searching and web searching are logistically challenging search methods for a systematic review. An understanding of these challenges should encourage expert searchers and review teams to maintain open channels of communication, which should also facilitate improved working relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Economic & Administrative Approach (JEAA) is the property of Journal of Economic & Administrative Approach (JEAA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The authors talk about the importance of the voice and influence of people with lived experience in social work research and practice. They discuss the benefits of learning from different and diverse voices of lived experience to social workers and researchers, the barriers in relation to how the voices of lived experienced people are heard and the impact of those voices, and how to do justice to the appreciation of lived experience.

Following the global pandemic, there is a need for more cross-national social work research which speaks to the increased and widespread, intra and international, effects of global social phenomenon. Achieving this aim requires social work researchers to be responsive to the intersection of complex lives, complicated problems and dynamic structural contexts. It is, therefore, important that researchers recognise how their identity and positionality within the research project spans several terrains such as social, political and value systems, as well as integrating multiple social categories and social roles. However, a review of the existing literature shows that the lack of conceptual guidance for 'doing' reflexivity means that researchers can sometimes pay insufficient attention to the influence that they have on the people and topic being studied. Drawing on the combined concepts of identity, translocational positionality and epistemic privilege, we aim to strengthen conceptual guidance by advancing the Critical Reflexive Framework (CRF). Following an illustrated example of the CRF, we argue for its widespread adoption to enhance the rigour, integrity and quality of social work research. We conclude that such high-quality research is essential to promote the emancipatory elements of social work practice which occurs in contexts of complexity, uncertainty and flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China provides an extremely interesting contemporary case study for the international social work research community, given its questioning of the pertinence of the international definition of social work and stance in relation to the debates surrounding universalisation, internationalisation and indigenisation. This article begins by examining the evolving identity of Chinese social work, grounded as it is in China's political ideology and socio-cultural values. It then extends the debate on the paradoxical processes of universalisation, internationalisation and indigenisation within the international and Chinese social work discourse in light of the ascendance of Chinese culturalism. Finally, it addresses the impact of these interrelated processes on Chinese social work, as it struggled to adapt to the central government's political control of the developing profession and social project to train 1.45 million social workers by 2020. It argues that, to avoid the Scylla of escaping into tradition (culturalism) and Charybdis of absorption into the West (universalisation), Chinese social work has become a blend of Western and indigenised knowledge still in search of a unique identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we reflect on the development of New Voices in Social Work Research, a PhD research symposium that has been transplanted from the European TISSA ("The International Social Work & Society Academy") model to the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand contexts. We also explore our experience of working collaboratively with academics, researchers, and the emerging community of doctoral scholars who are engaged with the Australia and New Zealand Social Work, Welfare and Research (ANZSWWER) organisation. In our reflection, we consider the early stages of the New Voices in Social Work Research symposium and argue the importance of a space for PhD and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to build research capabilities and provide opportunities for research dissemination. Finally, we introduce ideas for further research in order to strengthen the New Voices in Social Work Research initiative to better support doctoral researchers in social work education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific research in Social Work has become increasingly important in higher education. Although this discipline's incorporation into academic research was delayed, it remains highly relevant. This article explores and analyzes the current bibliographic production in Social Work in Andalusia, using the Web of Science database. The main objective is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of this field, examining indices related to Social Work and identifying its weaknesses and strengths. The analysis will use three primary tools: SPSS, SCIMAT, and VosViewer. This bibliometric analysis will evaluate the scientific production in Social Work, off ering a comprehensive overview of its scope and quality. Results may indicate that the bibliometric index of this field is below expected or potential standards. Additionally, it might be noted that higher-indexed articles are often written in English by professionals outside the specific field of Social Work. These findings suggest the need to strengthen research in Social Work by increasing scientific production and encouraging the participation of social work professionals in knowledge generation. The results also highlight the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and establishing connections with professionals from other related research areas. This study aims to provide a detailed insight into the bibliographic production in Social Work in Andalusia through a bibliometric approach. The results will help identify strengths and weaknesses in this field, off ering valuable information for future research and the development of Social Work as a scientific discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]