The Nature and Usefulness of Qualitative Social Work Research
Identifieur interne : 001175 ( Istex/Corpus ); précédent : 001174; suivant : 001176The Nature and Usefulness of Qualitative Social Work Research
Auteurs : Jane F. Gilgun ; Laura S. AbramsSource :
- Qualitative Social Work [ 1473-3250 ] ; 2002-03.
Abstract
In this commentary, the authors respond to challenges that Denzin’s article poses. (See Denzin, this issue.) We draw upon our own experiences as qualitative social work researchers to reflect upon several issues, such as personal connections with research participants; the match between qualitative approaches and the complexities of practice; the roles of values such as social justice and empowerment; the centrality of theories; and the benefits of methodological pluralism. We agree with Denzin that social work has applied feminist, emancipatory, and culturally-based pluralistic values and frames of reference and that qualitative research can implement these values. To fully realize what qualitative approaches offer, however, members of the discipline must contend with obstacles related to opportunities for graduate training and for funding of qualitative research. We invite social workers and friends of social work to engage in dialogue about the nature and usefulness of qualitative research to social work.
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DOI: 10.1177/1473325002001001743
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Gilgun</name><affiliation><mods:affiliation></mods:affiliation></affiliation><affiliation><mods:affiliation>E-mail: jgilgun@tc.umn.edu</mods:affiliation></affiliation><affiliation><mods:affiliation>University of Minnesota, USA, jgilgun@tc.umn.edu</mods:affiliation></affiliation></author><author><name sortKey="Abrams, Laura S" sort="Abrams, Laura S" uniqKey="Abrams L" first="Laura S." last="Abrams">Laura S. 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(See Denzin, this issue.) We draw upon our own experiences as qualitative social work researchers to reflect upon several issues, such as personal connections with research participants; the match between qualitative approaches and the complexities of practice; the roles of values such as social justice and empowerment; the centrality of theories; and the benefits of methodological pluralism. We agree with Denzin that social work has applied feminist, emancipatory, and culturally-based pluralistic values and frames of reference and that qualitative research can implement these values. To fully realize what qualitative approaches offer, however, members of the discipline must contend with obstacles related to opportunities for graduate training and for funding of qualitative research. 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(See Denzin, this issue.) We draw upon our own experiences as qualitative social work researchers to reflect upon several issues, such as personal connections with research participants; the match between qualitative approaches and the complexities of practice; the roles of values such as social justice and empowerment; the centrality of theories; and the benefits of methodological pluralism. We agree with Denzin that social work has applied feminist, emancipatory, and culturally-based pluralistic values and frames of reference and that qualitative research can implement these values. To fully realize what qualitative approaches offer, however, members of the discipline must contend with obstacles related to opportunities for graduate training and for funding of qualitative research. We invite social workers and friends of social work to engage in dialogue about the nature and usefulness of qualitative research to social work.</p></abstract><kwd-group><kwd>emancipatory research</kwd><kwd>qualitative research</kwd><kwd>qualitative social work research</kwd><kwd>social work values</kwd></kwd-group><custom-meta-wrap><custom-meta xlink:type="simple"><meta-name>sagemeta-type</meta-name><meta-value>Other</meta-value></custom-meta><custom-meta xlink:type="simple"><meta-name>search-text</meta-name><meta-value> Qualitative Social Work Vol. 1(1): 3955 Copyright 2002 Sage Publications London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi 1473-3250[200203]1:1;3955;021743 The Nature and Usefulness of Qualitative Social Work Research Some Thoughts and an Invitation to Dialogue Jane F. Gilgun and Laura S. Abrams University of Minnesota, USA ABSTRACT In this commentary, the authors respond to challenges that Denzin's article poses. (See Denzin, this issue.) We draw upon our own experiences as qualitative social work researchers to reflect upon several issues, such as personal connections with research participants; the match between qualitative approaches and the complexities of practice; the roles of values such as social justice and empowerment; the centrality of theories; and the benefits of methodological pluralism. We agree with Denzin that social work has applied feminist, emancipatory, and culturally-based pluralistic values and frames of reference and that qualitative research can implement these values. To fully realize what qualitative approaches offer, however, members of the discipline must contend with obstacles related to opportunities for gradu- ate training and for funding of qualitative research. We invite social workers and friends of social work to engage in dialogue about the nature and usefulness of qualitative research to social work. KEY WORDS: emancipatory research qualitative research qualitative social work research social work values COMMENTARY 39 Norman Denzin's article challenges us to think about what qualitative research is and how qualitative approaches can be useful to social work. In this article, we provide some of our thoughts. Our article and Denzin's invite dialogue. We hope that many other social work researchers and friends of social work join the conversation. Beyond what Denzin and we write here, there are many other ways to think about qualitative social work research and its applications to social work's many domains. Our hope is that through dialogue, abstract terms and ideas will spring to life. We would like many instances of 'Aha, that's what that term means' to characterize how we talk about and do qualitative social work research. We do not want language to be a barrier, but a gateway to new ways of developing research relevant to social work. As Hartman (1990) pointed out, there are many ways of knowing. Taken together, Denzin's article and ours are intended to bring multiple perspectives to bear on the nature and usefulness of qualitative social work research and thus to provoke fresh thinking on this topic. ARE WE 'FLEXNERING' OURSELVES? Some may question how it is that Denzin, who is not a social worker, wrote an article on social work qualitative research in the inaugural issue of an inter- national research journal. Are we once again 'Flexnering' ourselves: allowing an outsider to define us, just as Flexner (1915), defined US social work almost 90 years ago as a 'supplement [to] certain existing professions' (p. 161)? We think not. On the contrary, Denzin, a sociologist and one of the leading qualitative methodologists of our day, is a friend to social work. He has a long-term interest in many of the values and perspectives that social workers espouse. In his writings, Denzin seeks to change how social scientists think about and do research so that applied, emancipatory, feminist, ethnically-rooted and culturally-based pluralistic perspectives become more mainstream in the social sciences. Social work and social work research are part of the social sciences. Denzin has shared with us ideas and a language that will advance our agendas of social justice and social change. We do not think he is telling us we do not measure up, as Flexner (1915) told US social workers. He is saying we can do more. We agree with Denzin that the philosophical and methodological currents of thought that he addresses have a great deal to offer social work research. We also think discourse analysis, narrative analysis, phenomenology, grounded theory, analytic induction, sensitizing concepts, semiotics, verstehen, erlebnis, hermeneutics, post-positivism, post-structuralism, constructivism, and many other '-isms' and ideas are enriching as well. These perspectives are consistent with and build upon the everyday assumptions upon which most social workers operate. 40 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) Neither Denzin nor we are the first to attempt to apply these perspec- tives to social work. Besides those authors whom Denzin cited, there has been much writing on the nature of social work practice (cf. Laird, 1995; Lane, 1997; Lloyd, 1998; Parton, 2000; Sands and Nuccio, 1992; Sheppard, 1995, 1998; Walker, 2001; White, 1997; Witkin, 1999), the related issue of the kinds of knowledge needed in practice (Gambrill,2001;Parton and O'Byrne,2000;Shaw and Shaw, 1997; Webb, 2001, among others), and the appropriate kinds of research methodologies for social work (Gilgun,1992b,1994a,b;Hartman,1990; Rodwell, 1998; Sherman and Reid, 1994, among others). As Denzin's article and other related writings show, the language of contemporary qualitative research is studded with terms whose meanings would take several lifetimes to master. The list above was a half-joking reminder of this. The rich meanings of these terms demonstrate the depth and breadth of qualitative research and reflect the multiple perspectives that human beings can take when considering human phenomena.The implications of these terms challenge qualitative social work researchers to reach higher standards of relevance and responsiveness to what it means to be human, how we know what we know, and what we can do to bring about a more just society, otherwise known as 'ontologies,' epistemologies, and praxis, respectively. Full engagement in the interesting and important philosophical implications of these terms is beyond the scope of this article. We do, however, use some of these terms. When we do, we attempt to clarify what we mean. We use concrete, everyday language to the extent possible in order to make what we write accessible to multiple audiences. We write in the first person and sometimes refer to ourselves as individuals.We do this in the spirit of reflexivity,a term that has many meanings. Here we mean we want to be clear who is speaking.We are both white, middle- class women who are from different generations and religious/cultural back- grounds. We do not want to be disembodied voices; instead we want to be human beings, gendered, situated in time and in settings. Haraway (1988) gets a gold star for her phrase 'the God trick,' when she promoted the idea that researchers must make their presence explicit in their writings. Otherwise, writers of texts are taking on an invisible, omniscient 'god-like' presence. We do not want that role. SOME PERSPECTIVES ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Denzin's article gives us much to consider. We choose to address five topics that Denzin's article evoked for us. We end with reflections on opportunities and obstacles for the development of qualitative social work research. The five topics addressed are Gilgun & Abrams Nature and Usefulness s 41 Qualitative approaches allow researchers to connect with other people in deeply personal ways so that persons researched describe the rich meanings of their actions, thoughts, and events in their lives; Social workers and social work researchers deal with complex issues; Qualitative research is inseparably connected to theory; The values of our discipline provide guidance on how and why to conduct our- selves in personal research contexts; and Methodological pluralism is key to developing a knowledge base that is responsive to the complexities of practice, yet the profession has some way to go in accepting qualitative research. Connections with Others Qualitative approaches allow researchers to connect with other people in deeply personal ways. The two main types of qualitative methods, in-depth inter- viewing and observation, bring researchers into close contact with lived experi- ences of the persons with whom we do research. These interactions often involve personal and sometimes painful topics that can evoke powerful emo- tions in researchers and informants. In such evocative situations, researchers have opportunities to explore deep meanings of the phenomena of interest and thus develop new theories and understandings that have rich and nuanced dimensions. The knowledge we gain, therefore, is not information that simply passes through the central processors of our brains. It also arises from our hearts and often our deeply held emotions. Understandings gained through an engage- ment of heart and mind have an immediacy that potentially connects to the hearts and minds of audiences. Gisela Konopka (1958, 1963, 1966, 1988), now more than 90 years old, practiced this kind of social work research. She said, 'Get to know people. Live there with them. Let them talk' (personal com- munication, September 2001). The persons who are social work's constituencies children who have been maltreated, poor people of color, homeless families, persons with mental illness, and frail elderly, among many others are typically disenfranchised and excluded from the political system. Their voices are routinely suppressed within the many arenas in which their fates are debated and shaped public opinion, the mass media, legislatures, and sometimes even social service agencies. Researchers, like other social workers, share a professional and cultural authority that permits us, if we so choose, to bring these voices to the fore- front of public decisions and debates. This power to speak for others is by nature a problematic and unequal power arrangement and a subject of discussion by many within and outside the discipline of social work (cf. hooks, 1990). Witkin (1999), editor of SocialWork during the end of the 20th century and the begin- ning of the 21st, recognized the urgency of including the voices of clients within the arenas in which their interests are at stake. Riessman (1993, 1994) 42 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) has demonstrated that narrative analysis, which by definition creates a place where those who are researched can tell their stories, does just this. Complexities and Qualitative Social Work Research Whether at the level of direct practice or larger systems, social workers contend with a huge array of challenges that have direct bearing on client well being, power, and opportunity. Client issues stem not only from within individuals, families, and com- munities, but from a hodgepodge of often conflicting and contradictory poli- cies, ideologies, and stratification systems that distribute power and privilege along the lines of gender, race, social class, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, ability, and age, among other categories of social location. Social workers have long experienced what postmodernism delineated in academic circles: the pluralistic, contested nature of reality, the realization that power systems can be oppressive and must be challenged and transformed, a recognition of resistance among members of oppressed groups, and the centrality of inclusiveness as a value (Gilgun, 1999c; Jordan, 1978; Lloyd, 1998; Parton, 1994, 2000;White, 1997). Although direct practitioners may not attach the label 'postmodern' to these views, there is a natural kinship between the practices and ideologies of social work and such postmodern perspectives. Almost 25 years ago, Jordan (1978) pointed out that social workers 'live with inevitable uncertainty, confusion and doubt' (p. 25). More recently, Parton (2000) equated the core of social work practice as indeterminate, uncertain, and ambiguous. Such notions, Parton argued,'should be built upon and not defined out and thereby open up the potential for creativity and novel ways of think- ing and acting' (p. 460). Qualitative research methods, informed by notions of postmodernism, do what Parton (2000) advocated open us to new ways of thinking and doing. Qualitative research provides many products that are responsive to multiple aspects of social work practice. These products build upon the complexities of practice and the personal meanings that qualitative methods bring out. They include descriptions of lived experiences, typologies, concepts and theories that are close to lived experience, hypotheses that can be tested on large samples, case examples that can answer questions that surveys cannot, and items for surveys, standardized instruments, and clinical tools (Gilgun, 2001). These materials are of immediate use to direct practitioners, though they do not fit individual cases without thinking and testing. The products of quali- tative research can provide insights for practitioners to try out in new situations. Rich, descriptive information illuminates case situations. Blumer (1986) has called such information 'sensitizing concepts' whose purposes are to 'suggest directions along which to look' (p. 148), to illuminate meanings, and to help us Gilgun & Abrams Nature and Usefulness s 43 see what we might not otherwise have noticed. Sensitizing concepts do not have benchmarks and fixed meanings, as contrasted with 'definitive' concepts that have clearly fixed attributes and meanings. In the complex situations in which most social workers operate, knowledge that can be shaped to fit con- tingencies of practice has what Sheppard (1995, 1998) has called 'practice valid- ity'. There is a match between the complexity of practice and 'sensitizing' knowledge. Hypotheses and concepts derived from qualitative research, when applied to similar cases in other settings, may also illuminate and provide new direc- tions for assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Instruments developed through qualitative research may not be an exact fit with practice situations. Social workers can use items that do fit, modify some, and create new ones. The point here is that the products of social work qualitative research are multiple. Social workers will find them to be immediately useful in terms of generating new avenues to pursue. CONNECTIONS WITH THEORY Doing useful qualitative research requires that we make sense of complexity. In the words of Walt Whitman (1959), the worlds of others are 'wide', contra- dictory, and 'contain multitudes' (p. 68). Making sense of the multitudinous worlds of research participants requires strong conceptual skills. As Bob Bogdan (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998; Taylor and Bogdan, 1998) said about his training with Blanche Geer (Becker et al., 1961, 1968): 'Blanche modeled how to think conceptually.What I got out of her seminar was not the content. She was teach- ing a way of thinking' (Gilgun, 1992a: 9). Most of the seminar time was spent on discussing field findings. Blanche suggested readings for students to pursue to help them to continue to develop their ideas. The thinking that qualitative researchers do is both inductive and deduc- tive. Making sense of what we learn from research participants that is, inter- preting it, organizing it, and writing it up requires the use of related research and theory. While collecting and analyzing data, most qualitative researchers also are reading what others have said about the same or similar topics. They move back and forth between prior ideas and their own emerging under- standings of what they are learning in the field. Prior research and theory provide direction to researchers and therefore serve 'sensitizing' functions, as discussed earlier. By linking findings to related research and theory, researchers also can demonstrate the wider applicability of their findings. For instance, the signifi- cance of my (Jane's) findings that some incest perpetrators view the sexual abuse of their children as an act of love was enhanced when I (Jane) found through a literature review that therapists who have sex with clients may hold this belief 44 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) as well (Gilgun, 1995). Both incest perpetrators and sexually abusive therapists overlook the power they have over their sexual targets and are self-deceptive about incest and sexual abuse as love. By combining my findings with the research of others, I developed a theory of incest as love for some perpe- trators, but not all. The theories that most qualitative studies produce are situated in terms of time, place, and persons. Applications to new settings, persons, and times require testing for fit rather than assumptions of universality. There are numer- ous exceptions, for example, to my (Jane's) finding about the connection of love and incest for perpetrators. This finding, however, provides social workers with hypotheses that give them directions to take, but does not guarantee what they will find. The theory that qualitative methods produce, therefore, is indetermi- nate, just as practice situations are. We are flattered that Denzin believes qualitative social work researchers can advance a critical theory of society, though social workers have already done this and will continue to do so. Social work and social work research are inher- ently critical in terms of values, with 'critical' being defined as concerned with the promotion of social justice, equality, emancipation, empowerment, and level playing fields, among others, as well as with the exposing and undermining of abusive uses of power, privilege, and prestige (cf. Abramovitz, 1998; Haynes, 1998; Huff, 1998; Reamer, 1998; Swenson, 1998). If social workers are to advance a theory of society that we explicitly label 'critical,' we actually will produce many theories. No one theory is likely to be applicable to the multiple dimensions of 'society.'Yet, some concepts and hypotheses are operable across a range of delimited situations. Theories of resilience and gender-based oppressions are examples. In addition, defining values of social work such as those mentioned earlier, those that Denzin identified, and those represented in social work codes of ethics can provide unifying themes across various situated theories. Glaser and Strauss (1967) termed theories that are relevant across persons, times, and settings, 'formal theory.' There is never likely to be one critical theory of society, but values, concepts, and hypotheses can provide connections between knowledge devel- oped in particular situations. Thus, we can have formal critical theories of societies. As qualitative researchers bring related research and theory into their interpretations of findings, we potentially can introduce new ideas into social work research. I (Jane) hoped this was the case for her research on human development and adversity (Gilgun, 1996a,b), which drew upon theories of risk and resilience, as well as theories indigenous to social work. This was also the case for my (Laura's) research on understanding adolescent girls' expressions of distress, which was theoretically framed by feminist theory as well as person- in-environment perspectives (Abrams, in press). Gilgun & Abrams Nature and Usefulness s 45 SOCIAL WORK VALUES PROVIDE GUIDANCE Qualitative social work research connects with social work values. These values, which are international in scope and found, for example, in British, Australian, and US codes of ethics, include commitments to the dignity and worth of all human beings, the alleviation of human suffering, the delivering of quality and competent service, the production of a professional body of knowledge, and to social justice itself. (See Reamer, 1998, for a discussion of the US social work code of ethics.) The preamble to the code of ethics of the US National Association of Social Workers reads in part: 'This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work profession. Core values, and the prin- ciples that flow from them, must be balanced within the context and complexity of the human experience' (National Association of Social Workers, 2001, emphasis added). This statement shows strong implicit connections between the ethos of professional social work and the production of knowledge through quali- tative research. We are also guided by social work values as we interact with research participants, many of whom might be clients or colleagues if we were working in other settings. Through qualitative research, we may become intimately involved in other people's lives and world-views,as discussed earlier.We eventu- ally make connections between participants' life experiences and social theories not just for purely academic reasons, nor solely because the processes involved and products of these processes are generative and creative, which they are. We make these connections because the voices and experiences of our participants help us to grasp the complexities of human situations that in turn allow us to craft worthy responses to these situations. As Denzin (1989) said in another context, 'The perspectives and experiences of those persons who are served by applied programs must be grasped, interpreted, and understood, if solid, effective applied pro- grams are to be created' (p. 12, emphasis in original). The personal connections that we make with research participants guide us to use our knowledge in socially productive ways that hopefully will promote the core values of the profession itself. Values provide qualitative social work researchers not only with guid- ance on what we choose to research or how we interact with participants, but also how and why we disseminate our findings. In keeping with our commitments to social work, we present and narrate participants' stories for audiences that reach beyond academia, such as clients, practitioners, community organizers, and policy makers. It is important that this dissemination of knowledge occur at the ground level, where social change and social justice struggles are taking place. We are once again called to return to our professional grounding in a field that keeps commitments to social justice at its core. 46 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) The Benefits of Methodological Pluralism As now is widely recognized in social work, many kinds of knowledge are needed for effective social work practice (Hartman, 1990). The necessity of diverse forms and sources of knowledge is common sense in a profession as complex and multifaceted as social work. A 'one-size fits all' approach is inad- equate to meet the challenges that practitioners confront in their daily work. Understanding clients' subjective points of view in the context of the multiple systems in which they operate is key to emancipatory and empowerment-based practice models both of which are mainstays of contemporary social work education and practice. The complex nature of social work practice requires methodological pluralism. We wholeheartedly agree with Ann Hartman's (1990) editorial state- ment that: . . . there are many truths and there are many ways of knowing. Each discovery contributes to our knowledge, and each way of knowing deepens our under- standing and adds another dimension to our view of the world. (p. 3) For example, survey research is helpful in understanding the distribution of qualities and statistical relationships among variables, experimental and quasi- experimental designs can provide information about cause and effect relation- ships between variables, and qualitative studies can help identify and explain the 'how' and 'why' questions that probe the multiple meanings and social forces that shape individual and community situations, thus creating new understand- ings, concepts, and theories. Knowledge generated from these diverse methods can explore, describe, and explain key questions concerning the origins of client and community problems and effective social work responses to these problems. With that said, the social work profession in the US has a long way to go to attain methodological pluralism, although a shift is occurring. A perusal of leading US social work journals shows that quantitative methods and research approaches continue to dominate. A search of the Social Work Abstracts database from 1979 to 1989 located 109 citations with 'qualitative' in the title or abstract, compared to 755 citations containing the word 'survey'. The next decade (19902000) witnessed significantly more qualitative articles as indicated by 504 abstracts listing 'qualitative' as a key word. However, the term 'qualitative' still appeared significantly less frequently than 'survey', which was present in 1059 abstracts. Noteworthy is that the number of citations with the term 'qualitative' increased nearly five-fold, while those with the term 'survey' doubled. Some of the journals abstracted are not US-based, such as the British Journal of Social Work (BJSW). Others are not social work journals, including publications related to marital and family therapy. Both of these venues may inflate the number of qualitatively oriented pieces attributable to US social work Gilgun & Abrams Nature and Usefulness s 47 researchers. The BJSW, for example, has a strong tradition of publishing research based on qualitative methods. Marital and family therapy journals have a good record of publishing articles related to qualitative research. Despite the few journals published beyond US borders that the Abstracts includes, in the year 2000, 71 abstracts contained the keyword 'qualitative.' Of these, 16, or 22%, were written by scholars outside of the USA or published in a non-US journal. For 'survey,' the figure was 13 out of 126, or about 10%. These cursory assessments of one database do not tell us the extent to which qualitative approaches are accepted by social work academic gatekeepers in the USA and in other countries, such as deans, department heads, journals editors,conference paper reviewers,and grant proposal reviewers. However,they do indicate a general trend that qualitative research in social work is becoming more common, though such approaches have a way to go to achieve the type of methodological pluralism that Hartman (1990) envisioned more than a decade ago. DISCUSSION Qualitative research indeed can be useful to social work. Social workers who do qualitative research are uniquely positioned not only to contribute to critical theories of societies, but also to produce multiple products that will enhance the practice of social work in the many domains in which we expend our efforts. Qualitative research will not replace quantitative approaches. Our hope is that qualitative methods will take more of a center stage and qualitative social work researchers will demonstrate in much larger numbers what these approaches can help social workers accomplish. Jane and Laura represent two generations of social work qualitative researchers. Jane is into her 21st year of doing qualitative research, while Laura is a relative newcomer, going into her sixth year. We share a great deal in terms of how we think about and do our research, how we got our training in methods, and where we seek publication for our articles. On the other hand, we have some divergences based on our personal experiences. We both are excited about qualitative research and thrilled that we are faculty members in a school of social work that actively supports our efforts with words and deeds, including funding. We thrive on the close contacts we have with the persons with whom we do research. Laura calls them partici- pants. Jane calls them informants. Jane has found that her qualitative research has led to many opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities in the community, a kind of diffusion effect, where what she has learned through her qualitative research has benefitted countless persons. Laura, although she has not done qualitative research as long, believes that her work has already had an impact and expects that the benefits of her work will increase over time. Finally, 48 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) on a more personal note, the experiences we have had as qualitative researchers have changed our lives. Jane believes that being a qualitative researcher has made her wiser and kinder. Laura, who has conducted most of her research with young people in school and community facilities, has learned a great deal about patience and to reflect deeply on her own power and privilege in research situ- ations and in the world. Jane, however, has had experiences that lead her to hypothesize that the willingness to engage in methodological pluralism is one-sided in some quar- ters in the USA, such as some funding agencies. On many painful occasions, program officers have told me (Jane) directly or through indifference that they are not interested in funding qualitative research. One program officer told me, 'Do not submit a qualitative proposal.' Another said,'Do not submit a proposal on gender and violence,' which is one of my prime interests. Several others appeared defensive and/or patronizing as I tried to explain projects I would like to have funded. The most encouragement I got was that I might be funded if I proposed research that used mixed methods, such as a survey with case studies. Some of this was a decade or more ago, but not all of it. I have chosen to let what I have learned through more than 20 years of case study research guide me. I have been continually intrigued by what informants told me, and I thought what they were saying was important. I could have gotten funding had I abandoned the lines of inquiry that qualitative research opened for me. I can do surveys and statistics (cf. Gilgun et al., 2000), and I am good at math and using reliability and validity testing on instruments that I have developed (cf. Gilgun, 1999a). For two years in graduate school, I was a statistics tutor. I like statistics. I even wrote a primer (not published) on statistics for an on-line publisher more than 16 years ago. I can do demonstration projects and the kinds of evaluations that federal agencies in the USA want social workers to do. I chose instead to stick primarily to case study and qualitative research. I have been willing to accept the conse- quences of my choices such as no governmental funding for my research and the resulting diminished standing in my own discipline. I have years of research and publication ahead of me and expect that my research will make significant contributions for years to come. Adequate Graduate Training With this said, I do not want to make US program officers out to be 'bad guys.' It takes time for program officers, most of whom are trained researchers, to appreciate the merits of qualitative research. Furthermore, and perhaps more significant, is the overwhelming dominance of training in quantitative methods in US social work and allied disciplines in higher education. For instance, we are primarily self-taught qualitative researchers. I (Jane) had much encourage- ment from my professors, including Donald T. Campbell (Campbell, 1979; Gilgun & Abrams Nature and Usefulness s 49 Campbell and Stanley, 1966; Cook and Campbell, 1979). I learned a great deal from the textbook that Bogdan and Biklen (1998) wrote,now in its third edition. The point we want to make is there is little wonder that program officers do not seek out qualitative research for funding. They are not trained in it. They do not know what it can do. A major challenge is for social work educators to provide quality mentor- ship and training in qualitative research for doctoral students in social work programs. US schools of social work can do much more in terms of recruit- ing faculty for expertise in qualitative methods and for preparing students for doing such studies. In graduate school just a few years ago, my (Laura's) course work trained me only in quantitative, deductive approaches to research and writing. For my qualitative and historical pursuits, I sought individual mentor- ship from both within and outside the discipline. Yet I was never 'formally' trained in qualitative methods. Recently, a reviewer of a qualitative article I sub- mitted to an interdisciplinary youth studies journal suggested that my rich inter- view data did not fit my 'quantitative, linear approach to a research article,' and advised me to combine 'literature review,' 'methods,' 'results,' and 'discussion' sections to find a better flow to the article. In sum, three reviewers challenged my training as fragmented. I began to notice that qualitative social work articles rarely break out of a linear writing style, and this is not the case in non-social work journals. Often, US doctoral students who are interested in qualitative or historical approaches seek their training and guidance outside of their discipline. This process risks alienating qualitative research from the mainstream of research in 'social work'. These students may become interested in the scholarship of other disciplines and thus seek publications in the journals of these disciplines. The result is the dispersal of qualitative research by social workers into other fields. Faculty Interests Diverted Schools of work hire the vast majority of faculty who are in line for tenure for their expertise in quantitative approaches. New scholars looking for professor- ships know this and prepare for it. I (Jane) have seen many a new faculty show enthusiasm for qualitative research, only to be drawn away because they are under pressure to get funding, to publish, and to be scientific that is, to recruit large samples, do statistical analyses, and maintain distance from research par- ticipants. Lacking adequate training in qualitative methods, for the most part, and knowing how to do surveys and statistical analysis, they leave their inter- ests in qualitative studies behind. I have heard many young scholars say, 'Once I have tenure, I'll do more qualitative work.'This often does not happen. When young scholars achieve tenure, they are involved in non-qualitative projects. Furthermore, they may have trouble finding funding for their qualitative work. Funding is as important after tenure as before. 50 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) Where to Publish As discussed earlier, qualitative analysis typically leads researchers to integrate related research and theory into their evolving findings. In the USA, training in qualitative methods often takes place in academic units other than social work. Furthermore, the current intellectual challenges that are transforming the social sciences and are the subject of Denzin's article are having a great impact on how researchers think about and do qualitative research. These three factors draw qualitative researchers into dialogue with other scholars who usually are not social workers. The result is that many qualitative researchers seek publication in jour- nals that are not identified with social work because these journals offer more of an intellectual home than do social work journals. We are prime examples of this trend. Laura has published articles in non- social work journals on topics such as the construction of gender roles through welfare state programs (Curran and Abrams, 2000) and the application of cul- tural capital theory to practices of parent empowerment in low-income neigh- borhoods (Abrams and Gibbs, 2002). Jane's articles that went to publications other than those associated with social work included the moral discourse of incest perpetrators based on the ethical notions of justice and care (Gilgun, 1995), a feminist, semiotic analysis of a case of family murder (Gilgun, 1999b), and a feminist analysis of the discourse of two white upper class men who per- petrated sexual violence (Gilgun and McLeod, 1999). These articles were consistent with the values of social work and there- fore were applied, feminist, meant to be emancipatory and empowering, and critical of unjust power structures, but we made judgments that reviewers in non-social work journals would be more receptive than reviewers for social work journals. After reading articles published in the BJSW in preparation for writing this article and after reflecting upon our general appreciation for the scholarship coming from Australia, we conclude that a kinship exists between some of the qualitative research we do and what is happening in other coun- tries. Social work scholars in other countries appear to have more of an aware- ness and appreciation of postmodern perspectives and of research within these traditions than is apparent among US social work journals. The articles we do submit to US social work journals have clear impli- cations for practice and sometimes are not as theoretically and methodologi- cally rich as they could be. Certainly, we are proud of these publications and believe they contribute to policy, practice, and general understanding, but we also want US social work to benefit more fully from the theoretical and methodological perspectives that are enlivening other disciplines. The Salience of Social Work Qualitative Research Many US social workers publish in non-social work journals. This diffusion blunts the contributions social workers make to building knowledge for social Gilgun & Abrams Nature and Usefulness s 51 work. Over time, increasing numbers of social workers will do qualitative research if current trends continue, which we think they will. We in the USA need help figuring out how to ensure that these publications appear in social work journals. The present journal Qualitative Social Work may broaden ideas of what constitutes social work research in the USA. Otherwise many may continue to wonder whether Flexner (1915) still has a point. Even today, as Parton (2000) and others have pointed out, in some quarters, social work is considered 'newer,' 'younger,' and 'less developed' than other disciplines that began at about the same time, such as psychology, soci- ology, and medicine. The diffusion of social work research into other disciplines could be one reason for this perception. Developing a readily identifiable, sub- stantial research tradition and knowledge base could change things. Dialogue on an international level might open up new possibilities for the publication of qualitative social work research in US social work journals. Connecting to Each Other A remaining challenge for qualitative social work researchers is to connect with one another. Many of us are isolated. In the USA, rarely are there opportunities for dialogue with other social workers who are qualitatively oriented either on our own campuses or at conferences or other meeting places. In the process of crafting this article, we experienced once again the advantages of discussing our evolving thoughts and the synergy that can result. Dialogues are key to our inspiration and to our capacities to sort out ethical dilemmas and the multiple meanings that confront us as we continue our inquiries into human experience. References Abramovitz, Mimi (1998) 'Social Work and Social Reform: An Arena of Struggle', Social Work 43(6): 51226. Abrams, Laura S. (in press) 'Rethinking Girls "at-risk": Gender, Race, and Class Inter- sections and Adolescent Development',Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environ- ment. Abrams, Laura S. and Gibbs, Jewel T. (2002) 'Disrupting the Logic of HomeSchool Relations: Parent Participation and Practices of Inclusion and Exclusion', Urban Edu- cation 37(3). 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Parton, Nigel (2000) 'Some Thoughts on the Relationship between Theory and Practice in and for Social Work', British Journal of Social Work 30(4): 44963. Parton, Nigel and O'Byrne, Patrick (2000) Constructive SocialWork:Toward a New Practice. New York: St. Martin's. Reamer, Frederic G. (1998) 'The Evolution of Social Work Ethics', Social Work 43(6): 488500. Riessman, Catherine Kohler (1993) Narrative Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Riessman,Catherine Kohler (ed.) (1994) Qualitative Studies in SocialWork Research.Thou- sand Oaks, CA: Sage. Rodwell, Mary K. (1998) Social Work Constructivist Research. New York: Garland. Sands, Roberta and Nuccio, Kathleen (1992) 'Postmodern Feminist Theory and Social Work', Social Work 37(6): 48994. Shaw, Ian and Shaw, Alison (1997) 'Keeping Social Work Honest: Evaluating as Pro- fession and Practice', British Journal of Social Work 27(6): 84769. Sheppard, Michael (1995) 'Social Work, Social Science and Practice Wisdom', British Journal of Social Work 25(3): 26594. 54 s Qualitative Social Work 1(1) Sheppard,Michael (1998)'Practice Validity,Reflexivity and Knowledge for Social Work', British Journal of Social Work 28(5): 76381. Sherman, Edmund and Reid, William J. (eds) (1994) Qualitative Research in Social Work. New York: Columbia University Press. Swenson, Carol R. (1998) 'Clinical Social Work's Contribution to a Social Justice Per- spective', Social Work 43(6): 52737. Taylor, Steven J. and Bogdan, Robert (1998) Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods: A Guidebook and Resource, 3rd edn. New York: Wiley. Walker, Steven (2001) 'Tracing the Contours of Postmodern Social Work', British Journal of Social Work 31: 2939. Webb, Stephen A. (2001) 'Some Considerations on the Validity of Evidence-based Prac- tice in Social Work', British Journal of Social Work 31: 5779. White, Susan (1997) 'Beyond Retroduction? Hermeneutics, Reflexivity and Social Work Practice', British Journal of Social Work 27: 73953. Whitman,Walt (1959) 'Song of Myself', in James E. Miller, Jr. (ed.) Complete Poetry and Selected Prose, pp. 2568. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin. Witkin, Stanley L. (1999) 'Editorial: Constructing our Future', Social Work 44(1): 58. Jane F. Gilgun, PhD, LICSW, is professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She does research on the phenomenology of vio- lence, on the development of violent behaviors, and on how persons overcome adversities. In recent years, she has had four collaborative projects with prac- titioners on the development of strengths-based assessment tools. She received her PhD in child and family studies from Syracuse University in 1983, her master's in social services administration from the University of Chicago in 1984, and her licentiate in family studies from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, in 1971. Address: School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1404 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. [email: jgilgun@tc.umn.edu] Laura S. Abrams, PhD, MSW, is assistant professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her primary research is concerned with gender identity and risk behaviors among young people. She is currently con- ducting an ethnographic study of the construction of masculinity in juvenile correctional facilities. She received her PhD in social welfare from the Uni- versity of California, Berkeley in 2000 and her master's in social welfare from Berkeley in 1993. 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Miller, Jr.</surname></name> (ed.) <source>Complete Poetry and Selected Prose</source>, pp. <fpage>25</fpage>-<lpage>68</lpage>. <publisher-loc>Boston, MA</publisher-loc>: <publisher-name>Houghton-Mifflin</publisher-name>.</citation></ref><ref><citation citation-type="journal" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Witkin, Stanley L.</surname></name> (<year>1999</year>) <article-title>‘Editorial: Constructing our Future’</article-title>, <source>Social Work</source><volume>44</volume>(<issue>1</issue>): <fpage>5</fpage>-<lpage>8</lpage>.</citation></ref></ref-list></back></article></istex:document></istex:metadataXml><mods version="3.6"><titleInfo lang="en"><title>The Nature and Usefulness of Qualitative Social Work Research</title><subTitle>Some Thoughts and an Invitation to Dialogue</subTitle></titleInfo><titleInfo type="alternative" lang="en" contentType="CDATA"><title>The Nature and Usefulness of Qualitative Social Work Research</title><subTitle>Some Thoughts and an Invitation to Dialogue</subTitle></titleInfo><name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Jane F.</namePart><namePart type="family">Gilgun</namePart><affiliation></affiliation><affiliation>E-mail: jgilgun@tc.umn.edu</affiliation><affiliation>University of Minnesota, USA, jgilgun@tc.umn.edu</affiliation><role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm></role></name><name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Laura S.</namePart><namePart type="family">Abrams</namePart><affiliation></affiliation><affiliation>E-mail: labrams@che.umn.edu</affiliation><affiliation>University of Minnesota, USA, labrams@che.umn.edu</affiliation><role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm></role></name><typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource><genre type="other" displayLabel="other"></genre><originInfo><publisher>Sage Publications</publisher><place><placeTerm type="text">Sage CA: Thousand Oaks, CA</placeTerm></place><dateIssued encoding="w3cdtf">2002-03</dateIssued><copyrightDate encoding="w3cdtf">2002</copyrightDate></originInfo><language><languageTerm type="code" authority="iso639-2b">eng</languageTerm><languageTerm type="code" authority="rfc3066">en</languageTerm></language><physicalDescription><internetMediaType>text/html</internetMediaType></physicalDescription><abstract lang="en">In this commentary, the authors respond to challenges that Denzin’s article poses. (See Denzin, this issue.) We draw upon our own experiences as qualitative social work researchers to reflect upon several issues, such as personal connections with research participants; the match between qualitative approaches and the complexities of practice; the roles of values such as social justice and empowerment; the centrality of theories; and the benefits of methodological pluralism. We agree with Denzin that social work has applied feminist, emancipatory, and culturally-based pluralistic values and frames of reference and that qualitative research can implement these values. To fully realize what qualitative approaches offer, however, members of the discipline must contend with obstacles related to opportunities for graduate training and for funding of qualitative research. We invite social workers and friends of social work to engage in dialogue about the nature and usefulness of qualitative research to social work.</abstract><subject><genre>keywords</genre><topic>emancipatory research</topic><topic>qualitative research</topic><topic>qualitative social work research</topic><topic>social work values</topic></subject><relatedItem type="host"><titleInfo><title>Qualitative Social Work</title></titleInfo><genre type="journal">journal</genre><identifier type="ISSN">1473-3250</identifier><identifier type="eISSN">1741-3117</identifier><identifier type="PublisherID">QSW</identifier><identifier type="PublisherID-hwp">spqsw</identifier><part><date>2002</date><detail type="volume"><caption>vol.</caption><number>1</number></detail><detail type="issue"><caption>no.</caption><number>1</number></detail><extent unit="pages"><start>39</start><end>55</end></extent></part></relatedItem><identifier type="istex">8C9E758EBA6E7E25DE17317378A1970C476CF4F9</identifier><identifier type="DOI">10.1177/1473325002001001743</identifier><identifier type="ArticleID">10.1177_1473325002001001743</identifier><recordInfo><recordContentSource>SAGE</recordContentSource></recordInfo></mods></metadata><serie></serie></istex></record>Pour manipuler ce document sous Unix (Dilib)
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