RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL WORK

Research Methods for Social Work have undergone several changes in the recent past, particularly in the areas of Research Designs, Techniques of Data Collection, Analysis of Data and Computer Application in Social Work Research. Against this background, a seminar was organised for social work educators, researchers and practitioners with a specific objective to bring research closer to social work practice, and to find from the research methodologies used by social scientists those methods which can be best adopted in the context of social work.

The papers selected for this volume cover four broad areas of research: the first section consists of nine papers, which are descriptive accounts of research methods used with social work interventions; the second section consists of two papers on data analysis and interpretations; the third section includes two papers which provide accounts of different specializations; and the last section consists of four papers dealing with different research strategies like qualitative research, case study method and action research.

It is hoped that the book will give readers an insight into the various research methods used in different areas of social work and need for shift in focus.

D.K. Lal Das is Director, Research Centre, R.M. College of Social Work, Hyderabad. Prior to the present assignment, Dr Lal Das was Principal at the College. He has been teaching research courses to graduate, post-graduate and research students for over three decades. He has a number of published books and research papers to his credit.

Vanila Bhaskaran is a senior faculty member at R.M. College of Social Work, Hyderabad. She has been teaching Sociology to graduate, post-graduate and research students for over three decades.