Types of Research in Social Work

Types of Research in Social Work

The three types of research commonly used in social work include explanatory, descriptive, and exploratory (Mauldin, 2020). Social work researchers aim to explain the reasons behind certain phenomena, which is done through explanatory research. A social worker tries to find out why students are highly addicted to social media by conducting explanatory research. The explanatory researcher also finds links or causes and effects such as coping mechanisms for some problems experienced at home, school, or personal and the consequent results as poor mental health.

Descriptive research majorly entails the definition of a phenomenon (Mauldin, 2020). For instance, a social worker might seek to understand the amount of time students spend on social media platforms and find out which particular social media platforms students spend most of their time on. Social workers can be reliant on descriptive research to find out more about their service areas, such as information on the number of children who are recipients of foster care services, as well as their demographic information, such as their gender and age.

Lastly, exploratory research is commonly performed when a researcher is at the initial stages of looking at a topic (Mauldin, 2020). Exploratory research is used to test how feasible it is to conduct a study more extensively and figure out the basics of the topic. It is commonly qualitative and inductive (Casula, Rangarajan & Shields, 2021). The researcher might be curious about a subject, explore it, and find ways of collecting information regarding that topic. For instance, a researcher might seek to find out more about internet addiction among teenagers.

I would be most interested in explanatory research. I like to find out the reasons behind things, and therefore making use of research that will help me understand the causes or effects of something will be highly beneficial. As a social worker, finding these reasons will help one develop appropriate methods of dealing with the problems.

References

Casula, M., Rangarajan, N., & Shields, P. (2021). The potential of working hypotheses for deductive exploratory research. Quality & Quantity, 55(5), 1703-1725.

Mauldin, R. L. (2020). Foundations of social work research. Mavs Open Press.

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What are the three types of research used in social work? Give examples of each of them. What type of research would you be most interested in?

Types of Research in Social Work

Note: The reading is chapter 4 of the textbook. Thank you