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Connecting practice research with the process of theorizing.
Michael J. Austin , University of California Berkeley Bowen McBeath , Portland State University Follow
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Research on Social Work Practice
Document Type
Publication date.
In this analysis, we contend that theorizing strengthens the connections between practice and research by requiring researchers to check their working assumptions, premises, conclusions, and implications for research, theory, and practice. Our exploration of the process of theorizing in practice research is rooted in the concept of “sensemaking” (Weick, 1995) whereby practice researchers engage in disciplined imagination by reflecting on diverse forms of evidence, being attentive to specific practices and problems, and moving between intuition and reasoned explanation. The analysis includes the following components: 1) tools for theorizing from research findings (abductive analysis and problematization), 2) processes for theorizing about practice research findings (focusing on practice, researcher repertoire, and theory development processes), 3) an example of theorizing from key findings, and 4) the construction of interventive theory. It concludes with implications for social work practice research.
Copyright © 2022, © SAGE Publications
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https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315221078961
10.1177/10497315221078961
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https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37402
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F10497315221078961
Citation Details
Austin, M. J., & McBeath, B. (2022). Connecting Practice Research With the Process of Theorizing. Research on Social Work Practice, 10497315221078961.
Since April 20, 2022
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Theorizing practice research in social work
- Department of Sociology and Social Work
Research output : Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
SP2 ranked #8 among Schools for Social Work by U.S News & World Report
Authored by: Juliana Rosati
Photography by: Krista Patton
Faculty & Research
Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) has been named #8 among Schools for Social Work in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings . This marks SP2’s highest ranking ever, and the second time that the School has appeared in the list’s top 10.
U.S. News periodically ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, health, and many other fields, based solely on academic experts’ ratings. The Best Schools for Social Work category is part of the U.S. News Best Health Schools ranking.
“At SP2, we prepare the next generation of social change agents to embrace the highest standards of research and practice, and to apply their knowledge and partnership where they are needed most in the world,” said SP2 Dean Sara “Sally” Bachman, PhD . “Within our unique, interdisciplinary school, students in social work programs learn alongside future policy makers and nonprofit leaders from our world-class faculty, in the setting of an urban, Ivy League university. We are proud that our commitment to a transformative education has resulted in a rise in the school of social work rankings.”
Dedicated to the passionate pursuit of social innovation, impact, and justice, SP2 offers five top-ranked, highly respected degree programs: Master of Social Work , Doctorate in Clinical Social Work , PhD in Social Welfare , Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership , and Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) . For students interested in enhancing their MSSP with a certificate in data analytics, SP2 also offers the MSSP Program + Data Analytics for Social Policy Certificate .
SP2’s transdisciplinary centers and initiatives yield innovative ideas and better ways to shape policy and service delivery in a number of research areas: children, women, and family well-being; climate inequality; data-driven policy analysis and evidence-based practice; economic security; health equity, mental health, and aging; identity, immigration, and racism; mass incarceration, homelessness, and substance use; and social innovation, philanthropy, and nonprofit management.
SP2 also offers a range of certificate programs and dual degrees and engages in many collaborations with Penn’s eleven other schools.
Sara S. Bachman, PhD
office: 215.898.5512
fax: 215.573.2099
deansoffice@sp2.upenn.edu
Office of the Vice President for Research
Photo recap: spring undergraduate research festival showcases students working in a range of disciplines.
The smell of popcorn filled the air as undergraduates lined the walkways of the University Capitol Center, showcasing their research and scholarship for campus and community members at the 20 th annual Spring Undergraduate Research Festival on Wednesday, April 3.
The event, hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), featured nearly 150 student researchers presenting work ranging from creating virtual reality performances of Shakespeare to investigating novel drug delivery methods to treat bladder cancer. Volunteer evaluators, recruited from campus and community, chatted with students about their work and provided valuable feedback. The festival also included a new exhibit hall, which provided space for students with three-dimensional objects as part of their portfolio of work.
“Our undergraduate research festivals provide students a valuable opportunity to practice communicating their scholarship with audiences unfamiliar with their chosen discipline,” said Bob Kirby, OUR director. “These events also give our campus community an opportunity to find inspiration in the ingenuity and work ethic of these students.” He added that the festival was largest ever in terms of student presenters and attendees.
One in three undergraduates participates in research by the time that they graduate from the University of Iowa. The Spring Undergraduate Research Festival program of presenters and program of abstracts are available on the OUR website. OUR, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research, hosts two undergraduate research festivals each year, one in fall and one in spring.
- News & Events
Scholars Head to Philly for AERA 2024
The world’s largest education research conference, organized around the theme “ Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action , offers more than 2,500 sessions, including 38 presidential events, giving scholars a chance to discuss, debate, and network in a town known for Cheesesteaks and Brotherly Love.
Columbia University’s Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, a pioneering scholar and writer who coined the term “intersectionality” to describe the double bind of simultaneous racial and gender prejudice, will deliver the opening keynote on Thursday, April 11.
View all School of Education and Social Policy presenters and participants.
Other highlights:
- Jones Lecture: James Spillane, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change, will deliver the Helen DeVitt Jones Lecture in Teacher Education. In his talk, “Re-Imagining Teacher Professional Learning” Spillane will explain why marshaling and mobilizing essential resources for teaching and teacher learning are a systemwide challenge. Saturday, April 13 at 2:30 p.m. at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Floor: Level 5, Salon D
- Don't Miss: Shirin Vossoughi is participating in a Presidential Session honoring the life and work of Mike Rose, a research professor at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies who devoted his life to building a democratic education for all youth. Vossoughi is currently teaching a graduate class with 26 students across both human development and social policy and learning sciences based on his UCLA course. The session, on Friday, April 12 at 3:05 p.m., is titled "Scholarship That Befits a Democracy: Disrupting Educational Inequality Through the Scholarship of Mike Rose."
- Presidential Sessions: Megan Bang, professor of learning sciences, is a panelist in "Intersectional Organizing, Solidarity-Building, and Educational Justice: A Town Hall Conversation with Scholars and Community Organizers" on Friday, April 12 at 4:55 p.m. Carol Lee, professor emerita and president of the National Academy of Education, will be at “The 27th Conversations with Senior Scholars on Advancing Research and Professional Development Related to Black Education” on Saturday, April 13 at 3:05 p.m.
- New AERA fellows: Bang and Elizabeth Tipton, who holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Education and Social Policy, will be inducted as 2024 AERA Fellows during the annual meeting.
- Brayboy Joins AERA Board: Carlos Montezuma Professor and Dean Bryan Brayboy was elected to the American Educational Research Association's council and executive board. At AERA, he’ll be involved in discussions around opportunities for federal research funding, research-policy collaborations for climate education and findings from a study of Indigenous-language immersion schooling.
- Undergraduate presentation: Spencer Cook, who is studying social policy and legal studies, is presenting at the undergrad student education research training workshop. Theh paper, a case study on bridging research and practice in rural areas using a scientific learning community, stems from his work as a research assistant with the (Cynthia) Coburn Lab and as a summer fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. He’s also participating in the Undergraduate Poster Session. “ I can't think of a better capstone event for my academic journey here at Northwestern,” he said.
- Dissertation recognition: Angel Bohannon (PhD23) a research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago, was runner-up for the 2023 LSI SIG Dissertation of the Year Award. She also coauthored “Hidden in Plain Sight: Theorizing Latent Use as a Form of Research Use” with Cynthia Coburn and James Spillane. It was published in the American Educational Research Journal.
- Clark Graduate Seminar: Andrew Stein and Karla Thomas were selected for the David L. Clark Graduate Seminar in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the annual meeting.
- Graduate students at AERA: Lara Altman, Jennifer Cowhy, Claire Mackevicius, Melanie Muskin, and Andrew Stein, from the Human Development and Social Policy program; Bradley Davey, Teyona James Harris, Charles Logan, Jessica Marshall, Miguel Angel Ovies-bocanegra, and Topham Taylor from the Learning Sciences program; Stephanie Jones, Nicholas Lagrassa, and Natalie Melo from the Computer Science + Learning Sciences doctoral program.
- Alumni participants: Eleanor Anderson, University of Pittsburgh; Megan Bang, Northwestern; Sugat Dabholkar, Tufts University; Ravit Golan Duncan Rutgers; Cassandra Hart, University of California-Davis; Victor Lee Stanford University; Mollie McQuillan, University of Wisconsin Madison; Heather McCambly, University of Pittsburgh; Meixi, University of Minnesota; Julissa Muñiz, University of California Santa Cruz; Kalonji Nzinga, University of Colorado-Boulder; Nichole Pinkard, Northwestern; Aireale Joi Rodgers, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Abigail Stein, Carnegie Melon University; Carrie Tzou, University of Washington-Bothell; Elizabeth van Es, University of California, Irvine; Samantha Viano, George Mason University; and Cora Wigger, Elon University.
- Mingle with Colleagues! The SESP community AERA reception will be April 11 at 6:30 p.m. at The Morris. RSVP here.
- Philly Cheesesteak v. Chicago Hot Dog? Dean Brayboy hasn’t yet had a Chicago dog (!) so he is going with “ a Geno’s cheesesteak. “Only by omission,” he says diplomatically. “I’m cool with Pat’s (King of Steaks) cheesesteaks as well.”
- Spread the word on social. If you're still on X, tell us what you're learning at the conference. Use the hashtags #AERA2024 and #SESPLove.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
To elaborate and define practice research in social work, it is necessary to consider connected approaches and theories. The article will show that practice research is both connected to and can use the theoretical frames of Actual science and Mode 2 knowledge production. To understand and develop research closely connected to practice it is ...
Abstract. In this analysis, we contend that theorizing strengthens the connections between practice and research by requiring researchers to check their working assumptions, premises, conclusions, and implications for research, theory, and practice. Our exploration of the process of theorizing in practice research is rooted in the concept of ...
To elaborate and define practice research in social work, it is necessary to consider connected approaches and theories. The article will show that practice research is both connected to and can use the theoretical frames of Actual science and Mode 2 knowledge production. To understand and develop research closely connected to practice it is ...
Request PDF | Theorizing practice research in social work | The article focuses on theories, definitions, interests, possibilities and barriers in practice research in social work. It points out ...
In Finland, the approach was infl uenced by the economic downturn in the 1980s and 1990s. In this period, social work development and social work research took place in the municipalities. The economic crises prompted local authorities to focus on basic social work initiatives, not development or research.
Fook J (2002) Theorizing from practice: Towards an inclusive approach for social work research. Qualitative Social Work 1(1): 79−95. Crossref. ... Research on Social Work Practice 23(2): 157−166. Crossref. Google Scholar. Gubrium JF, Holstein JA (1997) The New Language of Qualitative Method. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Theorizing from Practice: Towards an Inclusive Approach for Social Work Research. March 2002. Qualitative Social Work 1 (1):79-95. DOI: 10.1177/147332500200100106. Authors: J. Fook. To read the ...
Research on Social Work Practice 32(3):104973152210789; DOI:10.1177 ... Our exploration of the process of theorizing in practice research is rooted in the concept of "sensemaking" ( Weick ...
Theories and Approaches in Social Work Practice Research If we want scientific knowledge, and especially empirical evidence, to play an effective role in professional action, then we have to focus on the contexts where the processes of generating knowledge for action actually take shape, that is, on the organizations engaged in social work
He recently completed research with mainstream practitioners in two European welfare states to identify the most effective strategies of prevention that can be integrated with protection plans. He is currently writing up research on resilience in social work, undertaking further research on prevention and exploring the 'theorizing practice' debate.
Austin, M. J., & McBeath, B. (2022). Connecting Practice Research With the Process of Theorizing. Research on Social Work Practice, 10497315221078961. In this analysis, we contend that theorizing strengthens the connections between practice and research by requiring researchers to check their working assumptions, premises, conclusions, and ...
To elaborate and define practice research in social work, it is necessary to consider connected approaches and theories. The article will show that practice research is both connected to and can use the theoretical frames of Actual science and Mode 2 knowledge production. To understand and develop research closely connected to practice it is ...
approach best fits the range of practice which social workers wish to research, but that it must include research of the 'tacit' knowledge of practitioners. KEY WORDS: knowledge building practice research theorizing 79 80 Qualitative Social Work 1(1) How do we theorize from practice, and what are the best methods to use?
Abstract. Practitioner researchers often experience difficulties in understanding and using the plethora of approaches to the ways in which practice can be theorized, and mistakenly feel they must be committed to one main approach. In this article I argue that an inclusive approach to the many different methods is crucial to social work.
Theorizing from Practice. J. Fook. Published 1 March 2002. Sociology, Education. Qualitative Social Work. Practitioner researchers often experience difficulties in understanding and using the plethora of approaches to the ways in which practice can be theorized, and mistakenly feel they must be committed to one main approach.
Theorizing from Practice: Towards an Inclusive Approach for Social Work Research. March 2002. Qualitative Social Work 1 (1):79-95. DOI: 10.1177/1473325002001001746. Authors: Jan Fook. Kingston ...
In social work, theory and practice are inextricably linked. This ground-breaking book explores the ways in which theory informs practice and how practice can test and inform theory. With the help of detailed explanations, practitioner quotes and case examples, Neil Thompson guides the reader through the process of 'theorizing practice' clearly and accessibly.
Abstract. Practitioner researchers often experience difficulties in understanding and using the plethora of approaches to the ways in which practice can be theorized, and mistakenly feel they must be committed to one main approach. In this article I argue that an inclusive approach to the many different methods is crucial to social work.
Neil Thompson. Theorizing Social Work Practice Neil Thompson This important new text from Neil Thompson explores the relationship between social work theory and social work practice in a way that promotes reflective practice and identifies the value and limitations of different theoretical positions from an applied perspective.
PDF | On Aug 25, 2016, Michelle van der Tier and others published Theorizing social work practice. The Program Theory as a conceptual framework. | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ...
Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) has been named #8 among Schools for Social Work in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings.This marks SP2's highest ranking ever, and the second time that the School has appeared in the list's top 10.
Theorizing Social Work Practice. N. Thompson. Published 15 March 2010. Sociology. Introduction PART I: MAKING SENSE OF THEORY Introduction: Theory into Practice The Role of Theory Theory and Postmodernism Practices Redefined Conclusion PART II: MAKING SENSE OF PRACTICE Introduction: Dimensions of the Social Work World The Person Interpersonal ...
The smell of popcorn filled the air as undergraduates lined the walkways of the University Capitol Center, showcasing their research and scholarship for campus and community members at the 20 th annual Spring Undergraduate Research Festival on Wednesday, April 3.. The event, hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), featured nearly 150 student researchers presenting work ranging ...
Practitioner researchers often experience difficulties in understanding and using the plethora of approaches to the ways in which practice can be theorized, and mistakenly feel they must be committed to one main approach. In this article I argue that an inclusive approach to the many different methods is crucial to social work. I develop this approach by describing, in broad terms, the major ...
Theories of social work are broadly categorized into two types. The first one relates to theories that help social workers to understand individuals and their problems in various settings such as ...
Undergraduate presentation: Spencer Cook, who is studying social policy and legal studies, is presenting at the undergrad student education research training workshop. Theh paper, a case study on bridging research and practice in rural areas using a scientific learning community, stems from his work as a research assistant with the (Cynthia ...