Social Work Research and the Analysis of Social Data. Social Work Division PDF
Preview Social Work Research and the Analysis of Social Data. Social Work Division
PERGAMON INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies the 1000-volume original paperback library in aid of education industrial training and the enjoyment of leisure Social Work Research and the Analysis of Social Data Publisher's Notice to Educators THE PERGAMON TEXTBOOK INSPECTION COPY SERVICE An inspection copy of any book suitable for use as a course text for under- graduate or graduate students will gladly be sent for consideration for adoption without obligation. Copies may be retained for a period of 30 days from receipt and returned if not suitable. When a particular title is adopted or recommended for adoption for class use and the recommendation results in a sale of 12 or more copies, the inspection copy may be retained with our compliments. If after examination the lecturer decides that the book is not suitable for adoption but would like to retain it for his personal library, then our Educators' Discount of 10% is allowed on the invoiced price. SOCIAL WORK DIVISION Genera/ Editor: JEAN P. NURSTEN Other Books In this Series DAY, P. R. Communication in Social MUNRO, A. & McCULLOCH, W. Psy- Work chiatry for Social Workers FOREN, R. & BAILEY, R. Authority in PRINS, H. A. & WHYTE, Μ. Β. H. Social Social Casework Work and Medical Practice HERAUD, B. J. Sociology and Social STROUD, J. Services for Children and Work their Families; Aspects of Child Care KENT, B. Social Work Supervision in for Social Workers Practice MCCULLOCH, J. T. & PHILIP, A. E. Suicidal Behaviour The terms of our inspection copy service apply to all the above books. A complete catalogue of all books in the Pergamon International Library is available on request Social Work Research and the Analysis of Social Data A. E. PHILIP Principal Clinical Psychologist, Banguor Village Hospital, Broxburn, West Lothian j. w. MCCULLOCH Director of Social Work Research Unit, School of Applied Social Studies, University of Bradford and N. J. SMITH Member of Social Work Research Unit, School of Applied Social Studies, University of Bradford P E R G A M ON PRESS OXFORD · NEW YORK · TORONTO SYDNEY · BRAUNSCHWEIG U. Κ. Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford, England U. S. A. Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, New York 10523, U.S.A. CANADA Pergamon of Canada Ltd., 207 Queen's Quay West, Toronto 1, Canada AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., 19a Boundary Street, Rushcutters Bay, N.S.W. 2011, Australia FRANCE Pergamon Press SARL, 24 rue des Ecoles, 75240 Paris, Cedex 06, France WESTGERMANY Pergamon Press GmbH, 3300 Braunschweig, Postfach 2923, Burgplatz 1, West Germany Copyright © 1975 A. E. Philip, J. W. McCulloch and N. J. Smith All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Pergamon Press Ltd. First edition 1975 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Philip, Alistair Ε Social work research and the analysis of social data (The Commonwealth and international library) Includes index. 1. Social work education. 2. Social service— Research. I. McCulloch, James Wallace, 1921- joint author. II. Smith, Norman James, joint author III. Title. HV11.P592 1975 361 74-32369 ISBN 0-08-018213-5 ISBN 0-08-018212-7 pbk. Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co., Exeter TO LORNA, ANNE A ND ROBIN Editor s Foreword THIS book is written mainly for social workers but those in teaching, counselling, and other helping professions will find it useful. It is a book on research which describes both methodology and data an- alysis in logical sequence which is necessary as a basis in order to embark on the application of scientific method to psycho-social problems. Research begins when we try to fit observed phenomena into a logical framework. Sometimes an element seems not to fit into such a scheme and it is an exception such as this that often receives most attention in the hope that examination of it will lead to its inclusion within the framework. For instance, to take an example which links the helping professions, it was the exceptions who did not respond to compulsory school attendance and who failed to conform to society's expectations which led to studies of unauthorised absence from school. The study of truancy revealed consistent patterns in those who were absenting themselves from the educational process but more detailed study again showed an exceptional minority who did not absent themselves from home while absenting themselves from school. Other research workers were then able to study elements within this group and it became possible to define a specific sort of absence which became known as school phobia. Samples of different "populations" could then be taken for examination and planned statistical studies could be made. Hypotheses could be formulated and validated, and definitive statements made. Conjunctions of factors could be observed which, when acting coincidentally, would bring about the condition. A scientific principle then could follow. This is of importance in itself and also gives impetus for other studies either in greater breadth or in more detail. Each stage in the research pro- cess builds on what has gone before and there need be no artificial split between problem formation, methodology and analysis of the data. ix χ Editor's Foreword For most professional people, whether in medicine, psychology, nursing, teaching, or social work, it is a major step to begin to undertake research. Yet each professional group needs soundly con- structed studies which help in expanding their knowledge which can then be put to use in the service of others. This book by no means underestimates the difficulty of this step but with it the step becomes possible to take. JEAN P. NURSTEN Acknowledgements WE would like to thank our typists, Mrs. E. Donaldson and Miss S. Hartley, for preparing the typescript of this book. We are grateful to Dr. P. G. Fawcett and to the Editor and publishers of the British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine for permission to incorporate the paper entitled "Some factors affecting the prevalence of stammering" in Chapter 13. xi Introduction THE field of social work is well endowed with theories which aim to account for why people behave as they do. Some theories, and indeed some parts of some theories, have greater practical utility than others. Unfortunately, each social worker has to find this out for herself, since theories are taught in vacuo without being put to the empirical test. The attitudes which social workers display towards statistics, or any move to count and measure what they do, may be seen as a consequence of, or a causal factor in, this position. Such attitudes are generally negative and can be viewed from different theoretical positions. From the Piagetian viewpoint this lack of numeracy would suggest that social workers utilise very basic concepts of number: one, two, a few, a lot. Freudian theory would suggest that such negative attitudes are irrational, emotionally charged and neurotic. In general learning theory terms such attitudes could be seen as learned responses which have been acquired. Although this negative attitude to numeracy has led social work to a position where theories appear to be more highly valued than empirically ascertained facts, it is only recently that it has been seen for what it is, a crippling handicap. Recent legislation has made it possible for social work to flourish as never before, but to do so it must compete with other personal and public services for its share of local authority funds. Some of the legislation has, indeed, made research mandatory, and social work directors have to produce facts and figures about their departments, where the demands for their services come from and how efficaciously they are dealt with. Where the spending of public money is concerned, facts speak more eloquently than theories. What we are suggesting here is that social workers, in order to advance their professional and theoretical aims, must work through any irrational attitudes towards counting and measuring. The proper xiii xiv Social Work Research use of descriptive and evaluative statistics can provide a body of empirical knowledge which complements and interacts with theory—both are necessary in any discipline. The statistical approach to human and social problems has a number of advantages which can profitably be utilised by those wishing to acquire a greater understanding of personal problems. Accurate description is essential to any discipline; mathematics and statistics, with their special kinds of words, more precise than others we use, permit exact description. Because the language of statistics is exact, those who use the language become more precise and definite when they consider any phenomena, even in non-statistical terms. If, for instance, an agency worker is attempting to compare the kinds of problems which come to her rather than to another agency, then before she can carry out the comparison, a statistical procedure, she must decide what kind of contact constitutes a case, which problems can be grouped together and which must be kept apart, and many similar decisions. The decision to use even simple "head-counting" in a number of categories leads to the need for precision in thinking about people. Statistics allow us to bring order to observations, to provide meaning- ful and convenient summaries of what has been done in an area. More important, we can use statistical techniques to go beyond mere des- cription and summary; we can make inferences about findings and make predictions about future events based on such inferences. Many public bodies, including social work agencies, produce masses of figures as part of annual reports and the like. Although such figures are often used to influence policy decisions, with even a modicum of more detailed analysis many more useful conclusions and predictions could be made. Knowledge of statistics should not be regarded as the province of a small body of research workers, it is something that every- one working in a profession which has its basis in social and behavioural science should know about. Even though a minority of social workers may conduct research, all social workers should be able to evaluate published research. In this book we will present all the basic procedures which a social worker would require to conduct or evaluate empirical enquiries, to test the veracity of theoretical propositions or to evaluate the efficacy of some aspects of her own work or other people's reported studies.
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