Cross-National Context and Qualitative Social Work Research

Abstract

In keeping with the above title, the following essay `works the boundaries' between a traditional book review and a commentary. Upon reading Ian Shaw and Nick Gould's book, Qualitative Research in Social Work (London: Sage, 2001), I was unable to resist the urge to further articulate my own perspective, and not only because the said perspective attracted firm opposition within its pages. The contributors to this volume share a collective vision of social work research that afforded an unprecedented opportunity for me to reflect upon the cross-national context of their (and my) ideas. I hope that this essay will promote further dialogue among colleagues near and far.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Baldwin, M. (1997) `Day Care on the Move: Learning from a Participative Action Research Project at a Day Center for People with Learning Difficulties' , British Journal of Social Work 27(6): 951-958 .

Bengtsson, J. (1995) `What is Reflection? On Reflection in the Teaching Profession and Teacher Education' , Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 1(1): 23-32 .

Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (eds) (2000) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .

Eraut, M. (1994) Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence. London: Falmer .

Gould, N. (1999) `Qualitative Practice Evaluation', in I. Shaw and J. Lishman (eds) Evaluation and Social Work Practice, pp. 63-80. London: Sage .

Ixer, G. (1999) `There's no Such Thing as Reflection' , British Journal of Social Work 29(4): 513-527 .

Padgett, D. K. (1998a) Qualitative Methods in Social Work Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .

Padgett, D. K. (1998b) `Does the Glove Really Fit? Qualitative Research and Clinical Social Work Practice' , Social Work 43(4): 373-381 .

Padgett, D. K. (ed.) (in press) The Qualitative Research Experience. Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning .

10.

Schon, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books .

11.

Sherman, E. and Reid, W. (eds) (1994) Qualitative Research in Social Work. New York: Columbia University Press .

12.

Wacquant, L. (2002) `Scrutinizing the Street: Poverty, Morality and the Pitfalls of Urban Ethnography' , American Journal of Sociology 107(6): 1468-1534 .