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Getting to the Source: The Importance of Field Research

An academic and intellectual decline is inevitable without a post-pandemic revival of fieldwork.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 / By: Alastair Reed, Ph.D. ;  Boglarka Bozsogi

Publication Type: Analysis

Travel restrictions and social distancing practices put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have largely ground field research to a halt. Fieldwork plays an essential but often underappreciated role in both understanding violent extremism and developing policy responses to it. It is vital, therefore, that funders and policymakers support the return of such important work in a post-pandemic world.

Fieldwork brings important local perspectives to the fore, helping to contextualize conflicts within their wider ecosystems and societal and cultural realities. This forces researchers to challenge their preconceptions and theoretical assumptions as they come face to face with the realities on the ground. And, perhaps most importantly, fieldwork brings to life the human dimension — the human suffering and resilience of the communities affected by violence and the motivations and drivers of the violent actors.

Without understanding the view from the ground, we will continue to struggle to understand violent extremism and develop effective policy responses. 

The Human Side

As many field researchers will admit, there is something about the smell and feel of a place that being on the ground provides and that reading reports and analyzing data cannot capture. On the ground, a researcher has the opportunity to diversify their primary sources and data. They can also better appreciate and absorb the context of the conflict. Without understanding the human side, the unique cultural and societal setting and the physical geography and climate, which together forge the contours within which the violence evolves, we can only have a partial understanding of the conflict ecosystem.

“The value of engagement with human beings cannot be underestimated,” Haroro Ingram, a senior research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University and member of the RESOLVE Research Advisory Council, told a recent RESOLVE Forum session.

Absorbing the context can help the researcher understand and interpret the collected data, but also to reinterpret what they learned from desk-based studies. The subjective experience of sharing is humbling; it offers an intellectual appreciation not only of the complexity on the ground but also of the breadth and depth of the literature and its gaps.

Researchers are only human and bring along preconceived perceptions, biases and assumptions — implicit or explicit — internalized from academic literature and media reports. Seeing the realities on the ground forces them to confront these preconceived assumptions and challenge, reinterpret or discard them. Theoretical explanations and conceptual analysis can only be tested when applied against the world they purport to explain. Field research gives us a chance to improve and develop our understanding, and a chance to glimpse the unknown unknowns, the missing factors that we cannot see or conceive from our academic ivory towers.

It is easy to overlook the human side — the victims of violence and conflict-affected communities that bear the brunt of the human tragedy of extremism — when researching a conflict from a distance. Observing and talking to the most affected communities reminds us of the horrors of war and the depths of depravity humanity can sink to. However, it also brings to light the human side of violent actors on all sides, an insight into the motivations and drivers that led them down the path to violence. Conflicts are ultimately about people; attempts to understand conflicts need to start with understanding the people that drive them. To do that, field researchers need to adopt a methodical approach, informed by the literature, and ensure their research and findings are triangulated, ethical and trustworthy.

“Mindanao, in the last 50 years, has experienced cycles of failed peace processes that international actors tried to support with a top-down understanding, often from a distance, in the absence of genuine bottom-up, grassroot perspectives,” said Ingram, who focuses his field research on the Middle East and Southeast Asia. “Since the most important actors in the grassroots population do not have electricity, let alone internet, the only effective outreach is getting to the source to build trust, engage with communities respectfully and learn of cultural subtleties through conversations. Collaborative effort, trust and the contribution to research can create actionable, nuanced and effective recommendations for policy and practice,” he added.

Contextual Understanding

Field research strengthens academic rigor, theories and methodologies, complements desk research and brings a different vantage point to understanding conflict. One constant risk in academic research is the tendency to be reductionist, and to focus on an isolated issue and miss the dynamic connections between it and its wider context. It can be appealing to zoom in on a particular violent extremist group and examine a singular aspect, such as ideology and group dynamics, rather than to see it as part of a complex ecosystem and dynamic processes. Conflict contexts often comprise multiple, interlinked armed actors, all influenced by and influencing each other. These contexts are further complicated by cross-cutting dynamics of ethnic, customary, kinship or religious dimensions.

Field research contextualizes the conflict and the issues that matter, helps understand drivers and motivations behind conflict actors and breaks free of embedded preconceptions. It can bring to life the unseen complexities: policemen fighting rebelling siblings, women fleeing insurgent cousins, parents losing children to armed groups, government officials persecuting family members as non-state actors. “People often said: ‘My brother joined that armed group, my cousin is in the police force,’” said Ingram, recalling conversations with locals in conflict areas that may seem, on the surface, to be absurd but that actually reflect a sober, clinical rational choice decision-making. Conflict ecosystems are invariably messy, counterintuitive and seemingly incomprehensible, yet remain the reality we seek to understand.

Sukanya Podder, defense studies senior lecturer at King’s College London and member of the RESOLVE Research Advisory Council, who also participated in the RESOLVE Forum session, conducted research in Mindanao, the Philippines, and Liberia where she focused on children and young people recruited into armed groups. Observing youth relationships with families and commanders in their communities, she was able to break free of preconceptions from media imagery and simplistic assumptions that children join community-based armed groups because they are drugged. Her fieldwork unearthed much more diverse motivations and choices: many children chose to join or decided to refrain of their own will.

Ethics and Safety

With any type of research, ethics and safety must be paramount. Fieldwork poses distinct challenges for each venue, context and participant. “Do no harm” should be the central principle of fieldwork planning to ensure the safety and integrity of researchers, respondents and their communities. Research fatigue is a growing issue that has negative implications on the quality of data. If respondents are wary about the benefits of research and are hesitant to participate, the authenticity of results is harder to determine. Researchers must be careful not to instrumentalize fieldwork and budget enough time and resources for in-depth quality research to produce authentic, reliable and valid data; this data should be periodically updated.

Getting approval from institutional review boards for fieldwork can often be challenging, and rightly so, but this rigor helps researchers address potential challenges and ensure the integrity of their research. While standards procedures, bureaucratic processes, reviews, clearances and preparations may seem taxing, they are indispensable for rich contributions of the highest integrity.  

Strengthening Research and Policy

The effectiveness and ultimate success — however we choose to measure it — of policy approaches to countering violent extremism depend on a thorough understanding of the phenomenon they try to address. Sound research should be the rock on which good policy is built. Podder’s research in West Africa has informed disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs with a nuanced understanding of the implications of different types of armed groups. Returnees from community-based armed groups or community defense groups found reintegration less problematic, as reconciliation could be locally administered through local, tribal judicial processes. Such findings from field research can avoid wasting money on programs that cannot yield the desired outcome.

Our understanding of violent extremism has benefitted from an interdisciplinary research field where each discipline and method, qualitative and quantitative, brings a new lens to gathering and analyzing data. Collectively, this cross-pollination of research methods has allowed us to see further than one approach alone ever could. Within a complementary and overlapping web of methods, fieldwork has an important but sometimes overlooked role to play. Without a post-pandemic revival of fieldwork, an academic and intellectual decline is inevitable.

Boglarka Bozsogi is executive coordination and network manager at the RESOLVE Network housed at USIP. 

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More From Forbes

The why of work: purpose and meaning really do matter.

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People are more likely to thrive when their work has clear purpose and meaning.

It’s a question all of us should ask ourselves. Why do we do what we do? In particular, why do we do the work that, for many of us, occupies most of our waking hours for our entire adult lives?

Ralph Waldo Emerson left us a quote worthy of one of those inspirational wall posters: “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

That thought may feel warm and fuzzy, but the question remains: Why do we do the work we do?

David and Wendy Ulrich address that and many related issues in The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win .

David Ulrich, professor of business at the University of Michigan, has authored or coauthored more than 30 books that have shaped the human resources profession and the field of leadership development. Wendy Ulrich is a psychologist, educator and writer with a passion for helping people create healthy relationships and meaning-rich lives.

I visited with this dynamic duo to explore their thinking on issues affecting engagement, productivity, and—yes—purpose and meaning in the workplace.

Rodger Dean Duncan: In the context of meaning in the workplace, how do you define abundance?

David and Wendy Ulrich

David Ulrich: Abundance is to have a fullness (e.g., an abundant harvest) or to live life to its fullest (e.g., an abundant life).

An abundant organization enables its employees to be completely fulfilled by finding meaning and purpose from their work experience. This meaning enables employees to have personal hope for the future and create value for customers and investors. When we ask people how the feel about their work, we can quickly get a sense of how work helps them fulfill the things that matter most in their lives.

Duncan: You point out that meaning and abundance are more about what we do with what we have than about what we have to begin with or what we accumulate. How can a leader persuade people to adopt that viewpoint and to “operationalize” it in the workplace?

Wendy Ulrich: Clearly this won’t fly if a leader is trying to talk people into ignoring bad working conditions when something could be done to change them. But I learned long ago with therapy clients that their misery often had less to do with their circumstances and more to do with what they told themselves those circumstances meant about them. (“This means I’ll never be happy …. my future is hopeless ... people don’t like me ... I’ll never succeed.”) Fortunately, even when we cannot change our circumstances, we do control what we tell ourselves those circumstances mean about us. Checking out what is real, changing the story, seeing a different perspective, or getting creative can turn a problem into an opportunity.

Duncan: How can an organization institutionalize, not merely individualize, abundance and meaning in the workplace?

D. Ulrich: The concept of abundant organizations draws on many diverse literatures related to the employee experience at work: positive psychology, high performing teams, culture, commitment, learning, civility, growth mindset. By distilling these literatures, we identified seven principles of the abundant organization (identity, purpose, relationships/teamwork, positive work environment, personalizing work, resilience/growth, and delight/civility). These principles are institutionalized into organizations by designing and delivering HR practices around people, performance, information, and work that enable organizations to create a personality that outlasts any single individual.

Duncan: You say leaders are meaning makers. In terms of observable behaviors, what does that look like?

W. Ulrich: People find meaning when they see a clear connection between what they highly value and what they spend time doing. That connection is not always obvious, however. Leaders are in a great position to articulate the values a company is trying to enact and to shape the story of how today’s work connects with those values. This means sharing stories of how the company is making a difference for good in the lives of real people, including customers, employees, and communities.

Leaders operationalize that by formally and informally sharing those stories, speaking passionately about what the company stands for and sharing personal lessons learned in that process. Leaders can involve employees in both articulating those values and creating plans to act on them. One way to make those stories come alive is to bring in people who have been helped by the company’s products or services and letting them share their stories. We are usually pretty good at sharing financial data. Often more motivating to employees are stories about human impact.

Open the door to employee engagement.

Duncan: As the story goes, people feel differently about the meaning of their work if they see themselves as bricklayers rather than as building a cathedral to God. What can leaders (and individuals) do to make work more about cathedral-building?

D. Ulrich: There is an old fable of the three bricklayers all working on the same wall. Someone asked the bricklayers, “What you are doing?” The first said “I am laying bricks”; the second bricklayer replied, “I am building a wall”; and the third answered, “I am building a great cathedral for God.” The third had a vision of how the daily tasks of laying bricks fit into a broader, more meaningful purpose. Likewise, employees who envision the outcomes of their daily routines find more meaning from doing them. I am not just presenting a lecture as I teach, but preparing the next generation of business leaders.

Duncan: What advice do you give workers who don’t have a charismatic leader who pushes an abundance agenda? What can they do to flourish?

D. Ulrich: Martin Seligman’s exceptional book Flourish suggests that employees can acquire a most positive outlook on their work by having Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments (what he calls PERMA). When employees take personal accountability for creating these attributes (which relate to our seven dimensions of abundance) they do not depend on the leader, but themselves for their work experience. Leaders matter to employee experience, but employee responsibility for the experience matters more. Children mature when they no longer depend on parents to provide all their needs. Likewise, mature employees become agents for their own development.

Duncan: In the spirit of the Olympic athlete in Chariots of Fire , how can a person find abundant forms of accomplishment? (Insight, Achievement, Connection, Empowerment)

D. Ulrich: Defining what matters most or what success looks like is an easy question that is not simple to answer. Success varies by person and over time for any individual person. Olympic athletes like Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire fame, started with success in his achievements (I can run fast enough to win the medal), but then morphed to insight (I run to find the pleasure God granted me), and ultimately to empower others (I can help others run to find their purpose). Likewise, an employee can continually ask “what do I want” and “how do I define success.” These reflection questions help s take personal accountability for their work and personal lives.

Duncan: Gallup research shows that employees who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be highly engaged at work than those who don’t. What can be done to create a workplace that fosters those kinds of relationships?

W. Ulrich: Plenty!

• Leaders can model healthy relationships at work.
• They can encourage people to get to know each other by making time, space, and resources available for them to do so.
• They can try to catch people in the act of being nice, thanking and encouraging them.
• They can set up ways to teach and coach people in the skills of good relating, such as good listening, being curious about others, apologizing effectively, controlling anger, and letting go of slights—some of the specific skills people can learn and practice that will help them enjoy others and be easier to like.

People with the skills to create and maintain friendship will likely experience less stress at home, increased effectiveness with customers, and improved communications throughout the organization.

Duncan: What role does personal humility play in a leader’s ability to inspire others and create meaning in the workplace?

W. Ulrich: Recent work by Dacher Keltner at UC Berkeley on the dynamics of power is fascinating in this regard. He found that people are most likely to rise to power when they have qualities like kindness, good listening, concern for the greater good, enthusiasm, focus, high empathy, and humility. He also found that once people are in power positions, those qualities too often take a back seat to self-entitlement, indifference to the plight of others, negative interruptions in conversation, and ignoring even basic politeness.

When a leader manages to hold on to his or her humanity and humility even when in the power seat, modeling the highest ideals we have for ourselves as human beings, others want to join that team. Humility is at the heart of a growth mindset that encourages and models learning instead of defensiveness in the face of setbacks, paving the way for creativity and resilience.

Duncan: Conflict, even if rare, is inevitable in most any work setting. What have you seen as best practices in addressing conflict so the “why” of work is appropriately reinforced?

W. Ulrich: Conflict is not only inevitable, it is valuable, bringing problems to light and different viewpoints to bear on problems. But conflict can also be destructive if not handled with fairness, respect, and good will.

When there’s a problem it’s almost always best to bring it up in a straightforward way directly with the person involved. If we are contemptuous, critical, or cruel we can expect to get defensiveness and anger in return. If we are calm, curious, and compassionate as we try to both explain our point of view and listen to others, conflict can help us get to better outcomes for all. It’s amazing how healing it can be to simply feel genuinely heard and cared about and to receive a respectful apology. Most people will listen if they don’t feel threatened or attacked.

Duncan: How can people find intrinsic value in their work if it’s not readily apparent to them?

W. Ulrich: Take a careful look at your deepest values for how to treat other people (especially in the face of disagreement), what matters most in life, what problems you like to solve or want to solve, or what personal strengths are most meaningful to you to contribute to others. Then actively look for ways to live those values, even in small ways, in the everyday work you do.

Living with meaning and purpose is not easy. It may not make us happy in the moment. It requires self-reflection, effort, getting our hands dirty, and struggling with problems that can make us feel frustrated and inadequate. But when we connect with people, remember humor and playfulness, practice creativity and resilience, and go into work situations with a plan, we’ll find ample opportunities to practice the values and skills that get us closer to what we want our lives to stand for. That’s the intrinsic value of our work.

Duncan: How should leaders serve as models for meaning in the workplace?

D. Ulrich: When we ask workshop participants to identify leaders who shaped their lives, everyone can quickly name someone. These leaders generally model the principles of abundance in their personal lives and work to instill them in others. Leaders who are meaning-makers are acutely aware of how their good intentions need to show up in good behaviors; how their daily interactions need to reflect their personal values; and how their job as a leader is not just to be personally authentic, but to help others develop their authenticity.

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What Makes Work Meaningful?

• Evgenia I. Lysova,
• Luke Fletcher,
• Sabrine El Baroudi

Research shows that being more aware of yourself and your surroundings is key.

How do you make your work more meaningful? Prior studies have focused on understanding the factors that contribute to making work meaningful overall, such as having more autonomy or being able to job craft. But these are individual actions that don’t easily translate into how we experience meaningfulness every day. It can also be difficult for early career professionals as you can’t just decide to drop every uninspiring task from your to-do list in an attempt to experience more meaning in your role.

• Research shows that being in a state of awareness can help. In a state of awareness (of yourself and your wider work environment), people are more willing and able to be creative in how they think and deal with challenges and other work-related problems. Awareness also helps you come up with better solutions, interpret signals from others around you, and adapt to changing circumstances. This, in turn, can facilitate a sense of meaning because it enables you to think and behave in ways that help you see the value, worth, and impact within everyday work tasks and interactions.
• To become more aware, start by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness helps us learn to recognize and acknowledge what’s going on in the mind, moment by moment, increases awareness, and decreases rumination. It also promotes cognitive flexibility, all of which lead to greater meaning-making.
• Journaling is a great way to build awareness into your everyday work life. Before you end the day, ask yourself, “What did I find meaningful today,” and write it down. You can do this not only for yourself but also for your colleagues. Consider weaving awareness into group discussions and conversations at work.
• Investing more in one’s relationships is important to feel happy and fulfilled at work, as our findings suggest. As an individual, you can respectfully engage with others at work through active listening and showing appreciation. These behaviors could then also enable greater psychological safety in the work environment as they help promote a sense of belonging at work that prior research shows is critical for meaningfulness

We all search for meaning in our lives, and many of us find it through our work . In fact, research shows that meaningfulness is more important to us than any other aspect of our jobs — including pay and rewards, opportunities for promotion, and working conditions. When we experience our work as meaningful, we’re more engaged, committed, and satisfied. When we don’t, we’re more willing to quit , and this is especially true for younger workers .

• Evgenia I. Lysova an Associate Professor in Organizational Behavior at the Management and Organization department of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her main research interests concern the topic of meaningful work, work as a calling, careers, and Corporate Social Responsibility. She is on a mission to enable and sustain greater experiences of meaningfulness in individuals’ work and careers with the help of organizations.
• LF Luke Fletcher is an Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at the University of Bath’s School of Management, UK. His research interests span both organizational psychology and strategic human resource management, and include topics such as meaningful work, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and LGBT+ workers.
• SB Sabrine El Baroudi is an Assistant Professor in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the Department of Management and Organization, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is also a director of the VU Knowledge Hub for Feedback Culture. Her main research interests are proactive work and career behaviors, feedback, meaningful work, and other (green) HRM-related topics. She is particularly interested in examining how these topics influence performance and work behaviors at different organizational levels; that is, individual, team, and organizational levels.

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What Is the Importance of Research? 5 Reasons Why Research is Critical

by Logan Bessant | Nov 16, 2021 | Science

Most of us appreciate that research is a crucial part of medical advancement. But what exactly is the importance of research? In short, it is critical in the development of new medicines as well as ensuring that existing treatments are used to their full potential. 

Research can bridge knowledge gaps and change the way healthcare practitioners work by providing solutions to previously unknown questions.

In this post, we’ll discuss the importance of research and its impact on medical breakthroughs.  

The Importance Of Health Research

The purpose of studying is to gather information and evidence, inform actions, and contribute to the overall knowledge of a certain field. None of this is possible without research. 

Understanding how to conduct research and the importance of it may seem like a very simple idea to some, but in reality, it’s more than conducting a quick browser search and reading a few chapters in a textbook. 

No matter what career field you are in, there is always more to learn. Even for people who hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in their field of study, there is always some sort of unknown that can be researched. Delving into this unlocks the unknowns, letting you explore the world from different perspectives and fueling a deeper understanding of how the universe works.

To make things a little more specific, this concept can be clearly applied in any healthcare scenario. Health research has an incredibly high value to society as it provides important information about disease trends and risk factors, outcomes of treatments, patterns of care, and health care costs and use. All of these factors as well as many more are usually researched through a clinical trial. 

What Is The Importance Of Clinical Research?

Clinical trials are a type of research that provides information about a new test or treatment. They are usually carried out to find out what, or if, there are any effects of these procedures or drugs on the human body. 

All legitimate clinical trials are carefully designed, reviewed and completed, and need to be approved by professionals before they can begin. They also play a vital part in the advancement of medical research including:

• Providing new and good information on which types of drugs are more effective.  
• Bringing new treatments such as medicines, vaccines and devices into the field. 
• Testing the safety and efficacy of a new drug before it is brought to market and used in clinical practice.
• Giving the opportunity for more effective treatments to benefit millions of lives both now and in the future. 
• Enhancing health, lengthening life, and reducing the burdens of illness and disability. 

This all plays back to clinical research as it opens doors to advancing prevention, as well as providing treatments and cures for diseases and disabilities. Clinical trial volunteer participants are essential to this progress which further supports the need for the importance of research to be well-known amongst healthcare professionals, students and the general public. 

Five Reasons Why Research is Critical

Research is vital for almost everyone irrespective of their career field. From doctors to lawyers to students to scientists, research is the key to better work. 

• Increases quality of life

 Research is the backbone of any major scientific or medical breakthrough. None of the advanced treatments or life-saving discoveries used to treat patients today would be available if it wasn’t for the detailed and intricate work carried out by scientists, doctors and healthcare professionals over the past decade. 

This improves quality of life because it can help us find out important facts connected to the researched subject. For example, universities across the globe are now studying a wide variety of things from how technology can help breed healthier livestock, to how dance can provide long-term benefits to people living with Parkinson’s. 

For both of these studies, quality of life is improved. Farmers can use technology to breed healthier livestock which in turn provides them with a better turnover, and people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease can find a way to reduce their symptoms and ease their stress. 

Research is a catalyst for solving the world’s most pressing issues. Even though the complexity of these issues evolves over time, they always provide a glimmer of hope to improving lives and making processes simpler. 

• Builds up credibility 

People are willing to listen and trust someone with new information on one condition – it’s backed up. And that’s exactly where research comes in. Conducting studies on new and unfamiliar subjects, and achieving the desired or expected outcome, can help people accept the unknown.

However, this goes without saying that your research should be focused on the best sources. It is easy for people to poke holes in your findings if your studies have not been carried out correctly, or there is no reliable data to back them up. 

This way once you have done completed your research, you can speak with confidence about your findings within your field of study. 

• Drives progress forward 

It is with thanks to scientific research that many diseases once thought incurable, now have treatments. For example, before the 1930s, anyone who contracted a bacterial infection had a high probability of death. There simply was no treatment for even the mildest of infections as, at the time, it was thought that nothing could kill bacteria in the gut.

When antibiotics were discovered and researched in 1928, it was considered one of the biggest breakthroughs in the medical field. This goes to show how much research drives progress forward, and how it is also responsible for the evolution of technology . 

Today vaccines, diagnoses and treatments can all be simplified with the progression of medical research, making us question just what research can achieve in the future. 

• Engages curiosity 

The acts of searching for information and thinking critically serve as food for the brain, allowing our inherent creativity and logic to remain active. Aside from the fact that this curiosity plays such a huge part within research, it is also proven that exercising our minds can reduce anxiety and our chances of developing mental illnesses in the future. 

Without our natural thirst and our constant need to ask ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ many important theories would not have been put forward and life-changing discoveries would not have been made. The best part is that the research process itself rewards this curiosity. 

Research opens you up to different opinions and new ideas which can take a proposed question and turn into a real-life concept. It also builds discerning and analytical skills which are always beneficial in many career fields – not just scientific ones. 

• Increases awareness 

The main goal of any research study is to increase awareness, whether it’s contemplating new concepts with peers from work or attracting the attention of the general public surrounding a certain issue. 

Around the globe, research is used to help raise awareness of issues like climate change, racial discrimination, and gender inequality. Without consistent and reliable studies to back up these issues, it would be hard to convenience people that there is a problem that needs to be solved in the first place. 

The problem is that social media has become a place where fake news spreads like a wildfire, and with so many incorrect facts out there it can be hard to know who to trust. Assessing the integrity of the news source and checking for similar news on legitimate media outlets can help prove right from wrong. 

This can pinpoint fake research articles and raises awareness of just how important fact-checking can be. 

The Importance Of Research To Students

It is not a hidden fact that research can be mentally draining, which is why most students avoid it like the plague. But the matter of fact is that no matter which career path you choose to go down, research will inevitably be a part of it. 

But why is research so important to students ? The truth is without research, any intellectual growth is pretty much impossible. It acts as a knowledge-building tool that can guide you up to the different levels of learning. Even if you are an expert in your field, there is always more to uncover, or if you are studying an entirely new topic, research can help you build a unique perspective about it.

For example, if you are looking into a topic for the first time, it might be confusing knowing where to begin. Most of the time you have an overwhelming amount of information to sort through whether that be reading through scientific journals online or getting through a pile of textbooks. Research helps to narrow down to the most important points you need so you are able to find what you need to succeed quickly and easily. 

It can also open up great doors in the working world. Employers, especially those in the scientific and medical fields, are always looking for skilled people to hire. Undertaking research and completing studies within your academic phase can show just how multi-skilled you are and give you the resources to tackle any tasks given to you in the workplace. 

The Importance Of Research Methodology

There are many different types of research that can be done, each one with its unique methodology and features that have been designed to use in specific settings. 

When showing your research to others, they will want to be guaranteed that your proposed inquiry needs asking, and that your methodology is equipt to answer your inquiry and will convey the results you’re looking for.

That’s why it’s so important to choose the right methodology for your study. Knowing what the different types of research are and what each of them focuses on can allow you to plan your project to better utilise the most appropriate methodologies and techniques available. Here are some of the most common types:

• Theoretical Research: This attempts to answer a question based on the unknown. This could include studying phenomena or ideas whose conclusions may not have any immediate real-world application. Commonly used in physics and astronomy applications.
• Applied Research: Mainly for development purposes, this seeks to solve a practical problem that draws on theory to generate practical scientific knowledge. Commonly used in STEM and medical fields. 
• Exploratory Research: Used to investigate a problem that is not clearly defined, this type of research can be used to establish cause-and-effect relationships. It can be applied in a wide range of fields from business to literature. 
• Correlational Research: This identifies the relationship between two or more variables to see if and how they interact with each other. Very commonly used in psychological and statistical applications. 

The Importance Of Qualitative Research

This type of research is most commonly used in scientific and social applications. It collects, compares and interprets information to specifically address the “how” and “why” research questions. 

Qualitative research allows you to ask questions that cannot be easily put into numbers to understand human experience because you’re not limited by survey instruments with a fixed set of possible responses.

Information can be gathered in numerous ways including interviews, focus groups and ethnographic research which is then all reported in the language of the informant instead of statistical analyses. 

This type of research is important because they do not usually require a hypothesis to be carried out. Instead, it is an open-ended research approach that can be adapted and changed while the study is ongoing. This enhances the quality of the data and insights generated and creates a much more unique set of data to analyse. 

The Process Of Scientific Research

No matter the type of research completed, it will be shared and read by others. Whether this is with colleagues at work, peers at university, or whilst it’s being reviewed and repeated during secondary analysis.

A reliable procedure is necessary in order to obtain the best information which is why it’s important to have a plan. Here are the six basic steps that apply in any research process. 

• Observation and asking questions: Seeing a phenomenon and asking yourself ‘How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?’. It is best that these questions are measurable and answerable through experimentation. 
• Gathering information: Doing some background research to learn what is already known about the topic, and what you need to find out. 
• Forming a hypothesis: Constructing a tentative statement to study.
• Testing the hypothesis: Conducting an experiment to test the accuracy of your statement. This is a way to gather data about your predictions and should be easy to repeat. 
• Making conclusions: Analysing the data from the experiment(s) and drawing conclusions about whether they support or contradict your hypothesis. 
• Reporting: Presenting your findings in a clear way to communicate with others. This could include making a video, writing a report or giving a presentation to illustrate your findings. 

Although most scientists and researchers use this method, it may be tweaked between one study and another. Skipping or repeating steps is common within, however the core principles of the research process still apply.

By clearly explaining the steps and procedures used throughout the study, other researchers can then replicate the results. This is especially beneficial for peer reviews that try to replicate the results to ensure that the study is sound. 

What Is The Importance Of Research In Everyday Life?

Conducting a research study and comparing it to how important it is in everyday life are two very different things.

Carrying out research allows you to gain a deeper understanding of science and medicine by developing research questions and letting your curiosity blossom. You can experience what it is like to work in a lab and learn about the whole reasoning behind the scientific process. But how does that impact everyday life? 

Simply put, it allows us to disprove lies and support truths. This can help society to develop a confident attitude and not believe everything as easily, especially with the rise of fake news.

Research is the best and reliable way to understand and act on the complexities of various issues that we as humans are facing. From technology to healthcare to defence to climate change, carrying out studies is the only safe and reliable way to face our future.

Not only does research sharpen our brains, but also helps us to understand various issues of life in a much larger manner, always leaving us questioning everything and fuelling our need for answers. 

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Citing Sources: What are citations and why should I use them?

What is a citation.

Citations are a way of giving credit when certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again-- it provides an important roadmap to your research process. Whenever you use sources such as books, journals or websites in your research, you must give credit to the original author by citing the source. 

Why do researchers cite?

Scholarship is a conversation  and scholars use citations not only to  give credit  to original creators and thinkers, but also to  add strength and authority  to their own work.  By citing their sources, scholars are  placing their work in a specific context  to show where they “fit” within the larger conversation.  Citations are also a great way to  leave a trail  intended to help others who may want to explore the conversation or use the sources in their own work.

In short, citations

(1) give credit

(2) add strength and authority to your work

(3) place your work in a specific context

(4) leave a trail for other scholars

"Good citations should reveal your sources, not conceal them. They should honeslty reflect the research you conducted." (Lipson 4)

Lipson, Charles. "Why Cite?"  Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles--MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More . Chicago: U of Chicago, 2006. Print.

What does a citation look like?

Different subject disciplines call for citation information to be written in very specific order, capitalization, and punctuation. There are therefore many different style formats. Three popular citation formats are MLA Style (for humanities articles) and APA or Chicago (for social sciences articles).

MLA style (print journal article):  

Whisenant, Warren A. "How Women Have Fared as Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Since the Passage of Title IX." Sex Roles Vol. 49.3 (2003): 179-182.

APA style (print journal article):

Whisenant, W. A. (2003) How Women Have Fared as Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Since the Passage of Title IX. Sex Roles , 49 (3), 179-182.

Chicago style (print journal article):

Whisenant, Warren A. "How Women Have Fared as Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Since the Passage of Title IX." Sex Roles 49, no. 3 (2003): 179-182.

No matter which style you use, all citations require the same basic information:

• Author or Creator
• Container (e.g., Journal or magazine, website, edited book)
• Date of creation or publication
• Publisher 

You are most likely to have easy access to all of your citation information when you find it in the first place. Take note of this information up front, and it will be much easier to cite it effectively later.

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Within the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts , the second core principle states that behavior analysts shall treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect (BACB, 2020 ). Within the American Medical Association principles of medical ethics, the first core principle states that a physician shall be dedicated to providing competent medical care, with compassion and respect for human dignity and rights (American Medical Association, 2001 ).

Neuroimaging research provides evidence for differential neural plasticity associated with these two emotions, implicating two distinguishable networks at the brain level (Klimecki et al., 2014 ).

We thank an anonymous reviewer for highlighting this point.

As noted by Rohrer and Weiss ( 2022 ) the compassionate care behaviors rated as most important to caregivers are likely to vary across regions and cultures. The available social validity data on compassionate care behavior in ABA represents a U.S.-centric perspective. Future research should consider surveying caregivers using items that are tailored to the consumers’ cultural norms, incorporating cultural sensitivity even across regions within the United States or within the same organization.

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Why should I do research? Is it a waste of time?

Athanasios dellis.

a 2nd Department of Surgery, Aretaieion Hospital, University of Athens, Greece

Andreas Skolarikos

b 2nd Department of Urology, Sismanogleion Hospital, University of Athens, Greece

Athanasios G. Papatsoris

• • In medicine, research is the search for scientific knowledge, which is crucial for the development of novel medications and techniques.
• • Conducting research provides a deeper understanding of several scientific topics of the specialty of each doctor.
• • Research through RCTs represents the principal methodological approach.
• • There are two main research processes; qualitative and quantitative studies.
• • It is important to develop Research Units in hospitals and medical centres.
• • Ethics and the high quality of research are ensured by committees (i.e., Internal Board Review, Ethics Research Committee).
• • Research sessions could be implemented in the job plans of doctors.
• • Research is not a waste of time, but a scientific investment.

To answer the questions ‘Why should I do research? Is it a waste of time?’ and present relevant issues.

Medline was used to identify relevant articles published from 2000 to 2013, using the following keywords ‘medicine’, ‘research’, ‘purpose’, ‘study’, ‘trial’, ‘urology’.

Research is the most important activity to achieve scientific progress. Although it is an easy process on a theoretical basis, practically it is a laborious process, and full commitment and dedication are of paramount importance. Currently, given that the financial crisis has a key influence in daily practice, the need to stress the real purpose of research is crucial.

Research is necessary and not a waste of time. Efforts to improving medical knowledge should be continuous.

What is research?

Research is a general term that covers all processes aiming to find responses to worthwhile scientific questions by means of a systematic and scientific approach. In fact, research is the search for scientific knowledge, a systematically formal process to increase the fund of knowledge and use it properly for the development of novel applications.

There are several types of research, such as basic science laboratory research, translational research, and clinical and population-based research. Medical research through randomised clinical trials (RCTs) represents the principal methodological approach for the structured assessment of medical outcomes. RCTs provide prospective and investigator-controlled studies, representing the highest level of evidence (LoE) and grade of recommendation, and define the ultimate practice guideline [1] . However, many constraints, such as ethical, economic and/or social issues, render the conduct of RCTs difficult and their application problematic. For instance, in one of the largest RCTs in urology, on preventing prostate cancer with finasteride, the LoE was 1 [2] . In this RCT, after 7 years of finasteride chemoprevention, the rate of cancer decreased from 24.4% to 18.4%. Based on this study, it could be postulated that finasteride chemoprevention should be offered to men in the general population in an attempt to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. However, the findings of this RCT could not be implemented universally due to financial issues [3] .

There are two main research processes, i.e., qualitative and quantitative studies. Although very different in structure and methods, these studies represent two arms of the same research body. Qualitative studies are based mainly on human experience, using notions and theoretical information without quantifying variables, while quantitative studies record information obtained from participants in a numerical form, to enable a statistical analysis of the data. Therefore, quantitative studies can be used to establish the existence of associative or causal relationships between variables.

From a practical perspective, adding a Research Unit to a Medical Department would ultimately enhance clinical practice and education. As such, almost all hospitals in Western countries have research and development (R&D) departments, where the R&D can be linked with clinical innovation. Basic areas in this field include business planning, sales policies and activities, model design, and strategic propositions and campaign development. However, if researchers are not motivated, the research could be counterproductive, and the whole process could ultimately be a waste of time and effort [4] .

The ethics and the high quality of research are ensured by committees, such as the Internal Review Board, and Ethics Research Committees, especially in academic hospitals. They consist of highly educated and dedicated scientists of good faith as well as objectivity, to be the trustees of ethical and properly designed and performed studies.

Do we need research?

Research is the fuel for future progress and it has significantly shaped perspectives in medicine. In urology there are numerous examples showing that current practice has rapidly changed as a result of several key research findings. For example, from the research of Huggins and Hodges (who won the Nobel Prize in 1966), hormone therapy has become the standard treatment for patients with advanced/metastatic prostate cancer. The use of ESWL to treat stones in the urinary tract is another example of research that has improved practice in urology. The current trend in urology to use robotic assistance in surgery is a relatively recent example of how constant research worldwide improves everyday clinical practice [5] . Furthermore, in a more sophisticated field, research is used to identify factors influencing decision-making, clarify the preferred alternatives, and encourage the selection of a preferred screening option in diseases such as prostate cancer [6,7] .

Conducting research provides a deeper understanding of several scientific topics within the specialty of each doctor. Furthermore, it helps doctors of a particular specialty to understand better the scientific work of other colleagues. Despite the different areas of interest between the different specialties, there are common research methods.

In a University, PhD and MSc students concentrate their efforts at higher research levels. Apart from having to produce a challenging and stimulating thesis, young researchers try to develop their analytical, conceptual and critical thinking skills to the highest academic level. Also, postgraduate students thus prepare themselves for a future job in the global market.

During the research process several approaches can be tested and compared for their safety and efficacy, while the results of this procedure can be recorded and statistically analysed to extract the relevant results. Similarly, any aspects of false results and side-effects, e.g., for new medications, can be detected and properly evaluated to devise every possible improvement. Hence, research components under the auspices of dedicated supervisors, assisted by devoted personnel, are of utmost importance. Also, funding is a catalyst for the optimum progress of the research programme, and it must be independent from any other financial source with a possible conflict. Unfortunately, in cases of economic crisis in a hospital, the first department that is trimmed is research.

Is research time a waste of time?

Even if the right personnel are appointed and the funding is secured, it would be a great mistake to believe that the results are guaranteed. Full commitment and dedication are of utmost importance for successful research. Also, these questions are raised in relation to the scientific papers that are accepted for publication in medical journals. About US$ 160 billion is spent every year on biomedical research [8] . Recently, in the Lancet [9] it was estimated that 85% of research is wasteful or inefficient, with deficiencies presented in the following questions: (1) is the research question relevant for clinicians or patients?; (2) are the design and methods appropriate?; (3) is the full report accessible?; (4) is it unbiased and clinically meaningful? Such questions about the importance, purpose and impact of research should surely be answered during the research. The view of the general public is that the purpose of medical research is to advance knowledge for the good of society, to invent new substances to fight disease, to create diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms, to improve public health, to prevent diseases, to improve the quality of life and to prolong overall survival.

Pharmaceutical companies that sponsor research are financially orientated. This fact leads to a sole result, i.e., profit, as a return on their investment. In this framework it would be impossible for academic institutions to operate on any other basis but finance. Economic indicators, even better benefits and the commercial potential of research are important for their survival. Nevertheless, the purpose of research is more than that. It is time to reframe the way research is done and rewarded, leaving profits in second place. We need to remind ourselves about the real purpose of scientific research. Moreover, we need to decide what research is needed and what impact it is likely to have. Researchers and those who benefit from research (i.e., patients, practising doctors) have a crucial role in the research process. Academic institutions should assess and reward researchers on a long-term basis, and help them to concentrate on meaningful research. Researchers must defend their selection of topics as being those appropriate to benefit public health.

Each medical specialty has a different working plan, and surgical specialties such as urology are characterised by a lack of time for research. It is suggested that specific sessions for research could be implemented in the job plan of urologists, and for other doctors. This is more important for the ‘academic doctor’, but even non-academic doctors could undertake research, if only of the current updated medical literature.

Last but not least is the issue of teaching research to junior doctors. This is very important, as the sooner each doctor is involved in the research process the better for his or her career. Even for junior doctors who are not interested in an academic career, understanding the research process helps them to develop their scientific skills. Young doctors should be motivated to understand and undertake research. However, it is important to guide them through the basic principles of research and to mentor them during their first scientific projects. Furthermore, specific academic training opportunities should be offered within developing programmes, such as the academic specialist registrar’s career pathways in the UK [10] .

In conclusion, research is necessary and not a waste of time. All relevant components of the research engine should co-operate to achieve scientific progress that will help patients and the general population.

Take-home messages

• • Ethics and the high quality of research are ensured by committees (i.e. Internal Board Review, Ethical Research Committee).

Conflict of interest

Source of funding.

Peer review under responsibility of Arab Association of Urology.

Blog Defra digital, data, technology and security

https://defradigital.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/21/why-we-need-volunteers-to-help-vital-research-work-that-will-protect-the-worlds-forests/

Why we need volunteers to help vital research work that will protect the world’s forests

On the annual United Nations International Day of Forests, John Wiggins and Robbie Wilson explain how research volunteers will be key to the effective implementation of important new UK Government legislation aimed at protecting the world’s forests.

We are working on an exciting project to develop the UK’s Forest Risk Commodities regulations, vital legislation that aims to ensure there is no place on our supermarket shelves for products  sourced from land linked to illegal deforestation.

To implement this new legislation, we need to design a new online platform that will enable impacted organisations to comply with the regulations by submitting an annual report on their activities or an exemption from the regulations.

A call to action – we need your help

A key element of developing this platform relies heavily on our user research work. User research is critical for helping us to understand user behaviours, motivations, and needs.

It’s impossible to implement new legislation, or design new Government services, without the input and insight provided by those who will be impacted or who will use the service.

So, this blog is essentially a call to action, a ‘shout-out’ for people to volunteer their time to support our research as we begin to design this new online platform for impacted organisations.

The kinds of people we need to help with our research

This is a very important question. The Forest Risk Commodities Regulations make it illegal for in-scope organisations to use relevant cattle products, cocoa, soy, or oil palm, or products derived from these, produced on land that contravenes local land use laws. These four commodities are referred to as forest risk commodities.

Your organisation is in scope of the regulations if you:

• have over £50 million in global annual turnover.
• use regulated forest risk commodities in your UK commercial activity.

If your organisation is in scope, you must assess if your supply chain complied with land laws in the country of origin when producing these commodities. You will be required to assess risk of illegality in your supply chains, and to submit an annual report. This is referred to as a ‘due diligence system’.

However, if your organisation uses less than 500 tonnes of each commodity in a year, you may be eligible to file for an exemption from these requirements on the digital service.

So, we’re especially interested to hear from businesses and organisations who are likely to be impacted by the new regulations but eligible for an exemption, this is because they have a vested interest in ensuring our new digital platform meets their needs.

What you will be doing if you volunteer to support this work

There are a few different things you might potentially be asked to do if you volunteer your time. These might include:

• Attending a small-scale webinar to explain the regulations and what they might mean for your organisation, as well as what actions will be expected from you with regard to the new regulations.
• Receiving a copy of the current draft guidance and asked to conduct rough estimate calculations on your supply chains, using the information from the webinar and the guidance.
• A 90-minute user research interview seeking your feedback on the digital service which organisations will use to comply with the regulations and submit an exemption.

Why this matters

If you support this research, you’ll be making a positive contribution towards protecting the habitats of some of the world’s most precious and endangered species, while also giving British shoppers assurance that the goods they buy are not contributing to deforestation that violates the laws and regulations of the countries where they come from.

Deforestation is a huge threat to rainforests, effectively the “lungs of the earth” because of their ability to absorb harmful gases and provide a home to thousands of animal and plant species.

The biggest driver of deforestation is agricultural expansion, with an area the size of the UK ploughed up each year to meet UK demand for commodities. Palm oil, cocoa, beef, leather, and soy are all products that are affected in this way. The new legislation aims to ensure that products such as these which we buy do not harm the world’s forests, whose canopies are rich in wildlife and help to tackle climate change.

How to get involved

We’d love to hear from you, so if your organisation is likely to be impacted by the new regulations, and you are interested in contributing to this vital research project, please get in touch .

We’d be very happy to set up an informal chat, to answer any questions you might have about your role in this research, and to explain what impact your contribution might make.

Further information

John Wiggins is a policy advisor and Robbie Wilson is a social researcher in the Forest Risk Commodities team in Defra’s International Biodiversity and Climate Directorate.

The United Nations annual International Day of Forests is a day to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests.

Between 2016 and 2018, WWF estimate that around 21 million hectares – an area almost the size of the UK – was required each year to meet UK demand for seven forest-risk commodities (FRCs) alone.

The Forest Risk Commodities Scheme will be introduced through provisions in Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021. Secondary legislation to operationalise these provisions will be laid when parliamentary time allows. This new due diligence legislation requires regulated businesses to establish and implement a due diligence system for any regulated commodity, and any products derived from them, that they use in their UK commercial activities.

The full list of commodities in scope is as follows: Non-dairy cattle products (beef and leather), cocoa, palm, soy. Organisations using these commodities in UK supply chains with a global turnover of over £50m are in scope of the regulations. Organisations whose use of the regulated commodities does not exceed the annual volume threshold of 500 tonnes may submit an exemption.

Legislation follows a consultation in 2021 on the implementation of the regulations. The consultation outcome informed policy decisions on the commodities in scope, thresholds and exemptions for businesses, enforcement of the regulations, a grace period and variable monetary penalties.

Organisations (whether in scope or as suppliers or service providers to organisations in scope) will have a grace period to prepare for regulation before the beginning of the first reporting period.   Unlimited Variable Monetary Penalties will be in place as part of civil sanctions.

Find out more about what we do in Defra Digital Data and Technology by visiting our LinkedIn page .

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225 Social Work Research Topics For College Students – Ideas for College Students

Social work is an important job that helps improve people’s lives, families, and communities. Research is a key part of social work studies. It allows you to look deeply into social issues, understand different views, and contribute to the growing knowledge in this field. 

Picking the right research topic can be tough. That’s why we’ve made a list of 225 interesting social work research topics. These topics cover many areas, such as child welfare, mental health, addiction, community development, and social justice. 

This list is meant to give you ideas, make you think critically, and provide knowledge to help make a real difference in social work.

Importance of Choosing a Relevant Topic

Table of Contents

Picking a good research topic is super important for a few reasons. First, it makes sure your research fits with current issues and trends in social work. By choosing a topic that deals with challenges happening now or builds on existing knowledge, you can contribute to ongoing talks and help develop effective solutions and rules.

Also, a good topic increases the chances that your research findings will be helpful to social workers, policymakers, and communities. Social work directly impacts people’s lives, and by researching important matters, you can potentially create positive change and inform decision-making.

Furthermore, a well-chosen topic can keep you motivated and involved throughout the research process. When you are truly interested and passionate about the subject, you are more likely to approach the research with enthusiasm and hard work, leading to better results.

It is also important to consider if there are enough resources and data available for your chosen topic. Selecting a topic with plenty of existing writings, reliable data sources, and people to research can make the process smoother and increase the credibility of your findings.

Moreover, a good topic can open up opportunities to collaborate with organizations, agencies, or communities actively working in that area, providing opportunities to apply your research and further explore the subject matter.

Recommended Readings: “ Data Communication And Networking Micro Project Topics: Amazing Guide! “.

Top 225 Social Work Research Topics For College Students

Here is the list of the top 225 social work research topics for college students according to different categories; take a look.

Child Well-being

• How foster care affects child growth
• Adoption and its effect on families
• Ways to prevent child abuse
• Role of social workers in child protection services
• Struggles faced by children in foster care
• Importance of keeping families together
• Impact of parental imprisonment on children
• Strengths of kinship care arrangements
• Role of social workers in addressing child poverty
• Helping strategies for children with special needs

Mental Health

      11. How common is depression in teens, and how to treat it

• If cognitive-behavioral therapy works for anxiety issues
• How trauma impacts mental health
• Social workers’ role in suicide prevention
• Reducing stigma around mental illness
• Culturally appropriate mental health services
• Substance abuse treatment and recovery programs
• Impact of social media on mental health
• Addressing the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ individuals
• If group therapy is effective for mental health conditions

Elderly Care

      21. Challenges faced by caregivers of older adults

• Impact of loneliness on the elderly
• Addressing elder abuse and neglect
• Role of social workers in long-term care facilities
• Promoting independent living for older adults
• End-of-life care and advance directives
• Caring for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia
• Retirement planning and financial security for seniors
• Benefits of intergenerational programs
• Strategies for aging in place

Disability Services

      31. Accessibility and inclusion for disabled individuals

• Job opportunities and challenges for the disabled
• How assistive tech impacts daily living
• Social workers’ role in special education settings
• Advocating for disability rights and awareness
• Housing and community living options for the disabled
• Transition planning for youth with disabilities
• Mental health needs of the disabled
• Inclusive recreation and leisure activities
• Disability and intersectionality (race, gender, economic status)

Substance Abuse

      41. If harm reduction approaches are effective

• Addressing the opioid epidemic
• Social workers’ role in addiction treatment centers
• Relapse prevention strategies
• How substance abuse impacts families
• Culturally responsive substance abuse interventions
• Role of peer support groups in recovery
• Addressing co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues
• Prevention strategies for teen substance abuse
• Impact of harm reduction policies on public health

Community Development

      51. Strategies for community empowerment and engagement

• Social workers’ role in urban renewal projects
• Addressing food insecurity and food deserts
• Community-based participatory research methods
• Sustainable development and environmental justice
• Promoting social cohesion and inclusion in diverse communities
• Addressing gentrification and displacement
• Social workers’ role in disaster relief and recovery
• Impact of community-based organizations
• Addressing homelessness and housing insecurity

Criminal Justice

      61. If restorative justice practices are effective

• Social Workers’ role in the juvenile justice System
• Prisoner re-entry and reducing repeat offenses
• Impact of incarceration on families and communities
• Addressing racial disparities in criminal justice
• Victim support services and victim-centered approaches
• Diversion programs and alternatives to incarceration
• Needs of incarcerated individuals with mental health issues
• Restorative justice practices in schools
• Impact of criminal records on jobs and housing

Immigration and Refugees

      71. Integration challenges for immigrants and refugees

• Social workers’ role in refugee resettlement programs
• Addressing the needs of undocumented immigrants
• Cultural competence when working with immigrants/refugees
• Impact of immigration policies on families and communities
• Addressing trauma and mental health needs of refugees
• Language barriers and service access for immigrants
• Immigrant and refugee youth: Challenges and opportunities
• Promoting inclusion and combating discrimination
• Social workers’ role in immigration detention centers

Health Care

      81. Addressing health disparities and social factors affecting health

• Social workers’ role in hospitals
• Patient advocacy and navigating healthcare systems
• Chronic illness management and support services
• Addressing the needs of underserved populations in healthcare
• End-of-life care and palliative services
• Mental health needs of healthcare professionals
• Promoting health literacy and patient education
• COVID-19 impact on vulnerable groups
• Telehealth and its implications for social work

School Social Work

      91. Addressing bullying and school violence

• Supporting students with special needs
• Promoting a positive school environment
• How poverty impacts student achievement
• Trauma-informed practices in schools
• Supporting LGBTQ+ students and inclusive environments
• Addressing students’ mental health needs
• Dropout prevention and intervention
• Promoting social-emotional learning in schools
• Collaboration between school social workers and other staff

Human Services

      101. Addressing homelessness and housing insecurity

• Social workers’ role in domestic violence shelters
• Poverty reduction and economic empowerment programs
• Addressing the needs of veterans and families
• Natural disaster impact on vulnerable groups
• Promoting financial literacy and self-sufficiency
• Addressing food insecurity and hunger
• Social workers’ role in crisis intervention and emergencies
• Addressing the needs of the developmentally disabled

Social Policy

      111.     Analyzing the impact of social welfare policies

• Social workers’ role in policy advocacy and lobbying
• Addressing income inequality and wealth gaps
• Evaluating the effectiveness of social programs
• Ethics in Social Policy Development
• Comparing social welfare systems across countries
• Climate change impact on vulnerable groups
• Social workers’ role in sustainable development
• Impact of austerity measures on social services
• Addressing the digital divide and technology access

Human Rights

      121.     Addressing human trafficking and modern slavery

• Social workers’ role in promoting human rights
• Addressing the needs of refugees and displaced persons
• Promoting the rights of indigenous communities
• Addressing gender-based violence and discrimination
• Promoting the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals
• Impact of armed conflicts on civilians
• Promoting children’s rights and protection
• Environmental degradation impact on human rights
• Social workers promoting human rights education

Aging and Elderly Care

      131.     Addressing ageism and promoting positive aging

• Social workers’ role in long-term care facilities
• Promoting aging in place and community services
• Addressing the needs of caregivers for the elderly
• Financial security and retirement planning for seniors
• Addressing loneliness among the elderly
• Promoting intergenerational activities
• Addressing dementia and Alzheimer’s impact
• Promoting advance care planning and end-of-life care

Family and Marriage Counseling

      141.     Addressing domestic violence and partner violence

• Social workers’ role in family/marriage counseling
• Divorce impact on children and families
• Promoting healthy family communication and conflict resolution
• Addressing the needs of blended and non-traditional families
• Promoting positive co-parenting strategies
• Addiction impact on families
• Promoting financial stability for families
• Addressing the needs of military families
• Promoting family resilience and coping

Diversity and Social Justice

      151.     Addressing racial/ethnic disparities in social services

• Promoting cultural competence in social work
• Addressing discrimination and promoting inclusion
• Promoting social justice and human rights
• Addressing the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals and families
• Promoting intersectional approaches to social work
• Addressing systemic oppression and marginalization impact
• Promoting diversity and inclusion in social work education
• Addressing the needs of the disabled
• Anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work

Community Mental Health

      161.     Addressing trauma’s impact on communities

• Social workers’ role in community mental health centers
• Promoting mental health literacy and reducing stigma
• Addressing the mental health needs of specific groups
• Promoting community-based mental health services
• Poverty and social factors impact mental health
• Promoting peer support and self-help for mental health
• Addressing youth and teen mental health needs
• Promoting mental health in schools and education
• COVID-19 impact on community mental health

Addictions and Substance Abuse

      171.     Addressing the opioid crisis and overdose prevention

• Social workers’ role in addiction treatment and recovery
• Promoting harm reduction for substance abuse
• Substance abuse impact on families and communities
• Culturally responsive addiction services
• Co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues
• Promoting peer support in addiction recovery
• Unique needs of women and substance abuse
• Substance abuse prevention and early intervention
• Impact of cannabis legalization

Social Work with Children & Youth

      181.    Addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

• Social workers’ role in child welfare and protection
• Promoting positive youth development and resilience
• Addressing the needs of youth in juvenile justice
• Promoting educational success and closing achievement gaps
• Addressing bullying and school violence impact
• Promoting youth empowerment and leadership
• Addressing the needs of LGBTQ+ youth
• Promoting family engagement and support
• Technology and social media impact on youth

Human Behavior & Social Environment

      191.     Poverty and socioeconomic status impact

• Promoting resilience and coping strategies
• Addressing trauma and adverse experiences impact
• Promoting positive identity and self-esteem
• Discrimination and oppression impact
• Promoting social support and community connections
• Environmental factors impact human behavior
• Promoting positive aging and life transitions
• Technology and social media impact
• Promoting cultural competence and humility

Social Work Practice & Ethics

      201.     Addressing ethical dilemmas in practice

• Promoting self-care and preventing burnout
• Social media and technology impact on practice
• Promoting evidence-based practice
• Addressing interdisciplinary collaboration challenges
• Promoting culturally responsive practice
• Addressing vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue
• Social justice and human rights in practice
• COVID-19 impact on social work practice
• Promoting professional development

International Social Work 

      211.     Addressing global poverty and inequality

• Promoting sustainable development & environmental justice
• Armed conflicts and humanitarian crises impact
• Promoting human rights and global social justice
• Promoting community development and empowerment
• Globalization and migration impact
• Cultural competence in international social work
• Promoting international collaboration

Research & Evaluation

      221.     Promoting evidence-based practice

• Developing assessment tools and measures
• Evaluating the effectiveness of interventions
• Challenges in community-based participatory research
• Promoting mixed methods in research

These topics cover a wide range of social work issues, allowing for in-depth exploration and analysis within specific niches.

Tips for Selecting a Research Topic

Picking a topic for research is an important first step. Your topic should be something you truly care about and want to explore deeply. Here are some tips for choosing an engaging and meaningful social work research topic:

Find Areas You Really Like

Make a list of the social issues or groups of people that you are most interested in. Think about personal experiences, volunteer work, internships, or classes that made you curious and want to learn more. Having a real interest will keep you motivated throughout the whole research process.

Look at Current Information

Look through recent journals, books, and reliable websites related to your interests. Note any gaps in knowledge or questions that come up from the existing information. These gaps can point you toward relevant research topics.

Consider Real-World Impact

Choose a topic that has the potential to inform policies, practices, or ways to help that can create positive social change. Research that can be applied in real-world situations is especially valuable in social work.

Make Sure Data Exists

Ensure there is enough data available to support an in-depth study of your chosen topic. This may include access to case studies, survey data, records, or people to participate in your research.

Narrow Your Focus

While social issues are often very broad and complex, a focused research topic is easier to manage and allows for deeper exploration. Narrow your topic to a specific population, geographic area, or part of the larger issue.

Get Input from Others

Talk to professors, professionals in the field, or experienced researchers for their insights and suggestions on potential topics. Their expertise can help you refine your ideas and identify promising areas for research.

Think About Ethics

As a social worker, it’s important to consider the ethical impacts of your research, such as protecting participants’ rights and well-being, addressing potential biases, and being sensitive to cultural differences.

Be Flexible

While it’s important to have a clear research focus, be open to adjusting your topic as you learn more from reading materials or encounter new perspectives during the research process.

Choosing a well-defined and meaningful research topic is the base for producing valuable social work research that can add to knowledge and drive positive change.

Social work covers a wide range of issues and groups of people, making it a rich and diverse area for research. The 225 topics listed here are just a small part of the many important areas ready for exploration. 

From child well-being and mental health to criminal justice and human rights, each topic offers a chance to examine complex societal challenges deeply and contribute to developing impactful solutions. 

As students start their research journeys, they have the potential to uncover new insights, challenge existing ways of thinking, and ultimately improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities. 

With genuine interest, hard work, and a commitment to ethical and rigorous research, social work students can make meaningful contributions that drive positive change in our constantly changing world.

How do I know if a research topic is relevant to social work?

A relevant research topic in social work addresses current societal issues, aligns with the goals of social work practice, and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field.

What are some examples of social work research topics related to social justice?

Examples include investigating disparities in access to healthcare, analyzing the impact of systemic racism on marginalized communities, and evaluating policies aimed at promoting social equity.

How can I narrow down a broad research topic in social work?

You can narrow down a broad research topic by focusing on a specific population, geographic location, or aspect of the issue. Conducting a literature review can also help identify gaps and areas for further exploration.

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What Is Climate Change?

Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term.

Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. Natural processes, which have been overwhelmed by human activities, can also contribute to climate change, including internal variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and external forcings (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy output , variations in Earth’s orbit ).

Scientists use observations from the ground, air, and space, along with computer models , to monitor and study past, present, and future climate change. Climate data records provide evidence of climate change key indicators, such as global land and ocean temperature increases; rising sea levels; ice loss at Earth’s poles and in mountain glaciers; frequency and severity changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods, and precipitation; and cloud and vegetation cover changes.

“Climate change” and “global warming” are often used interchangeably but have distinct meanings. Similarly, the terms "weather" and "climate" are sometimes confused, though they refer to events with broadly different spatial- and timescales.

What Is Global Warming?

Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. This term is not interchangeable with the term "climate change."

Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by more than 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. The current warming trend is unequivocally the result of human activity since the 1950s and is proceeding at an unprecedented rate over millennia.

Weather vs. Climate

“if you don’t like the weather in new england, just wait a few minutes.” - mark twain.

Weather refers to atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—from minutes to hours or days. Familiar examples include rain, snow, clouds, winds, floods, or thunderstorms.

Climate, on the other hand, refers to the long-term (usually at least 30 years) regional or even global average of temperature, humidity, and rainfall patterns over seasons, years, or decades.

Find Out More: A Guide to NASA’s Global Climate Change Website

This website provides a high-level overview of some of the known causes, effects and indications of global climate change:

Evidence. Brief descriptions of some of the key scientific observations that our planet is undergoing abrupt climate change.

Causes. A concise discussion of the primary climate change causes on our planet.

Effects. A look at some of the likely future effects of climate change, including U.S. regional effects.

Vital Signs. Graphs and animated time series showing real-time climate change data, including atmospheric carbon dioxide, global temperature, sea ice extent, and ice sheet volume.

Earth Minute. This fun video series explains various Earth science topics, including some climate change topics.

Other NASA Resources

Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio. An extensive collection of animated climate change and Earth science visualizations.

Sea Level Change Portal. NASA's portal for an in-depth look at the science behind sea level change.

NASA’s Earth Observatory. Satellite imagery, feature articles and scientific information about our home planet, with a focus on Earth’s climate and environmental change.

Header image is of Apusiaajik Glacier, and was taken near Kulusuk, Greenland, on Aug. 26, 2018, during NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) field operations. Learn more here . Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Discover More Topics From NASA

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science in Action

Earth Science Data

Facts About Earth

I interned at JPMorgan and then moved up the ranks. Here's how I nailed the interview and landed my full-time offer.

• Alexis Taub worked at JPMorgan as an intern, analyst, and associate at the start of her career.
• She says demonstrating excitement, curiosity, and helpfulness helped her land a full-time offer.
• Her advice for aspiring applicants is to build your résumé years in advance and study the company.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alexis Taub , a former JPMorgan employee from New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was hired two years in a row for summer internships at JPMorgan . The first internship was in securities, and the second was in prime brokerage as an account manager.

I was hired full time as an analyst in prime brokerage in 2015 and was eventually promoted to associate. I stayed at the firm until 2018.

The application and interview process for the prime-brokerage roles was comprehensive, and there was a steep learning curve on how to assist clients. I mainly supported and learned from more-senior team members until becoming an associate, where I was the main point of contact for my assigned customers.

Here's my advice on how to navigate the interview and get hired at JPMorgan .

The internship program is one of the best ways to get a full-time position at the firm

I decided I wanted to work in finance freshman year, and I set my sights on JPMorgan , given its reputation as an industry leader with an amazing culture. Interning during my sophomore year allowed me to learn about the company, figure out the most compelling groups, and network throughout the summer.

The full-time analyst class is almost all people who were part of the internship program. It's difficult to get an analyst position without completing an internship.

I didn't have to interview for the full-time position. On the last day of the internship, everyone met with HR and was either presented with an offer letter or told they weren't offered a position.

Start building your résumé years in advance

Start as early as possible to build experience, participate in extracurriculars relevant to your desired position, and show your passions. I fundraised for breast-cancer research, was a teaching assistant for a marketing and business-analysis course, and was a peer mentor.

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Extracurriculars should be something you're genuinely interested in and should show a story over multiple years. They're discussed in the interview, and a candidate's passion for these activities comes through — especially with follow-up questions.

Research the job position and the different groups

Researching the company is essential for positions right out of college. For JPMorgan 's internship and analyst programs, you're usually placed in a large group with many different focus areas. You can have a particular interest in one, but be knowledgeable about all of them. I was drawn to prime brokerage because it's fast-paced, and I wanted to be in a client-facing role.

I interviewed with the prime-brokerage group and three other departments. If you're only familiar with one group, it will show up negatively to the other groups you talk to.

Everyone asked me the same question

The first question I was asked by all four of the people who interviewed me was " tell me about yourself ." You should be prepared with a solid answer because that will set the tone for the interview. Answers should be concise, show your passion for the position, and share a bit about yourself.

I rehearsed my answer over and over again. I showed my research on the department and positions within and shared background on my coursework and my previous internships, as well as the parts of the job that most interested me. You should mention anything that helps you stand out and shows you in a positive light, like accomplishments and grades .

In one interview, I was given a couple of brain puzzles, like how big is this room? The main objective of this question was to show how you approach a challenge, not if you know the correct answer. I counted the tiles on the ceiling and said, "Let's assume each one is one foot." While I knew they weren't one foot, I tried to choose a number that kept the math simple.

Once you land an internship, you go back for placement day

When you're granted a spot in the internship program, you go in again to find out who you'll be working with.

On placement day, each intern meets with more than 20 groups to learn about the specific roles within the larger investor services. It's then a matching game. The interns rank the groups they'd like to be in, and the groups rank the interns. I got my top group during my second year, and then my analyst offer was to that group.

The best way to get a full-time job from the internship is to demonstrate 3 traits

If you want a full-time offer at the end, show your excitement for the position, be curious, and be as helpful as possible. I was constantly asking my team what I could help with.

I couldn't have had a better job to start my career. My JPMorgan teammates spent hours each day helping me with tasks most people wouldn't want to be bothered with — whether it was strategies for organizing my inbox or proofreading my emails. I also had an incredible manager who dedicated a substantial amount of time to teaching me the nuances of prime brokerage.

I was happy with the work-life balance

The typical day was 8 to 6, and most people would leave by 6. While it could be intense during the day with clients, I was not expected to work once I left for the day and was happy with my work-life balance .

I always wanted to start my own business, so with the manageable hours, I was able to start a direct-to-consumer jewelry website, which eventually became the full-time job I have now.

There are endless career opportunities at JPMorgan . I recommend scouring the website beyond just the classic investment-banking and sales-and-trading positions to find one that aligns with your skills and interests.

Watch: Marketing leaders from Amazon, LinkedIn, Lego Group and more tell Insider what pandemic-fueled business changes are likely to stick around

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