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Department of Sociology

The blog of the department of sociology at the university of surrey, looking for a career in social research here’s my advice.

By Sophie Pilley,  Sociology Alumni

I was recently invited to join a panel of alumni speakers at the University of Surrey to talk about my career as a social researcher; the event was designed for us to talk about how we got into our current roles, and to offer advice to students within the Sociology department.

In this blog, I’ll offer a few more thoughts about my own career at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), and some of the tips I gave to students on the day about applying for a job in social research.

What my job entails

I’m a Senior Researcher in NatCen’s Questionnaire Development and Testing Hub (QDT Hub). We’re a specialist team, with unique expertise in questionnaire design and question testing methods ( please see here for more information on these methods ).

We work with internal teams within NatCen as well as external clients, such as charities or government bodies. Our projects are relatively short – usually lasting a couple of months. We also carry out testing of web questionnaires and documents such as advance letters or leaflets.

Our work covers a wide variety of fascinating topic areas; in the past year, we’ve tested questions on smoking behaviours, documents to screen homeless people for gambling addiction and questions about fruit peel consumption.

In my role, I’m often a project manager, which means having oversight of all aspects of a project: from designing recruitment documents to carrying out interviews and writing the final report.

How I got here

I decided I wanted to be a researcher while studying A level Sociology. My understanding of the career was limited, however – at that time all I could imagine it could involve was something like adjusting the lighting in a factory to see if it would have an impact on productivity!

Despite my lack of knowledge around the career I decided to study Sociology and Social Research at the University of Surrey. During my degree I continued to struggle to imagine what a day job in research would involve, until I worked at NatCen during my sandwich year. (A lecturer recommended the role to me, so I knew it was going to be a good opportunity.)

I was a placement student within the QDT Hub for a year before completing my final year of university, and fell in love with the role. I enjoyed knowing that our work made a difference to the quality of data collected, as well as working on a variety of topic areas and with a variety of clients.

After graduating I was able to build on my research experience by working at Ipsos MORI for 18 months, across a mix of qualitative and quantative projects.

I enjoyed the role, but came across an advert for a researcher within the QDT Hub at NatCen and knew I had to apply.

I’ve now been back at NatCen for 5 years, and haven’t looked back since.

Top tips for applying for social research jobs

Looking for a social research job after graduating – or when making a career change – can be a daunting prospect.

That’s why I’ve included some tips below on finding and applying for jobs in social research:

• If you’re studying, ask for your lecturer’s opinion. They’ll often know the names of the top companies and may have contacts within them.
• Try to get some work experience. This could be a placement during the summer, getting a job on a temporary contract or doing some voluntary work. NatCen sometimes takes on placement students or interns, which is a great way to gain some practical work experience.
• Make sure you research a company before applying for a role. You want to be able to understand what the organisation does and how it might be different to others. I was particularly drawn to NatCen as they’re a not-for-profit, for example.
• Include all of your experience when applying. Not all experience which relates to a role will be directly related to social research. I volunteered at a zoo during university holidays, and that taught me a range of valuable teamwork skills which I’ve brought to my role as a researcher!
• Tailor your application to the role. Don’t send the same covering letter to each organisation. These should be tailored to the role, and outline what skills and experience you can bring to that specific job opportunity.
• Be honest. If you don’t have experience of using a particular software, it’s best just to be honest during your interview. It isn’t always the end of the road, as NatCen develops staff members’ skills with an excellent training programme.

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The link between social work research and practice

When thinking about social work, some may consider the field to solely focus on clinical interventions with individuals or groups.

There may be a mistaken impression that research is not a part of the social work profession. This is completely false. Rather, the two have been and will continue to need to be intertwined.

This guide covers why social workers should care about research, how both social work practice and social work research influence and guide each other, how to build research skills both as a student and as a professional working in the field, and the benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills. 

A selection of social work research jobs are also discussed.  

• Social workers and research
• Evidence-based practice
• Practice and research
• Research and practice
• Build research skills
• Social worker as researcher
• Benefits of research skills
• Research jobs

Why should social workers care about research?

Sometimes it may seem as though social work practice and social work research are two separate tracks running parallel to each other – they both seek to improve the lives of clients, families and communities, but they don’t interact. This is not the way it is supposed to work.

Research and practice should be intertwined, with each affecting the other and improving processes on both ends, so that it leads to better outcomes for the population we’re serving.

Section 5 of the NASW Social Work Code of Ethics is focused on social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the social work profession. There are two areas in which research is mentioned in upholding our ethical obligations: for the integrity of the profession (section 5.01) and for evaluation and research (section 5.02). 

Some of the specific guidance provided around research and social work include:

• 5.01(b): …Social workers should protect, enhance, and improve the integrity of the profession through appropriate study and research, active discussion, and responsible criticism of the profession.
• 5.01(d): Social workers should contribute to the knowledge base of social work and share with colleagues their knowledge related to practice, research, and ethics…
• 5.02(a) Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation of programs, and practice interventions.
• 5.02(b) Social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development of knowledge.
• 5.02(c) Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work and fully use evaluation and research evidence in their professional practice.
• 5.02(q) Social workers should educate themselves, their students, and their colleagues about responsible research practices.

Evidence-based practice and evidence-based treatment

In order to strengthen the profession and determine that the interventions we are providing are, in fact, effective, we must conduct research. When research and practice are intertwined, this leads practitioners to develop evidence-based practice (EBP) and evidence-based treatment (EBT).

Evidence-based practice is, according to The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) , a process involving creating an answerable question based on a client or organizational need, locating the best available evidence to answer the question, evaluating the quality of the evidence as well as its applicability, applying the evidence, and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution. 

Evidence-based treatment is any practice that has been established as effective through scientific research according to a set of explicit criteria (Drake et al., 2001). These are interventions that, when applied consistently, routinely produce improved client outcomes. 

For example, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was one of a variety of interventions for those with anxiety disorders. Researchers wondered if CBT was better than other intervention options in producing positive, consistent results for clients.

So research was conducted comparing multiple types of interventions, and the evidence (research results) demonstrated that CBT was the best intervention.

The anecdotal evidence from practice combined with research evidence determined that CBT should become the standard treatment for those diagnosed with anxiety. Now more social workers are getting trained in CBT methods in order to offer this as a treatment option to their clients.

How does social work practice affect research?

Social work practice provides the context and content for research. For example, agency staff was concerned about the lack of nutritional food in their service area, and heard from clients that it was too hard to get to a grocery store with a variety of foods, because they didn’t have transportation, or public transit took too long. 

So the agency applied for and received a grant to start a farmer’s market in their community, an urban area that was considered a food desert. This program accepted their state’s version of food stamps as a payment option for the items sold at the farmer’s market.

The agency used their passenger van to provide free transportation to and from the farmer’s market for those living more than four blocks from the market location.

The local university also had a booth each week at the market with nursing and medical students checking blood pressure and providing referrals to community agencies that could assist with medical needs. The agency was excited to improve the health of its clients by offering this program.

But how does the granting foundation know if this was a good use of their money? This is where research and evaluation comes in. Research could gather data to answer a number of questions. Here is but a small sample:

• How many community members visited each week and purchased fruits and vegetables? 
• How many took advantage of the transportation provided, and how many walked to the market? 
• How many took advantage of the blood pressure checks? Were improvements seen in those numbers for those having repeat blood pressure readings throughout the market season? 
• How much did the self-reported fruit and vegetable intake increase for customers? 
• What barriers did community members report in visiting and buying food from the market (prices too high? Inconvenient hours?)
• Do community members want the program to continue next year?
• Was the program cost-effective, or did it waste money by paying for a driver and for gasoline to offer free transportation that wasn’t utilized? What are areas where money could be saved without compromising the quality of the program?
• What else needs to be included in this program to help improve the health of community members?

How does research affect social work practice?

Research can guide practice to implement proven strategies. It can also ask the ‘what if’ or ‘how about’ questions that can open doors for new, innovative interventions to be developed (and then research the effectiveness of those interventions).

Engel and Schutt (2017) describe four categories of research used in social work:

• Descriptive research is research in which social phenomena are defined and described. A descriptive research question would be ‘How many homeless women with substance use disorder live in the metro area?’
• Exploratory research seeks to find out how people get along in the setting under question, what meanings they give to their actions, and what issues concern them. An example research question would be ‘What are the barriers to homeless women with substance use disorder receiving treatment services?’
• Explanatory research seeks to identify causes and effects of social phenomena. It can be used to rule out other explanations for findings and show how two events are related to each other.  An explanatory research question would be ‘Why do women with substance use disorder become homeless?’
• Evaluation research describes or identifies the impact of social programs and policies. This type of research question could be ‘How effective was XYZ treatment-first program that combined housing and required drug/alcohol abstinence in keeping women with substance use disorder in stable housing 2 years after the program ended?’

Each of the above types of research can answer important questions about the population, setting or intervention being provided. This can help practitioners determine which option is most effective or cost-efficient or that clients are most likely to adhere to. In turn, this data allows social workers to make informed choices on what to keep in their practice, and what needs changing. 

How to build research skills while in school

There are a number of ways to build research skills while a student.  BSW and MSW programs require a research course, but there are other ways to develop these skills beyond a single class:

• Volunteer to help a professor working in an area of interest. Professors are often excited to share their knowledge and receive extra assistance from students with similar interests.
• Participate in student research projects where you’re the subject. These are most often found in psychology departments. You can learn a lot about the informed consent process and how data is collected by volunteering as a research participant.  Many of these studies also pay a small amount, so it’s an easy way to earn a bit of extra money while you’re on campus. 
• Create an independent study research project as an elective and work with a professor who is an expert in an area you’re interested in.  You’d design a research study, collect the data, analyze it, and write a report or possibly even an article you can submit to an academic journal.
• Some practicum programs will have you complete a small evaluation project or assist with a larger research project as part of your field education hours. 
• In MSW programs, some professors hire students to conduct interviews or enter data on their funded research projects. This could be a good part time job while in school.
• Research assistant positions are more common in MSW programs, and these pay for some or all your tuition in exchange for working a set number of hours per week on a funded research project.

How to build research skills while working as a social worker

Social service agencies are often understaffed, with more projects to complete than there are people to complete them.

Taking the initiative to volunteer to survey clients about what they want and need, conduct an evaluation on a program, or seeing if there is data that has been previously collected but not analyzed and review that data and write up a report can help you stand out from your peers, be appreciated by management and other staff, and may even lead to a raise, a promotion, or even new job opportunities because of the skills you’ve developed.

Benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills

Social workers with strong research skills can have the opportunity to work on various projects, and at higher levels of responsibility. 

Many can be promoted into administration level positions after demonstrating they understand how to conduct, interpret and report research findings and apply those findings to improving the agency and their programs.

There’s also a level of confidence knowing you’re implementing proven strategies with your clients. 

Social work research jobs

There are a number of ways in which you can blend interests in social work and research. A quick search on Glassdoor.com and Indeed.com retrieved the following positions related to social work research:

• Research Coordinator on a clinical trial offering psychosocial supportive interventions and non-addictive pain treatments to minimize opioid use for pain.
• Senior Research Associate leading and overseeing research on a suite of projects offered in housing, mental health and corrections.
• Research Fellow in a school of social work
• Project Policy Analyst for large health organization
• Health Educator/Research Specialist to implement and evaluate cancer prevention and screening programs for a health department
• Research Interventionist providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia patients participating in a clinical trial
• Research Associate for Child Care and Early Education
• Social Services Data Researcher for an organization serving adults with disabilities.
• Director of Community Health Equity Research Programs evaluating health disparities.

No matter your population or area of interest, you’d likely be able to find a position that integrated research and social work. 

Social work practice and research are and should remain intertwined. This is the only way we can know what questions to ask about the programs and services we are providing, and ensure our interventions are effective. 

There are many opportunities to develop research skills while in school and while working in the field, and these skills can lead to some interesting positions that can make a real difference to clients, families and communities. 

Drake, R. E., Goldman, H., Leff, H. S., Lehman, A. F., Dixon, L., Mueser, K. T., et al. (2001). Implementing evidence-based practices in routine mental health service settings. Psychiatric Services, 52(2), 179-182. 

Engel, R.J., & Schutt, R.K. (2017). The Practice of Research in Social Work. Sage.

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d). Evidence Based Practice. Retrieved from: https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Research-Data/Social-Work-Policy-Research/Evidence-Based-Practice

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Home / Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs / Bachelor’s in Sociology Degree Online / Sociology Careers: Four Rewarding Opportunities for Graduates / How to Become a Social Researcher

Shaping Society: How to Become a Social Researcher Shaping Society: How to Become a Social Researcher Shaping Society: How to Become a Social Researcher

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You’re having dinner at a new restaurant in a rapidly changing part of town. Several hip, reasonably priced apartment complexes have opened in the past few years, bringing an influx of recent college graduates and young families to the area. This shift has resulted in the opening of a new strip mall, several new eateries, a couple of bars, and other new businesses.

As you look around the restaurant, you begin to wonder why this happened. Why here? What sort of impact is it having on the surrounding region? Is this happening in other towns in this state or around the country? Those sorts of questions inspired the first social researchers and continue to drive the ones of today. You may then consider how to become a social researcher.

Social researchers are curious about why society is the way it is. They base their research on understanding society and figuring out what governments and agencies can do to improve certain problems. A social researcher conducts ethical research, with oversight, in an area that relates to a social science, such as anthropology, economics, political science, public health, or sociology. Social researchers need to have a background in the field they’re researching to ask the right questions and draw conclusions that have academic merit.

What Does a Social Researcher Do ?

Though social research typically entails interacting with research subjects, whether through focus groups or one-on-one surveying, most of the job involves research and analysis. This means social researchers must be skilled in communication and collecting and interpreting data.

Before social researchers conduct a study, they must first have an important question they need to answer. These questions often come from observations about the world around them. For example:

• Why is a specific segment of the population struggling with a certain illness?
• What kind of impact does a new law allowing alcoholic beverages have on a town’s population? On its police force?
• Why is a specific candidate leading the polls in every state except two? What is different about those states?

In addition, social researchers must find out whether other researchers have asked the same question, and determine whether the question is even possible to answer. As these questions start to formulate in a social researcher’s mind, investigation becomes critical. Researchers review books, academic documents, and past research. At this early stage, the goal is to uncover what other researchers have discovered, what sorts of studies they’ve done, and what is missing from the data. A social researcher might see an error in someone else’s conclusion, devise a different way to ask similar questions, or draw from a different population.

What a social researcher does then shifts from investigating existing data to collecting new information. Social researchers typically refine their questions as needed, develop a survey based on their findings, and then seek approval from an ethics board, such as the institutional review board (IRB) at a research university.

Once they’ve conducted a survey, they collaborate with subject matter experts or other researchers to analyze the data and look at it from as many angles as possible, working to understand what it is telling them and if that data is statistically significant –– if the results of the study are applicable to society at large or if they’re more likely an anomaly of that particular research methodology. They can then present their findings at a conference or in a paper before moving on to the next pressing question.

Every step of the process exists to ensure that what a social researcher does helps develop a deeper understanding of society. That information can then help inform new policies, determine where funding is sent, and more.

Steps to Become a Social Researcher

How to become a social researcher isn’t very complex, but it does take years of education and job training to be able to conduct logical, ethical research that makes a true impact.

Pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science

Earning a degree in one of the social sciences is a great way to start down the path toward becoming a social researcher.  Maryville University’s online Bachelor of Arts in Sociology  offers tracks in criminology, social work, and social justice. Students receive an in-depth education on a topic that matters to them, taking courses on race, ethnicity, and crime; mental illness and society; and social aspects of the aged, among others.

A bachelor’s degree program also helps students learn skills fundamental to the research process. Through coursework, they learn how to formulate a question, investigate existing studies, conduct new research, interpret and evaluate data, and communicate findings.

Further Develop Research Skills

To work as a social researcher, ample experience in research is critical. Candidates with a background in a social science may consider an advanced degree in data science, for example, to gain a deeper understanding of how to run programs that can analyze their findings and drive the research forward. Alternatively, they may consider spending several years as a research assistant or as a volunteer at a research facility. This real-world experience allows aspiring social researchers to discover where their strengths lie and even provides them with an opportunity to begin developing questions of their own to explore.

Social Researcher Salary

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for a social researcher was $57,700 in May 2018. Social researchers who worked for scientific research and development services, which made up 18% of the workforce in 2018, had the highest annual median salary ($73,460) by a wide margin. Those in “other professional, scientific, and technical services” (39% of the market), educational services (9%) and “religious, grant-making, civic, professional, and similar organizations” (8%) each had a median annual salary between $50,390 and $54,690.

Employment Outlook for Social Researchers

The social research field is small but growing. As of 2016, 14,600 jobs existed in the market, and the BLS expects the field to add about 400 new jobs between 2016 and 2026. However, this number could grow based on federal administration. An administration that values research and learning about society could invest more in the social sciences and create more positions.

Make a Positive Impact on Society

If you find yourself asking questions about humanity, or you’re intrigued by the shifts and changes in society, a career as a social researcher might be worth pursuing. Not only does the field provide a fascinating look into our world, but it also allows you to have a profound impact on society. Check out  Maryville University’s online Bachelor of Arts in Sociology  to learn more about how to become a social researcher and put yourself in a position to succeed.

American Sociological Association, “Doing Social Research”

Eido Research, “Why I Became a Social Researcher”

Houston Chronicle , “The Salary of a Research Analyst in the Social Sciences”

Maryville University, Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

Oxford University Press, “Social Research Methods”

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey Researchers

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Social researcher

Social researchers plan, design, conduct, analyse and manage social research projects, reporting on findings in order to shape policy or to examine the effectiveness of existing policy

As a social researcher you'll use a range of methods such as interviews, survey questionnaires, focus groups and desk research to investigate the attitudes, behaviour and experiences of individuals and population samples on specific issues.

Your research could focus on a range of topics, including:

• the benefits system
• children and families
• crime and justice
• the environment
• equalities/human rights
• health and social care
• population structure and migration
• social services
• tax and pensions
• unemployment
• work and income.

You'll collect, analyse and evaluate data and information and present your findings to clients and key stakeholders in order to inform policy decisions.

You could work in a client-side role, which has slightly more focus on the users of the research, (e.g. policymakers), or on the agency-side, which focuses more on the design and delivery of the research.

For information on working in social research for the government, see government social research officer .

Responsibilities

As a social researcher, you'll be involved in a range of activities (usually in a team). You’ll typically need to:

• understand the needs of the project, i.e. the research questions it needs to answer
• design an appropriate methodology to deliver the project
• design and write survey questionnaires
• apply a range of research techniques to gather relevant information, including document analysis, surveys, case studies and interviews (face-to-face, telephone and online)
• liaise with and direct social research field interviewers to gather information
• gather information by directing or carrying out qualitative fieldwork
• conduct reviews of relevant literature and evidence
• analyse and evaluate research and interpret data using a range of analysis packages
• prepare, present and disseminate results in the form of reports, briefings, research papers and presentations
• offer research-based briefings and advice, which may involve writing action plans
• advise external bodies on social policy
• prepare and present tenders for new research projects, or respond to research tenders prepared by others.
• Starting salaries at researcher level typically range from £20,000 to £29,000.
• You're likely to earn between £30,000 and £50,000 as a senior social researcher with significant experience.
• Salaries at manager/director level can rise to £70,000+, depending on the sector.

Salaries vary depending on your experience, the sector you work in and your location. Salaries in local and national government and academia are likely to follow a grading structure.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours are typically 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

What to expect

• Jobs are available throughout the UK, particularly in towns and cities. Some sectors of employment are more concentrated in London and the South East.
• In some sectors, short-term contracts are common and you may need to be flexible to find a constant flow of work.
• There are opportunities for freelance or consultancy work once you've got substantial practical experience, which will suit you if you're outgoing and enjoy bidding for work, networking and making contacts.
• Working to regular project deadlines can be challenging, especially if you're working on policy issues in a changing and quick response environment or working on more than one project.
• The work is largely office based, although you may need to travel for meetings and to undertake research.

Qualifications

You'll usually need a degree to get into social research. Although any subject is acceptable, employers often prefer those with a strong analytical and/or research focus. The following subjects may be particularly useful:

• anthropology
• business studies
• mathematics
• social policy
• statistics.

It's possible to move into a career in social research straight after your degree, particularly if your course included social research methods and statistics.

Although not essential, taking a taught Masters course in social research methods or a research degree (MPhil, PhD) may be advantageous. Search for postgraduate courses in social research .

Some of the large research agencies run graduate training schemes and you may need a 2:1 or above to be considered for a place.

You'll need to have:

• basic experience or understanding of quantitative and/or qualitative methods
• strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• the ability to think logically and creatively (both are important)
• good communication skills, both written and verbal
• interpersonal skills to develop and maintain relationships
• report planning and writing skills
• teamworking skills and the ability to work well on your own
• confidence in using Microsoft Office software
• project management skills to oversee all aspects of a research project right through from initial plans to the final report
• accuracy and attention to detail for handling data and reporting research findings
• a flexible approach to work, with the ability to work on several different research projects at once
• organisation skills, good time management and the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Work experience

Experience of research methods, from modules on your degree or Masters course for example, is important.

You could also get some practical experience in research or market research interviewing. Visit Market Research Society (MRS) - Work Placement & Intern Opportunities for details of companies that welcome approaches from students and graduates looking for a work placement in social or market research.

Opportunities for freelance and temporary survey interviewers are also available with NatCen (National Centre for Social Research) and ScotCen . Alternatively, you could get experience in a managerial or administrative role in which research is used to evaluate service delivery.

Although the larger research agencies are likely to have graduate traineeships, small businesses specialising in social research may not have formal schemes, but nonetheless may be able to provide a good grounding in social research methods. Use your networking skills at social research or training events to find out about possible openings.

Find out more about the different kinds of  work experience and internships  that are available.

There are opportunities available in many types of organisation, including:

• central government - social researchers work in the main government departments (see government social research officer ), as well as for the Scottish and Welsh governments
• local government - particularly social services, housing, education and chief executive departments
• independent research institutes such as NatCen Social Research (based in London and Edinburgh)
• large and small research agencies
• higher education institutions (academia)
• the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
• trade unions
• pressure and lobby groups.

Many of the larger research agencies, such as Ipsos UK and Kantar Public, have specialist social research departments and some offer graduate traineeships. There are also many small businesses that specialise in social and market research.

Social researchers in higher education (academia) are based in:

• large research centres
• attachments to university teaching departments.

Research centre clients range from government to charities and may also include undertaking consultancy work as well as their own research. Jobs are available on both a permanent and fixed-term contract (often two to three years). If your work is attached to a university teaching department, you'll usually be employed on a fixed-term contract for the length of the project.

Some market research consultancies in the private sector also conduct social research for clients such as government agencies, consumer goods producers and retailers, and media agencies.

Look for job vacancies at:

• Charity Job
• Jobs.ac.uk and THEunijobs - for social research jobs in higher education.
• Research Job Finder
• Social Research Association - Career opportunities in social research

The Research Buyers Guide provides information on companies and consultants offering market research services, which may be useful for speculative applications.

Professional development

Graduate training programmes are available with some of the larger research agencies and government departments. These usually last two years and include initial induction, on-the-job training, a range of short courses and mentor support.

With many smaller organisations you'll be trained on the job, learning from colleagues. You'll also take short training courses on specific areas, such as:

• evaluation techniques
• statistical methods
• qualitative methods
• survey design and sampling
• presentation skills
• the use of software packages.

The SRA provides both foundation and advanced training in a broad range of areas, (including courses from NatCen Learning):

• report writing
• conducting focus groups
• qualitative interviewing
• questionnaire design and testing
• qualitative approaches
• creative methods
• consultancy skills.

For more information, see SRA Training .

SRA membership is also useful for networking and career development opportunities.

You could also study for an MSc in social research part time while working.

Career prospects

In central and local government, higher education and most of the independent research institutes, there's a recognisable career structure with different grades reflecting levels of experience, responsibility and seniority.

As a typical new entrant in the Civil Service you might expect to be a research officer for two years before promotion to senior research officer. Promotion to principal research officer generally takes four years, depending on your skills and experience. If you're employed at a university specialist research centre, your career and salary structures are usually linked to those of lecturing staff.

If you're working for a major research agency, you're likely to start as a researcher before moving on to the role of senior researcher. At director level, you may be in charge of a group of researchers focused on a policy area, and will need strong leadership and management skills.

Promotion from entry level generally leads to involvement in larger projects, project management, tendering for new business, and staff and financial management. Senior researchers are also expected to win new business.

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Social Work Research Methods That Drive the Practice

Social workers advocate for the well-being of individuals, families and communities. But how do social workers know what interventions are needed to help an individual? How do they assess whether a treatment plan is working? What do social workers use to write evidence-based policy?

Social work involves research-informed practice and practice-informed research. At every level, social workers need to know objective facts about the populations they serve, the efficacy of their interventions and the likelihood that their policies will improve lives. A variety of social work research methods make that possible.

Data-Driven Work

Data is a collection of facts used for reference and analysis. In a field as broad as social work, data comes in many forms.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

As with any research, social work research involves both quantitative and qualitative studies.

Quantitative Research

Answers to questions like these can help social workers know about the populations they serve — or hope to serve in the future.

• How many students currently receive reduced-price school lunches in the local school district?
• How many hours per week does a specific individual consume digital media?
• How frequently did community members access a specific medical service last year?

Quantitative data — facts that can be measured and expressed numerically — are crucial for social work.

Quantitative research has advantages for social scientists. Such research can be more generalizable to large populations, as it uses specific sampling methods and lends itself to large datasets. It can provide important descriptive statistics about a specific population. Furthermore, by operationalizing variables, it can help social workers easily compare similar datasets with one another.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative data — facts that cannot be measured or expressed in terms of mere numbers or counts — offer rich insights into individuals, groups and societies. It can be collected via interviews and observations.

• What attitudes do students have toward the reduced-price school lunch program?
• What strategies do individuals use to moderate their weekly digital media consumption?
• What factors made community members more or less likely to access a specific medical service last year?

Qualitative research can thereby provide a textured view of social contexts and systems that may not have been possible with quantitative methods. Plus, it may even suggest new lines of inquiry for social work research.

Mixed Methods Research

Combining quantitative and qualitative methods into a single study is known as mixed methods research. This form of research has gained popularity in the study of social sciences, according to a 2019 report in the academic journal Theory and Society. Since quantitative and qualitative methods answer different questions, merging them into a single study can balance the limitations of each and potentially produce more in-depth findings.

However, mixed methods research is not without its drawbacks. Combining research methods increases the complexity of a study and generally requires a higher level of expertise to collect, analyze and interpret the data. It also requires a greater level of effort, time and often money.

The Importance of Research Design

Data-driven practice plays an essential role in social work. Unlike philanthropists and altruistic volunteers, social workers are obligated to operate from a scientific knowledge base.

To know whether their programs are effective, social workers must conduct research to determine results, aggregate those results into comprehensible data, analyze and interpret their findings, and use evidence to justify next steps.

Employing the proper design ensures that any evidence obtained during research enables social workers to reliably answer their research questions.

Research Methods in Social Work

The various social work research methods have specific benefits and limitations determined by context. Common research methods include surveys, program evaluations, needs assessments, randomized controlled trials, descriptive studies and single-system designs.

Surveys involve a hypothesis and a series of questions in order to test that hypothesis. Social work researchers will send out a survey, receive responses, aggregate the results, analyze the data, and form conclusions based on trends.

Surveys are one of the most common research methods social workers use — and for good reason. They tend to be relatively simple and are usually affordable. However, surveys generally require large participant groups, and self-reports from survey respondents are not always reliable.

Program Evaluations

Social workers ally with all sorts of programs: after-school programs, government initiatives, nonprofit projects and private programs, for example.

Crucially, social workers must evaluate a program’s effectiveness in order to determine whether the program is meeting its goals and what improvements can be made to better serve the program’s target population.

Evidence-based programming helps everyone save money and time, and comparing programs with one another can help social workers make decisions about how to structure new initiatives. Evaluating programs becomes complicated, however, when programs have multiple goal metrics, some of which may be vague or difficult to assess (e.g., “we aim to promote the well-being of our community”).

Needs Assessments

Social workers use needs assessments to identify services and necessities that a population lacks access to.

Common social work populations that researchers may perform needs assessments on include:

• People in a specific income group
• Everyone in a specific geographic region
• A specific ethnic group
• People in a specific age group

In the field, a social worker may use a combination of methods (e.g., surveys and descriptive studies) to learn more about a specific population or program. Social workers look for gaps between the actual context and a population’s or individual’s “wants” or desires.

For example, a social worker could conduct a needs assessment with an individual with cancer trying to navigate the complex medical-industrial system. The social worker may ask the client questions about the number of hours they spend scheduling doctor’s appointments, commuting and managing their many medications. After learning more about the specific client needs, the social worker can identify opportunities for improvements in an updated care plan.

In policy and program development, social workers conduct needs assessments to determine where and how to effect change on a much larger scale. Integral to social work at all levels, needs assessments reveal crucial information about a population’s needs to researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders. Needs assessments may fall short, however, in revealing the root causes of those needs (e.g., structural racism).

Randomized Controlled Trials

Randomized controlled trials are studies in which a randomly selected group is subjected to a variable (e.g., a specific stimulus or treatment) and a control group is not. Social workers then measure and compare the results of the randomized group with the control group in order to glean insights about the effectiveness of a particular intervention or treatment.

Randomized controlled trials are easily reproducible and highly measurable. They’re useful when results are easily quantifiable. However, this method is less helpful when results are not easily quantifiable (i.e., when rich data such as narratives and on-the-ground observations are needed).

Descriptive Studies

Descriptive studies immerse the researcher in another context or culture to study specific participant practices or ways of living. Descriptive studies, including descriptive ethnographic studies, may overlap with and include other research methods:

• Informant interviews
• Census data
• Observation

By using descriptive studies, researchers may glean a richer, deeper understanding of a nuanced culture or group on-site. The main limitations of this research method are that it tends to be time-consuming and expensive.

Single-System Designs

Unlike most medical studies, which involve testing a drug or treatment on two groups — an experimental group that receives the drug/treatment and a control group that does not — single-system designs allow researchers to study just one group (e.g., an individual or family).

Single-system designs typically entail studying a single group over a long period of time and may involve assessing the group’s response to multiple variables.

For example, consider a study on how media consumption affects a person’s mood. One way to test a hypothesis that consuming media correlates with low mood would be to observe two groups: a control group (no media) and an experimental group (two hours of media per day). When employing a single-system design, however, researchers would observe a single participant as they watch two hours of media per day for one week and then four hours per day of media the next week.

These designs allow researchers to test multiple variables over a longer period of time. However, similar to descriptive studies, single-system designs can be fairly time-consuming and costly.

Learn More About Social Work Research Methods

Social workers have the opportunity to improve the social environment by advocating for the vulnerable — including children, older adults and people with disabilities — and facilitating and developing resources and programs.

Learn more about how you can earn your  Master of Social Work online at Virginia Commonwealth University . The highest-ranking school of social work in Virginia, VCU has a wide range of courses online. That means students can earn their degrees with the flexibility of learning at home. Learn more about how you can take your career in social work further with VCU.

From M.S.W. to LCSW: Understanding Your Career Path as a Social Worker

How Palliative Care Social Workers Support Patients With Terminal Illnesses

How to Become a Social Worker in Health Care

Gov.uk, Mixed Methods Study

MVS Open Press, Foundations of Social Work Research

Open Social Work Education, Scientific Inquiry in Social Work

Open Social Work, Graduate Research Methods in Social Work: A Project-Based Approach

Routledge, Research for Social Workers: An Introduction to Methods

SAGE Publications, Research Methods for Social Work: A Problem-Based Approach

Theory and Society, Mixed Methods Research: What It Is and What It Could Be

READY TO GET STARTED WITH OUR ONLINE M.S.W. PROGRAM FORMAT?

Want to learn more about the program and application process? Get in touch with the form below.

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Social Research – Definition, Types and Methods

Social Research: Definition

Social Research is a method used by social scientists and researchers to learn about people and societies so that they can design products/services that cater to various needs of the people. Different socio-economic groups belonging to different parts of a county think differently. Various aspects of human behavior need to be addressed to understand their thoughts and feedback about the social world, which can be done using Social Research. Any topic can trigger social research – new feature, new market trend or an upgrade in old technology.

Select your respondents

Social Research is conducted by following a systematic plan of action which includes qualitative and quantitative observation methods.

• Qualitative methods rely on direct communication with members of a market, observation, text analysis. The results of this method are focused more on being accurate rather than generalizing to the entire population.
• Quantitative methods use statistical analysis techniques to evaluate data collected via surveys, polls or questionnaires.

LEARN ABOUT: Research Process Steps

Social Research contains elements of both these methods to analyze a range of social occurrences such as an investigation of historical sites, census of the country, detailed analysis of research conducted to understand reasons for increased reports of molestation in the country etc.

A survey to monitor happiness in a respondent population is one of the most widely used applications of social research. The  happiness survey template  can be used by researchers an organizations to gauge how happy a respondent is and the things that can be done to increase happiness in that respondent.

Learn more: Public Library Survey Questions + Sample Questionnaire Template 

Types of Social Research

There are four main types of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Research, Primary and Secondary Research.

Qualitative Research: Qualitative Research is defined as a method to collect data via open-ended and conversational discussions, There are five main qualitative research methods-  ethnographic research, focus groups, one-on-one online interview, content analysis and case study research. Usually, participants are not taken out of their ecosystem for qualitative data collection to gather information in real-time which helps in building trust. Researchers depend on multiple methods to gather qualitative data for complex issues.

Quantitative Research: Quantitative Research is an extremely informative source of data collection conducted via mediums such as surveys, polls, and questionnaires. The gathered data can be analyzed to conclude numerical or statistical results. There are four distinct quantitative research methods: survey research , correlational research , causal research and experimental research . This research is carried out on a sample that is representative of the target market usually using close-ended questions and data is presented in tables, charts, graphs etc.

For example, A survey can be conducted to understand Climate change awareness among the general population. Such a survey will give in-depth information about people’s perception about climate change and also the behaviors that impact positive behavior. Such a questionnaire will enable the researcher to understand what needs to be done to create more awareness among the public.

Learn More:  Climate Change Awareness Survey Template

Primary Research: Primary Research is conducted by the researchers themselves. There are a list of questions that a researcher intends to ask which need to be customized according to the target market. These questions are sent to the respondents via surveys, polls or questionnaires so that analyzing them becomes convenient for the researcher. Since data is collected first-hand, it’s highly accurate according to the requirement of research.

For example: There are tens of thousands of deaths and injuries related to gun violence in the United States. We keep hearing about people carrying weapons attacking general public in the news. There is quite a debate in the American public as to understand if possession of guns is the cause to this. Institutions related to public health or governmental organizations are carrying out studies to find the cause. A lot of policies are also influenced by the opinion of the general population and gun control policies are no different. Hence a gun control questionnaire can be carried out to gather data to understand what people think about gun violence, gun control, factors and effects of possession of firearms. Such a survey can help these institutions to make valid reforms on the basis of the data gathered.

Learn more:  Wi-Fi Security Survey Questions + Sample Questionnaire Template

Secondary Research: Secondary Research is a method where information has already been collected by research organizations or marketers. Newspapers, online communities, reports, audio-visual evidence etc. fall under the category of secondary data. After identifying the topic of research and research sources, a researcher can collect existing information available from the noted sources. They can then combine all the information to compare and analyze it to derive conclusions.

LEARN ABOUT: Qualitative Research Questions and Questionnaires   

Social Research Methods

Surveys: A survey is conducted by sending a set of pre-decided questions to a sample of individuals from a target market. This will lead to a collection of information and feedback from individuals that belong to various backgrounds, ethnicities, age-groups etc. Surveys can be conducted via online and offline mediums. Due to the improvement in technological mediums and their reach, online mediums have flourished and there is an increase in the number of people depending on online survey software to conduct regular surveys and polls.

There are various types of social research surveys: Longitudinal , Cross-sectional , Correlational Research . Longitudinal and Cross-sectional social research surveys are observational methods while Correlational is a non-experimental research method. Longitudinal social research surveys are conducted with the same sample over a course of time while Cross-sectional surveys are conducted with different samples.  

For example: It has been observed in recent times, that there is an increase in the number of divorces, or failed relationships. The number of couples visiting marriage counselors or psychiatrists is increasing. Sometimes it gets tricky to understand what is the cause for a relationship falling apart. A screening process to understand an overview of the relationship can be an easy method. A marriage counselor can use a relationship survey to understand the chemistry in a relationship, the factors that influence the health of a relationship, the challenges faced in a relationship and expectations in a relationship. Such a survey can be very useful to deduce various findings in a patient and treatment can be done accordingly.

Another example for the use of surveys can be  to gather information on the awareness of disasters and disaster management programs. A lot of institutions like the UN or the local disaster management team try to keep their communities prepared for disasters. Possessing knowledge about this is crucial in disaster prone areas and is a good type of knowledge that can help everyone. In such a case, a survey can enable these institutions to understand what are the areas that can be promoted more and what regions need what kind of training. Hence a disaster management survey  can be conducted to understand public’s knowledge about the impact of disasters on communities, and the measures they undertake to respond to disasters and how can the risk be reduced.

Learn more:  NBA Survey Questions + Sample Questionnaire Template

Experiments: An experimental research is conducted by researchers to observe the change in one variable on another, i.e. to establish the cause and effects of a variable. In experiments, there is a theory which needs to be proved or disproved by careful observation and analysis. An efficient experiment will be successful in building a cause-effect relationship while proving, rejecting or disproving a theory. Laboratory and field experiments are preferred by researchers.

Interviews: The technique of garnering opinions and feedback by asking selected questions face-to-face, via telephone or online mediums is called interview research. There are formal and informal interviews – formal interviews are the ones which are organized by the researcher with structured open-ended and closed-ended questions and format while informal interviews are the ones which are more of conversations with the participants and are extremely flexible to collect as much information as possible.

LEARN ABOUT: 12 Best Tools for Researchers

Examples of interviews in social research are sociological studies that are conducted to understand how religious people are. To this effect, a Church survey can be used by a pastor or priest to understand from the laity the reasons they attend Church and if it meets their spiritual needs.

Observation: In observational research , a researcher is expected to be involved in the daily life of all the participants to understand their routine, their decision-making skills, their capability to handle pressure and their overall likes and dislikes. These factors and recorded and careful observations are made to decide factors such as whether a change in law will impact their lifestyle or whether a new feature will be accepted by individuals.

Learn more:

Quantitative Observation

Qualitative Observation

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The work experience employers want from social science graduates

‘Work experience’ is a broad term. While it’s widely acknowledged as a must-have asset, every job-seeker should know that not every work experience is created equal.

Context matters – that is, a student’s field of study, types of employers and types of work experience collectively play a role in determining a student’s employability.

New research on this, focusing on the social sciences, sheds some light on the relationship between different work experiences and how favourable they are in the eyes of potential employers.

Scottish researchers investigated three aspects of work experience: type (internship or volunteer role), location (extra- or co-curricular) and duration (six months or two years).

Writing in The Conversation , researchers Amy Irwin and Gabi Lipan said: “We found that extracurricular activities were viewed more positively than co-curricular activities overall. Internships were viewed more positively for graduate level positions compared with volunteer experience. And duration did not have an impact on employability evaluations.”

The findings were based on their investigation of academic, employer and student assessment of a series of fictional CV samples of the same social science student with a 2:1 degree, only each one cites different work experience.

Campaign intern Courtney Reeder hands out signs to supporters at the primary election night event for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on May 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. Source: AFP/Jessica McGowan

It also found that, contrary to previous research, different stakeholders did not hold different perceptions of work experience, ie. students, academics and employers gave similar assessments.

A university degree today is no longer confined to theory-based learning in the confines of the classroom, lecture hallor laboratory. Stints in real-world settings, where students spend time applying what they’ve studied in class, are now crucial components of every graduate’s résumé. Employers support these as a measure to bridge the ‘skills gap’, which refers to the theory that today’s graduates do not possess the skills that transform them into successful employees (this is largely a myth, as we have argued here ).

Nevertheless, the ‘skills gap’ myth persists. In a labour market saturated by more university graduates than ever before, work experience has emerged as a component to distinguish one job candidate from another. Universities are increasingly integrating work-based learning into their curricula, and it’s safe to say that almost every higher education institution today offers at least one option for this in one form or another, in pretty much every course.

In Australia, a new report has found that close to half a million university students took part in industry-led projects, fieldwork, practical simulations and work placements in 2017 – check out these great examples from Down Under. These career-preparation activities, known as work-integrated learning (WIL), are considered important by 91 percent of Australians, with one in three rating them as “extremely important” and a further one in three rating them as “very important”.

A stint at the US Supreme Court would be a valuable addition to a social science CV. Source: AFP/Mark Wilson

But with so many options on offer, authors behind this new study argue that their findings are important in helping the busy student choose the best option to pursue.

“Based on our results, it seems extracurricular activities that take place off campus are to be recommended above co-curricular activities. So it might be better to work as a project assistant for a charity than spend time as a class rep. Internships may also prove more useful than volunteering, though it should be noted that internships are generally more difficult to get hold of than volunteer position,” they advised.

“It’s also worth considering that a long term placement is not necessarily going to be better for your CV than a series of short term placements – so worry less about how long the role will last, and more about what the role involves,” they advise.

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Lived Experience in Social Work: An Underutilised Expertise

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Tanya Mackay, Lived Experience in Social Work: An Underutilised Expertise, The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 53, Issue 3, April 2023, Pages 1833–1840, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad028

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Recent studies examining the lived experiences of social workers suggest that a notable number experience trauma, or other lived experiences including mental ill-health or substance misuse either before or during their careers ( Straussner et al. , 2018 ). Many social workers, including myself, identify with what has been described as a ‘wounded healer’, a concept in which people who have faced challenges, especially those related to health, seek to help others experiencing similar difficulties ( Jung, 1961 ). Jung argued that the lived experiences of ‘wounded healers’ allowed for a unique insight that could be harnessed to enhance support for others via increased empathy, and positioned lived experience as a strength ( Newcomb et al. , 2015 ).

However, as social workers, we are trained in boundaries and to avoid sharing personal information with clients to remain ‘professional’. In my Honours thesis, social work educators told me about social workers wearing hats, switching between their own sense of self and their social worker identities ( Mackay and Zufferey, 2015 ). These accounts suggested that they viewed their core identity as not being suitable in a professional context. It could be proposed that social work’s historical fight to be recognised as ‘professional’ stems from being perceived as a ‘soft’ discipline. This perception can be said to stem from Flexner’s (1915) suggestion that social work lacks the traits of a ‘true’ profession, a criticism that has underpinned a constant search for professional autonomy ( Weiss-Gal and Welbourne, 2008 ). However, as someone with lived experience this push for professionality was stigmatising and left me worried about being seen as incompetent and unsafe based on a diagnosis, rather than my well-being, skills or performance.

Lived experience could be perceived as a risk to social work’s attempts to be seen as a profession. In some literature, disclosure is seen as detrimental to the therapeutic relationship, an unethical crossing of boundaries ( Zerubavel and Wright, 2012 ). Yet, in other fields, for example, peer support work, lived experience is increasingly recognised as a unique expertise that can help others in their recovery, or as an expertise that can improve service design and research ( Adame and Leitner, 2008 ). It was my own lived experience of mental ill-health and trauma that drew me to the social work profession. My first experience with a social worker was someone I couldn’t relate to, I distinctly remember thinking ‘how would they know’ when discussing my situation. To me, the person felt cold and distant, an outsider to the constant chaos I experienced, and consequently I was resistant to support. I lied about what was happening, I didn’t trust they could empathise and I avoided engaging with any of their suggestions. Reflecting back this may have been a teenage response to adult advice, but I also believe that if they had shared something that humanised them at that moment, that made me feel seen as an equal and not the ‘othered’ I may have been more open to working with them. In turn may have started my healing journey much earlier. I also wonder what the impact would have been on my sense of hopelessness at the time if I had seen someone with similar lived experiences having a career, a life outside of their mental illness and trauma.

As I reached the end of school and was presented with the overwhelming decision of what to do, all I knew was that I wanted to help people who had been in the same situation as I was in, to listen to people’s stories and support better mental well-being. I was determined to not be like the social workers I had known. I applied for one degree, and was accepted. Yet, I found my studies isolating. The reading I did told me social workers often had lived experience, but it was never spoken about. We learnt how to reflect on our practice skills, our positionality on issues, but never about where this intersected with our own experiences. People with lived experience were brought in to share their stories, and how we could provide better support, rightly positioned as experts. Some social work degrees even teach entire subjects about lived experience expertise in designing services now. Yet, as students, we were encouraged to compartmentalise and only speak from a professional positionality. In one class, I openly drew on my lived experience in an activity and was pulled aside and warned this wouldn’t be acceptable once I graduated, and that I need to be more ‘objective’. I felt frustrated, my instinct said that using my experiential knowledge would make me a better social worker but I was being told it was not appropriate. I persevered through, squeezing myself into the mould of what social work academics taught me was ‘professional’. I hoped that once I began practice, I would learn from other social workers how to utilise my lived experience knowledge and ensure I was able to maintain my own mental health whilst I supported others.

Yet, in practice, I was still unable to draw on any of the strengths of my lived experience for fear of being seen as ‘unprofessional’. There was, and still is, limited scope for social workers to bring their experiential expertise into their work. I sat with young people who were angry at me for ‘not understanding’ and none of the tools I had gathered from lectures and books really helped me to connect with them. I sat in my office wanting to disclose that my empathy came from having similar experiences, to share the tricks I had learnt to help manage my mental health and the difficult relationships I had with adults in my life. Not because I needed to, or wanted their validation, but because I knew things about systems and strategies for well-being that I couldn’t share without context. However, as sharing that context was considered problematic, I learnt to talk to people without disclosing anything about myself. I was mentored by people who taught me how to avoid personal questions and act like someone who had it ‘together’. I was shown how to case note without any reflection on my own feelings or biases. I worked in a dichotomy where social workers hid their lived experience due to stigma and fear, whilst simultaneously championing experiential expertise in service design. There was a clear line between the ‘professional’ and the ‘service user’, reflecting embedded power dynamics and an ‘us and them’ mentality.

Consequently, despite having significant external therapeutic support, a lack of safe spaces to explore how my own lived experience intersected with the things I experienced at work and resulted in burnout. My mental health began to further decline and like many other social workers ( Finklestein et al. , 2015 ) I experienced vicarious trauma, summed up as harmful effects through exposure to, and empathetically engaging with, other people’s trauma ( Pearlman and MacIan, 1995 ). This was compounded by frustration stemming from being unable to share experiential expertise that may have made a difference to clients’ well-being and pathways in systems.

The more research I do on lived experience the more value I see it has for social work. Literature suggests that there are core values of social work. These values are enumerated via various professional documents and codes of ethics nationally and internationally, and include concepts such as social justice, human dignity and worth, integrity and competence ( Risler et al. , 2003 ; International Federation of Social Workers, 2018 ; Australian Association of Social Workers, 2020 ; British Association of Social Workers, 2021 ). Of note, peer support, a role where the use of lived experience is explicit, shares many of these values, with choice and control, reciprocity, safety, hope and empowerment overlapping with the person-centred, holistic, strengths-based empowerment ideals of social work ( Gillard et al. , 2017 ; Faulkner, 2020 ). Further, there is increasing recognition of the value and impact of such roles with more funding for peer support in both community and statutory settings ( Adame and Leitner, 2008 ). Like peer workers, social workers who have experienced systems hold unique knowledge of how it feels to be in, and the impact of, those systems and can in turn work to address these. Understanding how it feels to be in a system, or to receive care gives insight that cannot be learnt from a book, it allows for an in-depth understanding of how challenges can be overcome to reduce harm.

Many of the skills that could be enhanced via lived experience in social work are also present and valued in peer researcher roles. In peer research I have drawn on my lived experience to better centre and advocate for the experiences of others, build rapport, ensure accessibility and equity in processes and interactions, actively listen and engage empathetically. All of which are skills central to social work that could also be improved through more active engagement and reflexivity with social worker’s own lived experiences.

Social work has also been recognised as being practiced primarily from a western, White paradigm ( Tascón and Ife, 2020 ). The ideologies of care, control and cure are widely accepted in literature as being the historical, traditional and core functions of social work ( Payne, 2006 ). Social workers are described as caring, empathic professionals who simultaneously champion the rights and needs of their clients, whilst acting as agents of social control, undertaking activities and implementing policies that dictate acceptable and unacceptable social behaviours of their clients ( Gibelman, 1999 ; Barnes and Hugman, 2002 ). Although this has shifted to ideas of working with, person-centred support, most social workers are still White women ( Health and Care Professions Council, 2019 ; Mithran, 2020 ), bound by their roles as agents of harmful and discriminatory systems. My own positionality as a White, cis-women based between Australia and the United Kingdom means I hold privilege, particularly when I was in my social work role. Consequently, it is important to recognise the experiences I have described may not be shared by social work colleagues with different intersectional identities/geographies and, in many cases, the challenges described may be compounded by other types of discrimination.

Lived experience offers one pathway to begin to deconstruct and decolonise social work, by elevating the expertise and knowledge of social workers from marginalised groups to change systems to be more equitable. Although I had my own lived experience, working with different marginalised groups showed me the limitations of both my learned and lived experiences. It was clear that many of the approaches I had been taught were not reflective of what they wanted, and were in many cases oppressive. It was mentoring and support by a colleague with similar lived experience to the people we worked with that taught me new ways to work. In this instance, I became a better practitioner through another social worker sharing their lived experience. This furthered my belief that in order to provide safer, truly anti-oppressive services there was a need to diversify away from traditional academic and practice knowledge and open up systems for people with lived experience to thrive in the profession.

Despite the overwhelming potential for lived experience in the social work profession, it does not come without challenges, historically these have positioned lived experience as bringing risk. The belief that ‘wounded healers’ may be at more risk of harm, or of harming people they work with draws on stereotypes of people with mental ill-health as being vulnerable, dangerous or incompetent. I would pose that many of the ‘risks’ described in relation to lived experience are easily overcome through appropriate support structures and reflexivity.

The most cited risk of lived experience is the centring of the social worker’s story over the experiences of the person they are working with. This has often been linked to inappropriate disclosure ( Newcomb et al. , 2015 ). There is concern that disclosure may be done for the benefit of the practitioner, or to push a perspective, rather than to improve the working relationship. It has also been noted that disclosure may be a method in which wounded healers seek to work through their own experiences and, that in essence, disclosure may move the working relationship into the space of a personal one. I feel that these views underestimate the insight of social workers with lived experience. In my own work, I never wanted to share unless I could see it might help in an interaction. Further, it ignores the positive impact of reciprocity in disclosure, which has been evidenced in peer support to reduce power imbalances and create effective working relationships ( Gillard et al. , 2017 ). In practice, I do agree that using lived experience should not be for the therapeutic benefit of the social worker, or an opportunity for what is commonly referred to as ‘trauma dumping’. Social workers who choose to share must prioritise the person they are supporting, consider the purpose of sharing and how will it benefit the person they are working with.

Further, the amount shared and heard should always be discussed and negotiated. A social worker saying, ‘when I experienced (details of incident) I did this, you should try that’, may cause distress due to traumatising details, and centres the social worker’s own experiences. Comparatively, ‘when I was diagnosed, I felt quite isolated too, what types of things do you think might help you feel less alone? If you’re stuck for ideas, I have some that worked for me, but the focus of our work is about what works best for you.’, is broad enough that isn’t triggering, and gives the person choice about whether they want to know more about the practitioners own lived experience. In my peer research work, I have found non-direct references useful, sharing limited details but enough to connect. Weaving lived experience into social work practice is a skill, which takes time and reflexivity to learn. It relies on open, supportive supervision to explore bias and reflect when disclosure has or has not been helpful. Without reflexivity social workers may find their own experience dominates interactions, and could be harmful, rather than helpful.

Further, the emotional burden associated with actively using lived experience cannot be underestimated, and in social work role this could be compounded by vicarious trauma. Personal lived experience is one of the risk factors for vicarious trauma ( Newcomb et al. , 2015 ), and I did experience this whilst practicing. However, I strongly believe that this risk is not inherent in lived experience, but instead in a lack of organisational support for reflection and self-care that occurs for all social workers. Work stress is considered the strongest predictive factor for vicarious trauma and burnout ( Bober and Regehr, 2006 ) and includes issues such as high caseloads, lack of training around traumatic materials, limited or unsupportive supervision and insufficient time for self-care. Many social workers, irrespective of lived experience, feel that time for reflection, supervision and self-care is increasingly scarce and not supported by organisational infrastructure ( Finklestein et al. , 2015 ). For social workers with lived experience these supports are even more important, and without them lived experience cannot be used to its fullest.

Notably, having lived experience has also been recognised as improving resilience and emotional competency of social workers. It has also been suggested those with lived experience may have better-developed reflection skills. This contravenes previous suggestions regarding lack of emotional insight and regulation around disclosure ( Newcomb et al. , 2015 ). Further, vicarious resilience in which workers grow from traumatic experience has been recognised as a protective factor against vicarious trauma from work, especially when supported by strengths-based supervisory discussions ( Frey et al. , 2017 , p. 50). Leveraging this increased resilience may allow workers to not only be more present and invested in the people they work with, but improve retention in the profession.

My current research role allows me to actively use my lived experience in research, the supervision of others and influencing work and gives me access to effective supervision and well-being support. I often feel my resilience has grown significantly more in my explicit lived experience research roles than it ever did in my ‘professional’ social work ones. There are times I miss social work practice, however, whilst there is still stigma, risk and lack of adequate support structures there isn’t a place for me to return to that will make use of my expertise, and support me to be well. Moving forward the social work profession must reconcile that many social workers have their own lived experiences. There is strength in these lived experiences that can be leveraged to make us better practitioners, and improve how we work with people. Embedding lived experience could transform social work, and the systems it functions in. However, if the profession is to genuinely engage with lived experience systems must provide the support and training needed to avoid compounding experiences of vicarious trauma, burnout and stigma.

Author Biography

Tanya Mackay (she/her) is a Senior Research Manager at the McPin Foundation in the United Kingdom; she is a lived experience researcher and supports others to use peer methodologies in a variety of research fields. She holds intersecting lived experiences of trauma, adverse childhood experiences, mental ill-health and long-term physical health conditions as well as having professional experience as a social worker.

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Blog Social work with adults

https://socialworkwithadults.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/19/world-social-work-day-lived-experience-informs-the-very-best-social-work/

World Social Work Day: lived experience informs the very best social work

Jason Brandon, Office of the Chief Social Worker for Adults: It’s National Social Work Week , one of the most important events in the social work calendar. We are also pleased to celebrate World Social Work Day , which brings people together to learn, connect, and raise awareness of the breadth, value and benefits of modern, progressive social work. This year's theme focuses on social workers' capacity to adopt innovative and community-led approaches.

To mark the day, I’m delighted to present this blog from Jak Savage MBE , social care consultant and individual employer of personal assistants (PAs). She provides an invaluable voice of lived experience, both as someone drawing on services and an active agent in their future design.

The value of lived experience

Jak Savage: Collaborating with the Chief Social Worker for Adults Office and the Principal Social Worker Network to co-produce the guidance for the profession on proportionate assessment approaches was a particular highlight for me this past year.

Alongside the webinars on assessments and presenting to the PSW network, I have the ongoing privilege of using my combined lived and worked experience to develop and deliver workshops for the social care workforce. I'm working to celebrate the power of transformational social work and the long-lasting effects great practice has on the lives of those drawing on care and support.

Behind the scenes my day starts early. I'm supported to sit up in bed before one of my four PA’s assists me to bathe, dress, take medication and have meals. Day to day, the care I receive has been finely tuned and personalised to maximise the way I wish to live my life. Investing in my PA’s has been an ongoing priority. If I invest in the care and support of my team, it means I directly reap the benefits through the quality of their care provision.

If I take you back nine years, I was without the health and disability challenges I face today. I was independent, leaving home at 7am in the morning and delivering care and support in people’s homes as part of a local authority reablement team. Before that I was in a short-stay MDT setting for assessments and reablement for adults following hospital discharge or community referral and other varied roles in the sector.

Having this 360-degree perspective has given me wisdom beyond any professional experience I could have picked up in my career. My 30 years working in the sector have made me a well-equipped employer of PA’s.

Transformational care

Daily life is carefully carved around care and support routines which enable a work/life balance within a busy family home. It took me a few years before I had the capacity to work again and get my health under control.

Determination, resilience, and the excellent social work I received have been essential motivators for recognising my potential again. Aspirations that were once extinguished have been reignited through the power of transformational social work practice.

With every new deflating scenario thwarting progression came an enthusiastic social worker with supersized bellows to fan the flames of inspiration. Innovative thinking, being solutions focussed and empowerment won over in the end, as they responded to the ebbs and flows of my ever-changing circumstances.

In the care and support planning for adults drawing upon support having that fluid and dynamic approach that responds to barriers with innovative thinking to overcome them.  Enabling strengths based support planning in my life has had an overwhelming impact upon my wellbeing and health.

Person-centred support

I say my support plan is 90% me and 10% my social worker reigning me in and that is something I celebrate when going to share good practice with other social work teams around the country.

It has not always been just an adult social care journey for me of course. For those local authority colleagues who attend my workshops, I share a journey that started for me in a children’s home.

The influence of social workers' residential practice inspired me to train in social care; to believe in myself, achieve and aspire to go to college and rise beyond my expectations of a life to me that felt broken.

Never has my life’s journey felt more useful in social work practice than it does now. This year's theme, ‘ Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change ’ feels especially poignant.

I celebrate great practice for its ability to construct a future of hope, making lasting change through shared wisdom. I look forward to the coming year to continue using my expertise to improve social work practice development, social care delivery, and the lives of others drawing upon support.

Tags: National Social Work Week , PAs , personal assistants , practice , proportionate assessment approaches , social work , social workers , World Social Work Day

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March 26, 2024 | Jennifer Walker - UConn Health

Medical Students Embrace Interactive Experience Learning the Care of Older Adults

The UConn School of Medicine students immerse in an interactive experience at Duncaster Independent Life Care Community to learn first hand from aging population how to care for their medical, physical and social needs.

Audrey Grotheer, UConn medical student, Ami Desai, COO, Duncaster, Tia Kozar, UConn medical student, Tiffany Smith, Marketing Manager, Duncaster, Emma Carlson, UConn medical student, Kelly Papa, President and CEO Duncaster

Victoria “Tia” Kozar, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine found her biggest inspiration in the field of Geriatric Psychiatry during her undergraduate education at Quinnipiac University when she participated in the first Quinnipiac Students-In-Residence Program. She resided at a Masonicare assisted living community and it was her neighbor and friend Beth who began exhibiting signs of cognitive lapse and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease that drove Kozar’s passion for this field.

Connecticut is a quickly aging state and the Center on Aging at UConn Health is at the epicenter of important outcomes for older adults. It is estimated that most physicians spend more than half of their time providing care for older individuals. In addition, there is an expanding body of knowledge specific to the care of older patients.

By engaging in community-based learning experiences, medical students have the opportunity to interact with older adults in a real-world setting, learn about their needs and experiences, and develop empathy and understanding toward them.

When speaking with older adults in the community Kozar all too often had the conversation that included statements such as “I wished my doctor listened more,” “I feel like I don’t have a voice in my care,” “there are so many things that I wished they knew.”  Kozar knew this was a conversation that had to happen on a larger scale, and she wanted to develop a program and experience where the dialogue could go both ways.

The UConn School of Medicine is teaching all students how to care for an aging population and the leadership at both UConn Health and Duncaster Independent Life Care Community were on board for this immersive experience and eager to have students participate in the program Kozar spent two years creating.

“Duncaster is proud to partner with UConn School of Medicine to offer this learning experience to students,” says Kelly Papa, President and CEO of Duncaster.

Audrey Grotheer and Emma Carlson, both second year medical students at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine were chosen as the pioneers of this pilot program through an application process.  They spent three days at Duncaster’s facility in Bloomfield, Connecticut.  A curriculum complemented their stay included dementia, spectrum of senior care and the variety of roles they could have in the care of older adults.  The program was experiential, and the students participated in activities and meals with the residents.

Grotheer, is still exploring which area of medicine she will study and describes the experience as the “most amazing sleep away camp you would ever experience.”  Having lost all her grandparents she thinks of them often and has happy memories but regrets that they passed before she grew up enough to ask them about them.  Growing in this awareness that people have interesting stories to share about their life, she thought this would be a great program to participate in.

In her weekly clinical rotation at a local cardiac center, many of the patients are older and she appreciated that the program would assist her in learning skills to interact with older adults.  The patients come with life stories that really contribute to their care and the relationship that they form with their providers.

Carlson is from Montana and after earning her undergraduate degree from Colorado College, she took two gap years in England and DC to decided what she wanted to do with a MD/Ph.D. degree she was planning on pursuing.  She wanted to come to a place that would emphasize the patient as much as the science itself and she found that at UConn.

Her plan is to obtain her MD in infectious disease and a Ph.D. in immunology and knows that in her field she will see many older adults and this program helped her with how to apply judgment to help patients in different stages of their health longevity.

Papa has a post it above her desk that says, “by 2027 Aging services will be a career destination for graduating professionals.” She wrote this in 2017, with that goal that in CT we would embrace the vision that students saw working with older adults as a rewarding career path, rather than finding it as an unexpected path.

“Geriatrics is not part of a silo, it’s important to have that experience and be invested in a population that is getting older and getting older fast and to arm our future doctors with the tools to care for older adults,” says Kozar.

While at Duncaster, Grotheer and Carlson stayed in their own separate suite, and both admit that it was not what they expected. They had a luncheon with residents and had structured groups to have conversations about health care. They went to a few meetings and attended a very active residents’ association monthly meeting,

They were able to experience how each area operated in the full continuum of care at Duncaster’s independent life plan community, including independent living facility, assisted living, skilled nursing care and the memory unit.

“This whole experience demystified the care of older adults, a lot of what I have seen through life experiences and media is the downsides of aging, the difficulties and complications of dealing with older adults,” says Grotheer. “I saw happy aging, being in an environment that was engaging and active.”

Carlson met a retired physician who acknowledged the gap in health care and encouraged her to make change and speak more into policy.  He also told her to be aware of patients and their circumstances and give more when you can.

As part of the curriculum, the students kept journals and also participated in a Dementia Friends seminar.  They went away with certificate of a Dementia Friend. They will go into their clinical rotations with these experiences and certifications preparing them to be the best clinical student.

“Almost immediately after experience ended several of the residents at Duncaster reached out asking for the students contact information to stay in touch,” says Kozar. “They had such a lovely time chatting with them and getting to know them and that they wanted to keep that open as friendships blossomed.

Both Grotheer and Carlson would highly recommend that other students participate in this opportunity.  It helps them counsel patients better and be well informed to give advice that is feasible for the people they are taking care of.  While they both recognize that Duncaster is not what all aging care facilities look like, they would like to see the program expand and there to be a longitudinal mentorship that includes visiting a variety of facilities to see differences.

Kozar, who will graduate from medical school in May and will start her fellowship at Yale Psychiatry, hopes to continue to grow and expand on these programs to provide more training and experience in the care of older adults.

“As a Registered Nurse, now CEO, I am grateful my career path led me on an unexpected journey to aging services where I found a very rewarding career.  If you ask most professionals working with older adults if geriatrics was their career destination as a college student, most say no, something happened, and they found it.  But what if students selected it from the beginning?  That is why programs like Masonicare’s and Duncaster’s exist.  Let’s make working with older adults a career destination,” says Papa.

According to Dr George Kuchel, Director of the UConn Center on Aging and the UConn Older Americans Independence Pepper Center, “In the future, our country will be facing even greater challenges when it comes to training sufficient numbers of physicians and other health professions in skills needed to provide high quality evidence-based care for older adults. This is especially true when it comes to mental health issues. With that in mind, I am delighted to see such interest amongst our next generation of physicians. Having served on the Board of Directors at Duncaster for many years, I could not think of a better place for our medical students to go through this type of life changing experience.”

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Most sportswomen experience gendered online harm, affecting wellbeing, research says

Sport Most sportswomen experience gendered online harm, affecting wellbeing, research says

A study by researchers from Deakin University has found that an overwhelming majority of elite sportswomen (nine in 10) have experienced some form of gendered online harm, including 87 per cent in the past year.

And while the mention of trolling and women in sport is often associated with high-profile athletes like Tayla Harris, results showed that women of all profiles, and across all sports, were affected.

Felicity Goodwin, who played elite-level rugby union, says she experienced both blatant sexism, and more insidious attempts to make her feel unwelcome.

"There were the stereotypical comments of 'get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich," she says.

"But there were also ones like 'oh, so you like the Wallabies? Tell me the top try scorers for the last few seasons, or the last three winners of the John Eales medal.' I can do that — but why should I have to?

"The problem was just the fact that I was female, and I had the nerve to be in that space."

The Deakin study surveyed 138 professional and semi-professional athletes from 32 sports, with 85 per cent saying their wellbeing had been affected by online harm, while two in three felt unsafe.

The most common examples of gendered online harm were personal insults (81 per cent), hate speech (62 per cent), attempts to embarrass (60 per cent) and both general and sexual harassment (50 per cent and 39 per cent respectively).

One in four sportswomen also experienced homophobic abuse, and one in five racist abuse.

Goodwin, who last year worked as an assistant coach at the Queensland Reds, was one of those targeted by homophobia.

"Straight-identifying teammates copped it too, but more often with comments around their appearance, like 'what's a pretty girl like you doing in a sport like this?'

"We were probably an easy target, playing women's team sports. Especially if you look at rugby, it's historically a private boys' school sport, and there's very much an 'old boys' mentality to it."

Women in sport stuck in 'vicious cycle'

Associate professor Kim Toffoletti, one of the report's co-authors, said the study explored the impacts of not just being the direct target of abuse, but witnessing it.

"If you're an athlete, and you're seeing women in high-profile positions being abused in these kinds of spaces, the message it sends is that if you succeed in your sport, you'll be trolled, harassed, judged and shamed," she said.

"It's a pretty powerful way of regulating women and sending a message to them about getting back in their place."

As Associate professor Toffoletti explained it, sportswomen are caught in a catch-22 situation when it comes to maintaining an online presence.

More than 97 per cent of athletes reported that it was necessary for them to maintain a social media presence, including 69 per cent who said they needed an account for work, sponsorship or their professional profile.

"They recognised a vicious cycle where their sports weren't getting enough visibility, but when they attempted to put themselves out there — to promote themselves and their activities — they received abuse," she said.

Making matters worse, 81 per cent said that experiencing online harm in turn affected their economic opportunities.

One in 10 also felt it necessary to close their social media accounts, while 64 per cent said they changed their online behaviour in some way, including posting less, or avoiding 'heavy' or politically-charged topics.

"Women felt compelled to present a palatable, pleasant online presence that didn't disrupt or challenge the status quo," Associate professor Toffoletti said.

Onus to solve online harm put on athletes, not offenders

According to Goodwin, the issue of online harm was compounded by sporting organisations and clubs putting the onus onto athletes to solve the problem.

"We have education sessions where we talk about expectations on players and their role in things, like, 'don't go out and antagonise people; don't give them anything and don't respond to them,'" she said.

"But the thing is it's not just a me problem. I'm only replying to things that were sent to me."

Lead researcher Dr Caitlin McGrane said this was a common theme in interviews with athletes, who were consistently told to 'block' and 'ignore' offenders, and be careful about what they posted:

"It puts the onus back on women to be defending themselves from the potential of harassment and harm, rather than stopping men from doing it in the first place," she said.

"Basically we're asking women to shrink themselves down, to take up less space, be less visible and not promote themselves as much, just in case."

Athletes were also regularly encouraged to report abuse, but 80 per cent did not feel safer after doing so.

Goodwin said she reported multiple abusive posts on platforms like Facebook, but was told they did not go against community standards.

"That was despite the fact the phrasing was rather threatening and homophobic."

It also regularly took weeks for her to receive a response.

"So my attitude is, 'what's reporting going to do?'"

Athletes sometimes felt harmed by their own clubs

The results of the research likewise showed that over half of those who experienced gendered online harm did not seek support for it.

Those who did overwhelmingly turned to friends and family or fellow athletes, rather than their clubs, sporting organisations or player unions.

"Some of the athletes we spoke to felt that if they raised it with their club, they were going to be seen as 'mentally fragile', as a complainer, or someone who couldn't 'hack' it," Associate professor Toffoletti said.

Alarmingly, some athletes also felt harmed by their own sporting clubs or organisations.

Respondents provided a variety of examples of this, including being excluded from group chats, misrepresented by their social media teams and lacking autonomy over what was posted about them.

Some of these posts led to body shaming, or sexist and homophobic comments about their appearance (for example being perceived as too 'masculine' or 'aggressive').

As a result, Dr McGrane said researchers came to the conclusion that gendered online harm was not just about trolling from strangers, but "a much broader range of behaviours".

"We understand that social media teams are often under-resourced, and have a lot of pressure to put out content that gets traction," she said.

"But what we'd like to see is cultural change within clubs, to explore the ways that we talk about women's sport, and the way that women athletes are expected to present and perform femininity, because those things drive change in the way that women athletes get treated online."

Culture change required to address gendered online harm

The study also made clear that diverse women experience online harm differently, including LGBTQI+ women and women of colour.

Researchers found that those sportswomen who had experienced both racist and sexist abuse, or racist and homophobic abuse, suffered greater impacts on their wellbeing.

However, they did not experience as significant an impact on their athletic performance, or economic opportunities, compared to other respondents.

"My reading of that is that for women of colour, and queer women, being denied economic opportunities, and having your sexuality and race commented on in relation to your performance is kind of par for the course," Dr McGrane said.

"The fact is, women of colour and queer women are often denied economic opportunities in the first place."

"What it's telling me is that those women are absorbing the impact of online abuse on their own," Associate professor Toffoletti added.

"They often don't feel like they have the same kinds of support, or capacity to talk about it, so they carry the burden alone."

This was compounded by the fact that sporting organisations and clubs were seen as reluctant to 'call out' gendered abuse online.

"This research shows what we've been saying was a problem; it's evidence-based now. They can't turn around and dismiss it, or women, any longer," Goodwin said.

Associate professor Toffoletti agreed, arguing that cultural change was necessary from within sport.

"Perhaps the best way we can shift cultures of online hate and hostility is for organisations not just to back their athletes when they're trolled, but to respect them through adequate remuneration, fair access to facilities, and marketing and promotion budgets that really celebrate women's sport."

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