Innovations in social work research : using methods creatively / edited by Louise Hardwick, Roger Smith and Aidan Worsley.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Section 1: Innovations in design and planning -- Action research for social justice: Researching and organising on issues on household debt / Sarah Banks -- A randomised controlled trial of a therapeutic intervention for children affected by sexual abuse / Tricia Jessiman, John Carpenter and Trish O'Donnell -- Front row seats: Why researchers need to get closer to practice and how we can do so / David Westlake -- Archival resources for social work history / Pat Starkey -- A study of long-term outcomes of children with harmful sexual behaviours: Using social media to reach and engage a 'hard-to-reach' population / Simon Hackett with Myles Balfe, Helen Masson and Josie Phillips -- Involving people with dementia in a systemic review / Nicolette Wade and Mike Fisher -- Acting as a critical friend: Developmental evaluations, service users and the role of the researcher / Roger Smith -- Section 2: Innovations in research methods -- Observing social work practice: Using ethnographic and mobile research methods with social workers and service users / Harry Ferguson -- Using mobile methods to explore the lives of marginalised young men in Manchester / Alastair Roy, Jenny Hughes, Lynn Froggett and Jennifer Christensen -- Being brave, doing creative: Using visual ethnography in social work research to explore the impact of space and environment on organisational culture / Jadwiga Leigh -- Researching recovery from substance misuse using visual methods / Julian Manley, Alastair Roy and Lynn Froggett -- Section 3: Innovations in data analysis -- Validating meaning making: The potential of phenomenoloogical inquiry / Sue Thompson -- The elephant in the room: Taking language difference seriously in research / Bogusia Temple -- Data analysis in participatory research with adults with Asperger's syndrome / Jackie Robinson -- Quantitative research and the secondary analysis of longitudinal data in social work research / Martin Elliott -- Section 4: Innovations in dissemination and impact -- Participatory action research: Empowering women to evaluate services / Lena Dominelli -- 'A little bit of what I'm about': Urban photography for social work research / Natalie Robinson -- Incorporating 'Knowledge exchange' into research design and dissemination strategies / Aisha Hutchinson and Cherilyn Dance -- You're not in the picture: Service users, research, involvement and change / Jennifer Taylor, Gina Barrett, Vic Forrest, Peter Beresford and Becki Meakin.

A valuable reference for undestanding and applying innovative approaches to social work research. Featuring extended case studies of actual research projects, this book provides an overview of a number of central features and qualities of social work research. It incorporates both dinstinctive methodological exemplars and provides accounts of researcher strategies to address particular challenges, such as carrying out studies with hard-to-reach populations. This book combines important methodological insights with pragmatic guidance on commonly experienced problems and how these challenges can be overcome. This is a key resource for social work and social care students, social work practitioners and academics engaged in research. -- from back cover.