Advancing the production, utilisation and impact of social work research to generate innovation in human services

The aim of the Advancing Social Work Research project is to increase the production, utilisation, and impact of social work research in Australia in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of human services. It is designed to enhance conceptual, methodological, and empirical understandings of the distinctive nature of social work research and its contribution to human services policy and practice.

The project (commencing 2017) will examine the scope and quality of Australian social work research in three key fields (child protection, disability services, and aged care). The research questions are:

What is the scope and quality of social work research in the human service fields of child protection, aged care and disability in Australia?
What are the strengths and limitations of this body of research?
What is the impact of social work research on human services delivery in the selected fields?
What strategies can advance social work and human service research productivity, uptake and impact in Australia?

The combined findings from each phase will inform action on long-term strategies for research growth and development, improved research training, the formation of research networks, the identification of research leaders, and more strategic research engagement between research and service delivery sectors.

Why is the research being conducted?

Quality research is critical to inform policies, program design and implementation, and innovative ways of working in the human services. The industry relies on social work, as a dominant profession, for the production of research to drive the innovation needed to better respond to entrenched disadvantage and social exclusion. However, the social work research base has significant limitations. There are many reasons for this: under-investment in social work related research and the infrastructure necessary for its production, inadequate workforce training and development, and tensions between research and practice. Prior research has noted limitations in methodological range and expertise, as well as theory development in social work research. While it is important to extend knowledge of evidence-based interventions, it is also essential to generate knowledge and new ways of thinking through different types of studies, developing theory and new practices. The expected impact of this research is the emergence of a future-oriented, international research agenda from which innovative responses to social need can prosper.

The research team

Professor Clare Tilbury, Leneen Forde Chair of Child and Family Research, School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University.
Professor Mark Hughes, Head of Social Work, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Southern Cross University.
Professor Christine Bigby, Director Living with Disabilities Research Centre, LaTrobe University.
Professor Mike Fisher, Director Institute of Applied Social Research, University of Bedfordshire, UK

For further information contact Professor Clare Tilbury on email: c.tilbury@griffith.edu.au

Publications

Tilbury, C., Hughes, M., Bigby, C. (accepted 29 October 2018) ‘An analysis of Australian Research Council grants awarded for social work projects 2008-2017’, forthcoming in Australian Social Work.

Abstract

The quantity and quality of social work research is central to creating knowledge for the profession and maintaining social work’s presence and status in universities. This study examines Australian Research Council grants awarded for social work projects for the ten-year period 2008-2107. It investigates the quantum of grants and the topics addressed, and compares social work to related social sciences. The field of social work was awarded 84 research grants over the 10-year period, a total of $23 million and an average of 8.4 grants per year. However, this did not match the grant successes of the two comparator fields of criminology and social policy and administration. Having a clear picture of research achievements, including grants, is necessary to enable the discipline to plot a strategic way forward, addressing gaps and deficits, and building on strengths.

Key points

Increasing research grant success is vital to the ongoing development of the social work knowledge base, and bolsters the standing of social work in universities.
Maximising the use of social work Field of Research code 1607 will increase the visibility of social work research, especially in multidisciplinary projects.
Social work researchers should publicise competitive grant successes, including via the AASW professional association.

Bigby, C., Tilbury, C., & Hughes, M. (2017). Social Work Research in the Field of Disability in Australia: A Scoping Review. Australian Social Work, 1-14. doi:10.1080/0312407X.2017.1364397

Abstract

Although in Australia disability is receiving unprecedented attention with the rollout of major reforms, the body of research on disability to inform policy and practice has been found “not fit for purpose”. This scoping review of empirical research papers published by Australian social work authors between 2007 and 2015 investigated the quantity, nature, and scope of social work research on disability in Australia. We found a steady growth, an annual average of 13.8 papers, and a total of 124. Social work disability research makes a distinctive contribution; it is contextualised in service systems or policy, has a greater focus on community and civic participation and social relationships, and concentrates on adults, with either intellectual disability or traumatic brain injury. These research strengths provide foundations for building the profession’s research capacity and informing its practice and contribution to the multidisciplinary field of disability.

Key Points

During this study’s period of 2007 to 2015 the number of disability papers published per year increased from 6 to 21.
Three authors accounted for 63.0% of all the social work papers, with most other authors only publishing once.
Social workers work with other disciplines. 79.0% of publications were published by a multidisciplinary team and most articles were published in a multidisciplinary journal.
Research tended to be descriptive with two dominant domains addressed being health and wellbeing (n=34: 21.4%) and community and civic participation (n=28: 22.6%).
Australian disability research needs to expand to include; gender, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, rural and remote issues and to use participatory methods.
Research should make the connection to social work explicit to enhance its application in practice and education.

Tilbury, C., Hughes, M., Bigby, C., Fisher, M., and Vogel, L. (2017). A comparative study of Australian social work research. British Journal of Social Work. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcw135

Abstract

The quality and quantity of social work research is not simply a matter of academic inquiry, it has real-world implications for practitioners, policy makers, and the community. Internationally, research assessment exercises being undertaken in university sectors are shaping notions of research productivity, quality, and impact. This paper advances empirical understandings of the nature of social work research in Australia, through an interdisciplinary and cross-national comparative analysis of performance data reported in the research assessment exercises Excellence in Research for Australia 2012 and 2015, and the UK’s Research Excellence Framework 2014. It found that compared to other social science disciplines, social work in Australia is a mid-level performer in terms of quantity and above-average in terms of quality, but when compared to social work and social policy research in the UK, quality is rated less highly. It argues for more transparent criteria to assess quality within peer-review research assessments and careful consideration of ways to document and evaluate research impact that are relevant to the discipline, capable of capturing the many and varied ways that research can influence policy and practice over time.

Key Points

Australian social work research quality was rated highly compared to criminology and policy and administration. In ERA 2015 approximately 40 per cent of social work submissions were rated as above or well above world standard, compared to 30 per cent for criminology and 20 per cent for policy and administration.
Policy and administration researchers generated at least double the amount of research income across the two ERA rounds compared to both social work and criminology.
Internationally, Australian combined social work and social policy research was rated less highly. Approximately 70 per cent of UK social work and social policy submissions were rated as internationally excellent or world leading, compared to 30 per cent of Australian social work and social policy research.
Adding impact measures to ERA, that go further than the metrics and esteem measures to demonstrate social value, should benefit social work. However, to work for the discipline, quality measures must be transparent, more comprehensive on all the criteria (productivity, quality, peer review, esteem, impact), and take context into account.

Hughes, M., Bigby, C., and Tilbury, C. (2016). Australian Social Work Research on Ageing and Aged Care: A Scoping Review. Journal of Social Work. doi:10.1177/1468017316654346

Abstract

Summary: Little is known about the quantity, nature and range of Australian social work research on ageing and aged care. This scoping review involved a comprehensive search of seven online bibliographic databases. The review identified 108 peer-reviewed journal articles, published between January 2007 and June 2014, that reported Australian social work research on ageing and aged care.

Findings: The average number of authors per paper was 2.10 with most social work researchers co-authoring papers with non-social workers. The main topics of research focus were health and rehabilitation, elder abuse, asset management, community services and caregiving, housing and residential aged care, and ageing with an intellectual disability. The findings highlight the contribution social work researchers make to multidisciplinary gerontological research, and to understanding the lived experiences of older people and the provision of services. However, they also point to the relative paucity of research focusing on direct social work practice with older people, and the little evidence of the participation of older people and carers in the design and delivery of research.

Applications: The findings indicate the need for capacity-building strategies, such as developing networks of Australian social work researchers on ageing and aged care, to improve research outputs in this area.

Key Points

The amount of social work research on ageing and aged care is relatively low, with an annual average of 14.4 papers published over 7.5 years.
Social workers publish in interdisciplinary teams - 29.5% of all authors of the selected papers were social workers.
Of the 53 journals authors published in, the majority (56.6%; 30/53) were health journals, followed by social work journals (15.1%; 8/53), generic ageing journals (9.4%; 5/53) and disability journals (9.4%; 5/53).
Health was the main research topic of the articles with 24.1% of the articles addressing health or rehabilitation issues and 15.7% on elder abuse.
Australian social work researchers on ageing and aged care appeared to have an international outlook with 70% of articles published in international journals.
If the significance and richness of social work with older people were more appreciated by qualifying social work students, then perhaps research careers in ageing and aged care may be easier to stimulate.

Tilbury, C., Hughes, M., Bigby, C. & Osmond, J. (2015). Social work research in the child protection field in Australia. British Journal of Social Work. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcv123

Abstract

Social work makes an important contribution to child protection practice and policy in Australia, but data are limited about the discipline’s contribution to research. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the quantity and nature of Australian social work child protection research for the period 2007-2014. A comprehensive search of nine bibliographic databases identified 255 peer-reviewed articles. The papers were authored by 287 researchers, most of whom published only one paper during the period. The research was published in 17 Australian and 35 international journals. Non-empirical papers and those using qualitative methodologies were most prevalent, and there was a lack of research depth and quantum on particular child protection topics. The findings indicate that developing more sustained programs of research, underpinned by a balanced portfolio of methods and approaches, would maximise the potential for research impact on child protection policy and practice.

Key points

68 % of social work authors published only one paper in the 8-year period.
40% of papers were published in international journals, mainly Child and Family Social Work and Children and Youth Services Review.
Non-empirical papers— those with no primary field data, experimental work, or analysis of secondary data contained in the paper—predominated at 47.1 per cent.
Although specific issues pertaining to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families were examined (programs to address trauma, intervention in communities, over-representation in child protection, community violence, effective practice approaches), compared to other topics, attention could best be described as modest.
The growth and development of an Australian child protection research base that includes a strong contribution from social work is needed in order to maximise research impact for the benefit of children and families, to advance the standing of the profession, and to improve the evidence base for practice.