Research Methods and Social Work: A Study Guide

The Role of Research in Social Work

Research assists in placing social work in its changing political and social context. This implies the ability to define social work's current environment in terms of dynamics such as society and politics. Research assists in establishing a knowledge base and the professional status of social work — for example, it helped establish evidence-based practice. Research also assists in analyzing population-based studies that identify people at risk in social work (Leece & Leece, 2010). It helps social workers understand clients in their social contexts and give voice to those clients. Overall, research provides epistemological and value foundations that define the nature and purpose of social work.

The main reason social workers need to understand research is to make effective use of scientific evidence in the social services they offer to clients. Research assists the social worker in investigating social services and gaining an understanding of the effects of those services, or the need for alternative services. Proper understanding and use of research also assist in realizing basic social work values such as compassion and caring. Understanding research enables a social worker to evaluate the treatment they provide to clients and analyze the results of that treatment. It also allows the social worker to select the best method applicable to the specific social service being offered.

Why Social Workers Need to Understand Research

In social work practice, the concept of exploratory analysis of previous research can be used to draw examples of social work interventions and their effects. This is especially useful in situations where a primary study cannot be carried out due to time constraints. Analysis of previous studies can offer an understanding of the positive and negative outcomes of a specific social work service.

Research can also be used to gather information on a target population in need of services. This includes collecting demographic data such as the number of persons in need, their ages, and the social, health, environmental, and economic factors affecting them. This assists in defining the target group and allocating the most appropriate intervention. The continuous use of research in social work builds a knowledge base that improves professional skills and practice. This knowledge assists in defining social work practice, enhancing effectiveness in interventions, and ensuring accountability, because research can generate new ideas and theories that further strengthen service delivery.

Using Research in Social Work Practice

Furthermore, research is valuable when building the foundations of social programs and policies that affect any population group. It can also be used to evaluate the macro system or an agency's effectiveness in service delivery. Beyond analyzing services provided to groups and individuals, research can evaluate or assess the competence of social agencies themselves.

The study by Regnerus (2012) uses an exploratory research method. The researcher explores a social phenomenon in order to build background information for explanatory research. Specifically, the study explores how young-adult children of parents in same-sex relationships fare across 40 different social, emotional, and relational outcome variables, compared to six family types. The research draws variables from the New Family Structures Study (NFSS), a national data-collection survey of randomly selected 18–39-year-old American adults raised in different family arrangements. The study first explores variables from earlier studies on same-sex parenting and their effects on child outcomes.

The research problem is well defined and clear. Regnerus (2012) begins by identifying the key public policy concern as the establishment of child well-being within marriage and family. The study identifies that the challenge for legislatures is setting the legal boundaries of marriage and adoption rights, particularly regarding the effects of different family structures on children. Specifically, the study focuses on determining the effect of family factors such as the number of parents present and active, genetic relationships with children, marital status, gender distinctions or similarities, and the number of household transitions on a child's development.

Overview and Methodology of Regnerus (2012)

The first hypothesis is that a two-parent household offers the stability and social benefits necessary for a child's development, as compared to same-sex families. This is drawn from a review of literature in the same field that found two-parent married households to be more beneficial for child development than adoptive-parent, single-mother, cohabiting-couple, or ex-spouse households.

The second hypothesis is that same-sex married households are not conducive to the effective development of a child because they fail to provide stability in domains such as behavior, education, and emotional well-being, owing to the fragility and instability of the relationship. The study references work from the American Sociological Review showing that differences between children from same-sex and heterosexual households existed but were not as large as sociologists might expect. The study acknowledges the need to test this hypothesis given that some studies identify advantages for same-sex married households in terms of child development.

Regnerus (2012) uses an ethnographic survey conducted by the NFSS. The survey was distributed via telephone and mail to a randomly selected population using Knowledge Networks, a research firm.

The research uses the population sample from the NFSS, which includes gay, lesbian, and heterosexual adoptive parents. Drawing on data from the National Center for Marriage and Family Research (2010), Regnerus (2012) noted an estimated 580,000 same-sex households in the United States, of which approximately 17% had children. From this base, the NFSS developed a population-based sampling strategy. Because the NFSS includes minority and other groups in its population frame, its sample was deemed appropriate. The NFSS screener survey remained in the field for several months between July 2011 and February 2012, allowing panelists to screen and add population groups. The final sample identified 1.7% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 39 whose parents had been in a same-sex relationship, with a range of 1% to 12%.

The sampling method and sample size were appropriate because the NFSS is a national survey project developed by a team of leading family researchers in demography, sociology, and human development from universities across the United States. The sampling strategy was therefore tested and validated by a team of subject-matter experts.

Prior literature reviewed by Regnerus (2012) found no significant differences between children from same-sex families and those from other family types, which posed a potential challenge to the study's first hypothesis. To address this, Regnerus (2012) used the NFSS, which incorporates a wide variety of family types and has overcome many of the methodological limitations encountered in earlier social research. The NFSS also draws on a substantially larger sample than earlier studies, some of which used as few as 18, 33, or 44 cases — sample sizes that likely contributed to "no difference" conclusions. By using the NFSS population, Regnerus (2012) constructed a large statistical sample to compare outcomes between children of same-sex parents and those of heterosexual married parents. Additionally, the NFSS is a cross-sectional study that collected data from respondents aged 18 to 39 and was conducted over several years, enabling comparative analysis of same-sex and heterosexual families.