The Role of Research in Social Work Practice

The Role of Research in Practice - I experienced a significant change in how I think about the importance of research since watching Prisoners of Silence. Before watching the film, I could only access vague ideas about how research might be relevant to my own practice. Because of my own lack of exposure to research, I held a prejudice about researchers being academic-focused individuals who were unwilling to do the hands on work with clients. Now, I believe that while all social workers may not want to participate in or conduct research in their practice, we all have a responsibility to explore the validity of the methods we are using by keeping informed on current research.

Before watching the video would be to encourage clients to try anything that they thought might be helpful to them, whether or not I knew of any legitimate research being done on their method, never even considering researching their method's effectiveness. I have come to understand that one of the differences between being a paraprofessional and a professional social worker lies in the level of responsibility one takes on in serving their clients.

Benefits of Research