what is action research in social work

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Article contents

Action research.

• David P. Moxley David P. Moxley School of Social Work, University of Oklahoma
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.831
• Published online: 01 October 2013

Through cycles of systematic and purposeful iterative engagement with problems they face in specific practice settings, social workers engaging in action research build knowledge that is useful in advancing practice for the purposes of social betterment. This entry situates action research in the development of social-work knowledge and then examines variants of action research formed when degrees of participation and control vary among members of vulnerable populations, particularly within community situations involving coping with a degraded quality of life. The author identifies the importance of methodological pluralism and addresses how sound action research results in knowledge dissemination and utilization for the purposes of social betterment, often through alternative methods of inquiry. The entry concludes with caveats social workers engaged in action research should heed, and the author emphasizes the pivotal role social work can serve in local efforts to engage in knowledge development for social betterment.

• action learning
• action research
• community development
• evaluation practice
• knowledge development and management
• practice advancement
• social research and development

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date: 13 December 2024

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