The Research Journey of a Social Work Student

THE RESEARCH JOURNEY OF A SOCIAL WORK STUDENTLouise McCormick BSW

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BACHELOR of SOCIAL WORKFour year full-time Honours Degree for mature studentsProfessional Accreditation Final requirement is completion of a research dissertationPreparation is key since first year:Read & think criticallyEffective use of resources library, search engines, databasesWrite academicallyReference properly!

lecture notes; search terms tags and indexingHow to take own notes;

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MY STORY2011 26 years since my last exam Leaving Cert!Why Social Work? Interesting vol. / paid work & a good mentorUniversity Total seduction academic writing Awarded CACSSS Scholarship every yearUndergraduate Awards Highly Commended in 2014How did I reach my end goal? (Completion of dissertationBSW!) Group research projectsAgency visitsTwo 14-week student placements in 3rd & 4th yearSupport lecturers & other staff, peers & practice teachers

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WHAT I LEARNEDRead, read, read

Placement:Finally social work in action!Discovered what excited ME

Read, read, read, some more!

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MY DISSERTATIONTUSLAs Meitheal Model central to PPFSJanuary 2014 first placement with Springboard Family Support Agency piloting Meitheal in CorkKey questions:Is it interesting & does it interest me?What do I want to find out? General to specificWill it offer something new?Is it doable? Available literature; ethics; limitations

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MY DISSERTATION cont. A snapshot in time: stakeholder perspectives of the Meitheal Model one year on

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MY DISSERTATION cont. Ontology CONSTRUCTIONISTEpistemology INTERPRETIVE INDUCTIVEMethodology QUALITATIVE soft dataMethods:Semi-structured interviews eight in totalThematic analysis

Ontology in social research concerns the way in which we believe reality exists is it fixed and independent of social actors (objectivism) or constructed by them, changeable and subjective (constructionism)?Epistemology relates to what we regard as acceptable knowledge in a discipline is true knowledge gained through objective, empirical research (empiricism) or through subjective processes that account for different meanings and interpretations (interpretivism)?Inductive approach to theory generation concepts and theories extracted from analysis of data.8

TOOLSMake a Schedule try to stick to it as closely as possible!Journal / notebookInteresting articles / books / quotes / observationsBrainstorm ideasUseful contactsQueries for supervisorMap chapters / word count etc.Lecture notes slides, handouts, own notesSkills role plays, placement experience, reflective journal

RESOURCESUCC Library for real & virtual books & journal articles:DATABASES

RESOURCES cont. Books / articles on social research:Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project. 5th ed. Berkshire: Open University Press.Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), pp.77-101.Bryman, A. (2012) Social Research Methods. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Smith, R. (2009) Doing Social Work Research. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education.Whittaker, A. (2009) Research Skills for Social Work. Exeter: Learning Matters.

RESOURCES cont. Books of my own, garnered over time

RESOURCES cont. PEOPLEDissertation SupervisorLecturers, tutors et al.Former practice teachers and agency staffParticipants in my studyCollege peersFriends Family (saved best till last!)

CONSIDERATIONSLimitations of research time & word countEthics who? what? how?Researcher position transparencyPolicy / Lit. review ideally before fieldwork I got stuck!Tenses Past? present? future? MIXED!Fieldwork enjoyable because its YOUR OWNData Analysis enjoyable too but coding takes timeThemes and subthemes use quotes; compare to literature

CONSIDERATIONS cont.Question findings What you expected? Any surprises?Discussion and recommendations:Revisit rationaleYOUR critical analysis of findingsWhat does it mean?What recommendations do you have?Concluding paragraph or twoDONT FORGET to keep social work to the fore:What does this mean for social work policy / practice?

WHAT NOW?Dissemination; Publication; Research OpportunitiesHOW?Stay in contact with UCC App. Soc. & SW Depts.Practice Links voluntary contributorSocial media esp. andIrish Social Worker Journal article in next issueIASW Practitioner Researcher SIG memberIASW Research Connect connect to a mentorPrepare to push self & get #outofcomfortzone Get social work experience FIND MY NICHE

LouiseBSW@gmail.com https://ie.linkedin.com/in/louisebsw @LouiseBSW