Session: Meeting the Challenge of Research-Practice Integration: Conducting Practice-Based Research in and with Diverse Communities


Sunday, 15 January 2006: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM

Meeting the Challenge of Research-Practice Integration: Conducting Practice-Based Research in and with Diverse Communities

Organizer:	Andrea Savage, PhD, Hunter College
		Meeting the Challenge of Research-Practice Integration: Conducting Practice-Based Research in and with Diverse Communities Sarah-Jane Dodd, PhD, Irwin Epstein, PhD
		Negotiating the Intersection between Practice and Research in and with Diverse Communities Nancy Feldman, PhD, Irene Chung, PhD, Andrea Savage, PhD
		The Role of Social Work Education in Developing Practice-Based Researchers Harriet Goodman, DSW, Darrell P. Wheeler, PhD
		Applying Multiple Methods in Practice-Based Research: Student and Faculty Exemplars Darrell P. Wheeler, PhD, Andrea Savage, PhD, Irwin Epstein, PhD
		Utilization of Research Knowledge: Moving from Evidence-Based Practice to Practice-Based Research Bernadette Hadden, Irene Chung, PhD, Nancy Feldman, PhD
Abstract Text: Practice-based research (PBR) has been defined as “the use of research-inspired principles, designs and information-gathering techniques within existing forms of practice to answer questions that emerge from practice in ways that inform practice" (Epstein, 2001 p.17). PBR studies can be conducted by agency researchers, academics, practitioners, students and service recipients (Hess, 1995). Emphasizing knowledge-generating strategies that are congenial with practice, PBR-oriented researchers find that randomized, controlled experiments are rarely appropriate. Instead, they rely on descriptive and quasi-experimental designs, the gathering of available as well as original data and the application of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methodologies. One expression of this methodological preference is the recent attention given to practitioner involvement in clinical data-mining studies (Epstein and Blumenfield, 2001; Peake, Epstein and Medeiros, in press). More generally, for the past two decades, the faculty at a large, urban School of Social Work has integrated PBR into its research curricula in both the Master's and Doctoral Programs, grant-related research projects, consultations with outside agencies and publications. Accordingly, this symposium is intended to describe key elements in the pedagogy and implementation of PBR, with special focus on its challenges as an activity located within existing practice. Exemplars in diverse practice arenas with diverse client populations will be drawn from student and faculty research projects throughout the symposium. In addition, points of tension and convergence between PBR and evidence-based practice will be explored. Following the trajectory of the PBR process, symposium presentations cover four key areas: Presentation #1 “Negotiating the Intersection between Practice and Research in and with Diverse Communities” identifies and discusses key issues that arise when negotiating the complex and varied values and realities of intersecting systems including the agency, the practitioners, the consumers, and the academy. Presentation #2 “The Role of Social Work in Developing Practice-Based Researchers” discusses research strategies designed to increase social work students' ability to respond to the demands for evidence-based practice and the need to meet agency mandates. Presentation #3 “Applying Multiple Methods in Practice-Based Research: Student and Faculty Exemplars” explores the application of multiple PBR methods to provide evidence regarding efficacy and appropriateness of social work interventions. Presentation #4 “Utilization of Research Knowledge: Moving from Evidence-Based Practice to Practice-Based Research” discusses ways in which practice-based research approaches bring practitioners into the center of the research process, thereby increasing the utilization of knowledge derived from research. Collaborations between faculty researchers and practitioners, clients, students and administrators will be illustrated, with particular attention paid to how such collaborations influence the process of knowledge utilization. The symposium's concluding discussion will consider the strengths and limitations of PBR and its primary and secondary benefits for knowledge-building, organizational and professional development. Time will be left for discussion with Symposium attendees.

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See more of Meeting the Challenge: Research In and With Diverse Communities (January 12 - 15, 2006)