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44 - Undergraduate Research in Social Work Education

Challenges and Possibilities

from Part III.6 - Disciplines A–Z

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2022

By
Angelique Jenney ,
Lauren K. Birks  and
Christine Ann Walsh
Edited by
Harald A. Mieg ,
Elizabeth Ambos ,
Angela Brew ,
Dominique Galli  and
Judith Lehmann
Harald A. Mieg
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Elizabeth Ambos
Affiliation:
Council on Undergraduate Research, Washington DC
Angela Brew
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
Dominique Galli
Affiliation:
Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
Judith Lehmann
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Summary

Undergraduate research education is increasingly important for social work practitioners given the demands for evidence-based practice in social service delivery. Increasingly research competency or new knowledge integration into practice has been identified as a professional responsibility. However, social workers eill often not use or engage in research in their practice settings, tasking social work educators to address this gap through developing innovative undergraduate curricula through which student learners can be engaged. This chapter examines the literature in this area and identifies several proposed engagement strategies such as incorporating research tasks directly into coursework, creating research assistant positions or internships, developing partnerships with community-based agencies to provide applied research opportunities or through case study scenarios and guest speakers, and using ‘real’ research datasets for qualitative/quantitative training. Building mentorship opportunities through research teams including undergraduate and graduate students to facilitate both teaching and learning opportunities in research may also be of benefit.

Keywords

undergraduate researchsocial work educationevidenced-based practiceexperientialresearch competencycommunity-based researchresearch trainingresearch mentorshipsocial work practicesocial workers
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research , pp. 414 - 422
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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