GOAL OF BOOK

As in the previous editions, our goal is to produce a highly accessible inexpensive “student-friendly,” straightforward introduction to social work research methods couched within the quantitative and qualitative traditions. These are the two research approaches most commonly used to generate relevant social work knowledge. To accomplish our goal we have strived to meet the following simple objectives:

Our book complies with the Council on Social Work Education’s (Council) research requirements. In fact, this book meets all of the Council’s requirement for the research content to be taught in all accredited social work programs. We include only the core material that is realistically needed in order for BSW students to appreciate and understand the role of research in social work; that is, our guiding philosophy is to include only material that they realistically need to know to function as entry-level generalist practitioners; information overload is avoided at all costs. After teaching social work research for decades we asked ourselves a simple question, “What research methodology and statistical content can realistically be taught in a one-semester course given the student population?” The answer to our question is contained in the Table of Content’s link. However, more advanced additional content is easily accessible from this Website such as: evidence-based practice, meta-analyzes, program evaluation, evaluating quantitative and qualitative research reports, systematic reviews, and multivariate statistics, to name just a few. In addition to the access of additional advanced content, this Website also contains relevant Web-based links to tutorials and advanced readings for each chapter in the book. We provide students with a solid foundation for more advanced social work research courses and texts. Our book prepares students to become beginning critical consumers of the professional research literature. It also provides them with an opportunity to see how social work research is actually carried out. We explain terms with social work examples that students will appreciate. Many of our examples center around women and minorities, in recognition of the need for social workers to be knowledgeable of their special needs and problems. This book is written in a crisp style and uses direct language. It is easy to teach from and with. Our book has an extensive companion student-orientated Website that contains numerous student (and instructor) resources. A free Student Workbook is now available (from this Website). Students can easily download the homework exercises, complete them in Word, and then e-mail their completed exercises to their instructors. The Instructors Resources section (password protected) on this Website contains the answers to the exercises. Our book sells for $40.00 new and $15.00-$30.00 used. Hands down, this book is the least expensive research methods text on the market today. We feel that requiring undergraduate students to purchase a far more expensive book (for two or three times the price) is asking way too much of them considering their tuition and textbook costs have been increasing faster than their income levels. On the environmentally-side of things, we continually strive for our book to be 100% green; that is, we comply, whenever possible, on meeting all the requirements of the Green Press Initiative (www.greenpressinitiative.org). On the social/professional responsibility-side of things, we donate 10% of the yearly net profits to the National Association of Social Workers.

Click titles below to view related graduate textbooks • Grinnell, R.M., Jr., & Unrau, Y.A. (Eds.). (2008). Social work research and evaluation: Foundations of evidence-based practice (8th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. • Weinbach, R.W., & Grinnell, R.M., Jr. (2010). Statistics for social workers (8th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. • Grinnell, R.M., Jr., Gabor, P.A., & Unrau, Y.A. (2010). Program evaluation for social workers: Foundations of evidence-based programs (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.