Search results for ‘Publisher:"social services research group"’ Sort:
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Researching partnerships: politics, ethics and pragmatism
- Author:
- BALLOCK Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 25(2/3), 2007, pp.71-78.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
This article explores some of the political, ethical and practical issues encountered by researchers in studies of partnership. It briefly reviews different types of research and evaluation and the extent to which these have been politically driven. Because much partnership research is both atheoretical and ahistorical, this article considers some of the implications of applying different conceptual frameworks, such as systems theory, complexity theory and network theory. It concludes that without more strategic steps from central government to address entrenched inequalities, much partnership working is likely to remain ineffective in improving people's lives.
'Social care', the 'care ethic' and 'carework': new definitions - new directions?
- Authors:
- HUXLEY Peter, EVANS Sherrill, MAEGUSUKU-HEWETT Tracey
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 25(1), 2007, pp.3-11.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
In Dame Denise Platt's report on the status of adult social care in England (2007), she states that the notion of social care is poorly understood. This paper examines the concepts of 'social care', 'care ethic' and 'carework' in the hope of progressing the debate about the meaning of social care more generally. It is suggested that the narrow idea of social care meaning only services delivered by an industry of providers has some disadvantages. Broader perspectives are explored such as the notion of care work (derived from the care ethic) which transcends traditional conceptual and professional boundaries. The relative merits of different conceptions of care are discussed and their implications for policy and practice are considered.
The costs of scrutiny in applied health and social care research: a case study
- Authors:
- HUXLEY Peter, DAVIDSON Bill, KING Sarah
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 23(1), 2005, pp.55-60.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
This article is informed by the authors experience of seeking approval to undertake three funded research projects, between them covering 17 locations across England. The time taken to seek approval for one of these projects is described as a case study. The authors make a number of suggestions for improving the implementation of research governance, including the harmonisation of procedures, greater reciprocity between different organisations, and the registration of researchers.
Telling different stories: user involvement in mental health research
- Author:
- ROSE Diana
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 22(2), 2004, pp.23-30.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
Looks at the developmental process of a user researchers unit based in a prestigious academic institution and issues raised by this placement. Highlights the process by which user researchers can be effective in enabling other user voices to be heard in the context of undertaking good quality research aimed at optimising opportunities for user participation. Key relationships with academic researchers are looked at within the context of the examples of research methodology which allows users' testimonies to be considered as evidence. The nature of evidence is discussed in the light of Foucault's theoretical position on power and knowledge as well as that of feminist research.
Research governance and its implications for housing studies
- Authors:
- EVANS Simon, VALLELLY Sarah
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 22(1), 2004, pp.47-52.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
The ethics of studying vulnerable individuals have up to now been left largely to the integrity and professionalism of individual housing researchers, with very few of them having to deal with formal ethics committees. However, this may be about to change because of the introduction of a Research Governance Framework by the Department of Health. Using a qualitative research project as an example, this article examines the significant implications of this change for researchers, funders and commissioners.
Innovative methodologies: can we learn from including people with dementia from South Asian communities?
- Authors:
- WILKINSON Heather, BOWES Alison, RODRIGUES Abah
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 21(2), 2003, pp.43-53.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
Examines the methods used in a feasibility study which aimed to find ways of making contact with and gaining access to people from South Asian communities with a diagnosis of dementia and to explore their experiences of service provision. The article begins by discusses the opportunities for methodological learning from the inclusion of people with dementia from South Asian communities. Argues that work in the area of dementia and minority ethnic groups does not require any fundamentally different method and is only considered innovative through its inclusion of previously excluded individuals. Outlines the routes to inclusion before discussion some of the concerns and issues encountered during the study. Concludes that inclusion in research can be seen as a series of issues about power, relevant to practice and research, where individuals previously considered too difficult to reach or impaired to include can offer important insights into their personal experiences of service use.
Research across the social and primary health care interface: methodological issues and problems
- Authors:
- LEVIN Enid, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 20(3), 2002, pp.17-30.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
The policy of much closer working between health and social services increases the importance of developing robust methodologies to evaluate the process of collaboration and their outcomes for service users and carers. The policy assumption that closer integration should yield more positive outcomes remains largely untested in systematic studies with a comparative design. This article describes a feasibility study for such a comparison, and outlines the problems encountered. These include variable involvement of social workers, difficulties in engaging general practitioners, inconsistent documentation of social care in general practice records, and ethical difficulties in engaging older people in service evaluation.
Research and development in social care: governance and good practice
- Author:
- LEWIS Janet
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 20(1), 2002, pp.3-10.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
This article examines some of the changes posed by the Department of Health's proposals for a research governance framework for social care, focusing particularly on the ethical dimensions. These challenges included the definition of research; what constitutes ethical research design and how this differs from ethical practice; the process of ethical scrutiny; and the role of the Research Ethics Committees (RECs). The need to raise ethical standards across the whole of the social research, not just social care, is discussed together with the rights of individuals to decide for themselves whether to participate in research. Some suggestions are put forward for ways of carrying out ethical scrutiny, and for developing ethical practice, without the creation of RECs for social care.
Social workers, legislation and child care practice in the 1990's
- Author:
- HUNTINGTON Annie
- Journal article citation:
- Social Services Research, 1, 1998, pp.14-32.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
This article reports on the preliminary findings of a small scale qualitative research project which focuses on contemporary perceptions of current social work dilemmas within statutory children and families services. In particular it seeks to articulate and analyse the connections between macro (the welfare state), mezzo (the personal social services), and micro (personal and interpersonal issues which influence the extent to which the Children Act 1989 is said to have been implemented by those working within a small metropolitan authority.