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Critical realism in social work research: examining participation of people with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- CRAIG Diane, BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Australian Social Work, 68(3), 2015, pp.309-323.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Critical realism has not been taken up readily within social work research and this may be due to the difficulty of the language and lack of practice examples of its applicability. This paper outlines the basic precepts of critical realism, the implications of these for methodology, and then offers a practical example of its application to social work research in the area of intellectual disability using some of the techniques of more familiar qualitative research methodologies. In response to the increased influence of poststructuralist ideas within social work along with the somewhat contradictory call for evidence-based practice, this paper suggests critical realism as a way of developing empirically based knowledge about the effects of interventions while at the same time accounting for the complexity involved in social work practice. (Publisher abstract)