TY - JOUR
T1 - Applied social research
T2 - Aiming for impact
AU - Sherraden, Michael
AU - Lough, Benjamin J.
AU - Sherraden, Margaret S.
AU - Shanks, Trina R.Williams
AU - Huang, Jin
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper was spurred by an invitation to present our research in a Grand Challenges for Social Work lecture and discussion series organized by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. We sincerely thank the dean, Amanda Moore McBride, for her leadership, and the series coordinator, Jeff Jensen, for his kind invitation and a very engaged discussion in Denver, which was followed by his suggestion to write this paper for consideration by the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. We also thank all of the people working on the Grand Challenges for Social Work—a very positive initiative in social work scholarship and action.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the Society for Social Work and Research.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - ABSTRAC T Social work and the other applied social science professions aim to marshal evidence to inform beneficial social change. Notwithstanding positive intentions, effective application of research to policy and practice is not always robust in achieving impacts. To do better, we should purposefully connect research to action, including engagement with practitioners and the policy process. We extend the definition of “public impact scholarship” to include this vital connection. Drawing on research from the Brown School’s Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, and from the center’s partners, we share examples of applied efforts, note successes, and acknowledge instructive losses. We also suggest guidelines for effective applied social research, including strategies to ensure objectivity when research and action are conjoined.
AB - ABSTRAC T Social work and the other applied social science professions aim to marshal evidence to inform beneficial social change. Notwithstanding positive intentions, effective application of research to policy and practice is not always robust in achieving impacts. To do better, we should purposefully connect research to action, including engagement with practitioners and the policy process. We extend the definition of “public impact scholarship” to include this vital connection. Drawing on research from the Brown School’s Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, and from the center’s partners, we share examples of applied efforts, note successes, and acknowledge instructive losses. We also suggest guidelines for effective applied social research, including strategies to ensure objectivity when research and action are conjoined.
KW - Asset building
KW - Financial capability
KW - K E Y WO R D S: applied social science
KW - Service and civic engagement
KW - Social innovation
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U2 - 10.1086/706153
DO - 10.1086/706153
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075005563
SN - 2334-2315
VL - 10
SP - 545
EP - 570
JO - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
JF - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
IS - 4
ER -