From Scientism to Science: How Contemporary Epistemology Can Inform Practice Research

Abstract

Fifty years ago, social work understood research as depicted by logical positivism and its successors, and an obsolete scientism still held sway. This paper will briefly trace the history of the epistemological debate that has taken place in social work in the last 30 years, which is directly related to the credibility of agency-based research and of qualitative methods as well as to issues in knowledge development about oppressed groups. Contemporary epistemologies-realism and pragmatism-offer frameworks that are compatible with what is needed for practice-relevant research and knowledge development: firm grounding for methodological pluralism, attention to the social and political nature of science, the embrace of theory, and an end to scientism without resort to relativism. If these changes in epistemological thinking can be fully embraced, the twentyfirst century can be a very productive one for agency-based and practice-relevant social work research.Keywords Social work research Á Epistemology Á Realism Á Pragmatism Á Critical theory Á Practice research Fifty years ago, social work and the social sciences understood research as depicted by logical positivism and its successors. In 1960, what Heinemann (Pieper) (1981 called an obsolete scientism still held sway, discrediting both practice-based research and analytically-informed practice. Since then, social work has grown in the sophistication of its thinking about epistemology, which can legitimate practice-relevant research methods and models for the future. However, greater knowledge of contemporary epistemologies will be needed to strengthen practicerelevant research in the years to come. This paper will briefly trace the history of the epistemological debate that has taken place in social work in the last 30 years, which is important for the credibility of agency-based research and of qualitative methods as well as to issues in knowledge development about oppressed groups. It will outline two contemporary epistemologiesrealism and pragmatism-that can inform and support a range of research methods and innovative approaches to practice-relevant research. Influences from social constructionism and from feminist and post-colonialist analyses will also be briefly discussed since they have influenced contemporary thinking in both realism and pragmatism.To position myself in this task, I am not formally educated in philosophy or epistemology. However as a teacher and practitioner of social work research, I encountered problems with the dominant view of science and research, and I was fortunate to have had a doctoral education that introduced me to epistemological thinking. Feminist critiques of knowledge development were also influential. The views I have developed on these matters come from reading in the field over many years, but they do not do justice to the precise and important debates that take place among philosophers of science. My goal instead is to present the broad outlines of two kinds of current epistemological thinking. However, no reader should ...

Current Issues in Social Work Doctoral Education

“…Some of the most prominent U.S. faculty scholars do their research under conditions that contrast markedly with present agency-based work environments (Fong, 2012). Regrettably, this encourages a one-way relationship between research and practice (Anastas, 2012b(Anastas, , 2014Johnson & Munch, 2010) that reinforces a secondary "consumer" role for practitioners in their relationships with researchers (Katz, 2006). Even doctoral students note that their programs are more aligned with a "culture of academia" and that their practice experiences and interests are devalued; some clearly "wish there could be a way to bring together practice and research" (Anastas, 2012a, p. 44).…”

“…In response to this dilemma, there is a strong argument for doctoral social work education that promotes methodological pluralism, that is, a collection of scientific approaches that are compatible with practice-relevant research (Anastas, 2012b(Anastas, , 2014Cornish & Gillespie, 2009;Feilzer, 2010;Oktay, 2012). This paradigm, which might be called "methodological humility," contends that there is no one best method but instead urges researchers to determine which method (or combinations of methods) best addresses real-world questions.…”

“…In this discourse, it is essential that practice research incorporates problems important to a variety of stakeholders (Anastas, 2012b), not simply those which elite researchers-or their funding sources-deem important. Anastas (2012b) specifically pointed to Epstein's clinical data mining (Epstein, 2010(Epstein, , 2011 as a means to engage practitioners in the systematic collection and analysis of agency data to answer practice-generated questions.…”

“…Anastas (2012b) specifically pointed to Epstein's clinical data mining (Epstein, 2010(Epstein, , 2011 as a means to engage practitioners in the systematic collection and analysis of agency data to answer practice-generated questions. She also identified community-based participatory action research (Torre, Fine, Stoudt, & Fox, 2012) as an empowerment tool for engaging community partners in research, and as being highly compatible with the social justice mission of the profession.…”

Doctoral Education in Social Work: An Essay Review

“…A. Thyer in qualitative research, and the possibility therefore remains that the author selected comments that inadvertently reflect personal biases, reinforcing the widespread (but incorrect) perception that qualitative methods are inherently less empirical. Although this may not be true of this book, Anastas's championing of qualitative research (Anastas, 2012) makes her lack of narrative analysis here regrettable.…”