socw 6301 wk1

Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work

© 2021 Walden University, LLC 1

Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work Program Transcript NARRATOR: Imagine that you are a social worker and encounter a situation with a

client that you have not had before. Maybe the case is complex, and you're unsure of

the treatment path. Or you'd like to know how to work most effectively with a specific

population. In either case, you need to look for the best available evidence to assist in

decision making. Where would you go for this evidence?

You might act on instinct and experience or seek out a supervisor's wisdom. You might

also turn to the social work body of literature for credible evidence-- in other words,

scientific research conducted by social work professionals. You could then integrate the

knowledge gained from the research with your own expertise and with the unique

characteristics and values of the client to make the best possible decision.

This process represents evidence-based practice. Evidence based practice drives

social work, with each aspect of the model equally important. This course deals with

most specifically with the best available evidence or research area of the model.

Coming into this course, you might not be all that familiar with scientific research. You

might feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed.

But if you think of research as getting an answer to a question or solving problem, you

might find it more manageable and relatable. After all, you ask plenty of questions in

your everyday personal and professional life, and are continually adding the answers to

your own knowledge base.

Scientific research has a distinct process, just as social work researchers do. In this

course, you will follow a line of inquiry as you develop a question, review and critique

the social work literature, and plan a research study. You won't actually conduct the

study. But you will be able to engage with every step of the planning.

Through this process, you should gain insight not only about the question you seek to

answer, but about evidence-based practice as well.