Prising open the black box: Critical realism, action research and social work

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    93 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    There is a growing interest in critical realism and its application to social work. This article makes a case for adopting this philosophical position in qualitative social work research. More specifically, it suggests that there is a concordance between critical realist premises and action research with its cyclical inquiry and advancement of social change. This combination of philosophy and method, it is argued, promotes anti-oppressive social work research and illuminates the processes shaping outcomes in programme evaluations. Overall, the article underscores the importance of 'depth' in qualitative inquiry by conceiving the social world in terms of five interlacing, social domains.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)73-91
    Number of pages19
    JournalQualitative Social Work
    Volume9
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2010

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
    • Health(social science)

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