Chapter 1 Review Questions and Exercises
1. Review the common errors of human inquiry discussed in this chapter in the section “Recognizing Flaws in Unscientific Sources of Social Work Practice Knowledge.” Find a magazine or newspaper article, or perhaps a letter to the editor, that illustrates one of those errors. Discuss how a scientist would avoid making the error.
2. Examine a few recent issues of the journal Research on Social Work Practice or the journal Social Work Research. Find an article that reports evidence about the effectiveness of an intervention and thus illustrates the value of research in guiding social work practice. Discuss how a social worker might be guided by that article.
3. Examine several recent issues of a journal in an allied profession such as sociology or psychology. Discuss the similarities and differences you find between the articles in that journal and the ones you examined in Exercise 2.
Chapter 1 InfoTrac/Internet Exercises
1. Use InfoTrac® College Edition* to find an example of a research study that offers useful implications for social work practice. After you find a useful research report, write down the bibliographical reference information for the report and briefly describe the report’s implications for practice. For example, if you are interested in treatment for individuals suffering from mental disorders and substance abuse, then you might want to read “Analysis of Postdischarge Change in a Dual in a Dual Diagnosis Population” by Carol T. Mowbray and colleagues, which appeared in Health and Social Work (May 1999). Toward the end of the article is a section with the subheading “Implications for Practice.”
2. Go to the InfoTrac College Edition website and click on the “InfoWrite” bar at the left. Then click on “Critical Thinking.” Discuss how the information you find there applies to becoming a more effective and compassionate practitioner.
3. Visit the Campbell Collaboration’s website at Find a review of research on the effectiveness of interventions for a problem that interests you. (You can find reviews there on domestic violence, sexual abuse, parent training, criminal offenders, juvenile delinquency, personality disorder, conduct disorder among youths, serious mental illness, substance abuse, welfare reform, housing, foster parent training, eating disorders, and many others.) Write a brief summary of its conclusions and discuss whether and why you think that review would or would not be helpful in guiding social work practice. (If you are interested in health care interventions, you can use the Cochrane Collaboration’s website at