Journals Information
International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice(CEASE PUBLICATION) Vol. 6(1), pp. 9 - 14
DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2018.060102
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Employing Interpretivism in Social Work Research
Venkat Pulla 1,*, Elizabeth Carter 2
1 Senior Lecturer, Social Work Discipline, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia
2 Research Associate at the Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice, Brisbane, Australia
ABSTRACT
Interpretivism is a research paradigm that is associated with qualitative research. A tradition of Interpretivism can be linked to the ethnographies of non-western peoples in the 19th century and continues to be a popular way to explain human behaviour and social phenomenon today. The interpretivist view invites the researcher to investigate meaning behind the understanding of human behaviour, interactions and society. This involves the researcher attempting to develop an in-depth subjective understanding of people's lives. The difference between the natural sciences and social sciences is that the natural sciences requires the researcher to observe and interpret natural processes but the social sciences requires the researcher to observe a phenomenon and understand the interpretations that individuals have already made. Social work research aims to explain human behavior and social phenomenon and not to focus on isolating and objectively measuring variables or on developing generalizations. Social work research requires a focus on gaining an empathic understanding of an individual's feelings and the meaning that they give to everyday life with the goal to gaining greater understanding of the individual's behavior. For this reason, interpretive research is well suited to social work research. In this introductory paper, the authors present the validity of interpretive research and the value of using it in social work research.
KEYWORDS
Interpretivism, Qualitative Research, Grounded Theory Social Work
Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Venkat Pulla , Elizabeth Carter , "Employing Interpretivism in Social Work Research," International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice(CEASE PUBLICATION), Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 9 - 14, 2018. DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2018.060102.
(b). APA Format:
Venkat Pulla , Elizabeth Carter (2018). Employing Interpretivism in Social Work Research. International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice(CEASE PUBLICATION), 6(1), 9 - 14. DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2018.060102.