TY - JOUR
T1 - The Types of Scholarly Publications Produced by Australian Social Work Researchers
AU - Tilbury, Clare
AU - Hughes, Mark
AU - Bigby, Christine
AU - Roche, Steven
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Australian Association of Social Workers.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The publication of social work research and scholarship is integral to generating and disseminating knowledge for the profession and the human services field. Previous research has found a large proportion of nonresearch articles in social work journals, but there has been little exploration of the nature of this scholarship. Using a scoping review method supplemented by analysis of national research assessment output data, this study examined the quantity, format, and characteristics of scholarly publications between 2010–2020 by Australian social workers. It found they produced proportionately more journal articles than other disciplines and relatively fewer books and book chapters. Of 1,389 Australian social work articles published in top-cited social work journals, 821 (59.1%) were research articles. Of the nonresearch articles, almost half provided an analysis of policy or practice without stating a method. Understanding the scope of social work research provides a foundation for reflection on the discipline’s research endeavours. IMPLICATIONS Information about the scope of social work research is useful for developing both individual and disciplinary research strategy. A clear statement of method that describes the processes used for observation and analysis would enhance the quality of nonresearch social work publications.
AB - The publication of social work research and scholarship is integral to generating and disseminating knowledge for the profession and the human services field. Previous research has found a large proportion of nonresearch articles in social work journals, but there has been little exploration of the nature of this scholarship. Using a scoping review method supplemented by analysis of national research assessment output data, this study examined the quantity, format, and characteristics of scholarly publications between 2010–2020 by Australian social workers. It found they produced proportionately more journal articles than other disciplines and relatively fewer books and book chapters. Of 1,389 Australian social work articles published in top-cited social work journals, 821 (59.1%) were research articles. Of the nonresearch articles, almost half provided an analysis of policy or practice without stating a method. Understanding the scope of social work research provides a foundation for reflection on the discipline’s research endeavours. IMPLICATIONS Information about the scope of social work research is useful for developing both individual and disciplinary research strategy. A clear statement of method that describes the processes used for observation and analysis would enhance the quality of nonresearch social work publications.
KW - Developing Discipline Research Strategies
KW - Developing Researchers
KW - Knowledge Production
KW - Research
KW - Social Work
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120323164&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/0312407X.2021.2001834
DO - 10.1080/0312407X.2021.2001834
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120323164
SN - 0312-407X
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Australian Social Work
JF - Australian Social Work
ER -