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A comparative study of Australian social work research

  • Clare Tilbury
    ,
  • Mark Hughes
    ,
  • Christine Bigby
    ,
  • Mike Fisher
    ,
  • Lauren Vogel
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Open access

Abstract

The quality and quantity of social work research is not simply a matter of academic inquiry, it has real-world implications for practitioners, policy makers, and the community. Internationally, research assessment exercises being undertaken in university sectors are shaping notions of research productivity, quality, and impact. This paper advances empirical understandings of the nature of social work research in Australia, through an interdisciplinary and cross-national comparative analysis of performance data reported in the research assessment exercises Excellence in Research for Australia 2012 and 2015, and the UK’s Research Excellence Framework 2014. It found that compared to other social science disciplines, social work in Australia is a mid-level performer in terms of quantity and above-average in terms of quality, but when compared to social work and social policy research in the UK, quality is rated less highly. It argues for more transparent criteria to assess quality within peer-review research assessments and careful consideration of ways to document and evaluate research impact that are relevant to the discipline, capable of capturing the many and varied ways that research can influence policy and practice over time.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 2217-2237

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

British Journal of Social Work (Volume 47, Issue 8)

Publication milestones

  • Accepted/In press - 03/08/2016
  • Published - 15/02/2017

Publication status

Published - 15/02/2017

ISSN

0045-3102

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/622055
  • Scopus: 85038570817

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