Networking practitioner research: synthesising the state of the ‘art’

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine what we know about the experience and outcomes of networked initiatives aimed at facilitating practitioner research. We outline the roles and significance of practitioner research within social work; review emerging understanding of practitioner research network initiatives; and draw conclusions from a comparative analysis of three such initiatives in Auckland, New Zealand, Arhus County, Denmark, and across Scotland. We consider the nature and challenges of practitioner research and a number of responses to how such work should be formulated and conducted. Central to our argument is an empirically informed consideration—from our separate and shared experiences—of how well networks enhance the process and consequences, and art and craft, of such research projects.

Artiklens formål er at undersøge, den akutelle viden om erfaringer og resultater med netværkinitiativer, der har til hensigt at fremme praksisbaseret forskning. Vi skitserer den praksisbaserede forsknings roller og dens betydning i det sociale arbejde, vi gennemgår udviklingen af netværk som basis for praksisbaseret forskning og drager konklusioner fra en sammenlignende analyse af tre eksempler fra Auckland i New Zealand, Region Midtjylland i Danmark og fra Skotland. Vi ser på indholdet og udfordringerne i praksisbaseret forskning, og vi undersøger en række forskellige bud på, hvordan den kan udformes og gennemføres. Centralt i vores argumentation er en empirisk baseret overvejelse—baseret på de individuelle og delte erfaringer—af hvor godt netværk egner sig at styrke indhold, resultater og forløb i sådanne forskningsprojekter.

Keywords:

• Practitioner Research
• Networks
• Social Work

Sökord:

• Praksisforskning
• Netværk
• Socialt Arbejde

Notes

1. Our thanks to Lesley Hicks for providing this information.

2. For a systematic review of empirical studies, see Mitchell et al. (2010). For synopses of projects funded through England's Children's Workforce Development Council, see http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/plr.

3. Reports on each initiative have been published elsewhere (Ramian, 2004, 2007a; Lunt et al., 2008; Mitchell et al., 2010).

4. This network was part of a broader multisite study of welfare policy in Denmark.

5. Shaw and Lunt (forthcoming) discuss these issues in detail from the CHILDREN 1^st study.