The Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Primary, Qualitative Meta-Analytic and Mixed Methods Research: Applying the Standards to Social Work Research

ABSTRACT

The American Psychological Association published the Task Force Report on Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Primary, Qualitative Meta-Analytic and Mixed Methods Research in Psychology in 2018. The standards have wide applicability across the social sciences and can make an important contribution to social work scholarship. The standards recognize diversity within qualitative and mixed methods research traditions while successfully distilling out a set of coherent reporting standards to guide authors and reviewers. In this paper, we examine the standards’ utility for social work, examining how these respond to critiques of reporting practices in qualitative research, and how social work scholars can apply them. While there may be some contestation among scholars in social work, we propose that the standards are indeed inclusive of diverse interpretative and critical voices in Social Work. We conclude with recommending the adoption of these standards by the social work research community.

KEYWORDS:

• Reporting standards
• qualitative methods
• mixed methods research