Читать книгу Social Work Research Methods - Reginald O. York - Страница 39

In this chapter, you will examine the nature of inquiry, with an emphasis on science as a guide for social work practice and research. You will see how science is different from other means of inquiry that you employ on a regular basis. In this regard, you will see how science and critical thinking are founded on similar principles and how certain commonsense phrases are related to various steps in the research process. In contrast to science, you will view mechanisms of inquiry that are flawed, with a special emphasis on pseudoscience as different from science. In essence, you will see how scientific research can contribute to the improvement of your practice decisions, even though it is not the only useful means for doing so.

In this chapter, you will implement certain learnings about the scientific method in the examination of current research on whether people’s behavior is influenced by the full moon. Do people act more strange during the full moon than at other times? You will see that common perceptions can be incorrect and how science can help you avoid such errors. You may have a perception about social work practice that is supported by scientific research, or it may be refuted by it. In either case, it is the intent of this chapter that you acquire an appreciation for how science can improve decision making.

You will acquire several competencies from this chapter. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

1 Distinguish between science as a way of learning from other means like experience, common sense, tradition, and so forth

2 Explain how scientific research can contribute to social work practice

3 Distinguish between science and pseudoscience

4 Identify the aspects of inquiry that make the process scientific

5 Report on how certain commonsense phrases and science can be used to report on research that addresses the question “Do people act differently when there is a full moon?”

6 Explain how common sense, critical thinking, and the scientific method are connected

7 Identify the steps in the process of scientific research