Doing Qualitative Research in Social Work

Dr. Ian Shaw is S R Nathan Professor of Social Work at National University of Singapore and Professor Emeritus at the University of York, England. He was the first chair of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA) and a founder editor of the journal Qualitative Social Work. He has authored almost 100 peer-reviewed papers, more than 20 books, 60 book chapters, and various research reports. He has written extensively in the journals on issues arising from the relationship between social work and sociology over the last century. His more recent books include Social Work Science (2016) and Research and the Social Work Picture (2018). He is pursuing a graduate programme in creative writing, which sits alongside his interests in gardening, his local church, volunteering in his village shop, playing badminton (badly), and Bob Dylan.



I am a Reader in Social Work in Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences, and a former social worker in the field of child and family social work. Previously I was a practitioner in the voluntary and statutory sectors. I have extensive experience of conducting qualitative research projects in social work and have investigated issues related to looked after children, assessment of parenting, family group conferences, child neglect, involving fathers and community safeguarding. I have used a range of qualitative methods to explore these topics, including participative research with children, ethnography, mobile methods, life history interviews and documentary analysis. I facilitate a research advisory group for young people who are care experienced and am deputy chair of my departmental research ethics committee. I am also the author of Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice (Sage, 2nd edition, 2011).