Social Work Research, Practice, and Paradigms

Abstract

Paradigmatic concerns from quantum physics, qualitative research, new paradigm research, and philosophy can contribute to understanding the relation between research and social work practice. Attention is focused on the issue of the research subject as conscious observer, and the attendant issue of whether that process can be mechanistically bypassed. A new scientific paradigm is emerging that is compatible with social work values. It supports the possibility that practice can be and is research, and offers a more holistic way of thinking about the profession.